pre civil war

study for pre civil war test

harriet Beacher stowe

wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin, a bestselling novel that exposed the horrors of slavery and fueled anti-slavery sentiment in the North.

harriet tubman

A former enslaved woman who became a leading abolitionist and conductor of the Underground Railroad, helping many escape to freedom.

nat turner

An enslaved African American who led a notorious slave rebellion in Virginia in 1831, which aimed to overthrow the institution of slavery.

charles summer

A prominent abolitionist senator from Massachusetts who advocated for civil rights and opposed the expansion of slavery into new territories.

john brown

An American abolitionist known for his armed insurrection against slavery, most famously his raid on Harper's Ferry in 1859, which aimed to initiate a large-scale slave revolt.

manifest dynasty

A term used to describe the belief that the expansion of the United States across the American continents was both justified and inevitable.

mexican American war

A conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848, resulting in significant territorial gains for the US, including present-day California, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

The 1848 agreement that ended the Mexican-American War, wherein Mexico ceded a large portion of its northern territory to the United States.

• Mexican Cession

The region of present-day California, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, and parts of Colorado and Wyoming that Mexico ceded to the United States in 1848 following the Mexican-American War.

• Popular Sovereignty

The political doctrine that allowed settlers of U.S. territories to decide whether to permit slavery within their borders, significantly influencing the debate over the expansion of slavery in the pre-Civil War era.

• Wilmot Proviso

An unsuccessful 1846 proposal to ban slavery in territory acquired from Mexico following the Mexican-American War, it intensified sectional conflict between free and slave states.

Free Soil Party

A political party formed in 1848 that opposed the extension of slavery into U.S. territories, advocating for free land for settlers and the exclusion of slavery from the Mexican Cession.

Missouri Compromise

A legislative agreement passed in 1820 that admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, maintaining the balance of power in Congress and prohibiting slavery in the Louisiana Territory north of the 36°30′ parallel.

Compromise of 1850 (all 4 main points)

A set of five laws passed in 1850 intended to resolve the territorial and slavery controversies arising from the Mexican-American War, including admitting California as a free state, creating Utah and New Mexico territories with popular sovereignty, and enacting a stricter Fugitive Slave Act.

Fugitive Slave Act

A law passed in 1850 that required citizens to assist in the capture of escaped slaves and imposed penalties on those who aided their escape, significantly heightening tensions between Northern and Southern states.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

A law passed in 1854 that created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, allowing for popular sovereignty to decide the issue of slavery, which led to violent conflicts known as "Bleeding Kansas."

Pottawatomie Massacre (Bleeding Kansas)

An event in May 1856 when abolitionist John Brown and his followers killed five pro-slavery settlers in Kansas, escalating the violence of "Bleeding Kansas".

• The political parties from this era

were primarily the Democratic Party and the Whig Party, with the emergence of the Republican Party as a response to the expansion of slavery.

• Dred Scott v Sanford (issues of the case and decision of the SC)

A landmark Supreme Court case in 1857 that ruled that enslaved African American Dred Scott was not a citizen and could not sue for his freedom, while also declaring that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional, intensifying national tensions over slavery.

• Lincoln - Douglas  debates

A series of seven debates in 1858 between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas during their campaign for the U.S. Senate seat from Illinois, focusing on the issue of slavery and its expansion.

• Harper’s Ferry

was an 1859 raid led by abolitionist John Brown intended to initiate a slave uprising and seize the federal armory, ultimately leading to his capture and trial.

• Election of 1860

The presidential election in which Abraham Lincoln was elected, signifying a pivotal moment in the pre-Civil War era, primarily over the issues of slavery and sectionalism.

• Southern states and secession

The southern states' decision to leave the Union following Lincoln's election, leading to the formation of the Confederacy and igniting the Civil War.

 What factors contributed to America’s expansion across the continent?

Several factors contributed to America's westward expansion, including the belief in Manifest Destiny, economic opportunities, and the availability of land, as well as the desire for new resources and the spread of democracy.

How did slavery impact Pre Civil War America politically, economically, and morally?

Slavery significantly influenced pre-Civil War America by creating deep political divides between the North and South, fueling economic interests reliant on slave labor, and raising moral questions about human rights and ethics, which culminated in growing abolitionist movements.

How did the election of Lincoln influence the secession of some Southern states?

Lincoln's election in 1860 was seen as a threat to the institution of slavery, leading several Southern states to believe that their interests would be ignored, prompting them to secede from the Union.