Wilmot Proviso- important congressional proposal in the 1840s to prohibit the extension of slavery into the territories, a basic plank upon which the Republican Party was subsequently built
John Brown- John Brown was an American abolitionist leader. First reaching national prominence for his radical abolitionism and fighting in Bleeding Kansas, he was eventually captured and executed for a failed incitement of a slave rebellion at Harpers Ferry preceding the American Civil War.
Harper’s Ferry- Harpers Ferry Raid, (October 16–18, 1859), assault by an armed band of abolitionists led by John Brown on the federal armory located at Harpers Ferry, Virginia
Nat Turner’s Rebellion- Nat Turner's Rebellion, historically known as the Southampton Insurrection, was a rebellion of enslaved Virginians that took place in Southampton County, Virginia, in August 1831. Led by Nat Turner, the rebels killed between 55 and 65 White people, making it the deadliest slave revolt in U.S. history.
1860 Republican Platform- The 1860 Republican platform consisted of 17 declarations of principle, of which 10 dealt directly with the issues of "free soil", slavery, the Fugitive Slave Act, and the preservation of the Union, while the remaining 7 dealt with other issues.
1860 Democratic Platform- In 1860, the Democratic Party split into two factions over the issue of enslavement. The Northern Democrats nominated Stephen Douglas on a platform that would allow each territory to decide whether to permit enslavement.
Dred Scott Decision- Dred Scott v. Sandford, 60 U.S. 393, was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that held the U.S. Constitution did not extend American citizenship to people of black African descent, and thus they could not enjoy the rights and privileges the Constitution conferred upon American citizens.
Lincoln Douglas Debates- The Lincoln–Douglas debates were a series of seven debates between Abraham Lincoln, the Republican Party candidate for the United States Senate from Illinois, and incumbent Senator Stephen Douglas, the Democratic Party candidate.
· Freeport Doctrine- Douglas said a territory could prevent slavery by failing to pass favorable legislation. In other words, the territorial legislature could make it difficult for slave owners to re-capture escaped slaves.
· House Divided Speech- In his “House divided” speech, Lincoln countered that the Dred Scott decision the previous year had already opened the doors for slavery to be legal in the North, as well as all territories that the U.S. expanded into. If the U.S. wanted to be a free country, he argued, it had to act now before it was too late.
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Anaconda Plan- It was called the “Anaconda Plan” as it would strangle the Confederacy by cutting it off from external markets and sources of material. It included blockading Southern coasts and securing control of the Mississippi River. ridiculed in the press as the "Anaconda Plan," after the South American snake that crushes its prey to death, this strategy ultimately proved successful. Although about 90 percent of Confederate ships were able to break through the blockade in 1861, this figure was cut to less than 15 percent a year later.
Conscription- Conscription is the enforced enlistment of citizens for military service. Conscription was used in both World War I and World War II creating a divide between… Conscription was all able-bodied would be required to join the army. The war had dragged on much longer than everyone had expected.
Antietam/Emancipation Proclamation- From the first days of the Civil War, enslaved people had acted to secure their own liberty. The Emancipation Proclamation confirmed their insistence that the war for the Union must become a war for freedom. It added moral force to the Union cause and strengthened the Union both militarily and politically
Battle of Gettysburg/Gettysburg Address- President Abraham Lincoln wrote and delivered the Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863, to commemorate a new national cemetery at Gettysburg during the American Civil War. The Gettysburg Address's significance is that it sought to give meaning to the sacrifice of soldiers who died during the war.
Sherman’s March/Total War- From November 15 until December 21, 1864, Union General William T. Sherman led some 60,000 soldiers on a 285-mile march from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia. The purpose of Sherman's March to the Sea was to frighten Georgia's civilian population into abandoning the Confederate cause.
13th Amendment- Passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified on December 6, 1865, the 13th Amendment abolished slavery in the United States
The Freedman’s Bureau- The Freedmen's Bureau provided assistance to tens of thousands of formerly enslaved people and impoverished whites in the Southern States and the District of Columbia in the years following the war. It helped freed people establish schools, purchase land, locate family members, and legalize marriages.
Proclamation of Amnesty (10% Plan)- This proclamation was part of Lincoln's Ten-Percent Plan, a strategy that allowed Confederate states to rejoin the Union when ten percent of its voters swore an oath of allegiance to the Constitution.
Radical Republicans/Wade Davis Bill- Led by the Radical Republicans in the House and Senate, Congress passed the Wade-Davis bill on July 2, 1864—co-sponsored by Senator Benjamin Wade of Ohio and Representative Henry Davis of Maryland—to provide for the admission to the representation of rebel states upon meeting certain conditions.
Black Codes- Black codes and Jim Crow laws were laws passed at different periods in the southern United States to enforce racial segregation and curtail the power of Black voters. After the Civil War ended in 1865, some states passed black codes that severely limited the rights of Black people, many of whom had been enslaved
Civil Rights Act/14th Amendment- Some southern states began actively passing laws that restricted the rights of former slaves after the Civil War, and Congress responded with the 14th Amendment, designed to place limits on states' power as well as protect civil rights.
Recon Acts of 1867 (Military Recon)- The Reconstruction Act of 1867 outlined the terms for readmission to the representation of rebel states. The bill divided the former Confederate states, except for Tennessee, into five military districts.
15th Amendment- The Reconstruction Act of 1867 outlined the terms for readmission to the representation of rebel states. The bill divided the former Confederate states, except for Tennessee, into five military districts.
Sharecropping- As cash was scarce, the system of sharecropping arose to meet the need of white landowners of labor for land cultivation and the needs of poor farmers of all races for physical and economic survival. With a sharecropping contract, poor farmers were granted access to farm small plots of land.
Carpetbaggers and Scalawags- Carpetbagger” and “scalawag” are derisive epithets that southern Democrats, or Conservatives, applied to white Republicans, or radicals, during Congressional or Radical Reconstruction. Carpetbagger referred to Republicans who had recently migrated from the North; scalawag referred to southern-born radicals.
KKK- Ku Klux Klan, is either of two distinct U.S. hate organizations that employed terror in pursuit of their white supremacist agenda. One group was founded immediately after the Civil War and lasted until the 1870s. The other began in 1915 and has continued to the present.
Compromise of 1877-The Compromise of 1877 was an informal, unwritten deal that settled the disputed 1876 U.S. Presidential election; through it, Republican Rutherford B. Hayes was awarded the White House on the understanding that he would remove the federal troops from South Carolina, Florida, and Louisiana.
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