APUSH Ch. 14 Terms

Crittenden Compromise

December 1860 proposal by Kentucky Senator John Crittenden to prevent secession by extending the Missouri Compromise line to the Pacific and protecting slavery where it existed. Lincoln and Republicans rejected it because it allowed slavery expansion.

Fort Sumter

Federal fort in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina, where Confederate forces fired the first shots of the Civil War on April 12, 1861. The Union garrison's surrender after 34 hours of bombardment rallied the North and prompted four more states to secede.

Homestead Act

1862 law granting 160 acres of public land to settlers who farmed it for five years. This Republican policy encouraged westward expansion and was passed after Southern Democrats left Congress.

Morrill Land Grant Acts 1862-64

Federal laws granting states public land to establish colleges emphasizing agriculture and mechanical arts. These created institutions like Penn State, Cornell, and state universities across the nation.

National Bank Acts 1863-64

Laws establishing a system of nationally chartered banks and a uniform national currency. This stabilized wartime finance and created a modern banking system that lasted until the Federal Reserve.

Draft Riots

Violent July 1863 riots in New York City protesting the Union's first military conscription. Working-class immigrants, particularly Irish Americans, attacked African Americans and draft offices; over 100 people died before federal troops restored order.

Peace Democrats or Copperheads

Northern Democrats who opposed the war and advocated immediate peace negotiations with the Confederacy. Republicans accused them of disloyalty; their most prominent leader was Congressman Clement Vallandigham.

Habeas corpus

Constitutional right protecting against unlawful imprisonment that Lincoln suspended in certain areas during the war. He authorized military arrests of suspected Confederate sympathizers and draft resisters, sparking controversy over civil liberties.

Union Party

Temporary coalition of Republicans and War Democrats formed in 1864 to support Lincoln's reelection and the war effort. Andrew Johnson, a Tennessee Democrat, was chosen as Lincoln's running mate under this banner.

1864 Election

Presidential contest between Republican Abraham Lincoln (Union Party) and Democrat George McClellan. Lincoln's reelection seemed doubtful until Sherman captured Atlanta in September; his victory ensured the war would continue until Confederate defeat.

Confiscation Acts

1861 and 1862 laws authorizing seizure of Confederate property, including enslaved people used for military purposes. The Second Confiscation Act freed slaves of rebel masters, moving toward emancipation before Lincoln's proclamation.

Emancipation Proclamation

Executive order issued January 1, 1863, declaring freedom for slaves in Confederate-held territory. Though limited in immediate effect, it transformed the war into a fight against slavery, which dissuaded British involvement, and allowed African American military enlistment.

54th Massachusetts Infantry

First African American regiment raised in the North, led by white officer Robert Gould Shaw. Their courageous assault on Fort Wagner in July 1863 demonstrated Black soldiers' valor and advanced the cause of equal treatment.

Dorothea Dix

Reformer appointed Superintendent of Army Nurses for the Union. She organized thousands of women to serve as nurses, though her strict requirements (plain women over 30) created tensions with volunteers.

Clara Barton

"Angel of the Battlefield" who independently organized nursing care at field hospitals and later founded the American Red Cross. She worked without official appointment, bringing supplies directly to the front lines.

U.S. Sanitary Commission

Civilian organization that provided medical supplies, staffed hospitals, and improved sanitary conditions in Union army camps. Run largely by women volunteers, it was the war's largest philanthropic organization.

Jefferson Davis

President of the Confederate States (1861-1865), former U.S. Senator and Secretary of War. His rigid personality, micromanagement of military affairs, and conflicts with governors and generals hampered the Confederate war effort.

Food Drafts

Confederate army could take food from farms they passed through. Sparked violent protests by Confederate women and poor civilians protesting food shortages and inflation, most notably the April 1863 Richmond Bread Riot. These demonstrated the severe strain on the Southern home front.

Ulysses S. Grant

Union general who won critical victories at Fort Donelson, Vicksburg, and Chattanooga. Appointed General-in-Chief in 1864, his strategy of simultaneous pressure on all Confederate armies and willingness to accept heavy casualties led to Union victory.

