Chapter 15: Secession and the Civil War

Confederate Constitution

charter largely mirroring the U.S. Constitution but explicitly protecting slavery and reinforcing states’ rights.

Fort Sumter

federal fort in Charleston Harbor where the Civil War’s first shots were fired in April 1861.

Anaconda Plan

Union strategy to blockade Southern ports, control the Mississippi River, and squeeze the Confederacy’s supply lines.

First Battle of Bull Run

July 1861 Confederate victory that dispelled expectations of a short war.

Emancipation Proclamation

Lincoln’s January 1863 executive order freeing enslaved people in rebelling states and authorizing Black enlistment.

Greenbacks

paper currency issued by the Union under the Legal Tender Act (1862), backed by government decree rather than specie.

Conscription Act

1863 law instituting the first federal draft, permitting wealthier men to avoid service by paying $300 or hiring substitutes.

Vicksburg Campaign

Union siege culminating July 4, 1863, that gave the North control of the Mississippi River.

Stonewall Jackson

Confederate general who achieved fame at Bull Run and Chancellorsville but died of wounds after friendly fire.

Appomattox Court House

site of Lee’s April 9, 1865 surrender to Grant, effectively ending major Confederate resistance.

Confederate Constitution

document modeled on the U.S. Constitution but explicitly safeguarding slavery and states’ rights.

Fort Sumter

site in Charleston Harbor where the first shots of the Civil War were fired on April 12, 1861.

Richmond, Virginia

location to which the Confederacy moved its capital in May 1861.

Greenbacks

paper currency issued by the Union under the Legal Tender Act of 1862, backed by government decree.

Confederate Economic Collapse

characterized by severe inflation, shortages, and currency devaluation due to blockade and over‐issuance of notes.

George B. McClellan

Union general who replaced Winfield Scott as general‐in‐chief in late 1861.

First Battle of Bull Run

July 1861 Confederate victory that shattered expectations of a short war.

Cotton Diplomacy

Confederate strategy believing British reliance on cotton would secure foreign recognition.

Emancipation Momentum

victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg in 1863, plus the Emancipation Proclamation, that aided passage of the 13th Amendment.

Conscription Exemptions

about 90,000 wealthy Northerners paid commutation fees or hired substitutes to avoid the draft.

Stonewall Jackson

Confederate general mortally wounded by friendly fire at Chancellorsville in May 1863.

Siege of Vicksburg

Union victory on July 4, 1863, that gave the North control of the Mississippi River.

George B. McClellan (1864)

Lincoln’s Democratic opponent in the presidential election of 1864.