Social Studies Unit 4 Study Guide

North's economy

Industrialized economy based on factories, textiles, railroads, and wage labor.

South's economy

Agricultural economy based on cotton, plantations, and enslaved labor.

Sectionalism

Loyalty to regional interests instead of the interests of the whole country.

Abolitionism

The movement to end slavery.

States' rights

The belief that states have certain powers and rights separate from the federal government.

How were states' rights used before the Civil War?

Southern leaders used states' rights arguments to defend slavery and oppose federal restrictions on it.

Why was slavery a central cause of the Civil War?

The South wanted to preserve slavery and expand it into western territories.

Why did the North support tariffs?

Tariffs protected Northern manufacturers from foreign competition.

Why did the South oppose tariffs?

Tariffs could make imported goods more expensive and hurt Southern trade.

North vs. South economy

North = industrial; South = agricultural.

North vs. South population

North = more closely populated; South = more spread out.

North vs. South slavery

North increasingly opposed slavery; South supported slavery.

Missouri Compromise

1820: Missouri entered as a slave state and Maine as a free state; slavery was restricted north of 36°30' in most remaining Louisiana Territory.

Nullification Crisis

1832: South Carolina rejected federal tariffs; Andrew Jackson opposed nullification. A tariff compromise settled the crisis in 1833.

John C. Calhoun

Southern leader who supported nullification during the Nullification Crisis.

Andrew Jackson

President who insisted federal laws must be enforced during the Nullification Crisis.

Popular sovereignty

The idea that settlers in a territory vote on whether slavery will be allowed.

Compromise of 1850

California became a free state; Utah and New Mexico used popular sovereignty; the Fugitive Slave Act became stricter.

Fugitive Slave Act

A law requiring escaped enslaved people to be returned to enslavers, even if they reached free states.

Georgia Platform

Georgia accepted the Compromise of 1850 conditionally and warned against further threats to Southern interests.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

1854: Kansas and Nebraska settlers voted on slavery through popular sovereignty, overturning the Missouri Compromise restriction in those territories.

Bleeding Kansas

Violent conflict between pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers in Kansas.

Dred Scott Decision

1857: The Supreme Court ruled against Dred Scott, denied citizenship to Black people descended from enslaved people under its interpretation, and said Congress could not ban slavery in federal territories.

Lincoln's election

1860: Lincoln won without winning Southern states, showing Southern leaders they were losing political power.

What did Lincoln believe about slavery?

He opposed slavery's expansion into western territories, but did not initially plan to abolish it where it already existed.

First state to secede

South Carolina, December 1860.

Georgia seceded

January 19, 1861; Georgia became the fifth state to secede.

Why did Southern states secede?

Protecting slavery was a central reason.

Confederacy

Formed in February 1861 by seven Southern states.

Jefferson Davis

President of the Confederacy.

How many states joined the Confederacy?

11 states total.

Fort Sumter

Confederate forces attacked this Union fort in South Carolina on April 12–13, 1861, beginning the Civil War.

Union goal

Preserve the United States and prevent Southern states from leaving; ending slavery later became a major goal.

Confederate goal

Gain independence from the Union and preserve slavery.

Union blockade

Union warships blocked Southern ports, reducing trade and cotton exports and causing shortages.

Emancipation Proclamation

1863: Lincoln declared enslaved people in rebellious Confederate states free and allowed Black men to join the Union military.

Did the Emancipation Proclamation free everyone?

No. It did not immediately free everyone or abolish slavery nationwide.

13th Amendment

December 1865: Abolished slavery throughout the United States.

Battle of Chickamauga

September 1863: Confederate victory; Union troops retreated to Chattanooga.

Chattanooga

Union forces secured Chattanooga in November 1863, opening a route farther south.

Sherman's Atlanta Campaign

Union forces advanced from Chattanooga through Resaca and Kennesaw Mountain toward Atlanta.

Why was Atlanta important?

It was a major railroad and supply center for the Confederacy.

Atlanta captured

September 2, 1864.

March to the Sea

1864: Sherman marched from Atlanta to Savannah, destroying resources and transportation systems supporting the Confederacy.

Savannah reached

December 1864.

Effects of Sherman's March

Civilians faced destruction, shortages, and fear.

Andersonville

Camp Sumter, a Confederate prison camp in southwest Georgia.

Why was Andersonville deadly?

Overcrowding, lack of food, clean water, shelter, and sanitation caused disease.

Andersonville deaths

More than 13,000 Union prisoners died.

1820

Missouri Compromise

1832

Nullification Crisis

1833

Nullification Crisis tariff compromise

1850

Compromise of 1850 and Georgia Platform

1854

Kansas-Nebraska Act

1857

Dred Scott Decision

1860

Lincoln elected; South Carolina secedes in December

January 19, 1861

Georgia secedes

February 1861

Confederacy formed

April 12–13, 1861

Fort Sumter; Civil War begins

1861 onward

Union coastal blockade

September 1863

Battle of Chickamauga

November 1863

Union secures Chattanooga

1863

Emancipation Proclamation takes effect

September 2, 1864

Atlanta captured

1864

March to the Sea

December 1864

Sherman reaches Savannah

1864–1865

Andersonville prison camp during the war

December 1865

13th Amendment abolishes slavery

Four major causes of the Civil War

Slavery, states' rights, economic differences, and political tensions.

Slavery

Conflict over slavery and its expansion into western territories.

States' rights

Disagreement over states' powers versus federal authority; used to defend slavery.

Economic differences

The North had an industrial economy while the South depended on agriculture and cotton.

Political tensions

Disagreements over slavery, representation, and the balance of power between free and slave states.

King Cotton

Cotton was the South's most important crop, especially after the invention of the cotton gin.