Pre Civil War

Gadsden Purchase

A land acquisition agreement between the U.S. and Mexico in 1854 for a strip of southern Arizona territory, purchased for $10 million.

Free Soil Party

A political party formed in the mid-1840s advocating for the exclusion of slavery from new U.S. territories.

California Gold Rush

A period of mass migration to California in the mid-1840s following the discovery of gold, causing rapid population growth and economic boom.

Underground Railroad

A network of secret routes and safe houses for enslaved people escaping to freedom, often aided by abolitionists.

Compromise of 1850

An attempt to resolve slavery issues by admitting California as a free state and allowing popular sovereignty in Utah and New Mexico.

Whig Party

A major political party in the mid-19th century that supported economic development but was divided on slavery.

Ostend Manifesto

A secret document advocating for U.S. acquisition of Cuba by force, increasing tensions with Southern slaveholders.

Opium War

Wars between Britain and China over opium trade, resulting in defeats for China and the opening of Chinese ports.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

A 1854 law that repealed the Missouri Compromise and allowed popular sovereignty to decide slavery in Kansas and Nebraska.

Harriet Tubman

A conductor on the Underground Railroad known for her brave missions to help enslaved people escape.

Uncle Tom's Cabin

A novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe published in 1852 that depicted the horrors of slavery and spurred abolitionist sentiment.

Dred Scott v. Sandford

A 1857 Supreme Court case ruling that enslaved people were not U.S. citizens and could not sue for freedom.

Lincoln-Douglas debates

A series of debates in 1858 between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas focusing on slavery's expansion.

John Brown

An abolitionist who led a raid against pro-slavery forces in Kansas in 1856, escalating sectional conflicts.

Election of 1860

The presidential election where Abraham Lincoln was elected, leading to the secession of Southern states and the Civil War.