Civil War and Sectionalism Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, figures, events, and agreements leading up to and during the American Civil War.

Sectionalism

Loyalty to your region instead of the whole country.

Abolitionists

People who wanted to end slavery.

Frederick Douglass

Former slave who became a famous abolitionist and speaker.

Missouri Compromise

Agreement that balanced free and slave states.

Compromise of 1850

Agreement that settled several slavery-related disputes.

Fugitive Slave Act

Law requiring escaped enslaved people to be returned.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

Allowed settlers to decide if slavery would be allowed.

Republican Party

Political party formed mainly to oppose the spread of slavery.

Dred Scott Decision

Supreme Court ruling that said enslaved people were not citizens.

John Brown’s Raid

Failed attempt to start a slave uprising at Harpers Ferry.

Abraham Lincoln

U.S. president during the Civil War who opposed the spread of slavery.

Secession

When a state leaves a country.

Jefferson Davis

President of the Confederate States.

Fort Sumter

Site where the Civil War began in 1861.

Emancipation Proclamation

Lincoln’s order declaring enslaved people in Confederate areas free.

Gettysburg

Major Civil War battle that was a turning point for the Union.

Vicksburg

Union victory that gave the Union control of the Mississippi River.

Appomattox

Place where Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant, ending major fighting.