B
Jim Bowie ~ Bowie was an
American
pioneer who was killed while defending the Alamo. He was born in
Kentucky, and according to legend the bowie hunting knife was named
after him.
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Aaron Burr ~ Aaron Burr was vice
president in 1800 with Thomas Jefferson (president). In 1804 he was not
renominated, and also was defeated in governor's race of New York State.
He became involved in a scheme which is known as the Burr conspiracy. He
purchased land in the newly acquired Louisiana Territory and planned to
invade Spanish territory. His plan was to establish a separate republic
in the Southwest. James Wilkinson, American soldier and a partner in
the conspiracy, reported him to Jefferson, who had Burr arrested for
treason. After a 6 month trial in Virginia, he was acquitted in 1807,
but was forever afterwards known as a traitor.
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C
Chickasaw ~ Native North
American tribe of the Muskogean language family, closely related to the
Choctaw. They occupied what is now northern Mississippi and parts of
Tennessee, Kentucky, and Alabama. The Chickasaw, lived in dwellings
constructed alongside streams and rivers rather than in villages.
Originally they were a warlike people, controlling a large territory and
raiding nearby tribes such as the Choctaw, Creek, Cherokee, and Shawnee.
The Chickasaw supported the English against the French. In the 1830' s
the entire 5000 member tribe was forcibly relocated to Indian Territory
which is now Oklahoma.
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Choctaw ~ Native American tribe of
the Muskogean language family. They occupied an area that now includes
Georgia, Alabama, and southern Mississippi and Louisiana. The Choctaw
were less warlike than their traditional enemies, the Chickasaw and the
Creek. They lived in mud and bark cabins with thatched roofs. They
were an agricultural people, the most able farmers of the southeastern
region. They usually had a surplus to sell or trade. After the arrival
of the Europeans, the Choctaw began riding horses and using them for
pack animals. Along with the Chickasaw, the Choctaw developed their own
horse breeds.
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Henry Clay ~ Clay was an American
statesman, who was secretary of state under John Quincy Adams. He
unsuccessfully ran for the presidency in 1824, 1832, and 1844. He was
known as The Great Pacificator because of his ability to resolve bitter
political conflicts which threatened to tear the young nation apart.
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controversy ~ an argument or
debate
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D
Jefferson Davis ~ Born in 1808 in
Kentucky, Davis was a planter in Mississippi from 1835 to 1845, when he
was elected to the U.S. Congress. On February 18, 1861, the Congress of
the Confederate States made him President of the Confederate States.
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disemboweled ~ to cut or slash
open
the abdomen and expose or remove the bowels, intestines, and stomach.
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documented ~ a written or
printed
statement that gives official proof and information about something.
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E
extinct ~ no longer living;
having
died out
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F
flatboat ~ a boat with a flat
bottom, for
carrying heavy loads, especially on rivers
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flourished ~ to be successful or
healthy; prosper
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forging ~ to move forward slowly
but
steadily
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G
H
Hermitage ~ Andrew
Jackson's
plantation home in Nashville, Tennessee
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highwaymen ~ a person who robs
or murders
travelers on a roadway
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I
infamous ~ having a very
bad
reputation
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J
Andrew Jackson ~ Seventh
president of the United States, Andrew Jackson was the first Westerner
to be elected President. Jackson was married to Rachel Donelson Robards.
In 1802 he was elected major general of the Tennessee militia. When the
War of 1812 broke out, he was ordered to New Orleans, Louisiana. He and
his 2500 soldiers got as far as Natchez, Mississippi, when the War
Department cancelled the order. Jackson was stranded without food,
supplies, or equipment, but instead of disbanding his command as ordered,
he personally led his troops back to Tennessee. The men so admired
their leader's concern for their welfare, they nicknamed him Old Hickory,
because he was as tough as hickory.
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K
Kaintucks ~ Flatboatmen from
Kentucky and the Tennessee River valleys who traveled down to the
Natchez or New Orleans markets to sell their goods.
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L
Marquis de Lafayette ~ French
military leader and statesman, who fought on the side of the colonists
during the American Revolution. He sympathized with Americans in the
American Revolution after the colonies declared their independence of
Great Britain, and went to America and offered his services to Congress.
He was made a major general in the Continental Army, and became good
friends with George Washington and a member of his staff.
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Louis LeFleur ~ a French-Canadian
trapper who built a trading post near the present city of Jackson, MS in
the early 1790's, and this location came to be known as LeFleur's Bluff.
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Long HuntersBands of white
pioneers, who during the 1760' and 1770's,
explored and hunted in the Middle Tennessee region. They are thought to
be the first white travelers on the old Natchez Trace.
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M
Captain Merriwether Lewis ~
Captain Merriwether Lewis was made President Thomas Jefferson's personal
secretary in 1801. President Jefferson sent Lewis on an expedition to
the Pacific with William Clark. Lewis served as the expedition's
naturalist. After the expedition, Lewis and Clark became national
heroes, and President Jefferson appointed Lewis governor of the
Louisiana Territory, for which the explorer was not suited or prepared.
In September 1809, Lewis traveled to Washington, D.C. on the Natchez
Trace to answer his critics. Lewis apparently took his own life on
October 10, although some say he was murdered. It is still a mystery to
this day.
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mounds ~ These large, flat-topped
ceremonial platforms were used as temples and burial places. Platform
mounds, originally constructed as bases for public buildings, houses of
leaders, and temples, date from the period of 800 A.D. Spaced around a
plaza, they formed the central portions of important communities. Early
French settlers saw the use of mounds for public buildings and burials
by the Natchez Indians. Return
N
Natchez ~ Native North
American tribe of the Muskogean language family and of the Southeast
culture area. The tribe once lived along the lower Mississippi River,
near present day Natchez MS. The Natchez were the largest and most
unified tribe of the region, with some 5000 people in the mid-1600's. In
1729 the French, together with the Choctaw, drove the Natchez from the
region. Some joined the Creek, Cherokee, and Chickasaw tribes. Others
were captured by the French and sold into slavery. The Natchez were sun
worshipers, and kept a perpetual fire burning in their temples. They had
rigid class distinctions, including a noble class of three ranks: Great
Suns, Suns, and Honored Men. The tribe is now considered extinct.
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National Park Service ~ A bureau of
the U.S. Department of the Interior, who's objective is to conserve
natural scenery,wildlife, and historic sites. The areas managed by the
National Park Service are known as the National Park System.
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O
P
pelts ~ the skin of an animal
with
its fur or hair still on it
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plantations ~ large estate or
farm
where ones house is located, and where a crop is grown
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post riders ~ mailmen who
delivered
the mail by horseback in 1800's
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Pushmataha ~ Indian chief
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Q
R
S
stands ~ Inns set up along
the old Natchez Trace were called stands. Usually they were just a
place a traveler could sleep (usually on the ground) and eat a meal.
Many stands were operated by Native Americans.
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T
Tecumseh ~ A Shawnee Indian chief,
who fought against U.S. expansion into the Midwest. He was known for
his opposition to any surrender of Native American land to whites. He
preached against native American adoption of white customs. He fought
on the British side in the War of 1812, and was killed in 1813.
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U
undocumented ~ not
substantiated by written or printed statement; not officially proven
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V
W
X
Y
Z