Civil War Vocab

Wilmot Proviso

A bill proposed by PA congressmen. This stated that the South kept slavery but not in areas from the MA war. Passed in 1854 but defeated in the senate it began new political parties.

Free Soil Party

A political party Inspired by Wilmot Proviso that participated in the 1848 elections and lost but portrayed growth of anti-slavery their slogan was free speech free labor and free men.

Compromise of 1850

CA applied for statehood as a free state in 1850 but this threatens balance. The Congress territory from the MA war allowed choosing to be free or not. This undid the Missouri Compromise.

Fugitive Slave Act

This act required citizens to arrest runaway slaves including free ones. This increased the abolition movement.

Dred Scott

He was the slave of an army surgeon and he lived in Minnesota when the compromise declared it to be free he sued for freedom in 1846. After eleven years his case was brought to the Supreme Court and it caused many questions about whether the compromise was constitutional. The verdict for Scott was that he could not be free because the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional.

Stephen Douglas

A politician who went against Lincoln in 1858 between August and October. He debated for a seat in the Senate. He argued for popular sovereignty and lost against Lincoln.

Abraham Lincoln

A lawyer from Illinois who tried stealing Stephen Douglas´s seat in Congress. He became President in 1860. As a result of his presidency, 7 states left the Union to form the Confederate States of America.

Popular Sovereignty

a principle that decided whether slavery should be permitted or prohibited. This idea gave authority to the people because the majority had to agree before finalizing a decision.

John Brown

Led an army of 18 into the heart of Harper Ferry, Virginia where he planned on raiding an Arsenal which had little security for the cause of a slave rebellion. He failed and was arrested for it and the North admired him.

John C. Breckenridge

Southern Democrat and was a vice president under James Buchanan. Supported the extension of slavery into the territories and advocated states’ rights and the preservation of slavery. Nominated as the Southern Democratic candidate in the 1860 election

John Bell

a wealthy slaveholder from Tennessee as a candidate for President who was against slaver.

Secede

means to formally withdraw from a larger political entity, such as a nation or state, and become independent.

Union

the north of the country which fought for a unified nation

Confederacy

A Government that is formed from multiple parties including States

Jefferson Davis

an American Politician who was elected as the first and only president of the Confederate States of America from 1861 to 1865.

Robert E. Lee

He was a well-trained general who was originally offered a position in the Union but turned it down to stay loyal to their home state.

Fort Sumter

Confederate troops began seizing federal military bases in southern states. Confederate troops attacked the fort on April 11 1861 the start of the Civil War.

Bull Run

three months after Fort Sumter a bloodbath occurred on this battlefield where Confederates won despite being exhausted.

Stonewall Jackson

a Confederate general during the American Civil War. He was known for his leadership, earning the nickname for his steadfastness in battle.

Conscription

imposed when the fighting got fierce and it forced men to serve this draft led to riots in the north, especially in NYC.

Clara Barton

She founded the American Red Cross after the Civil War. She was crucial to the war as they tended and cared for thousands.

Antietam

September 17 a day of bloodshed resulting in 26,000 casualties occured. McClellan did nothing so Lincoln removed him. 

Anaconda Plan

Named after the snake that squeezes prey to death. The plan was to starve out the Confederate states to seize the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico, by 1862 union seized Mississippi Valley western areas  and several essential railroads from the south

Ulysses S. Grant

led an invasion of Tennessee he captured Confederate forts. Was a union general and became the 18th president

The Battle of Gettysburg

A battle in Pennsylvania July 1, 1863- July 3, 1863. Robert E Lee needed supplies and thought victory against the North would tip public opinion with 90000 Union troops v. 75000 Confederates. Northern victory makes Lee retreat south

 Emancipation Proclamation

a decree issued by President Abraham Lincoln to free slaves delivered on January 1, 1863, ended slavery .

Gettysburg Address

Speech by Lincoln that remade the United States on November 1863 this was a War for Union and Freedom it was less than 2 minutes, but unified the nation.

William T. Sherman

Northern commander and friend of Grant who marched through Georgia in 1864, and burned and destroyed all houses armies railroads in his path.

Kansas-Nebraska act

1854 Nebraska and Kansas had the option to pick to be free or slave through popular sovereignty.