chapt. 4 Flashcards
The Civil War was fought between the Union and Confederate states over the issues of slavery, federal power, and preserving the union
Causes of the civil war
following Lincoln’s election, several southern states left the Union.
Secession
belief that states should have great freedom to govern themselves.
states rights
episode in which South Carolina threatened to invoke the doctrine of nullification and possibly even secede from the Union if offensive tariffs were not repealed. Enraged, Jackson prepared to call up federal troops if necessary to force South Carolina’s compliance. Fortunately, Senator Henry Clay proposed a compromise that both sides could accept
SC nullification crisis
influential South Carolina senator and one-time vice president to Andrew Jackson who wrote Exposition and Protest and was an adamant defender of states’ rights.
John C. Calhoun
compromise meant to maintain the balance of power between slave and free states which declared that Missouri would be admitted to the Union as a slave state and Maine as a free state. In addition, the southern boundary of Missouri, 36°30’ N, would become a dividing line for any new states admitted to the Union. All new states north of that line would be free states, while those to the south would be slave states
Missouri Compromise
compromise that allowed California to be admitted as a free state, instituted popular sovereignty in the Utah and New Mexico territories, and established the Fugitive Slave Law
compromise of 1850
citizens decide an issue. In particular, it was the view held by those who believed residents of a particular state or territory should decide for themselves whether or not to permit slavery
popular sovereignty
law attached to the Compromise of 1850 which required that northern states forcibly return escaped slaves to their owners in the South
fugitive slave law
The Supreme Court’s decision in in which the Court ruled that a man had no right to sue because, as a slave, he was not a citizen. It also declared that a slave owner could not be deprived of his “property” without due process of law. The decision also struck down the Missouri Compromise because it declared that it was a violation of the Fifth Amendment to declare slaves free of their owners without due process of law — even if that slave had entered a free state. The decision outraged both abolitionists and those who favored popular sovereignty
dred scott decision
radical abolitionist who, in October of 1859, attacked the federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, hoping to seize weapons and give them to slaves who could then rise up in armed rebellion. The plan failed, however, when US troops under the command of Colonel Robert E. Lee surrounded the arsenal and forced Brown’s surrender.
john brown
reform movement to end slavery throughout the US.
abolitionist movement
After escaping slavery in Maryland, he educated himself and became the most prominent African-American speaker for the abolition of slavery. He even helped John Brown plan (but did not participate in) the Harper’s Ferry raid.
frederick douglas
escaped slave who heroically returned to the South 19 times to help other slaves escape to freedom by way of the Underground Railroad
Harriet Tubman
a network of people, including Harriet Tubman, who helped slaves escape to the northern US and Canada
underground railroad
Her 1852 novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, was a fictional account of the horrors faced by a slave family in the South. Though she was white and had never been a slave, her book motivated many people in the North to support the abolition of slavery
harriet beecher stowe
Harriet Beecher Stowe’s fictional account of the horrors faced by a slave family in the South which motivated many people in the North to support the abolition of slavery
uncle toms cabin
political party formed from a coalition of northern Democrats who opposed slavery, Whigs, and Free Soilers that did not call for the immediate abolition of slavery, but did oppose the extension of slavery into new US territories. Lincoln was the party’s first presidential nominee to be elected
republican party
Election in which Republican and anti-slavery candidate, Abraham Lincoln, was elected president in large part due to divisions in the Democratic party over the issue of slavery. His election aroused such great concern among southerners that South Carolina responded by seceding from the Union
election of 1860
“nation” formed by the states that seceded from the Union
confederate states of america
site of the first shots of the Civil War when Confederate troops fired on the Union fort
fort sumter sc
President of the United States during the Civil War
abraham lincoln
Union general who finally defeated Robert E. Lee and effectively ended the Civil War.
ulysses s. grant
Union general whose victory at Atlanta helped Lincoln win re-election and who is most remembered for his “march to the sea.”
william t. sherman