Key Documents, Acts, & Political Concepts Flashcards
1
Q
Popular Sovereignty
A
- Idea that people in a territory vote whether to allow slavery
- Used in Kansas-Nebraska Act
2
Q
Wilmot Proviso
A
- Proposed law to ban slavery in territory gained from the Mexican-American War
- Never passed, but fueled tensions over slavery
3
Q
Free-Soil Party
A
- Political party that opposed expansion of slavery into western territories
- Slogan: “Free soil, free speech, free labor, and free men.”
4
Q
Secede
A
- To leave or withdraw from the Union
- Southern states began seceding after Lincoln’s election in 1860
5
Q
Compromise of 1850
A
- California enters as a free state
- Utah and New Mexico decide slavery by popular sovereignty
- (Extra but helpful): Settled Texas border dispute
- Slave trade banned in Washington, D.C. (but slavery still allowed)
- Fugitive Slave Act passed to make Northerners return escaped slaves
6
Q
Fugitive Slave Act (1850)
A
- Required Northerners to return runaway slaves
- Denied accused slaves trial by jury
*Angered many in the North; strengthened abolition movement
7
Q
Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852)
A
- Anti-slavery novel written in 1852
- Showed the brutal reality of slavery, moved many Northerners to join abolitionism
