Civil War Flashcards
Secession
Withdraw from the nation
Abolitionist
Reformers who worked to end slavery
Popular Sovereignty
Settlers within a federal territory have the power to decide wether or not they will allow slavery
Conscription
Drafting men into military service
Habeas Courpus
Right to have a fair trial and know why they are being held (suspended during civil war)
Martial Law
A form of military law that suspends some rights ( declared during the civil war)
Greenbacks
Paper money that was not backed by gold or silver
Drinking Gourd
Term for the Big Dipper that gave directions to enslaved people on the Underground Railroad
John Brown
Abolitionist who seized the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry intending to free and arm enslaved men and women in the surrounding area.He was captured, tried and executed for his crime. He was a martyr to some and a criminal to others.
Abraham Lincon
Republican President in 1860. When the states succeeded, his main goal of the Civil War was to reunite the union but later he abolished slavery as well. Many believe that he was the one person to “bind up the nation’s wounds” after the war. He was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth on April 14 1865.
Robert E. Lee
Commander of the Confederate forces
Jefferson Davis
President of the Confederacy
Fredrick Douglas
Freed black man who was an inspirational speaker/writer for the abolitionist cause
Ulysses S. Grant
Commander of the Union forces
Clara Barton
Civil War nurse who later founded the American Red Cross
Harriet Tubman
Underground Railroad agent who after escaping herself, returned to the South again and again, freeing more than 300 others
John Wilkes Booth
A fanatical Confederate sympathizer who assassinated Abraham Lincon
George McClellan
Union general who was given control of the Union army to reorganize and train the men following the loss at Bull Run
William T. Sherman
Union general who occupied and destroyed much of the South including Atlanta, GA before he began a “march to the sea” to Savannah, GA destroying everything in their path, as part of Grant’s war strategy to completely conquer the South and force to surrender
Who started the Underground Railroad?
The Quakers in PA and NJ
Bull Run
First battle of the war. People watched but fled when the fighting became intense. It taught people the reality of war. Confederates won
Gettysburg
Battle that began when solders were looking for shoes. Turning point of war. 50,000 casualties and confederates could not fully recover. Farthest battle north
Vicksburg
One of the last cities along the Mississippi River to be captured by the Union. The Union had to lay siege to the city until they surrendered.
Appomattox Court House
Located in Virginia. Where Union troops surrounded Confederates and Lee surrendered to Grant.
Emancipation Proclimation
Lincoln issued it on January 1st 1863. Freed all enslaved people. Stopped European countries from helping Confederates and made ending slavery one of the goals of the war. After it was issued, more and more slaves poured into the north.
13th Amendment
Added in 1865 and outlawed slavery.
Compromise of 1850
California was a free state and D.C.abolished slave trade. New Mexico and Utah would decide through popular sovereignty. The Fugitive Slave Law was also more heavily enforced.
Dred Scott Decision
The Supreme Court was biased towards slavery so they said that Dred Scott was not a citizen so he could not file a lawsuit. They also said only states have the right to decide the slavery issue for their own state. This increased tensions.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
A book written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. It showed the brutality and harshness of the system of slavery.
Gettysburg Adress
November 19, 1863. Given to make the battlefield a national cemetery. Lincoln also said “the dead shal not die in vain”
What were the three causes of the Civil War?
1) Economic Differences - industry vs. agriculture, the north was more prosperous than the south
2) Slavery - should it be allowed or not
3) States’ rights - the north had a larger population than the south, afraid the north would ban slavery on a federal level
How did slavery cause tension?
Southerners needed slavery for their plantations, noth didn’t. The north wanted slaves free. Neither side wanted less representation than the other in congress. Compromise were made continuously but eventually the tension exploded.
Why wasn’t slavery banned in the Constitution?
The Founding Fathers knew that if they banned slavery, the southern states would not ratify it so they left it in the background so the new country could be formed.
Missouri Compromise
- Admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. Slavery was banned north of the 36-30’ line
Kansas Nebraska Act
- Established two new territories in which popular sovereignty was to decide about slavery. This voided the 36-30’ line rule. This caused “Bleeding Kansas”, a small war that broke out for over two years.
How did the south justify slavery?
It was essential to their lives and they treated the slaves “well”. They also said the Bible and science justified it.
Union Strengths
Factories, railroads, wealth, minerals, grain crops, meat, people, trade with Europe
Confederacy Strengths
Well-trained military leaders, new the land
Why did the Confederacy think Britan would help them in the war?
They traded with Britan
Why did many say “The Civil War is a rich man’a war but a poor man’s fight”
A man could hire a substitute for him in the draft.
A northerner could pay the gov. $300
A southerner who owned 20 slaves could stay
There were riots
3 year enlistment
Why did the Union want control of southern ports and the Mississippi River?
To ruin their economy by almost completely stoping their trade.
How did the Union raise money?
Increased taxes, borrowed money, printed Greenbacks
How did the south raise money?
Income taxes, demanded 10% of all crops, printed worthless currency and force its use
How did women help?
They ran plantations, did field work, factory work, made army supplies, nursed
How did African Americans help in the Union?
200,000 enlisted for military service, 150,000 helped on other divisions, regiments won medals
How did African Americans help in the Confederacy?
Were forced to dig trenches, drive wagons, cook, other labors
What was Grant’s strategy?
Cut off the ports, split south along rivers, capture confederate capital, engage in “total war”
Why was the Civil War so destructive?
It divided the nation, every death was an American, 678,000 deaths, new technologies, the south was devastated, the land was ruined
Union solider nickname
Yankees
Confederacy shoulder nickname
Rebel
Casualties
People killed or wounded
Blockade Runners
Confederate ships that broke through the Union line of defense
Antietam
September 17th, 1862, bloodiest single day of the war, 6,000 dead, 17,000 wounded, after this is when slavery became a major issue on the war
West Virginia
Formed 1862, 48 counties broke off and became part of the Union
Stephen Douglas
Lincoln’s senatorial race candidate. They debated slavery. Douglas won the race
