Sectionalism and Slavery in Pre-Civil War America

Flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts related to sectionalism and slavery leading up to the Civil War.

Uncle Tom's Cabin

A novel that illustrated the pain and suffering of slavery, garnering significant attention from the northern public.

Pro-slavery

The belief and activism in support of the institution of slavery, predominantly found among southern whites.

Abolitionists

Individuals and groups opposing slavery and advocating for its end; often not supportive of black/native citizenship though, a lot of the time it was an economic concern.

Fugitive Slave laws

Legislation from the 1850 compromise that allowed for the capture and return of runaway slaves, supported by the Constitution. These laws imposed penalties on those who aided escaped slaves and required citizens to assist in their capture.

Missouri Compromise

An 1820 agreement that admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, establishing the 36-30 line as a boundary for slavery.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

An act that introduced 'popular sovereignty' allowing territories to decide for themselves whether to allow slavery.

Bleeding Kansas

(1854-61) A series of violent confrontations in Kansas between pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers. Pierce, the pro-slavery president, skewed the legislature but eventually Kansas voted to be free.

Dred Scott Decision

A Supreme Court ruling that stated Dred Scott, a slave, could not sue for his freedom, affirming the legality of slavery.

Three-Fifths Compromise

An agreement that counted each slave as three-fifths of a person for the purposes of representation in Congress.

Sectionalism

The growing polarization of American politics leading up to the Civil War, particularly concerning the issue of slavery. People became more loyal to the North and the South.

Dred Scott Decision

A Supreme Court ruling that stated Dred Scott, a slave, could not sue for his freedom, affirming the legality of slavery.

Compromise of 1850

A series of laws that admitted California as a free state, established popular sovereignty in Utah and New Mexico, and strengthened the Fugitive Slave Act.

Popular Sovereignty

The principle that the residents of a territory should vote to decide whether to permit slavery within their borders.

John Brown's Raid

An armed attempt in 1859 to start a slave revolt by seizing the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. Failed, but John Brown was seen as a hero by the North and evil by the South.

Election of 1860

The presidential victory of Abraham Lincoln, which served as the immediate catalyst for the secession of several Southern states.

Secession

The formal withdrawal of 11 Southern states from the Union in 1860 and 1861, leading to the creation of the Confederacy.

Underground Railroad

A secret network of safe houses and routes used by enslaved people to escape to free states or Canada.

Frederick Douglass

A former slave who became a preeminent abolitionist leader, renowned for his powerful oratory and autobiography.

Nullification Crisis

A conflict in the 1830s between South Carolina and the federal government over the state's attempt to declare federal tariffs unconstitutional.

Free Soil Party

A political party founded in 1848 that opposed the expansion of slavery into the western territories of the United States.

Wilmot Proviso

A proposed law intended to ban slavery in any territory acquired from Mexico after the Mexican-American War.