Unit 1: Civil War and Reconstruction Vocabulary

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, historical court cases, legislation, and concepts from the Civil War and Reconstruction eras.

Sectionalism

Loyalty to one's region rather than the entire country.

Missouri Compromise of 1820

An agreement that attempted to balance free and slave states and established the $36^\bullet 30'$ line.

Compromise of 1850

A compromise that admitted California as a free state and included the Fugitive Slave Act.

Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854

A law that allowed territories to use popular sovereignty to decide whether slavery would be allowed.

Popular Sovereignty

A system allowing voters in a territory to decide for themselves whether slavery would be allowed.

Dred Scott v. Sandford

A Supreme Court case in which the ruling established that Congress could not ban slavery in the territories.

Raid on Harpers Ferry

An event led by John Brown that increased tensions between the North and South over the issue of slavery.

Election of 1860

The presidential election won by Abraham Lincoln, which contributed to Southern states deciding to secede from the Union.

Confederacy

The alliance of 11 Southern states that seceded from the Union, led by President Jefferson Davis.

Border States

The four slave states—Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, and Missouri—that remained in the Union and were strategically important for their soldiers, resources, and locations.

Anaconda Plan

The Union strategy to blockade the Confederacy during the Civil War.

War of Attrition

A strategy of wearing down the enemy through continued fighting.

Emancipation Proclamation

An 1863 decree issued by President Lincoln declaring enslaved people in Confederate states to be free, connecting the preservation of the Union with ending slavery.

Gettysburg Address

A famous speech by Abraham Lincoln focusing on honoring soldiers who died to preserve the Union, emphasizing freedom, equality, and democracy.

Reconstruction

The period after the Civil War focused on rebuilding the South, reuniting the nation, readmitting Southern states, and protecting freedmen.

Ten Percent Plan

President Abraham Lincoln's Reconstruction plan that called for a quick and lenient reunification of the South.

Radical Republicans

A faction in Congress that advocated for a harsher approach toward former Confederate states and stronger protections for freedmen.

Andrew Johnson

The president who took office after Lincoln's assassination and clashed with Radical Republicans over his lenient Reconstruction approach toward former Confederates.

Freedmen's Bureau

An agency created after the Civil War to assist formerly enslaved people by providing food, clothing, medical care, employment assistance, and educational assistance.

Carpetbaggers

A term used to describe Northerners who moved to the South after the Civil War for business or political opportunities, or to help rebuild.

13th Amendment

The constitutional amendment that abolished slavery.

14th Amendment

The constitutional amendment that established citizenship and equal protection under the law.

15th Amendment

The constitutional amendment that protected voting rights regardless of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Sharecropping

A farming system in which farmers rented land from a landowner and paid rent with a portion of their crops rather than money, often trapping farmers in debt.

Debt Peonage

A system in which workers were forced to work to repay debt.

Disenfranchisement

Restricting or taking away a person's right to vote.

Poll Tax

A required fee that voters had to pay before casting a ballot, used as a disenfranchisement practice.

Literacy Test

A test requiring voters to demonstrate reading or writing abilities before voting, used as a disenfranchisement practice.

Grandfather Clause

A rule allowing individuals to avoid voting restrictions based on whether their grandfather was eligible to vote.

The Nadir

A period marking a low point in race relations after Reconstruction, characterized by segregation, violence, discrimination, and Jim Crow laws.

Ku Klux Klan / White League

White supremacist groups/paramilitary organizations that used violence and intimidation to remove Republicans from power and restrict African American political participation.

Black Codes

Laws passed immediately after the Civil War that restricted the rights of African Americans.

Jim Crow Laws

Laws in the South that enforced racial separation based on the concept of 'separate but equal.'

Plessy v. Ferguson

A Supreme Court decision that upheld the idea of 'separate but equal' and allowed legal racial discrimination to continue.

Brown v. Board of Education

A Supreme Court decision that used the 14th Amendment to rule segregated public schools unconstitutional, establishing that separate educational facilities are inherently unequal and overturning Plessy v. Ferguson.

Sectionalism

Loyalty to one's region rather than the entire country.

Missouri Compromise of 1820

An agreement that attempted to balance free and slave states and established the 36'30 line.

Compromise of 1850

A compromise that admitted California as a free state and included the Fugitive Slave Act.

Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854

An act that allowed territories to use popular sovereignty to decide whether slavery would be allowed.

Dred Scott v. Sandford

A Supreme Court case ruling that Congress could not ban slavery in the territories.

Raid on Harpers Ferry

An event led by John Blown that increased tensions between the North and South over the issue of slavery.

Border States

The four slave states—Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, and Missouri—that remained in the Union and provided vital soldiers, resources, and strategic locations.

Anaconda Plan

The Union's strategy to blockade the South during the Civil War.

War of Attrition

A strategy of wearing down the enemy through continued fighting.

Emancipation Proclamation

A proclamation issued by President Lincoln in 1863 declaring enslaved people in Confederate states free, connecting preservation of the Union with ending slavery, and allowing African Americans to serve in the Union Army.

Gettysburg Address

A speech by Abraham Lincoln focused on honoring soldiers who preserved the Union while emphasizing freedom, equality, and democracy.

Reconstruction

The period after the Civil War dedicated to rebuilding the South, reuniting the nation, readmitting Southern states, and protecting freedmen.

10% Plan

President Lincoln's Reconstruction plan that called for a quick and lenient reunification of the South.

Radical Republicans

A group in Congress that advocated for a harsher approach toward former Confederate states and stronger protections for freedmen.

Freedmen's Bureau

An agency established after the Civil War to assist formerly enslaved people by offering food, clothing, medical care, employment assistance, and educational assistance.

Carpetbaggers

A term used for Northerners who moved to the South after the Civil War for business or political opportunities, or to help rebuild the South.

13th Amendment

A Reconstruction amendment that abolished slavery.

14th Amendment

A Reconstruction amendment that established citizenship and equal protection under the law.

15th Amendment

A Reconstruction amendment that protected voting rights regardless of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Sharecropping

A farming system where farmers rented land from a landowner and paid with a portion of their crops rather than money, often leading to continuous debt.

Debt Peonage

A system in which workers were forced to work to repay debt.

Disenfranchisement

Restricting or taking away a person's right to vote.

Poll Tax

A practice that required people to pay a fee before voting, used to restrict the voting rights of African Americans.

Literacy Test

A voting restriction that required voters to demonstrate that they could read or write before casting a ballot.

Grandfather Clause

A rule allowing some voters to bypass voting restrictions based on whether their grandfather had the eligibility to vote.

The Nadir

A period marking a low point in race relations after Reconstruction, characterized by segregation, violence, discrimination, and Jim Crow laws.

Ku Klux Klan / White League

White supremacist groups and paramilitary organizations that employed violence and intimidation to remove Republicans from power and limit African American political participation.

Black Codes

Laws passed after the Civil War designed to restrict the rights of African Americans.

Jim Crow Laws

Laws in the South enforcing racial separation grounded in the concept of 'separate but equal.'

Segregation

The system of separating people based on race.

Plessy v. Ferguson

A Supreme Court ruling that upheld 'separate but equal' and allowed racial discrimination to continue legally.

Brown v. Board of Education

A Supreme Court decision utilizing the 14th Amendment's equal protection principle to declare segregated public schools unconstitutional, establishing that separate educational facilities are inherently unequal and overturning Plessy v. Ferguson.