Chapter 20 Flashcards
Fort Sumter
Literal: Federal fort in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina.
Interpretive: The confederate attack on the fort marked the start of the Civil War.
Trent Affair (1861)
Union warship stopped British Steamer north of Cuba and forcibly took two confederate diplomats
Writ of habeas corpus
Literal: A court order that requires police to bring a prisoner to court to explain why they are holding the person.
Interpretive: When Lincoln suspended this order, it displayed one of the first presidential veto’s of the Civil War.
Clara Barton
Literal: Launched the American Red Cross in 1881. An “angel” in the Civil War, she treated the wounded in the field.
Interpretive: She significantly impacted women’s employment in the Civil war.
Copperheads
Literal: A group of northern Democrats who opposed abolition and sympathized with the South during the Civil War.
Interpretive: This created tension in the North.
The Trent Affair
Literal: A crisis with Britain after a union warship north of Cuba stopped the British steamer the Trent and removed 2 confederate diplomats destined for Europe. The British government was extremely upset and demanded an apology and the prisoners be set free.
Interpretive: This was the first major crisis with Britain during the Civil War.
Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell
Literal: America’s first female physician. She helped organize the U.S. Sanitary commission to assist the Union armies in the field. The commission trained nurses, collected medial supplies, and equipped hospitals.
Interpretive: Commission work helped many women acquire the skills and self-confidence that would propel the women’s rights movement after the war.
Greenbacks
Literal: Name given to paper money issued by the government during the Civil War, so called because the back side was printed with green ink. They were not redeemable for gold, but $300 million were issued anyway.
Interpretive: Farmers hit by the depression wanted to inflate the notes to cover losses, but Ulysses S. Grant vetoed an inflation bill and greenbacks were added to permanent circulation.
New York City Draft Riots
Literal: July 1863 just after the Battle at Gettysburg. Mobs of Irish working-class men and women roamed the streets for four days until federal troops suppressed them. They loathed the idea of being drafted to fight a war on behalf of slaves who, once freed, would compete with them for jobs. Interpretive: This showed the reluctance of the North to go to war.
Billy Yank & Johnny Reb
Literal: “Billy Yank” was the term for an ordinary Union soldier, and “Johnny Reb” was the term for an ordinary Confederate soldier.
Interpretive: These names mark the social differences between the two armies.
Robert E. Lee
Literal: American soldier, he refused Lincoln’s offer to head the Union army and agreed to lead Confederate forces.
Interpretive: He successfully led several major battles until his defeat at Gettysburg, and he surrendered to the Union’s commander General Grant at Appomattox Courthouse.
Morrill Tariff Act
Literal: This was an act passed by Congress in 1861 to meet the cost of the war. It raised the taxes on shipping from 5 to 10 percent however later needed to increase to meet the demanding cost of the war.
Interpretive: This was just one the new taxes being passed to meet the demanding costs of the war. Although they were still low to today’s standers they still raked in millions of dollars.
