apush period 5

Nat Turner's Rebellion

1831 rebellion led by Nat Turner in Virginia, in an attempt to overthrow and kill planter families, which increased fear among whites and tightened slavery controls.

The Liberator

The first anti-slavery newspaper created by William Garrison, which expressed abolitionist beliefs and was a precursor to movements leading to the Civil War.

American Anti Slavery Society

Abolitionist society founded by Garrison with over 250,000 members by 1838, advocating for the immediate abolition of slavery.

Mason Dixon Line

The boundary between Pennsylvania and Maryland that divided slave states from free states.

Gag Resolution

A strict rule passed in 1836 by pro-southern congressmen to prohibit any discussion of slavery in the House of Representatives.

Popular Sovereignty

The principle allowing states to choose by popular vote whether to be free or slave states.

Free Soil Party

A political party active from 1848 to 1852 aimed at stopping the expansion of slavery into western territories.

Underground Railroad

A secret network of anti-slavery northerners who helped fugitive slaves escape to free states or Canada.

Compromise of 1850

Legislation admitting California as a free state, abolishing slave trade in D.C., introducing popular sovereignty in new territories, enforcing a stricter Fugitive Slave Act, and resolving Texas border disputes.

Fugitive Slave Law

A part of the Compromise of 1850 that allowed for the arrest of escaped slaves in areas where slavery was illegal, requiring their return to slaveholders.

Kansas Nebraska Act

Law allowing popular sovereignty in the Kansas and Nebraska territories, introduced by Stephen Douglas.

Confederate States of America

Collection of 11 southern states that seceded from the U.S. from 1860 to 1861 due to issues surrounding slavery and states' rights.

Bleeding Kansas

Period of violent conflict between 1854 and 1859 in Kansas over whether it should enter the Union as a free or slave state.

Dred Scott v Stanford

1859 Supreme Court case where Dred Scott sought to sue for his freedom, but the court ruled that African Americans could not be U.S. citizens.

Fort Sumter

Location in South Carolina where Confederate forces fired the first shots of the Civil War in April 1861.

Homestead Act

1862 act providing 160 acres of free western land to applicants who occupied and improved the property.

Bull Run

The site of one of the first battles of the Civil War in 1861, where the Confederates defeated the Union.

Battle of Antietam

1862 battle noted as the bloodiest single day in American history with 23,000 casualties, leading to the Emancipation Proclamation.

Emancipation Proclamation

Executive order declaring the abolition of slavery in states remaining out of the Union starting January 1, 1863.

Reconstruction Amendments

13th (abolished slavery), 14th (granted citizenship to all born in the U.S.), and 15th (granted voting rights to Black Americans) amendments.

Gettysburg

Significant battle of the Civil War known for its size and casualties, and the location of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address.

10 Percent Reconstruction plan

Lincoln's approach to reintegrating states into the Union, requiring 10% of the population to swear an oath of loyalty.

Black Codes

Restrictions placed on newly freed African Americans by Southern state legislatures.

Wade-Davis Bill

1864 proposal that required a majority of a state's white males to pledge loyalty to the Union before being re-admitted.

Civil Rights Bill

1964 legislation aimed at ending segregation in public spaces and employment discrimination based on race and other protected classes.

Reconstruction Act

1867 law that organized the South into five military districts, required military leadership from the North, and mandated the ratification of the 14th Amendment.