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8-4 Civil War Key Terms & Stuff to Know

Terms in this set (40)

antebellum
before the war (American Civil War)
subsistence farm
grows a variety of plants for a small group of people (family) to live off of
cotton gin
a machine to take the seeds out of the cotton plant; invented by Eli Whitney
Westward Expansion
encompasses (surrounds) the acquisition (buy; purchase) of territories by the U.S. across the whole area of the North American continent from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west. Enabled by buying land, wars, treaties, and the displacement of Native Americans.
headright method
a grant of land, usually 50 acres to a settler, given by certain colonies and companies in the 17th and 18th centuries.
master
what slaves would call the owner of the plantation
mistress
what slaves would call the plantation owner's wife
elite
people of the highest social class; wealthy
overseers/drivers
man hired on as the master of the plantation to oversee the work of the slaves
patrollers
men who would patrol the roads in search of runaway slaves
"positive good"
how Southerners justified slavery. They claimed that Southern slaves were better cared for than factory workers in the North
sectionalism
loyalty to a particular region or section of a country instead of the nation as a whole
emancipate
to free from slavery
abolitionist
a person who wants to abolish (get rid of) the institution of slavery
Denmark Vesey
a free slave living in Charleston who plotted a slave rebellion. It was found out about and one result was stricter slave codes.
Republicans
(not the same as today) followers of Thomas Jefferson; most were Southerners
Whigs
Federalists; a political party believing in a strong federal (national) government. Many Northerners were Whigs during the antebellum period
Nat Turner Rebellion
a slave rebellion that took place in Southampton County, Virginia, during August 1831. Led by Nat Turner, rebel slaves killed anywhere from 55-65 people; the highest number of fatalities caused by any slave uprising in the American South.
Underground Railroad
network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th century African slaves in the U.S. to escape to free states up North and into Canada. They were helped by abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause.
Kansas-Nebraska Act
passed by the U.S. Congress in 1854. It allowed people in the territories of Kansas and Nebraska to decide for themselves whether or not to allow slavery within their borders. The Act served to repeal the Missouri Compromise of 1820 which prohibited slavery north of latitude 36, 30'
Dred Scott decision
a controversial ruling made by the Supreme Court in 1857, shortly before the outbreak of the Civil War. Dred Scott, a slave, sought to be declared a free man on the basis that he had lived for a time in a "free" territory with his master. The Court decided that, under the Constitution, Scott was his master's property and was not a citizen of the U.S.
Missouri Compromise
admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. The Compromise prohibited slavery in the Louisiana Territory north of the latitude 36, 30'
John C. Calhoun
From S.C. vice president; anonymously wrote S.C. Exposition and Protest
States' Rights Party
nullifiers; Union Party; unionists
Theory of Secession
allowed states to leave the U.S. if they believed their rights were being infringed (violated, restricted) upon
Compromise of 1850
allowed California to be a free state, but also allowed the slave trade in Washington, D.C.
Uncle Tom's Cabin
written by Harriet Beecher Stowe in protest against the Fugitive Slave Act.
Union
the United States
Free State/Free Soil
the idea that slavery should not be allowed to expand to the territories
nullification
the idea that a state can void a federal law
protective tariff
putting a tax on foreign goods so that people are more likely to buy American goods
Force Bill
Passed by Congress that allowed Andrew Jackson to use the military to maintain Federal Law
Secession
a state breaking away from the Union
popular sovereignty
the people have the right to choose; democracy; authority from the people
Fugitive Slave Law
Part of the Compromise of 1850 that said runaway slaves (whether in the North or South) must be reported and returned to their owner
Unionists
favored the idea of remaining part of the Union (United States)
Cooperationists
S.C. who favored seceding from the Union, only if it was done with the support of all the southern states
secessionists
"fire-eaters;" radicals that argued that breaking apart from the Union was the only answer for S.C.
states' rights
political statement that the federal government should not interfere with the decision-making and freedoms of the individual states.
American Civil War
1861-1865; war fought in the United States between the North and South
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