Chapter 14 Terms

Bull Run, first Battle of

The first land engagement of the Civil War, which took place on July 21, 1861, at Manassas Junction, Virginia, and at which Union troops quickly retreated.

Bull Run, second Battle of

Civil War engagement that took place one year after the first Battle of Bull Run, on August 29–30, during which Confederates captured the federal supply depot at Manassas Junction, Virginia, and forced Union troops back to Washington.

Antietam, Battle of

One of the bloodiest battles of the Civil War, fought to a standoff on September 17, 1862, in western Maryland.

“the contrabands”

Slaves who sought refuge in Union military camps or who lived in areas of the Confederacy under Union control.

Radical Republicans

Group within the Republican Party in the 1850s and 1860s that advocated strong resistance to the expansion of slavery, opposition to compromise with the South in the secession crisis of 1860–1861, emancipation and arming of Black soldiers during the Civil War, and equal civil and political rights for Blacks during Reconstruction.

Emancipation Proclamation

Declaration issued by President Abraham Lincoln; the preliminary proclamation on September 22, 1862, freed the slaves in areas under Confederate control as of January 1, 1863, the date of the final proclamation, which also authorized the enrollment of Black soldiers into the Union army.

Second American Revolution

The transformation of American government and society brought about by the Civil War.

Ex parte Milligan

1866 Supreme Court case that declared it unconstitutional to bring accused persons before military tribunals where civil courts were operating.

Homestead Act

1862 law that authorized Congress to grant 160 acres of public land to a western settler, who had to live on the land for five years to establish title.

transcontinental railroad

First line across the continent from Omaha, Nebraska, to Sacramento, California, established in 1869 with the linkage of the Union Pacific and Central Pacific railroads at Promontory, Utah.

Navajo’s Long Walk

The forced removal of 8,000 Navajos from their lands by Union forces to a reservation in the 1860s.

Sanitary Fairs

Fund-raising bazaars led by women on behalf of Civil War soldiers; the fairs offered items such as uniforms and banners, as well as other emblems of war.

“King Cotton diplomacy”

An attempt during the Civil War by the South to encourage British intervention by banning cotton exports.

Gettysburg, Battle of

Battle fought in southern Pennsylvania, July 1–3, 1863; the Confederate defeat and the simultaneous loss at Vicksburg marked the military turning point of the Civil War.

Vicksburg, Battle of

The fall of Vicksburg, Mississippi, to General Ulysses S. Grant’s army on July 4, 1863, after two months of siege; a turning point in the war because it gave the Union control of the Mississippi River.

Sea Islands experiment

The 1861 pre-Reconstruction social experiment that involved converting slave plantations into places where former slaves could work for wages or own land. Former slaves also received education and access to improved shelter and food.

Ten-Percent Plan of Reconstruction

President Lincoln’s proposal for reconstruction, issued in 1863, in which southern states would rejoin the Union if 10 percent of the 1860 electorate signed loyalty pledges, accepted emancipation, and had received presidential pardons.

Wade-Davis Bill

Radical Republicans’ 1864 plan for reconstruction that required loyalty oaths, abolition of slavery, repudiation of war debts, and denial of political rights to high-ranking Confederate officials; President Lincoln refused to sign the bill.

Thirteenth Amendment

Constitutional amendment adopted in 1865 that irrevocably abolished slavery throughout the United States.

Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia

Site of the surrender of Confederate general Robert E. Lee to Union general Ulysses S. Grant on April 9, 1865, marking the end of the Civil War.