Civil War Vocabulary

Republican Party

Political party formed in 1854 that opposed the expansion of slavery into western territories.

John Brown’s Raid

1859 raid on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry intended to spark a rebellion against slavery.

Dred Scott vs. Sandford

1857 Supreme Court decision that denied citizenship to Black Americans of African descent and ruled Congress could not ban slavery in the territories.

Border States

Slave states that remained in the Union: Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri.

Confederate States of America

Government formed by the 11 Southern states that seceded from the United States.

Secession

The act of withdrawing from a nation or union.

Abolition

The act of ending slavery.

Abolitionist

A person who worked to end slavery.

Fort Sumter

Federal fort in South Carolina where the Civil War began in April 1861.

Jefferson Davis

President of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War.

Emancipation Proclamation

Lincoln’s 1863 order declaring enslaved people in areas rebelling against the Union to be free.

Union

The United States and the Northern states that fought to preserve the nation during the Civil War.

Confederacy

The 11 Southern states that seceded and fought against the Union.

13th Amendment

Constitutional amendment that abolished slavery in the United States, except as punishment for a crime.

14th Amendment

Amendment granting citizenship to people born or naturalized in the United States and requiring equal protection under the law.

15th Amendment

Amendment prohibiting denial of voting rights based on race, color, or previous enslavement.

Ulysses S. Grant

Leading Union general who accepted Robert E. Lee’s surrender and later became president.

Robert E. Lee

Leading Confederate general who surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant in 1865.

Ironclads

Warships protected by iron or metal armor.

Contraband

Term Union forces used for enslaved people who escaped to Union lines and were not returned to enslavers.

Underground Railroad

Secret network of people and safe houses that helped enslaved people escape to freedom.

Fugitive Slave Act

Law requiring escaped enslaved people to be captured and returned to enslavers, even from free states.

Frederick Douglass

Formerly enslaved man who became a famous abolitionist, writer, and speaker for equal rights.

Copperheads

Northern Democrats who opposed the Civil War and favored peace with the Confederacy.

Radical Republicans

Republicans who pushed for ending slavery and protecting the rights of formerly enslaved people during Reconstruction.

Thaddeus Stevens

Radical Republican congressman who fought to abolish slavery and promote equal rights.

Martial Law

Military control over an area during an emergency.

Writ of Habeas Corpus

Legal protection requiring the government to bring a detained person before a court to examine whether the detention is lawful.

Clara Barton

Nurse who cared for wounded Civil War soldiers and later founded the American Red Cross.

Battle of Gettysburg

Major Union victory in Pennsylvania in July 1863 that stopped Lee’s invasion of the North.

Pickett’s Charge

Failed Confederate attack on the Union center during the Battle of Gettysburg.

Gettysburg Address

Lincoln’s speech honoring fallen soldiers and emphasizing equality, democracy, and preserving the Union.

Sherman’s March

William T. Sherman’s 1864 campaign through Georgia to destroy Confederate supplies and infrastructure.

Appomattox Court House

Virginia village where Robert E. Lee surrendered his army to Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865.

John Wilkes Booth

Actor who assassinated Abraham Lincoln in April 1865.

Ford’s Theater

Washington, D.C., theater where John Wilkes Booth assassinated Lincoln.

William Seward

Lincoln’s secretary of state who survived an assassination attempt on the night Lincoln was shot.

Edwin Stanton

Lincoln’s secretary of war who helped direct the Union war effort.

Mary Todd Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln’s wife and first lady during the Civil War.

Solid South

Long-lasting pattern of Southern states largely supporting the Democratic Party after the Civil War.

Andrew Johnson

Vice president who became president after Lincoln’s assassination and clashed with Congress over Reconstruction.

Sic Semper Tyrannis

Latin phrase meaning “Thus always to tyrants,” reportedly shouted by John Wilkes Booth after shooting Lincoln.

Homestead Act of 1862

Law allowing eligible settlers to claim western land by living on and improving it.

Harriet Tubman

Formerly enslaved woman who helped enslaved people escape through the Underground Railroad and aided the Union during the Civil War.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

1852 anti-slavery novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe that increased awareness of slavery’s cruelty.

Text of Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address

Lincoln’s March 1865 speech reflecting on slavery and the Civil War and calling for healing, compassion, and peace.