Chapter 14 history

Federal Marshals

A law enforcement officer who works for the United States government.

Racism

The belief that one's race is better than others.

Segregation

Separation of people based on racial, ethnic, or other differences.

Dred Scott Decision

A Supreme Court decision that declared African Americans had no rights as citizens and that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional.

Popular Sovereignty

The idea that residents of a region or nation decide an issue by voting.

Republican Party

An antislavery political party that formed in the 1850s.

Confederacy

A loose union of independent states; name of government used by the southern states that seceded during the Civil War.

Crittenden Plan

A 1860 compromise proposal on the slavery issue designed to defuse tensions between North and South.

Garrison

The troops stationed in a fortress or town to defend it.

Secede

Withdraw formally from membership in a federal union, an alliance, or a political or religious organization.

Unionist

A person who supported the Union during the entire Civil War period.

Free Soil Party

Formed in 1847-1848, dedicated to opposing slavery in newly acquired territories.

Compromise of 1850

Includes California admitted as a free state, the Fugitive Slave Act, and made popular sovereignty in most other states from the Mexican-American War.

1850 Fugitive Slave Act

Made it a crime to help runaway slaves; part of the Compromise of 1850.

John C. Calhoun

First vice president during Jackson's presidency, pro-slavery vice president.

Daniel Webster

Senator of Massachusetts; advocated renewal and opposed Jackson's financial policies.

Harriet Beecher Stowe

American author and abolitionist, known for the novel 'Uncle Tom's Cabin'.

Stephen A. Douglas

Politician from Illinois and designer of the Kansas-Nebraska Act.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

Allowed voters in Kansas and Nebraska to choose whether to allow slavery.

Bleeding Kansas

A sequence of violent events involving abolitionists and pro-slavery elements in Kansas-Nebraska Territory.

John Brown

An abolitionist who attempted to lead a slave revolt and was executed after capturing an armory in Harpers Ferry.

James Buchanan

15th President of the United States (1857-1861), tried to maintain balance between proslavery and antislavery factions.

Roger Taney

Chief Justice who wrote the opinion in the 1857 Dred Scott case.

Harper's Ferry

Site of John Brown's raid to incite a slave revolt.

John Breckinridge

Kentucky Democrat who ran for President in 1860, advocating for the protection of slavery.

Constitutional Union Party

Formed by moderate Whigs and Know-Nothings to elect a compromise candidate.

Abraham Lincoln

16th President of the United States who saved the Union during the Civil War.

Jefferson Davis

President of the Confederate States of America from 1861 to 1865.

Team of Rivals

Lincoln's appointment strategy involving a diverse cabinet.

Fort Sumter

Federal fort where the Confederate attack marked the start of the Civil War.

Ostend Manifesto

Plan to acquire Cuba as a slave state.

Pony Express

Mail service between the East and the West.

Dred Scott vs. Sanford

The Supreme Court case that ruled African Americans could not sue for their freedom.

Republican Party's 1860 Presidential Nominee

Abraham Lincoln.

First State to Secede from the Union

South Carolina.

What did the Compromise of 1850 entail?

California was admitted as a free state, and the Fugitive Slave Act was enacted.

How did Southern states respond to Lincoln's election?

They began to secede from the Union.

What was the main goal of the Free Soil Party?

To keep slavery out of new territories and states.

What opinion did Southern leaders have about tariffs?

They believed tariffs helped the North.

Who did President Lincoln appoint to his cabinet?

Men who represented competing factions within his party.

What declaration did President Lincoln make about secession?

That secession was illegal.

What was the Crittenden Plan?

A proposal to protect slavery south of the Missouri compromise line, supported by southerners.