Unites States History A 2:1 Causes of the Civil War

Missouri Compromise

An 1820 agreement that allowed slavery in parts of the Louisiana Purchase south of latitude 36°30′, attempting to maintain the balance between free and slave states.

Compromise of 1850

A set of laws aimed at resolving the status of territories gained after the Mexican-American War; it included California's admission as a free state and a stricter Fugitive Slave Act.

Fugitive Slave Act

A law requiring citizens to assist in the capture of runaway slaves; penalties were imposed on those who helped fugitives.

Underground Railroad

A secret network of safe houses and routes that helped enslaved people escape to free states and Canada.

Harriet Tubman

A former enslaved woman who became a leading conductor on the Underground Railroad.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

A novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe that depicted the brutality of slavery, influencing Northern attitudes.

Dred Scott Decision

A Supreme Court ruling (1857) that declared African Americans were not U.S. citizens and invalidated efforts to ban slavery in U.S. territories.

Popular Sovereignty

The principle allowing residents of U.S. territories to vote on whether to allow slavery.

Republican Party

A political party formed in opposition to the spread of slavery; it opposed the Kansas-Nebraska Act and supported abolitionist causes.

Election of 1860

The presidential election in which Abraham Lincoln won despite not being on the ballot in most Southern states, triggering Southern secession.

Crittenden Compromise

A failed proposal to prevent Civil War by extending the Missouri Compromise line to the Pacific and protecting slavery in existing slave states.

Secession

The act of formally withdrawing from a nation; in this context, Southern states leaving the Union.

South Carolina

The first state to secede from the Union in December 1860.