Papism (mid 1850s) to Fort Sumter (1861) Glossary of key terms

Know Nothings

Also known as the 'American Party' they were primarily anti-catholic, xenophobic, hostile to immigration. They believed that there was a 'Romanist' or 'papist' plot afoot to unseat the rights of native born white Protestants. Initially started as a secret society (hence the name Know Nothing as members would protest that they 'knew nothing') they succeeded in a number of local and Congressional elections in the 1840s, but profited in particular from the collapse of the Whig Party in the 1850s. However, as their numbers grew (to approximately 1 million) they struggled to keep different wings in the North and the South united over broader issues beyond immigration i.e. the Kansas-Nebraska Act and control of the territories.

Papism

A pejorative term relating to the teachings and practices of those who follow Roman Catholicism. In areas of America there were beliefs that there was a 'papist' plot to Catholicise America and subvert Protestantism.

Gadsden Purchase

Drafted by James Gadsden (U.S. ambassador to Mexico) and drafted in 1853 whereby America purchased c. 30,000 sq miles of territory from Mexico to allow for the construction of a southern transcontinental railway line. Cost $10 million.

Filibustering in Cuba

In the context of foreign policy, a filibuster is a military expedition (often unauthorised) into foreign territory in order to foment a revolution. In 1850, John A Quitman (governor of Mississippi) was approached by Venezuelan Lopez to launch a filibuster in Cuba. Quitman turned him down, but did assist him with supplies and sourcing men for the expedition. In 1853, with the support of President Franklin Pierce, Quitman began to organise plans for a filibuster of his own to Cuba. When news was leaked, the administration attempted a turnaround, particularly because of the impact it would have had following the furore over the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Many pointed to this as evidence of Pierce's 'southern bias' and Slave Power's desire to build a 'slave empire' outside of America's borders.

Pro-slavery literature

Also known as plantation literature or anti-Tom literature these pieces defended slavery from economic and paternalistic points of view. Notable titles include 'The Sword and the Distaff', 'Aunt Phillis' Cabin' and 'The Planter's Northern Bride'. Their plot lines often included white, benign patriarchal masters and pure wives who preside over child-like slaves in a benevolent extended-family-style-plantation. These pieces often implied that African Americans were unable to live their lives without the assistance and control provided by whites.

Slave Power Conspiracy

Also known as Slaveocracy, it was the perceived political power in the federal government that was held by a select minority of southern society - namely the slave owners. This was an argument put forward by abolitionists that because slavers had more money and time to devote to politics they were monopolising the state and federal offices and thus furthering their corrupt and selfish cause. It was believed that working class whites would not have been so forthrightly pro-slavery (as it benefited plantation owners much more) and therefore these planters were exploiting the democratic system for their own ends. The 'Free Soil' element emphasised that rich slave owners would move into new territory, use their cash to buy up all the good lands, then use their slaves to work the lands, leaving little opportunity room for free farmers. Lincoln took up the theme (if not the term) and Horace Greeley alluded to it much in his writing. Many pointed to the fact that southerners held a disproportionate level of power in the federal government.

Popular sovereignty

The doctrine of letting people decide upon an issue themselves i.e. territories of Utah and New Mexico could draft state constitutions whereby popular sovereignty would decide whether they became slave or free.

Bleeding Kansas

The term given to events in Kansas in 1856 which saw a localised violent civil war between the contested free state government and state government between 1856-61.

Bleeding Sumner

The attack of Charles Sumner (Republican from Massachusetts) in 1856 on the floor of the Senate by Preston Brooks (Democrat, South Carolina) in retaliation for a speech that Sumner had given two days earlier denouncing the K-N Act which also made personal attacks on Brooks' relatives. Brooks broke his cane in the process and was sent new ones by many pro-slavers in support of his actions.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

Drafted by Senator Stephen Douglas and wholly supported by President Pierce who cast it as a test of party loyalty, this act was passed in May 1854. It allowed for the organisation of the Kansas and Nebraska territories along the lines of popular sovereignty. Crucially, both territories were above the Mason-Dixon Line, and this therefore legally repealed the Missouri Compromise which had held the balance for over 30 years. The final vote in favour of the bill was 113 to 100. Northern Democrats supported the bill 44 to 42, but all 45 northern Whigs opposed it. Southern Democrats voted in favour by 57 to 2, and southern Whigs supported it by 12 to 7. Pierce signed the bill into law on May 30. The Act caused 'one hell of a storm', had enormous implications on Douglas' future northern support and also split the country clearly down sectional voting lines rather than party lines.

Lecompton government

The pro-slavery government in Kansas which claimed legitimacy. The Lecompton Constitution (which was legitimately voted on - see work in files here) permitted slavery and refused to allow free blacks to live in Kansas.

Topeka government

The free government in Kansas (mostly due to free soil support rather than moral feeling) that claimed legitimacy. Pierce condemned the Topeka government as an act of rebellion.

