| Term | Definition |
|---|
| sectionalism | loyalty to a region |
| fugitive | runaway or trying to run away |
| secede | to leave or withdraw |
| abstain | to not take part in some activity, such as voting |
| popular sovereignty | political theory that government is subject to the will of the people; before the Civil War, the idea that people living in a territory had the right to decide by voting if slavery would be allowed there |
| border ruffians | Missourians who traveled in armed groups to vote in Kansas's election during the mid-1850s |
| civil war | conflict between opposing groups of citizens of the same country |
| arsenal | a storage place for weapons and ammunition |
| martyr | a person who sacrifices his or her life for a principle or cause |
| secession | withdrawal from the Union |
| states' rights | states rights and powers independent of the federal government that are reserved for the states by the Constitution; the belief that states' rights supersede federal rights and law |
| The Compromise of 1850 | admitted California as a free state; permitted popular sovereignty in the New Mexico Territory; sided with New Mexico in a border dispute with Texas;abolished slave trade but not slavery in District of Columbia; passed stronger fugitive slave act |
| Fugitive Slave Act | a law requiring all citizens to help catch runaway slaves; the law fined or imprisoned anyone who aided a fugitive |
| Kansas-Nebraska Act | a law passed by Congress in 1854 that contradicted the Missouri Compromise by allowing settlers in the Kansas and Nebraska territories to decide whether or not to permit slavery |
| Republican Party | a political party comprised of former antislavery Whigs, Northern Democrats, and Free Soilers who wanted to ban slavery from new territories |
| Dred Scott Decision | A Supreme Court decision that said Dred Scott could not sue for his freedom in court because slaves were not citizens but property; it also said Congress could not prohibit slavery in any territory because property is protected by the Fifth Amendment |
| Harpers Ferry | a raid on an arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, led by the abolitionist John Brown. Brown hoped to start a rebellion against slaveholders by arming enslaved African Americans; Brown was captured, convicted of treason and murder, and hanged |
| Abraham Lincoln | Republican who was elected president in 1860 and took the position that slavery should be left undisturbed where it existed, but would not be allowed in the territories; warned the South that secession would not be permitted |
| The Confederate States of America | the name given to the new nation and government when delegates from the states of South Carolina, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and Georgia seceded from the Union; they elected Jefferson Davis as their President |
| Fort Sumter | A federal fort on an island guarding Charleston Harbor in South Carolina; Jefferson Davis orders Confederate forces to attack here on April 12, 1861; The Confederates capture this, and the Civil War begins. |
| federal | the central government of the United States |
| debate | a verbal argument |
| simultaneous | occurring at the same time |
| reveal | to allow something to be seen that, until then, had been unknown or hidden |
| erupt | to burst forth suddenly and violently |
| restrict | to place under limits |
| eventual | happening or existing at a late time or at the end, especially after a lot of effort or problems |
| justify | to show a good reason for choosing a particular side |
| theory | an idea that is the starting point for argument or investigation |
| border states | the states between the North and the South that were divided over whether to stay in the Union or join the Confederacy |
| blockade | cut off an area by means of troops or warships to stop supplies or people from coming in or going out; to close off a country's ports |
| offensive | position of attacking or the attack itself |
| Rebel | Confederate soldier, so called because of opposition to the established government |
| Yankee | Union soldier |
| blockade runner | ship that sails into and out of a blockaded area |
| ironclad | armored naval vessel |
| casualty | a military person killed, wounded, or captured |
| emancipate | to free from slavery |
| ratify | to give official approval to |
| habeas corpus | a legal order for an inquiry to determine whether a person has been lawfully imprisoned |
| draft | the selection of persons for required military service |
| bounty | money given as a reward, such as to encourage enlistment in the army |
| greenback | a piece of U.S. paper money first issued by the North during the Civil War |
| inflation | a continuous rise in the price of goods and services |
| entrenched | occupying a strong defensive position |
| total war | war on all aspects of the enemy's life |
| Battle of Antietam | the single, bloodiest day of the entire Civil War in which nearly 6,000 Union and confederate soldiers were killed and another 17,000 seriously injured |
| Richmond, Virginia | city in Virginia that became the capital of the Confederacy |
| Jefferson Davis | president of the Confederacy |
| West Virginia | state that was created in 1863 when 48 western Virginia counties seceded from the state of Virginia and rejoined the Union |
| Army of the Potomac | the name given to the union army in the East |
| General George McClellan | appointed by Lincoln to head the Union army of the East; Lincoln was frustrated when he failed to capture the Confederate capital of Richmond |
| The Battle of Shiloh | Grant narrowly defeats the Confederates during this battle and forces them to retreat to Corinth; together both Union and Confederates have 20,000 casualties during this battle |
| David Farragut | leader of the Union naval forces who captured the city of New Orleans, which was the largest city of the South; The Union's victory under him gave the North control of almost all the Mississippi River |
| sufficient | means enough to achieve a goal or fulfill a need |
| reinforce | to provide an army with more soldiers or weapons to make it stronger |
| distribute | to divide among several or many |
Combine with other sets
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