Civil War Vocab

Breakers

the ppl who the troublesome slaves would be sent to to be beaten

Black Belt

area in the South (AL, MS, LA) where slavery was super big - the rich dark soil made cotton grow rlly well

Trent Affair

first major crisis w/BR during Civil War; Union ship stopped BR ship Trent, forcibly removed 2 Confederate diplomats who were on their way to Europe

Nat Turner’s Rebellion

last big slave rebellion; black preacher led uprising that killed ~60 white VA ppl, mainly women/children

American Colonization Society

wanted to send all the Black slaves back to Africa

Writ of habeas corpus

suspended by Lincoln so that anti-Unionists could be arrested + held w/o trial

NY Draft Riots

rioters were mostly underprivileged/anti-black Irish-AMs who didn’t like the draft (thought it was unfair); pillaged NYC, lynced blacks

Mason-Dixon Line

southern border of Pennsylvania; separated North from South

Greenbacks

paper money issued by the Union; inadequately supported by gold, fluctuated in value

Popular Sovereignty

ppl in a territory should decide if slavery = yes or no

Jefferson Davis

pres of Confederacy

Compromise of 1850

CA gets admitted as a free state, UT/NM are popular sovereignty; DC can’t do slave trade; TX gets $10M

Fugitive Slave Law

“Bloodhound Bill”; runaway slaves found in the North must be returned to the South; slaves had trials w/o jury + judges got paid more if they sent the slaves back to the South

Sally Tompkins

ran Richmond, VA infirmary for Confederate soldiers; awarded title of captain by Confederate Pres.

Battle of Bull Run

first major battle of Civil War; South won; made North realize the war would be long

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

anti-slavery book; became so popular, ppl thought Uncle Tom was a real person, wanted him freed; helped millions of ppl realize how evil slavery was

The Impending Crisis of the South

book that tried to prove that non-slaveholding whites were the ones who were hurt the most from slavery; written by Helper (anti-slavery AND anti-black); banned in the South

2nd Battle of Bull Run

Robert E Lee (south) won; emboldened him to push further into the North

Lecompton Constitution

proslavery constitution made for Kansas (anti-slavery ppl didn’t even vote bcuz they were boycotting)

Bleeding Kansas

civil war in Kansas over issue of slavery

Dred Scott v Sanford

ruled that blacks are not citizens + slaves are property - so they can be taken to any state (even free) and still be slaves

Battle of Gettysburg

Union victory; started the doom of the Confederacy; made sure the South were never able to invade the North again

Lincoln-Douglas Debates

debates between Lincoln + Douglas over running for Senate position; Douglas won, but Lincoln gained popularity;

Freeport Question

if a state’s ppl vote down slavery, do they or the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dred Scott decision have the final say?

Shermans’s March

march through GA destroying civilian property + infrastructure + army supplies; meant to diminish Confederate morale

Harpers Ferry

John Brown seized federal arsenal, trying to start a slave uprising in the south; killed some innocents, was martyred for this

Constitutional Union Party

“Do Nothing” or “ Old Gentleman’s” party; made up of old Whigs + Know-Nothings who wanted to elect a compromise candidate for president (chose John Bell)

Confederate States of AM

gov made up of the Southern states who seceded

Crittenden Amendment

designed to appease to slavery; made days after SC voted to secede; gave federal protection to slavery south of a certain latitude line

Charles Sumner

very disliked guy in Senate bcuz he was an outspoken abolitionist; made speech, “The Crime Against Kansas” which condemned proslavery men + insulted SC; sustained injuries to nervous system after Brooks’ attack

Preston Brooks

approached Sumner bcuz of his speech and beat him with a cane until it broke

Robert E Lee

Confederate general; Commander of the Confederate army

George Meade

took over commander of Union army after Hooker + Burnside; won during Gettysburg

George Pickett

Confederate general who lost during Gettysburg; his failed charge into the North was called “high tide of the Confederacy”

Fort Sumter

where the first shots of the Civil War happened; Confederates opened fire when Union forces tried to provision the fort

Ulysses S Grant

Union general in chief; leader of the Union army

border states

slaves states that bordered the North (MO, KY, MD, DE) - they did NOT secede from the Union

Copperheads

extremists who were against Lincoln administration; openly obstructed war through attacks on the draft

Wilderness Campaign

series of battles between Grant / Lee in the wilderness of VA; both lost almost ½ of their troops; led to Grant’s capture of Richmond

Appomattox Courthouse

where Lee surrendered to Grant after the Wilderness Campaign

Reform Bill of 1867

English bill; BR became a true political democracy

Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson

Confederate general who fought in Battle of Bull Run

Liberia

republic established for the former slaves to be sent to

Gag Resolution

required all antislavery appeals to be tabled w/o debate

US Sanitary Commission

trained nurses, collected medical supplies, equipped hospitals to help the Union forces;

Elizabeth Blackwell

AM’s first female doctor; helped establish US Sanitary Commission

Clara Barton

superintendent of nurses for Union army; founded Red Cross; helped transform nursing into a honorable profession

Merrimack

Confederate ironclad ship; fought against Monitor

Monitor

Union ironclad

Battle of Antietam

ended in a draw but showed the power of Union army; gave Lincoln “victory” needed to issue Emancipation Proclamation; deterred foreign intervention

Emancipation Proclamation

banned slavery, said the slaves in the rebelling Southern states would be “forever free”

Battle of Fredericksburg

Confederate victory; Union A.E. Burnside sent rash attack against south; 10K+ Union soldiers died; “Burnside’s Slaughter Pen”

Battle of Shiloh

gory battle that left 23K+ men wounded/missing/dead; Union won; confirmed war wouldn’t end quick in the West

Siege of Vicksburg

2 1/2- month siege of Confederate fort on the Mississippi River; led by Ulysses S. Grant; victory happened on the same day as Gettysburg; opened up the Mississippi to the North

George McClellan

commander of the Union army during Antietam; replaced by Burnside

AE Burnside

commander of Union army after McClellan; handled the Battle of Frederickburg rlly badly

Frederick Douglass

escaped slavery, became popular abolitionist; helped raise black soldiers for MA army

Harriet Beecher Stowe

wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin

John Wilkes Booth

assassinated Lincoln

John Pope

Union general defeated by Lee at 2nd Battle of Bull Run

Joseph Hooker

Union; took over after Burnside; defeated at Chancellorsville (after Frederickburg)

Sojourner Truth

aka Isabella; escaped slave, abolitionist, women’s right activist;

The Liberator

anti-slavery magazine

William Lloyd Garrison

white abolitionist; ran anti-slavery magazine, The Liberator

William Tecumseh Sherman

led conquest of Georgia; practiced “total war”