history test 5/15 Flashcards
Contended that slavery did great harm to the poor whites of the south
Very controversial
Southerners viewed the book as a direct attack to their way of life.
Favored by the northerners
Impending Crisis of the South
Greatly strengthened northern anti-slavery feeling
Book that highlighted the horrors of slavery
Hated by south
Liked by the north
Uncle Toms Cabin
New England Emigrant Aid Company.
Rifles and firearms used to fight against the pro-slavery people of Kanasa.
Part of a broader bleeding Kansas conflict.
Beecher’s bibles
Goal was to make kansas a slave state
Pro-slavery faction in kansas tried to rig the proccess by calling a constitutional convention in Lecompton because it was dominated by slavery supporters.
Sparked a huge political fight
Lecompton Constitution
Anti-immigrant, anti-catholic political party
Pushed for restrictions on immigration and naturalization, as well as limits on the political power of catholics
Very short lived
Know-Nothing Party (or American party)
Centered around an enslaved man who lived with his enslaver in free states and territories and argued that this should have made him a free man
The supreme court decided that dred scott was not a citizen and no right to sue the government
Massive blow to the anti-slavery movement
Southerns considered this a win for the pro-slavery people
Dred Scott case
-Financial crisis that was caused by a combination of factors including overexpansion of the economy, speculation in railroads and land, and a decline in international trade.
The panic led to widespread bankruptcies, unemployment, and severe economic decline.
Took a major toll on the economy and took the country a long time to recover.
Panic of 1857
Lincoln and Douglas held public debates on a wide range of issues
Helpful in Lincoln’s election years later
Helped define the fault lines between the north and south.
Lincoln-Douglas debates
It emerged in 1860 as a response to the deepening sectional divide over the issue of slavery.
The party aimed to preserve the Union by avoiding contentious issues like slavery and focusing instead on maintaining the Constitution and the rule of law.
Despite its efforts, the _____________ failed to gain significant traction nationally.
Constitutional Union Party
The first state to secede from the union
South Carolina
Confederate States of America
The compromise was aimed to address the growing tensions between the North and South by extending the Missouri compromise line and protecting slavery in certain territories.
The compromise was rejected by both Northern and Southern politicians.
The failing of the compromise was a missed opportunity to prevent the outbreak of the Civil war.
Crittenden Compromise
The election highlighted the deepening sectional divide between the North and the South over the issue of slavery. The Republican Party, formed in the 1850s as an anti-slavery party, nominated Abraham Lincoln, while the Democratic Party split into Northern and Southern factions over slavery.
Lincoln’s victory in the election signaled the ascendancy of the Republican Party and its anti-slavery platform. His election as the first Republican president prompted Southern states to view his presidency as a threat to their way of life and led to the secession of Southern states from the Union.
Following Lincoln’s election, seven Southern states seceded from the Union before he even took office in March 1861.
marked the disintegration of the Second Party System, which had been dominated by the Democratic and Whig Parties.
election of 1860
is the time between when a new president is elected and when they officially start their job. During this time, the current president is still in charge, but their power might be limited because they won’t be in office for much longer. It’s like a transition period between old and new leadership.
Lame-duck period
Wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Orchestrated the raid on Harpers Ferry in hopes of starting a slave rebellion
He was executed due to his actions
The raid did spark inspiration for the northerns and conflict with the southerners
John Brown
was a congressman from South Carolina who attacked another congressman, Charles Sumner, with a cane on the Senate floor in 1856. The incident highlighted the intense divisions over slavery in the United States before the Civil War.
Preston Brooks
an American explorer, military officer, and politician in the 19th century. He gained fame for his expeditions exploring the American West, particularly the Oregon Trail and California.
first republican candidate
John C Fremont
an American politician who served as the 14th Vice President of the United States under President James Buchanan from 1857 to 1861.
He was also a candidate for President of the United States in the election of 1860 as the candidate of the Southern Democrats.
supported the expansion of slavery into the western territories, which was a major issue at the time.
He eventually became a general in the Confederate Army during the Civil War, serving the Confederate States of America.
John C Breckenridge
an American politician who served as the President of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War.
led the Southern states in their fight to secede from the Union and preserve slavery
Jefferson Davis
member of the Democratic Party and served as a U.S. Senator from Illinois. Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858, where he debated Abraham Lincoln during their campaign for the U.S. Senate.
The debates focused on the issue of slavery and attracted national attention. supported the concept of popular sovereignty,
Stephen Douglas
who wrote a book called “The Impending Crisis of the South.” In it, he argued that slavery was bad for the economy of the Southern states and kept poor white people from getting ahead.
His book was controversial but became popular with people who opposed slavery. It added to the tensions between the North and South before the Civil War.
Hinton R. Helper
remembered for his inability to prevent the outbreak of the American Civil War during his presidency.
believed that slavery was protected by the Constitution and that states did not have the right to secede from the Union.
his efforts to mediate between the North and South were largely unsuccessful
James Buchanan
He was a U.S. Senator from Massachusetts and a leading abolitionist.
best known for an incident in 1856 when he was attacked on the Senate floor by a congressman named Preston Brooks.
