Pre Civil War

1. Gadsden Purchase:

A land acquisition agreement between the United States and Mexico in 1854, where the U.S. purchased a small strip of land in the southern Arizona territory for $10 million, primarily to facilitate the construction of a southern transcontinental railroad. 

2. Free Soil Party:

A political party formed in the mid-1840s that advocated for the exclusion of slavery from any new territories acquired by the United States, contributing to the growing tensions over slavery in the lead-up to the Civil War. 

3. California Gold Rush:

A period of mass migration to California in the mid-1840s after gold was discovered, leading to a rapid population increase and economic boom in the region, as well as increased conflict over slavery. 

4. Underground Railroad:

A network of secret routes and safe houses used by enslaved people to escape to freedom in the North, often with the assistance of abolitionists. 

5. Compromise of 1850:

An attempt to resolve the issue of slavery by admitting California as a free state, allowing popular sovereignty in Utah and New Mexico territories, and strengthening the Fugitive Slave Act, but ultimately failing to fully satisfy either side. 

6. Whig Party:

A major political party in the mid-19th century that generally supported economic development, modernization, and a limited role for government, but was divided on the issue of slavery. 

7. Ostend Manifesto:

A secret document written by American diplomats in 1854 advocating for the U.S. to acquire Cuba by force if necessary, which further fueled tensions with Southern slaveholders who saw Cuba as a potential new slave state. 

8. Opium War:

A series of wars fought between Britain and China in the mid-19th century over the British trade of opium in China, resulting in humiliating defeats for the Qing dynasty and the opening of Chinese ports to foreign trade. 

9. Kansas-Nebraska Act:

A 1854 law that repealed the Missouri Compromise and allowed popular sovereignty to decide the issue of slavery in the Kansas and Nebraska territories, leading to intense conflict and violence between pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces. 

10. Harriet Tubman:

A prominent conductor on the Underground Railroad, known for her bravery and numerous successful missions to help enslaved people escape to freedom. 

11. Uncle Tom's Cabin:

A novel published in 1852 by Harriet Beecher Stowe that depicted the horrors of slavery and sparked widespread outrage against the institution, contributing to the abolitionist movement. 

12. Dred Scott v. Sandford:

A Supreme Court case in 1857 that ruled that enslaved people were not considered U.S. citizens and could not sue for their freedom, significantly escalating tensions over slavery. 

13. Lincoln-Douglas debates:

A series of seven public debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas during the 1858 Illinois Senate election, which focused primarily on the issue of slavery and highlighted their differing views on the expansion of slavery. 

14. John Brown:

An abolitionist who led a raid on a pro-slavery settlement in Kansas in 1856, sparking further violence and contributing to the growing sectional crisis. 

15. Election of 1860:

The presidential election of 1860, where Abraham Lincoln was elected President, leading to the secession of several Southern states and the outbreak of the Civil War.