The Rise of Sectionalism

Flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts related to the rise of sectionalism in the United States prior to the Civil War.

Sectionalism

A tendency of people to connect more strongly with their region than with the country as a whole.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

A novel published by Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852 that depicted the realities of slavery and contributed to the abolitionist movement.

King Cotton

The phrase used to describe the dominance of cotton production in the Southern economy during the early 19th century.

The Plantation System

An agricultural system that relied on slave labor to grow cash crops, particularly in the Southern United States.

Freemen

Individuals who were formerly enslaved or never enslaved, allowed to live freely in society.

Fugitive Slave Act

A law passed in 1850 that mandated the return of runaway enslaved African Americans to their owners, causing significant tensions between North and South.

The Kansas-Nebraska Act

A 1854 law that allowed territories of Kansas and Nebraska to decide for themselves whether or not to allow slavery through popular sovereignty.

Bleeding Kansas

A series of violent political confrontations involving anti-slavery and pro-slavery elements in Kansas during the 1850s.

The Lecompton Constitution

A pro-slavery constitution proposed for Kansas that was ultimately rejected after significant political debate.

Dred Scott v. Sandford

A landmark Supreme Court case in which the Court ruled that enslaved African Americans were not citizens and could not sue in federal court.

Nat Turner’s Rebellion

A slave rebellion led by Nat Turner in 1831 that resulted in the death of 57 whites and increased fears about slave insurrections.

The Free Soil Party

A political party in the United States that aimed to prevent the expansion of slavery into the territories.

The Compromise of 1850

A series of laws enacted to resolve sectional tensions, including admitting California as a free state and enacting the Fugitive Slave Act.

John Brown

An abolitionist who believed in armed insurrection to overthrow the institution of slavery, famously leading a raid at Harpers Ferry.

The Presidential Election of 1860

An election in which Abraham Lincoln was elected president, triggering Southern states to secede from the Union.

Secession

The act of withdrawing formally from a federation or body, especially a political state such as the United States during the Civil War.

Fort Sumter

A federal fort in South Carolina where the first shots of the Civil War were fired on April 12, 1861.