Sectional Divisions and Slavery in America (1820-1860)

Vocabulary flashcards focusing on key terms and concepts related to slavery and sectional divisions in America from 1820 to 1860.

Missouri Compromise

An agreement passed in 1820 to maintain the balance of power between slave and free states.

Wilmot Proviso

A proposal in 1846 to ban slavery in territory acquired from Mexico.

Compromise of 1850

A package of five bills passed in 1850 to defuse tensions related to slavery.

Fugitive Slave Act

A law that required the return of escaped slaves to their owners and increased tensions between the North and South.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

A law enacted in 1854 that allowed territories to decide on the issue of slavery through popular sovereignty.

Uncle Tom's Cabin

A novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe published in 1852 that depicted the harsh life for African Americans under slavery.

Republican Party

A political party formed in the 1850s primarily to oppose the expansion of slavery into the territories.

Dred Scott Case

A landmark Supreme Court case in 1857 determining that African Americans could not be American citizens.

John Brown’s raid at Harpers Ferry

An attempt by abolitionist John Brown in 1859 to start an armed revolt against slavery.

Election of 1860

A pivotal presidential election that led to the victory of Abraham Lincoln and heightened sectional tensions.

States’ Rights

The idea that states have certain rights and political powers independent of the federal government.

Manifest Destiny

The 19th-century doctrine advocating the expansion of the United States across the American continents.

Secession

The act of withdrawing from an organization or alliance, famously practiced by Southern states leading to the Civil War.

Cultural Differences between North and South

Divergent sociopolitical philosophies, economies, and ways of life that contributed to the American Civil War.

Abolitionist

A person who supports the end of slavery.

Cotton Gin

An invention by Eli Whitney that revolutionized cotton processing and increased reliance on slave labor.

Harriet Tubman

An abolitionist and political activist who escaped slavery and made numerous missions to rescue slaves via the Underground Railroad.

Frederick Douglass

An escaped slave who became a prominent activist, author, public speaker, and leader in the abolitionist movement.