Lesson 20 & 21 Vocabulary

discrimination

unequal treatment based on a person's race, gender, religion, place of birth, or other arbitrary characteristic

evident

easily seen or understood

Nat Turner's Rebellion

a rebellion by enslaved people led by Nat Turner that took place in Virginia in 1831

oppression

the feeling of being weighed down or held back by severe and unfair force

passive

not active

racism

the belief that one race is superior to another

reformer

someone who works to make change in order to bring about improvement, end abuses, or correct injustice

segregation

the social separation of groups of people, especially by race

sympathetic

understanding or agreeing with the feelings or situation of another person

Underground Railroad

a secret network of free blacks and whites who helped thousands of people escape slavery and go to states without slavery and Canada.

Compromise of 1850

the agreement made in order to admit California into the Union as a state without slavery. These agreements included allowing the New Mexico and Utah territories to decide whether to allow slavery, outlawing the trade of enslaved people in Washington, D.C., and creating a stronger law targeting fugitives from slavery.

confront

to meet, especially in a challenge

Dred Scott Decision

a Supreme Court decision in 1857 that held that African Americans could never be citizens of the United States and that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional

Ensure

to make sure or certain

faction

a group of people within a larger group who have different ideas from the main group

fugitive

a person who flees to tries to escape (for example, from slavery)

Lincoln-Douglas Debates

a series of political debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas, who were candidates in the Illinois race for U.S. senator, in which slavery was the main issue

Missouri Compromise

an agreement made by Congress in 1820 under which Missouri was admitted to the Union as a slave state and Maine was admitted as a free state

Union

the United States as one nation united under a single government. During the Civil War, "the Union" came to mean the government and armies of the North.

Wilmont Proviso

a proposal made in 1846 to prohibit slavery in the territory added to the United States as a result of the Mexican-American War