APUSH - The American Pageant - Chapter 20 - Key Terms

Alabama

British-built and manned Confederate warship that raided Union shipping during the Civil War. One of many built by the British for the Confederacy, despite Union protests.

Border States

Five slave states—Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, Delaware, and West Virginia—that did not secede during the Civil War. To keep the states in the Union, Abraham Lincoln insisted that the war was not about abolishing slavery but rather protecting the Union.

Dominion of Canada

Unified Canadian government created by Britain to bolster Canadians against potential attacks or overtures from the United States.

Fort Sumter

South Carolina location where Confederate forces fired the first shots of the Civil War in April of 1861, after Union forces attempted to provision the fort.

greenbacks

Paper currency issued by the Union Treasury during the Civil War. Inadequately supported by gold, Greenbacks fluctuated in value throughout the war, reaching a low of 39 cents on the dollar.

Homestead Act

A federal law that gave settlers 160 acres of land for about $30 if they lived on it for five years and improved it by, for instance, building a house on it. The act helped make land accessible to hundreds of thousands of westward-moving settlers, but many people also found disappointment when their land was infertile or they saw speculators grabbing up the best land.

Laird rams

Two well-armed ironclad warships constructed for the Confederacy by a British firm. Seeking to avoid war with the United States, the British government purchased the two ships for its Royal Navy instead.

Morrill Tariff Act

Increased duties back up to 1846 levels to raise revenue for the Civil War.

National Banking System

Network of member banks that could issue currency against purchased government bonds. Created during the Civil War to establish a stable national currency and stimulate the sale of war bonds.

New York draft riots

Uprising, mostly of working-class Irish-Americans, in protest of the draft. Rioters were particularly incensed by the ability of the rich to hire substitutes or purchase exemptions.

Trent Affair

Diplomatic row that threatened to bring the British into the Civil War on the side of the Confederacy, after a Union warship stopped a British steamer and arrested two Confederate diplomats on board.

U.S. Sanitary Commission

Founded with the help of Elizabeth Blackwell, the government agency trained nurses, collected medical supplies, and equipped hospitals in an effort to help the Union Army. The commission helped professionalize nursing and gave many women the confidence and organizational skills to propel the women's movement in the postwar years.

West Virginia

Mountainous region that broke away from Virginia in 1861 to form its own state after Virginia seceded from the Union. Most of the residents of West Virginia were independent farmers and miners who did not own slaves and thus opposed the Confederate cause.

writ of habeas corpus

Petition requiring law enforcement officers to present detained individuals before the court to examine the legality of the arrest. Protects individuals from arbitrary state action. Suspended by Lincoln during the Civil War.