amstud - unit 5b vocabulary

Kansas-Nebraska Act

A law proposed by Stephen A. Douglas that allowed the territories of Kansas and Nebraska to decide on the issue of slavery through popular sovereignty, effectively repealing the Missouri Compromise of 1820

Stephen A. Douglas

An Illinois Senator and Democrat who championed "popular sovereignty." He authored the Kansas-Nebraska Act and famously debated Abraham Lincoln in 1858

“Bleeding Kansas”

A period of violent civil unrest in the Kansas Territory between pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers attempting to influence the territory's decision on slavery

John Brown

A radical abolitionist who believed in the violent overthrow of the slavery system. He is famous for the Pottawatomie Massacre and the raid on Harpers Ferry

Pottawatomie Creek

The location in Kansas where John Brown and his sons hacked five pro-slavery men to death in 1856 in retaliation for the sacking of the anti-slavery town of Lawrence

Sumner-Brooks Incident

A violent event on the Senate floor in 1856 where Congressman Preston Brooks of South Carolina severely beat Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts with a cane after Sumner gave an anti-slavery speech insulting Brooks's relative

Republican Party

A political party founded in 1854 by anti-slavery activists and former Whigs committed to stopping the expansion of slavery into the territories

James Buchanan

The 15th U.S. President (1857–1861). His inability to mediate between the North and South or take action against secession is often blamed for exacerbating the tensions leading to the Civil War

Dred Scott v. Sandford

A 1857 Supreme Court case which ruled that African Americans were not citizens and that Congress had no authority to ban slavery in federal territories, rendering the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional

Chief Justice Roger Taney

The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court who wrote the majority opinion in the Dred Scott case, staunchly defending the rights of slaveholders

Lincoln-Douglas Debates

A series of seven debates during the 1858 Illinois Senate race focused on slavery and the union. While Lincoln lost the senate seat, the debates launched him into national prominence

Raid at Harper's Ferry

John Brown's 1859 attempt to seize a federal arsenal in Virginia to arm slaves and spark a general insurrection. The raid failed, and Brown was executed for treason

Election of 1860

The election won by Abraham Lincoln with no electoral votes from the South. His victory triggered the immediate secession of South Carolina and eventually ten other states

Critteden Compromise

A failed last-ditch effort to prevent the Civil War, proposing a constitutional amendment to permanently protect slavery south of the 36°30' line

Deep (Lower) South

The seven states (South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas) that seceded before the attack on Fort Sumter. These states were most heavily dependent on plantation cotton

Upper (Middle) South

The four states (Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas) that seceded only after the attack on Fort Sumter and Lincoln’s call for volunteers

Border States

Slave states that remained loyal to the Union during the Civil War: Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri (and later West Virginia)

Fort Sumter

A federal fort in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina. The Confederate bombardment of the fort on April 12, 1861, marked the beginning of the Civil War

Confederate States of America

The government formed by the eleven southern states that seceded from the Union, operating from 1861 to 1865

Jefferson Davis

A former U.S. Senator and Secretary of War who served as the first and only President of the Confederate States of America

General George B. McClellan

A Union general known for organizing the Army of the Potomac but criticized by Lincoln for being overly cautious and slow to attack

Robert E. Lee

The commander of the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. A brilliant tactician, he is the most celebrated general of the South

“King Cotton”

A slogan summarizing the Confederate strategy that argued secession was feasible because Britain and France were so dependent on Southern cotton that they would be forced to support the Confederacy

Cotton Diplomacy

The Confederate foreign policy strategy attempting to coerce Great Britain and France into recognizing the Confederacy by withholding cotton exports; the strategy ultimately failed

William Tecumseh Sherman

a Union general famous for his concept of "total war" and his 1864 "March to the Sea" through Georgia, which devastated Southern infrastructure and morale.

Confiscation Acts/contrabands

Union laws allowing the seizure of property (including slaves) used to support the rebellion. "—————" was the term used to describe escaped slaves who fled to Union lines.

