Unit 7 Key Terms

Robert E. Lee

Robert E. Lee

Confederate general who won many battles despite being outnumbered but lost key battles at Antietam and Gettysburg.

George McClellan

Union general who could raise strong armies but was fired for being too cautious.

Copperheads

Democrats in the North who opposed the Civil War, opposed Lincoln, and supported slavery.

New York Draft Riots

Violence that occurred over anger that wealthy Northerners could pay their way out of the draft and because immigrants worried about ex-slaves stealing their jobs.

Anaconda Plan

Strategy of the Union to win the war by using the navy to cut off trade along the Confederate coast and Mississippi River.

"Stonewall" Jackson

Confederate general known for the bravery he showed in the Battle of Bull Run who was later killed in the war.

Battle of Bull Run

First official battle of the Civil War, which resulted in a surprise Confederate victory and showed the Civil War would be long and bloody.

Ulysses S. Grant

Union general whose aggression won many battles, later became president.

Battle of Shiloh

Battle that established Ulysses S. Grant as a top general but at the cost of heavy Union casualties.

Battle of Antietam

Turning point battle that caused Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation and ended chances of England helping the Confederacy.

Emancipation Proclamation

This document by Lincoln said that slaves in rebelling states were free.

54th Massachusetts

Famous African-American regiment that fought for the Union army after emancipation.

Clara Barton

Famous nurse in the Civil War who later founded the American Red Cross.

Siege of Vicksburg

Turning point event in the Civil War that secured the Mississippi River for the Union and divided the Confederacy.

Battle of Gettysburg

Turning point battle that turned back a Confederate invasion of the North and was the biggest battle of the Civil War.

Sherman's March to the Sea

Event in which a Union general used "total war" to destroy southern property and divide the Confederacy.

Election of 1864

This reelected Lincoln as president and ensured he could continue the effort to preserve the Union.

Appomattox Courthouse

Site of General Lee's surrender to General Grant, essentially ending the Civil War and giving the Union victory.

13th Amendment

This law banned slavery in the entire United States.

John Wilkes Booth

He assassinated Abraham Lincoln.

Reconstruction

Time period in which the federal government brought the South back into the Union and tried to rebuild the South.

Freedmen's Bureau

Government agency that was meant to give poor ex-slaves (and whites) education, food, clothing, and help them find work during Reconstruction.

Andrew Johnson

President who was impeached by Radical Republicans largely because of his opposition to their plan for Reconstruction.

Radical Republicans

Group in Congress that wanted Reconstruction to involve military occupation of the South and full rights for black ex-slaves.

Black codes

Laws passed in southern states during Reconstruction to restrict the rights of black ex-slaves.

14th Amendment

This law defined blacks as citizens that were entitled to equal protection under the law.

Military Reconstruction

Action of Radical Republicans that used the military to control the South during Reconstruction and force southern states to give blacks equal rights.

15th Amendment

This law gave all races (such as black ex-slaves) the right to vote.

Carpetbaggers

Term for northerners who moved south during Reconstruction to help Republicans, but many ended up exploiting the South for personal gain.

Scalawags

Term for southerners who helped carpetbaggers during Reconstruction and were often seen as traitors to the South.

Ku Klux Klan

Underground organization that formed during Reconstruction to resist northern influence through terrorism.

Election of 1876/Compromise of 1877

Event in which Rutherford Hayes became president in exchange for ending Reconstruction.

"New South"

Term that described post-Civil War industrialization of the South but continued oppression of black southerners.

Sharecroppers

Poor farmers, often ex-slaves, who paid to rent land by giving the land owners most of their crops.