History vocab- events leading up to civil war

Question 1

Harriet Beecher Stowe

Answer 1

Harriet Beecher Stowe was an American author best known for her novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin,” which was published in 1852. The novel depicted the harsh realities of slavery and had a significant impact on the anti-slavery movement by galvanizing public opinion against the institution.

Question 2

Sam Houston

Answer 2

Sam Houston was a prominent political and military figure in Texas history. He played a crucial role in the annexation of Texas to the United States and served as the president of the Republic of Texas. Houston was initially against secession and tried to prevent Texas from joining the Confederacy during the Civil War.

Question 3

The Lecompton Constitution

Answer 3

The Lecompton Constitution was a proposed constitution for the state of Kansas in the 1850s. It was controversial because it allowed slavery in the territory, and its passage through a pro-slavery legislature led to violence and disputes between pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers.

Question 4

William Lloyd Garrison

Answer 4

William Lloyd Garrison was a prominent American abolitionist who published “The Liberator,” a leading anti-slavery newspaper. He was a vocal advocate for the immediate and uncompensated emancipation of enslaved individuals and played a significant role in the abolitionist movement.

Question 5

The Wilmot Proviso

Answer 5

the Wilmot Proviso was a proposed legislative amendment that sought to prohibit the extension of slavery into territories acquired from Mexico after the Mexican-American War in 1846-1848. It heightened sectional tensions over the issue of slavery in the newly acquired territories.

Question 6

Santa Ana

Answer 6

Santa Anna was a Mexican military and political leader who played a central role in the early history of Texas. He led Mexican forces in the Texas Revolution and the Battle of the Alamo.

Question 7

Lucy Stone

Answer 7

Lucy Stone was a prominent American suffragist and abolitionist. She was known for her work in women’s rights and for being the first recorded American woman to retain her own last name upon marriage.

Question 8

American Colonization Society

Answer 8

The American Colonization Society was a group founded in 1816 that aimed to repatriate free African Americans to Africa. It established the colony of Liberia on the west coast of Africa as a destination for African-American emigrants.

Question 9

The Free Soil Party

Answer 9

The Free Soil Party was a short-lived political party in the United States during the mid-19th century. It was formed to oppose the extension of slavery into new territories acquired from Mexico. The party’s slogan was “Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men.”

Question 10

Dred Scott

Answer 10

Dred Scott was an enslaved man who sued for his freedom in the 1857 Supreme Court case Dred Scott v. Sandford. The court’s decision held that enslaved individuals were not citizens and had no right to sue in federal courts, further deepening the tensions over slavery.

Question 11

Frederick Douglass

Answer 11

Frederick Douglass was a prominent African-American abolitionist and orator. He escaped slavery and became a powerful advocate for the abolition of slavery and the rights of African Americans.

Question 12

Popular Sovereignty

Answer 12

Popular sovereignty was the concept that the people in a territory or state should have the right to decide whether slavery would be allowed within their borders. This principle was a key component of the Compromise of 1850 and the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854.

Question 13

The Harper’s Ferry Raid

Answer 13

The Harper’s Ferry Raid, led by John Brown in 1859, was an attempt to start a slave rebellion by seizing a federal arsenal in Harper’s Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia). The raid was unsuccessful and resulted in Brown’s capture and execution.

Question 14

James K Polk

Answer 14

James K. Polk was the 11th President of the United States (1845-1849) and was known for his expansionist policies, which led to the Mexican-American War and the acquisition of significant territory in the western United States.

Question 15

The Fugitive Slave Act

Answer 15

The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was a controversial law that required the capture and return of escaped enslaved individuals to their owners, even in free states. It heightened tensions between the North and South over the issue of slavery.

Question 16

Stephen Douglas

Answer 16

Stephen Douglas was a prominent Democratic politician who played a key role in the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which advocated for popular sovereignty in the territories. He also debated Abraham Lincoln in the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates in 1858.

Question 17

John Brown

Answer 17

John Brown was a militant abolitionist who believed in using violence to end slavery. He is most famous for his involvement in the Harper’s Ferry Raid in 1859.

Question 18

Angelina Grimke

Answer 18

Angelina Grimké was an American abolitionist and women’s rights advocate. She and her sister, Sarah Grimké, were among the first American women to publicly lecture against slavery.

Question 19

Harriet Tubman

Answer 19

Harriet Tubman was an African American abolitionist and “conductor” on the Underground Railroad, a network of safe houses and routes that helped enslaved individuals escape to freedom in the North.

Question 20

The Republican Party

Answer 20

The Republican Party was founded in the 1850s as an anti-slavery political party. It opposed the spread of slavery into new territories and played a crucial role in the election of Abraham Lincoln as the 16th President of the United States in 1860.

Question 21

James Buchannan

Answer 21

James Buchanan was the 15th President of the United States (1857-1861). His presidency was marked by increasing sectional tensions, and he was in office during the lead-up to the Civil War.

Question 22

54 40’ or Fight

Answer 22

“54 40’ or Fight” was a slogan used in the 1844 presidential campaign(James.K Polk) , referring to a dispute over the Oregon Territory’s northern boundary at the 54°40’ parallel. It reflected American expansionist ambitions in the Pacific Northwest.