Sumner had given a speech strongly criticizing slavery and its supporters, and Brooks, who was from South Carolina, took offense and physically assaulted him with a cane.
Charles Sumner
Explain how the Dred Scott decision and Brown’s Harpers Ferry raid deepened sectional antagonism.
The Dred Scott decision ruled that whether enslaved or free, could not be considered U.S. citizens. This had a huge impact on the abolitionist movement in the north because it seemed like a push for the expansion of slavery.
John Brown’s ferry raid was an attempt at a slave rebellion. While this plan failed, it horrified many southerners and convinced them that the north was out to destroy the institution of slavery by any means necessary.
Describe the movement toward secession, the formation of the Confederacy, and the failure of the last compromise effort.
After Lincoln was elected president, his election was seen as a threat to the institution of slavery. South Carolina was the first to secede from the union and shortly after, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas followed suit.
As the states were seceding, the Crittenden Compromise was proposed but was rejected, this was the last effort for compromise between the North and South before the Civil War.
The confederacy was established after the failed compromise and took control of federal forts and arsenals within its territory. This ultimately led to the first shots of the civil war.
Explain how the issue of slavery in the territories acquired from Mexico disrupted American politics from 1848-50.
The issue of slavery disrupted American politics because it was a big debate on whether these new territories were going to be free or slave states. The free soil party emerged because of this as they advocated for keeping slavery out of the new territories. Southern politicians threatened succession if the north didn’t listen to them. This led to the Compromise of 1850 which was supposed to ease tensions but ultimately there was nothing to be done to avoid the coming war that was about to erupt.
Describe Douglas’s Kansas-Nebraska Act and explain why it stirred the sectional controversy to new heights.
Repealed the Missouri compromise and let settlers into those territories to decide for themselves whether to allow slavery.
This was very controversial because northerners were very passionate about the Missouri compromise and southerners thought that people didn’t have the right to ban slavery, increasing tensions.
The Whigs chose _________ as their candidate for slavery in the election
Did not have an official stance on slavery, but owned many slaves
Won the election of 1848
Seemed ready to veto any compromise over slavery between the North and South that went through Congress when he was president.
Zach Taylor
In the democracy convention of 1852, the democrats chose ________ as their presidential candidate
He supported the Compromise of 1850 and the Fugitive Slave Law.
Won the election of 1852
This election marked the end of the Whig Party
Franklin Pierce
Illinois politician who help smooth over sectional conflict in 1850 but then reignited it in 1854
A senator who tried to break the North-South deadlock over westward expansion
Was in support of Henry Clay’s compromises
proposed the Territory of Nebraska to be sliced into two territories, Kansas and Nebraska
This Kansas-Nebraska Act conflicted with the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which forbade slavery in the proposed Nebraska Territory. Douglas was forced to propose the repealing of the Missouri Compromise.
Stephan Douglas
Spoke at the congressional debate of 1850 with “the immortal trio, “ Henry Clay, John Calhoun, and Daniel Webster.
called for people to make concessions and support Clay’s proposals to maintain the Union (Seventh of March Speech). He was against slavery, but he viewed the collapse of the Union as worse.
Northern spokesmen whose support for the compromise of 1850 earned him the hatred of abolitionists
Daniel Webster
Senator of New York;
opposed slavery and because of this, he opposed Clay’s proposals
He argued that God’s moral law was higher than the Constitution.
William Seward
At the Democratic National Convention at Baltimore, the Democrats chose General Lewis Cass, a veteran of the War of 1812, as their candidate for the presidency.
Cass was not against slavery; he supported popular sovereignty.
Nickname was Gass
Lewis Cass
He persuaded the Japanese in 1854 to sign a memorable treaty.
Matthew Perry
Military hero of the Mexican war who became the Whig’s last presidential candidate in 1852.
Winfield Scott
government based on consent of the people.
Popular Sov.
The divider between the North and South states/separated the free and slave states.
Mason Dixon Line
Series of laws that tried to settle the debate over slavery as the country was expanding westward.
Admitted California as a free state
Strengthened the fugitive slave act.
Proposed by Henry Clay.
-Compromise of 1850
The Southerners believed that the original fugitive slave law needed revision because of the recent issue of runaway slaves.
With the new law, slaves couldn’t testify on their own behalf, northerners that help slaves escape were subject to harsh fines and jail sentences or could be ordered to join the slave catchers.
This led to many moderates to join the antislavery movement.
Fugitive Slave Law
Developed when the Whigs and Democrats both tried to stay neutral on the issues of slavery.
Free soilers were very against slavery
Their representative was Martin Van Buren
Thought that with slavery, wage labor would wither away and so would the chance for the American worker to own property.
Free Soiler Party
Repealed the Missouri compromise and let settlers into those territories to decide for themselves whether to allow slavery.
Led to a lot of tensions and violence as pro- and anti- slavery forces clashed.
Kansas Nebraska Act
When the U.S. bought a chunk of land from Mexico to build a southern railroad route.
Expanded the U.S. by 29,000 miles
Gadsden Purchase