Important Abolitionists:
Frederick Douglass - An escaped slave who became a leading voice for abolition and equality.
Harriet Beecher Stowe - Author of "Uncle Tom's Cabin."
Sojourner Truth - Former slave who became an advocate for abolition and women's rights.
William Lloyd Garrison - Publisher of the abolitionist newspaper "The Liberator."
Uncle Tom’s Cabin:
Author: Harriet Beecher Stowe
Content: A novel that depicted the harsh realities of slavery.
Importance: It galvanized the abolitionist movement and increased tensions leading up to the Civil War.
The Underground Railroad:
A network of secret routes and safe houses used by enslaved people to escape to free states.
Harriet Tubman: One of the most famous "conductors" who helped hundreds of slaves escape.
Dred Scott Case:
Explanation: Dred Scott was an enslaved man who sued for his freedom.
Importance: The Supreme Court ruled that African Americans could not be citizens and that Congress could not prohibit slavery in the territories, which intensified sectional conflict.
John Brown and Harpers Ferry:
John Brown: An abolitionist who believed in using violence to end slavery.
Harpers Ferry (1859): John Brown led a raid on the federal armory to incite a slave rebellion; it ultimately failed, and he was captured and executed.
Slavery Compromises:
Missouri Compromise (1820): Admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state; prohibited slavery north of the 36°30′ latitude.
Compromise of 1850: Included the Fugitive Slave Act and admitted California as a free state.
Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854): Allowed settlers in those territories to decide on slavery through popular sovereignty, leading to violent conflict ("Bleeding Kansas").
Fugitive Slave Act (1850):
Required that escaped slaves be returned to their owners even if they were found in free states.
Popular Sovereignty:
The idea that the residents of a territory should decide whether to permit slavery.
Bleeding Kansas:
A series of violent clashes between pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions in Kansas following the Kansas-Nebraska Act.
Differences Between North & South Before the Civil War:
North: Industrial, more urban, economy based on manufacturing.
South: Agrarian, more rural, economy based on agriculture and slavery.
Election of 1860:
Winner: Abraham Lincoln
Southern Reaction: Led to the secession of Southern states, as they feared Lincoln would abolish slavery.
Secession:
The act of Southern states leaving the Union, which led to the Civil War.
Key Figures:
Robert E. Lee: Confederate general.
Ulysses S. Grant: Union general who later became President.
Abraham Lincoln: President during the Civil War.
Jefferson Davis: President of the Confederate States of America.
Significant Battles:
Bull Run (First Battle): The first major battle, resulting in a Confederate victory.
Antietam: The bloodiest single-day battle, leading to a tactical draw but strategic Union victory.
Gettysburg: Turning point battle with a Union victory.
Vicksburg: Union gained control of the Mississippi River.
Appomattox: Lee surrendered to Grant, effectively ending the war.
Emancipation Proclamation:
What It Did: Declared all slaves in Confederate states to be free.
Significance: Changed the war's focus to include the abolition of slavery as a Union goal.
Radical Republicans:
A faction within the Republican Party that pushed for harsh policies against the former Confederate states and more protections for freed slaves.
President Andrew Johnson:
Clashed with Radical Republicans over Reconstruction policies and was impeached but not removed from office.
Reconstruction Amendments:
13th Amendment: Abolished slavery.
14th Amendment: Granted citizenship and equal protection under the law.
15th Amendment: Granted African American men the right to vote.