Emancipation Proclamation

An executive order issued by Abraham Lincoln taking effect January 1, 1863, declaring all slaves in rebellious states to be free

Massachusetts 54th Regiment

One of the first official African American units in the U.S. armed forces, famous for their courageous assault on Fort Wagner

Copperheads

Also known as "Peace Democrats," these were Northerners who opposed the Civil War and advocated for an immediate peace settlement with the Confederates

New York City Draft Riots

Violent disturbances in July 1863 in NYC, where working-class white men (mostly Irish immigrants) rioted against the new federal draft, eventually turning their violence toward African Americans

Gettysburg Address

A short but profound speech by Lincoln in November 1863 dedication of the Soldier's National Cemetery, reframing the war as a struggle for human equality and a "new birth of freedom”

Greenbacks

Paper currency issued by the United States during the Civil War that was not backed by gold or silver but by the government's credit

Morrill Tariff Act

Passed in 1861, this act raised tariff rates to increase revenue and protect American manufacturers, marking a shift toward high protective tariffs

Homestead Act

A 1862 law that gave 160 acres of public land to any settler who would farm the land for five years; it encouraged westward migration

Morrill Land Grant Act

A 1862 law that distributed millions of acres of western lands to state governments to fund state agricultural and mechanical colleges

Pacific Railway Act

A 1862 law authorizing the construction of a transcontinental railroad, providing land grants and government bonds to the railroad companies

Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction (Lincoln’s 10% Plan)

Lincoln’s lenient plan for readmitting Southern states, requiring only 10% of voters from the 1860 election to take an oath of loyalty to the Union and accept emancipation

Wade-Davis Bill

A 1864 bill proposed by Radical Republicans requiring 50% of a state's white males to take a loyalty oath for readmission; it was pocket-vetoed by Lincoln

Freedmen’s Bureau

A federal agency established in 1865 to assist freed slaves and poor whites in the South by providing food, housing, medical aid, and establishing schools

Andrew Johnson

Lincoln’s Vice President who became the 17th President. He favored lenient Reconstruction policies, clashed heavily with the Radical Republicans, and was the first president to be impeached

Radical Republicans

A faction of the Republican Party that sought to punish the South for the war and demanded full civil and political rights for African Americans

Charles Sumner

A leading Radical Republican in the Senate who fought tirelessly for racial equality and harsh punishment for the former Confederates.

Thaddeus Stevens

A powerful leader of the Radical Republicans in the House of Representatives who championed land redistribution and strict Reconstruction policies

Thirteenth Amendment

Ratified in 1865, this amendment constitutionally abolished slavery and involuntary servitude in the United States

Civil Rights Act of 1866

A law passed over Johnson's veto that defined citizenship and affirmed that all citizens were equally protected by the law, intended to combat the Black Codes

Fourteenth Amendment

Ratified in 1868, it granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the U.S. (including former slaves) and guaranteed equal protection under the law and due process

Reconstruction Acts of 1867

Laws passed by the Radical Republican Congress that divided the South into five military districts and set strict requirements for states to be readmitted to the Union

Ulysses S. Grant

The Civil War hero elected as the 18th President (1869–1877). He supported Radical Reconstruction and the protection of black civil rights, though his administration was marred by corruption scandals

Fifteenth Amendment

Ratified in 1870, it prohibited the federal and state governments from denying a citizen the right to vote based on "race, color, or previous condition of servitude”

Scalawags

A derogatory term for white Southerners who supported the Republican Party and Reconstruction after the Civil War

Carpetbaggers

A derogatory term for Northerners who moved to the South after the Civil War to profit from Reconstruction or gain political power

Hiram Revels

A minister and politician who became the first African American to serve in the United States Senate (representing Mississippi) in 1870

Ku Klux Klan

A white supremacist terrorist group founded in 1866 that used intimidation and violence to suppress black voting and undermine Republican rule in the South

Force Acts (1870 and 1871)

Also known as the KKK Acts, these federal laws authorized the President to use military force to suppress terrorist organizations and protect the voting rights of African Americans.

Black Codes

Restrictive laws passed by Southern states immediately after the Civil War designed to limit the freedom of African Americans and ensure a cheap labor force

Sharecropping

An agricultural system that emerged after the war where landless families (black and white) farmed land owned by others in exchange for a share of the crop, often trapping them in cycles of debt

Convict Leasing

A system where Southern states leased prisoners (predominantly African American men) to private companies (mines, railroads) for labor, often under brutal conditions

Compromise of 1877

An informal deal that settled the disputed 1876 presidential election. It awarded the presidency to Republican Rutherford B. Hayes in exchange for the withdrawal of federal troops from the South, effectively ending Reconstruction

Rutherford B. Hayes

The 19th President of the United States who took office following the Compromise of 1877 and oversaw the end of federal military intervention in the South