Sacking of Lawrence

May 1856 when pro-slave forces attacked and ransacked the free town of Lawrence in Kansas. There was plenty of destruction, but only one death (of a pro slaver when a burning building fell on him).

Pottawatomie Creek massacre

Enacted by John Brown in late May 1856 when he, his sons, and a band of abolitionist settlers brutally attacked and killed five pro-slavers in response to the sacking of Lawrence. John Brown was to become a martyr for the abolitionist cause.

The underground railway/railroad

A network of secret routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early to mid-19th century, and used by African-American slaves to escape into free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. This flouted the fugitive slave acts and was a big cause of sectional concern between North and South. Famous supporters of the Underground Railroad include Harriet Tubman. Recent scholarship has also revealed that William Seward aided the Underground Railroad.

The Republican Party

Formed in 1854 in response to the K-N Act. It was a mixture of disaffected politicians i.e. Northern Democrats, Northern Whigs, Free Soilers, Know Nothings. A multi-issue party, the main unifying factor for all of the members were that they were anti-Kansas Nebraska. In 1856 their nominee was John C Fremont and the party slogan was 'free labour, free land, free men' thus indicating that they aimed to protect white farmers from competition with slave labour. Fremont won 33% of the vote and 11 of the 16 Northern states in the 1856 presidential election.

The Dred Scott case

Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. also known as the Dred Scott case or Dred Scott decision, was a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court. Scott was suing for his freedom since he had travelled into free states and territories with his master (an army surgeon). The decision held that "a negro, whose ancestors were imported into [the U.S.], and sold as slaves," whether enslaved or free, could not be an American citizen, and therefore had no standing to sue in federal court, (therefore Scott should not have even brought his case to the body in the first place) and that the federal government had no power to regulate slavery in the federal territories acquired after the creation of the United States. In a 7-2 decision written by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, the court denied Scott's request. The decision was only the second time that the Supreme Court had ruled an Act of Congress to be unconstitutional. Discussions between Buchanan and Taney on Buchanan's Inauguration Day led to claims of corruption and interference thus fuelling Slave Power Conspiracy accusations.

Lincoln-Douglas debates

A series of seven public debates in 1858 for the Illinois Senate. Douglas was the incumbent, Lincoln the challenger. Given that they were debating in a northern free state the two candidates were very much splitting hairs over the political, economic and moral implications of slavery and the doctrine of popular sovereignty.

Freeport Doctrine

In the fifth debate held at Freeport, Lincoln pushed Douglas into a corner regarding popular sovereignty and where Douglas was forced to concede that in spite of the Dred Scott decision, states could get around this by excluding slavery from states or territories at a local level.

Harpers Ferry

An unsuccessful slave rebellion led by John Brown in 1859 where abolitionists attempted to capture a federal arsenal and incite widespread slave rebellions in the south. Federal troops were sent to quell the rising. The act was condemned by all parties.

Black Republicanism

Almost a counter to the term 'Slave-Power', southerners and Democrats began deriding the Republican Party as pro-black issues and Lincoln as a key 'Black Republican' in the 1860 presidential election.

Martyr-ship of John Brown

Following Harper's Ferry, John Brown was captured and hanged in December 1859. It received national and international attention, and much of the northern abolitionist press argued for the morality and justice behind Brown's actions, thus stoking sectional tension. However, it must be noted that the majority of parties condemned Brown's actions, even Lincoln.

The presidential election of 1860

Contested between four candidates: Breckinridge (Democrat, Kentucky), Bell (Constitutional Unionist Party, Tennessee) , Douglas (Democrat, Illinois) and Lincoln (Republican, Illinois).

Lincoln won the election with just 40% of the popular vote as he won enough crucial northern states to secure the electoral college.

The doctrine of secession

The belief that the south were legitimate in their claims to leave the Union as their interests were not being listened to and they were being exploited by a tyrannical federal government who wielded a disproportionate amount of power. President Buchanan denied the legality of secession, but also denied the right of the federal government to use force against the seceded states.

South Carolina's role in the drive for secession

Crucially, S. Carolina did not want to see a repeat of Nashville 1850 (when only 9/15 slave states attended a convention on secession). S. Carolina was the first state to secede in December 1860 with a vote of 169-0 in their secession convention. S. Carolina then sent delegates to other states to stoke similar sentiments across the south.

Secessionists

A person who favoured removal from a federal government or body (in this case the United States). Key secessionists from the South included.

Confederacy

Established in the South following secession, the eleven states formed the Confederate States of America.

Border States

Those states who formed the geographical limit between North and South and therefore were tentative about secession as it would probably be where the Civil War was fought. Those who remained in the Union were: Delaware, Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland. Those who seceded (following Fort Sumter) were Tennessee, Virginia,

Fort Sumter

A federal fort in Charleston harbour where the first shots of the civil war were fired as federal troops were still flying the stars and the stripes in Confederate territory. Prompted states in the Upper South to secede.