An American History

GLOSSARY ★ A-57

Freedom Rides Bus journeys challenging

racial segregation in the South in 1961.

French and Indian War The last— and

most important— of four colonial wars

fought between England and France for

control of North America east of the Mis-

sissippi River.

Fugitive Slave Act 1850 law that gave

the federal government authority in cases

involving runaway slaves; aroused consid-

erable opposition in the North.

fugitive slaves Slaves who escaped from

their owners.

fundamentalism Anti- modernist Protes-

tant movement started in the early twen-

tieth century that proclaimed the literal

truth of the Bible; the name came from

The Fundamentals, published by conserva-

tive leaders.

Gabriel’s Rebellion An 1800 uprising

planned by Virginian slaves to gain their

freedom. The plot was led by a blacksmith

named Gabriel, but was discovered and

quashed.

Gadsden Purchase Thirty thousand

square miles in present- day Arizona and

New Mexico bought by Congress from

Mexico in 1853 primarily for the Southern

Pacific Railroad’s transcontinental route.

gag rule Rule adopted by House of Repre-

sentatives in 1836 prohibiting consideration

of abolitionist petitions; opposition, led by

former president John Quincy Adams, suc-

ceeded in having it repealed in 1844.

Garvey, Marcus The leading spokesman

for Negro Nationalism, which exalted

blackness, black cultural expression,

and black exclusiveness. He called upon

African- Americans to liberate themselves

from the surrounding white culture and

create their own businesses, cultural

centers, and newspapers. He was also the

founder of the Universal Negro Improve-

ment Association.

Geneva Accords A 1954 document that

had promised elections to unify Vietnam

Fort Sumter First battle of the Civil War,
in which the federal fort in Charleston
(South Carolina) Harbor was captured by
the Confederates on April 14, 1861, after
two days of shelling.
Four Freedoms Freedom of speech, free-
dom of worship, freedom from want, and
freedom from fear, as described by Presi-
dent Franklin D. Roosevelt during his Jan-
uary 6, 1941, State of the Union Address.
Fourteen Points President Woodrow
Wilson’s 1918 plan for peace after World
War I; at the Versailles peace conference,
however, he failed to incorporate all of the
points into the treaty.
Fourteenth Amendment 1868 constitu-
tional amendment that guaranteed rights
of citizenship to former slaves, in words
similar to those of the Civil Rights Act of
1866.
franchise The right to vote.
free blacks African- American persons
not held in slavery; immediately before
the Civil War, there were nearly a half
million in the United States, split almost
evenly between North and South.
Free Soil Party Political organization
formed in 1848 to oppose slavery in
the territory acquired in the Mexican
War; nominated Martin Van Buren for
president in 1848. By 1854 most of the par-
ty’s members had joined the Republican
Party.
free trade The belief that economic devel-
opment arises from the exchange of goods
between different countries without gov-
ernmental interference.
the Freedmen’s Bureau Reconstruction
agency established in 1865 to protect the
legal rights of former slaves and to assist
with their education, jobs, health care,
and landowning.
freedom petitions Arguments for liberty
presented to New England’s courts and
legislatures in the early 1770s by enslaved
African- Americans.