Benjamin F. Wade

Radical Republican senator from Ohio who co-sponsored the Wade-Davis Bill requiring harsh reconstruction terms. He championed aggressive war measures and African American rights, representing the Republican left wing.

Braxton Bragg

Controversial Confederate general who commanded the Army of Tennessee. Despite some tactical skill, his difficult personality, conflicts with subordinates, and failures at Stones River and Chattanooga made him one of the South's least effective commanders.

Robert E. Lee

Commander of the Army of Northern Virginia and the Confederacy's most successful general. His tactical brilliance won victories at Fredericksburg and Chancellorsville, but his aggressive strategy led to costly defeats at Antietam and Gettysburg.

Merrimac and Monitor

Revolutionary ironclad warships that fought to a draw at Hampton Roads, Virginia, on March 9, 1862. Their battle made wooden navies obsolete overnight. The CSS Virginia (rebuilt from USS Merrimack) fought the USS Monitor.

Winchester Rifle

Repeating rifle that could fire multiple rounds without reloading, giving Union troops armed with it significant firepower advantage. Though not standard issue, it was highly effective when deployed.

Telegraph corps

Military telegraph operators who provided rapid communication between field commanders and Washington. Lincoln spent hours at the War Department telegraph office, making it his de facto command center.

King Cotton Diplomacy

Confederate strategy of withholding cotton exports to force British and French intervention in the war. It failed because Europeans had cotton stockpiles, found alternative sources, and objected to slavery.

Trent Affair

November 1861 diplomatic crisis when a U.S. Navy ship seized two Confederate diplomats from the British vessel HMS Trent. Britain threatened war until Lincoln's administration released the prisoners, defusing the crisis.

William Seward

Lincoln's Secretary of State who initially opposed him for the Republican nomination. Seward skillfully prevented European recognition of the Confederacy and managed delicate foreign relations, becoming Lincoln's closest advisor.

William C. Quantrill

Confederate guerrilla leader whose raiders terrorized Kansas and Missouri. His August 1863 massacre of 150 civilians in Lawrence, Kansas, was one of the war's worst atrocities. His band included future outlaws Jesse and Frank James.

Jayhawkers

Kansas antislavery guerrillas who raided Missouri before and during the war, freeing slaves and attacking pro-Confederate settlers. Their activities provoked Confederate retaliation and made the Kansas-Missouri border exceptionally violent.

First Battle of Bull Run

July 21, 1861, first major battle near Manassas, Virginia. Confederate victory shattered Union hopes for a quick war. Spectators from Washington who came to watch fled in panic alongside retreating Union troops.

Antietam

September 17, 1862, bloodiest single day in American history with 23,000 casualties near Sharpsburg, Maryland. Though tactically inconclusive, Lee's retreat gave Lincoln the opportunity to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.

Gettysburg

July 1-3, 1863, turning point battle in Pennsylvania that ended Lee's second invasion of the North. The Union victory, combined with Vicksburg's fall, marked the beginning of Confederate decline. Lincoln's subsequent address redefined the war's meaning.

Pickett's Charge

Disastrous Confederate assault on the final day of Gettysburg (July 3, 1863). Nearly 12,500 Confederate soldiers marched across open ground toward Union positions; fewer than half returned, breaking Lee's offensive capability.

Grant's Strategy

Coordinated 1864-65 campaign applying pressure simultaneously on all Confederate armies to prevent them from reinforcing each other. Grant fought Lee in Virginia while Sherman marched through Georgia and Thomas secured Tennessee, exhausting Confederate resources.

Sherman's March to the Sea

November-December 1864 campaign in which General William T. Sherman's army marched from Atlanta to Savannah, destroying military targets and civilian property in a 60-mile-wide path. This "hard war" strategy broke Southern morale.

Appomattox Court House

Virginia village where Robert E. Lee surrendered the Army of Northern Virginia to Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865, effectively ending the Civil War. Grant's generous terms allowed Confederate soldiers to return home with their horses and prohibited treason trials.

Fire Eaters

Radical pro-slavery Southern politicians who advocated for secession before the Civil War. Led by figures like William Yancey and Robert Rhett, they viewed compromise as betrayal and pushed their states toward disunion after Lincoln's election.