Antebellum Era

Contraband

 Illegal traffic or smuggled goods

Secede

To formally withdraw from an association or alliance

Fugitive

Someone who is running away or escaping

Slave Codes

The laws used to control enslaved peoples in America

Sectionalism

  The idea of placing loyalty to a specific region of a country rather than to the country as a whole

Slave Catchers

 The individuals who were hired to travel North to find and bring back enslaved people who had run away. 

Overseer

 Individual hired by a planter to watch over and direct the work of enslaved people

Conductor

The persons who aided enslaved peoples to freedom on the Underground Railroad

Border Ruffians

Pro-slavery Missourians who went to Kansas, armed with weapons, to vote in Kansas’ election to make it a slave state

10th Amendment

The rights and powers not given to the national government in the Constitution, are reserved or held by the states

Wilmot Proviso

Failed proposal that outlawed slavery in any territory gained from the Mexican American War

Popular Sovereignty

PWR 2 the PPL

Underground Railroad

System of secret routes used by runaway slaves attempting to escape to the North and gain freedom

Missouri Compromise

 Law passed in 1820 to keep the number of free states and slave states equal (or balanced) in the U.S.

Compromise of 1850

 series of laws passed by the U.S. Congress to try to resolve the issue of slavery in newly acquired territories

Fugitive Slave Act

(Part of the Compromise of 1850) 

Law designed to help slaveholders recapture runaway slaves

Kansas-Nebraska Act

 Established territories of Kansas + Nebraska and allowed citizens to decided free state or slave state

States’ Rights

The belief that the states should
have more power than the national government.

Abolitionist Movement

The movement to end slavery in America

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

(1852) Novel published by Harriet Beecher Stowe which portrayed slavery as brutal and immoral

Industrial Economy

an economy that is centered around the production/manufacturing of goods (factories)

Agricultural Economy

an economy that is centered around farming + the buying and selling of crops (plantations)

Republican Party

Political party that supported a strong national government and were against the spread of slavery

Lincoln-Douglas Debates

Series of Senatorial debates between Abraham Lincoln + Stephen Douglas that focused on slavery

Stephen Douglas

A powerful Illinois Senator who supported popular sovereignty, #KNA, letting states decide on slavery.

Debated Abraham Lincoln in 1858, defending his views on state choice and slavery.

Though he won the Senate seat, his ideas helped
deepen divisions that led to the Civil War.

Fredrick Douglass

Former enslaved man who became a powerful abolitionist speaker and writer.

He spoke out against slavery and pushed for equal rights for Black Americans.

His speeches and writings inspired many to join the fight to end slavery.

Harriet Tubman

Former enslaved woman who escaped + became a key conductor of the Underground Railroad.

She helped guide many enslaved people to freedom, risking her life each time.

During the Civil War, she also worked as a spy, nurse, and scout for the Union Army.

William Lloyd Garrison

A passionate white abolitionist who published the anti-slavery newspaper The Liberator.

He believed slavery was morally wrong and demanded its immediate end.

His writing and speeches helped grow the abolitionist movement across the North

Harriet Beecher Stowe

Stowe was a white abolitionist and author who wrote the novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

Her book showed the harsh realities of slavery and moved many people to oppose it.

It became hugely popular and increased tensions between the North and South.

Dred Scott

An enslaved man who sued for his freedom after living in free territories.

The Supreme Court ruled against him in 1857, saying African Americans couldn’t be citizens.

The decision angered many in the North and pushed the country closer to Civil War.

John Brown

Abolitionist from Connecticut who dedicated his life to end slavery #ImmoralPractice 

Used violence in his fight against slavery. 

Best known for his attacks in Kansas (Pottawatomie Massacre) and his failed raid on Harpers Ferry in VIA

Abraham Lincoln

Common man from backwoods of Kentucky who became a lawyer and got involved in politics. 

Believed the U.S. should stay united and that states couldn’t leave (secede) just because they disagreed.

He was against slavery spreading to new states, which upset Southern states that wanted to make their own laws.