Key Events and Figures in Pre-Civil War America

Ostend Manifesto

1854 document advocating U.S. acquisition of Cuba.

Walker Expedition

Attempted filibuster to conquer Nicaragua in 1855.

Clayton-Bulwer Treaty

1850 agreement preventing U.S.-British control of Panama Canal.

Popular sovereignty

Policy allowing territories to decide on slavery.

Compromise of 1850

Series of laws addressing slavery and territorial disputes.

Free-soil movement

Political movement opposing the expansion of slavery.

Fugitive Slave Law

1850 law enforcing the return of escaped slaves.

Panic of 1857

Economic crisis triggered by declining international trade.

Nativism

Political policy favoring native-born citizens over immigrants.

Tammany Hall

Political organization in New York, associated with corruption. Irish people

Industrial technology

Advancements in machinery and manufacturing processes.

Free-Soil Party

Political party opposing the expansion of slavery into territories.

Barn burners

Radical faction of the Free-Soil Party, anti-slavery.

Hinton R. Helper

'Impending Crisis of the South’

George Fitzhugh

'Sociology for the South.'