US History 5

Wilmot Proviso

the proposed but rejected 1846 bill that would have banned slavery in the territory won from Mexico in the Mexican War

Free-Soil Party

an antislavery political party in the mid 1800’s

popular sovereignty

a principle in which the people are the only source of government power

secede

to withdraw formally from a membership in a group or organization

Compromise of 1850

a political agreement that admitted California to the Union as a free state while permitting popular sovereignty in the territories and enacting a stricter fugitive slave law

Fugitive Slave Act

a law that required all citizens to aid in apprehending runaway slaves; a part of the Compromise of 1850

Personal liberty laws

the laws enacted by northern states to counteract the Fugitive Slave Act by granting rights to escaped slaves and free African Americans

Underground railroad

a system that existed before the Civil War in which African American and white abolitionists helped escaped slaves travel to safe areas in the North and in Canada

Kansas-Nebraska Act

1854 law that divided the Nebraska Territory into Kansas and Nebraska, giving each territory the right to decide whether or not to allow slavery

“Bleeding Kansas”

term used to describe the violence between pro slavery and antislavery supporters in Kansas from 1854-1856

“Know-Nothings”

political party of the mid-1800’s, officially known as the American Party, that opposed immigration

Republican Party

political party established around an antislavery platform in 1854

Harpers Ferry

town in Virginia (now West Virginia) where abolitionist John Brown raided a federal arsenal in 1859

Border States

states in the south whose economic interests were not as closely tied to slavery as the cotton states. These states have their 1860 vote to John Bell

Confederate States of America

the seven seceding states that left to start their own land when Lincoln was elected in 1860

blockade

a war strategy in which ships prevent entering or leaving of an area

Anaconda Plan

a northern Civil War strategy to starve the South by blockading seaports and controlling the Mississipp

Emancipation Proclamation

a decree by President Lincoln that declared free all enslaved people living in Confederate states and territories still in rebellion against the Union on January 1, 1863

Militia Act

a 1862 law that allowed African American soldiers to serve in the Union military

54th Massachusetts Regiment

an all African American unit led by Union Colonel Robert Gould Shaw during the Civil War

Gettysburg Address

a two-three minute speech by President Lincoln in which he dedicated a national cemetery at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, and reaffirmed the ideas for which the Union was fighting the Civil War; delivered November 19, 1863

Total War

a military strategy in which an army attacks not only enemy troops but also the economic and civilian resources that support them

13th Amendment

the 1865 constitutional amendment that abolished slavery in the United States

Fort Sumter

a federal fort located in Charleston, South Carolina, where the first shots of the Civil War were fired

Battle of Antietam

a 1862 Civil War battle in which 23,000 troops were killed or wounded in one day, won by the Union

Battle of Gettysburg

the site of a Civil War battle fought on Union territory, July 1-3, 1863 resulting in a Union victory that forced Confederate forces to retreat to the South

Sherman’s March to the Sea

(Nov 15–Dec 21, 1864) was a brutal Civil War campaign where Union General William T. Sherman led 62,000 soldiers from captured Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia, aiming to destroy the Confederacy's economy and morale through "total war". His troops destroyed railways, farms, and infrastructure, significantly reducing Southern resistance until capturing Savannah.

Harriet Tubman

was born into slavery in Maryland. In 1849, she escaped and traveled to Philadelphia. She then became a "conductor" on the Underground Railroad, leading hundreds of enslaved people, including her parents and siblings, to freedom in the North.

Harriet Beecher Stowe

was an American writer and abolitionist best known for her antislavery novel Uncle Tom's Cabin, published in 1852. She began writing her novel as a series of stories, which first appeared in the abolitionist newspaper National Era in 1851–1852.

John Brown

was an American abolitionist best known for leading a raid on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry in 1859. During that raid, he and his co-conspirators were captured and later executed. Brown is remembered by some as a militant extremist and by others as a martyr in the cause against slavery.

Dred Scott

African-American man born into slavery who sued for freedom since he once lived in a free state. In Dred Scott V. Sandford, the Supreme Court ruled against Scott, saying that his time in a free state did not nullify his slave status and he was still property. After this, he was bought by the sons of his original owner and was set free

Roger B. Taney

Supreme Court 5th Chief Justice who wrote in the Dred Scott case that enslaved people didn’t have the rights in the Constitution, and congress couldn't ban slavery in territories because it would deprive slave owners of their property

Abraham Lincoln

Self-educated attorney who joined the Whig party and served in the Illinois legislature (state). He gained national attention for his debates and strong stance against slavery. Though he lost a Senate race, he became president in 1861. He led the country during the Civil War and was killed in April 1865.

Stephen Douglas

US senator who strongly supported western expansion and was an advocate for popular sovereignty about slavery in new states/territories. Helped win passage of the Compromise of 1850 and proposed the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854. He gained national attention for his role in the Senate campaign debates with Abraham Lincoln in 1858.

Jefferson Davis

President of the Confederate States of America. He opposed secession (secede), but resigned his seat in the U.S. Senate when Mississippi seceded.

John C. Breckinridge

served as the 14th vice president of the United States under President James Buchanan. In the 1860 election, he was the nominee of the Southern Democrats in a divided Democratic Party. Breckinridge served as a Confederate officer during the Civil War, and later, as the Confederate secretary of war.

William T. Sherman

Union General who used total war by destroying Confederate infrastructure and morale. His 1864 capture of Atlanta and following March to the Sea crippled Southern logistics and bolstered Lincoln’s reelection. These aggressive campaigns effectively broke the Confederacy’s ability to sustain the conflict, significantly accelerating the end of the war.

Robert E. Lee

Virginia military general who became the commander of the Confederate forces during the Civil War. On April 9, 1865, Lee surrendered his forces to Union General Grant at Appomattox Court House.

“Stonewall” Jackson

Confederate general who led his troops to a stunning victory at the Battle of Bull Run in 1861, surprising the Union with his leadership and the strength of southern resistance.

Ulysses S. Grant

Union general who later became the 18th president of the United States from 1869–1877. Grant won key victories along the Mississippi River, including at the Battle of Shiloh and the Battle of Vicksburg. He was appointed commander of all Union armies in March 1864, and led them to victory at Appomattox Court House, where he accepted General Lee's surrender on April 9, 1865.

George Pickett

Confederate General who led Pickett’s Charge, the disastrous assault at the Battle of Gettysburg. The failure of this attack resulted in lots of deaths and ended the Confederacy’s last major invasion of the North. This defeat served as a psychological and strategic turning point, permanently shifting the war's momentum in favor of the Union.

John Wilkes Booth

American actor and Confederate sympathizer who shot and killed President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865. Eleven days after he assassinated Lincoln, Booth was killed at a farm in Virginia.

Matthew Brady

a pioneering American photographer often called the "father of photojournalism" for his extensive documentation of the Civil War. By organizing teams of photographers to capture battlefield aftermaths and portraits, he brought the grim reality of war to the public for the first time. His collection, particularly the 1862 exhibition "The Dead of Antietam," stripped away the romanticism of combat and created a permanent, visual record that transformed how history is preserved.