Chapter 14 Terms

Bull Run, first Battle of

The first land engagement of the Civil War, which took place on July 21, 1861, at Manassas Junction, Virginia, where Union troops quickly retreated.

Bull Run, second Battle of

A Civil War engagement that occurred on August 29–30, 1862, where Confederates captured the federal supply depot at Manassas Junction and forced Union troops back to Washington.

Antietam, Battle of

One of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War, fought to a standoff on September 17, 1862, in western Maryland.

the contrabands

Slaves who sought refuge in Union military camps or who lived in areas of the Confederacy under Union control.

Radical Republicans

A group within the Republican Party in the 1850s and 1860s that advocated strong resistance to the expansion of slavery and equal rights for Blacks.

Emancipation Proclamation

A declaration issued by President Abraham Lincoln that freed slaves in Confederate-controlled areas as of January 1, 1863.

Second American Revolution

The transformation of American government and society brought about by the Civil War.

Ex parte Milligan

A 1866 Supreme Court case that declared it unconstitutional to bring accused persons before military tribunals where civil courts were operating.

Homestead Act

A 1862 law that granted 160 acres of public land to a western settler who would live on it for five years.

transcontinental railroad

The first line across the continent completed in 1869 connecting Omaha, Nebraska, to Sacramento, California.

Navajo’s Long Walk

The forced removal of 8,000 Navajos from their lands by Union forces to a reservation in the 1860s.

Sanitary Fairs

Fund-raising bazaars led by women for Civil War soldiers, offering items such as uniforms and banners.

King Cotton diplomacy

An attempt by the South during the Civil War to encourage British intervention by banning cotton exports.

Gettysburg, Battle of

Battle fought in southern Pennsylvania from July 1 to 3, 1863; marked the military turning point of the Civil War.

Vicksburg, Battle of

The fall of Vicksburg to General Ulysses S. Grant’s army on July 4, 1863, after a two-month siege.

Sea Islands experiment

The 1861 social experiment transforming slave plantations into work sites for former slaves for wages or land ownership.

Ten-Percent Plan of Reconstruction

President Lincoln’s 1863 proposal for southern states to rejoin the Union if 10% of 1860 electors pledged loyalty.

Wade-Davis Bill

Radical Republicans’ 1864 reconstruction plan requiring loyalty oaths and abolition of slavery, which Lincoln refused to sign.

Thirteenth Amendment

The 1865 constitutional amendment that irrevocably abolished slavery throughout the United States.

Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia

The site of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's surrender to Union general Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865.