Pre-Civil War Era Events & Concepts

Jackson Nullification

A crisis during Andrew Jackson's presidency where South Carolina declared federal tariffs void, which led to the Force Bill threatening military action.

Tariff of Abominations

A protective tariff implemented in 1828 that raised import duties and was deeply opposed by Southern states for harming their agricultural economy.

Trail of Tears

The forced relocation of Native American tribes from the southeastern U.S. to Indian Territory, resulting in thousands of deaths.

Bleeding Kansas

A series of violent conflicts between pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers in Kansas Territory following the Kansas-Nebraska Act.

Compromise of 1850

A series of bills addressing territorial and slavery issues, including stricter Fugitive Slave Laws and California's admission as a free state.

Crittenden Compromise

A failed attempt to prevent the Civil War by protecting slavery in southern states through constitutional amendments.

Dred Scott decision

The 1857 Supreme Court ruling declaring that African Americans weren't citizens and Congress couldn't ban slavery in territories.

Emancipation Proclamation

Lincoln's 1863 executive order that freed slaves in rebel states, shifting the Civil War's focus towards ending slavery.

Fugitive Slave Act

Part of the Compromise of 1850 that required Northern states to return escaped slaves, increasing opposition to slavery.

Second Great Awakening

A Protestant religious revival from the 1790s to the 1840s emphasizing individual salvation and inspiring social reform movements.

Manifest Destiny

The 1840s belief in America’s divine right to expand across the continent, justifying westward expansion and increasing sectional tensions.

Transcendentalism

An 1830s-1850s philosophical movement emphasizing individual intuition and nature, with key figures like Emerson and Thoreau.

Frederick Douglass

A former slave who became a leading abolitionist and civil rights advocate through his narratives and speeches.

Harriet Tubman

An escaped slave who led dozens to freedom via the Underground Railroad and served as a Union spy during the Civil War.

Abraham Lincoln

The 16th President who led the Union during the Civil War and issued the Emancipation Proclamation.

Robert E. Lee

The Confederate general who commanded the Army of Northern Virginia during the Civil War.

Republican Party

Founded in 1854 from opposition to the Kansas-Nebraska Act and slavery's expansion, becoming a major anti-slavery political force.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

The 1854 act that allowed popular sovereignty to decide on slavery in Kansas and Nebraska, repealing the Missouri Compromise.

Lincoln-Douglas debates

A series of debates in 1858 that focused on the issue of slavery's expansion, raising Lincoln's national profile.

Temperance Movement

A social reform effort aimed at limiting or banning alcohol consumption, gaining momentum through women's involvement.

Abolitionism

The movement to end slavery which gained strength in the 1830s to 1850s, led by figures such as Frederick Douglass and Harriet Beecher Stowe.

Uncle Tom's Cabin

An influential 1852 novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe that depicted the horrors of slavery and galvanized anti-slavery sentiment.

Hudson River School

A mid-19th century American art movement that celebrated landscape and nature, reflecting themes of nationalism and Manifest Destiny.

Southern Economy

The economy of the Southern states during the antebellum period that was heavily reliant on agriculture, particularly cotton, and utilized enslaved labor.

Cotton Gin

A machine invented by Eli Whitney in 1793 that revolutionized the cotton industry by speeding up the process of separating seeds from cotton fibers.

King Cotton

The term used to describe the dominance of cotton in the Southern economy and its influence on both regional and national politics.

Abolition Movement

A social and political push to end slavery, gaining momentum in the 1830s and 1840s, advocating for the emancipation of enslaved people.

Women's Rights Movement

An early reform movement in the antebellum period aimed at securing equal rights for women, including suffrage, education, and legal rights.

The Liberator

An abolitionist newspaper founded by William Lloyd Garrison in 1831 that called for immediate emancipation of all enslaved people.

Republican Motherhood

The idea that women should educate their children in the virtues of republicanism, influencing women's roles in society and politics.

Seneca Falls Convention

The first women's rights convention held in 1848, which produced the Declaration of Sentiments advocating for women's equality.

Free Soil Party

A political party formed in 1848 that opposed the expansion of slavery into the western territories and promoted free land for settlers.

Personal Liberty Laws

State laws passed in Northern states to counteract the Fugitive Slave Act, protecting the rights of escaped slaves.