Development of Slavery (1776-1861)

A set of flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts related to the development of slavery in the United States from 1776 to 1861.

3/5 Compromise

Agreement during the Constitutional Convention determining that each slave would count as three-fifths of a person for counting representation and taxation.

Slave-Trade Compromise

Political compromise that allowed the continuation of the slave trade for 20 years after the Constitution was ratified.

Fugitive Slave Act

Law that required the return of runaway slaves to their owners, included in the Constitution.

Northwest Ordinance of 1787

Legislation that prohibited slavery in the Northwest Territory.

Missouri Compromise

1820 agreement that allowed Missouri to enter as a slave state and Maine as a free state, maintaining the balance between slave and free states.

Wilmot Proviso

Proposed legislation to ban slavery in land acquired from Mexico after the Mexican-American War.

Compromise of 1850

A series of laws intended to settle the disputes over slavery; included provisions for California to be admitted as a free state.

Popular Sovereignty

The principle that the authorization of government is based on the consent of the governed, particularly relevant to whether new states would be free or slave.

Bleeding Kansas

A term describing the violent political confrontations in Kansas between pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions.

Underground Railroad

A network assisting enslaved African Americans in escaping to freedom in the North.

Abolition Movement

Movement aimed at ending slavery and promoting equal rights for African Americans.

Republican Party

Political party formed in the 1850s that opposed the expansion of slavery into the territories.

Dred Scott Decision

1857 Supreme Court ruling stating that African Americans were not citizens and that Congress could not prohibit slavery in the territories.

Secession

The act of withdrawing formally from membership in a federation or body, particularly the Southern states leaving the Union.

John Brown's Raid

An 1859 attempt by abolitionist John Brown to start a slave uprising by attacking a federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry.

Fugitive Slave Law of 1850

Part of the Compromise of 1850, it mandated harsher punishments for escaped slaves and enforced the return of fugitives to their owners.

Cotton Gin

Invented in 1793, this machine revolutionized the cotton industry and increased the demand for slave labor.

Emancipation

The process of freeing enslaved individuals.

Gag Rule

A rule that prohibited debate or action on certain topics, notably anti-slavery petitions in Congress.