15 Divided Nation Flashcards
Wilmot Proviso
a document that stated that slavery would be against the law in all parts of the Mexican Cession
popular sovereignty
the idea that called for voters in a new territory to decide whether to allow slavery
sectionalism
favoring the interests of one section or region of a country over the interests of the entire country
Free Soil Party
northern party that supported the Wilmot Proviso
Senator Henry Clay
senator who designed a compromise to end conflicts between free states and slave states
Compromise of 1850
Henry Clay’s proposed agreement that allowed California to enter the Union as a free state and divided the rest of the Mexican Cession into two territories where slavery would be decided by popular sovereignty
Fugitive Slave Act
Law that made it a crime to help runaway slaves and allowed slaves to be arrested in free areas
Anthony Burns
a fugitive slave from Virginia who was arrested in Boston sparking violence
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
A anti-slavery novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe that showed the humanity of slaves
Franklin Pierce
Politician who promised to honor the Compromise of 1850 and the Fugitive Slave Act
Stephen Douglas
Illinois Senator who sponsored the Kansas-Nebraska Act in exchange for a railroad from Chicago to the Pacific Ocean
Charles Sumner
Massachusetts senator who spoke out against pro-slavery supporters in Kansas and was beaten unconscious on the Senate floor
Preston Brooks
a pro-slavery representative from South Carolina who attacked Charles Sumner on the Senate floor
Kansas-Nebraska Act
Act that divided the Louisiana Purchase into two territories and allowed popular sovereignty to decide the issue of slavery
Pottawatomie Massacre
Event during which abolitionist John Brown and his men killed five pro-slavery men in response to the Sack of Lawrence