Civil War Vocabulary and Cause of the Civil War

Civil War Vocabulary and Cause of the Civil War

Antebellum- The period before the Civil War.

Manifest Destiny- The belief that it was the will of God that the United States expand its borders to the Pacific Coast.

State’s Rights- The belief that a state’s interests should take precedence over the interests of the national government.

Overseer- A person hired to manage slaves on a day to day basis.

Abolition- The movement to do away with something, particularly slavery in the 1800’s.

Free State- A state that did not allow slavery.

Slave State- A state that allowed slavery.

Popular Sovereignty- The ability of the residents of an area to decide upon an issue, such as whether they would allow slavery.

Sectionalism- The belief by the people in a given region or area that their ideas and interests are better and more important than those of another region or area.

Slave Code- Laws enacted in the South that took away nearly all of the rights of slaves by regulating their actions.

Underground Railroad--

A series of roads, houses, river crossings, and people who helped southern slaves escape to the north or Canada.

Secession- The act of pulling out of the Union.

Nullification- To declare a law invalid.

Dred Scott- Slave who argued he was free because he was taken to a free state. Supreme Court ruled slaves were not citizens.

Abraham Lincoln- 16th President. His election with northern support caused southern states to begin seceding.

Alexander Stephens-Statesman from Georgia who originally argued against secession, then became Vice President of the CSA.

Confederate States of America -The name given to the government formed by the southern states that seceded from the Union in the early 1860’s.

John Brown- Abolitionist who led a raid on an arsenal in Virginia, was caught and hanged.

Causes of the Civil WarSlavery- The North and South disagreed over whether it was right for one man to own another.

The South depended on slaves to provide labor to grow cotton and other agricultural products.

The Missouri Compromise- 1819

The U.S. had 11 slave states and 11 free states. Missouri wanted to enter the Union as a slave state, giving more power in the Senate to slave states.

To keep balance, Maine was created as a free state.

Also, no states north of Missouri could be slave states in the future.

Causes of the Civil War

Nullification Crisis- 1832-

South Carolina hated tariffs on imported goods and threatened to secede from the Union because of them.

They felt states could nullify (not follow) any law they didn’t agree with. Congress reduced some tariffs to calm South Carolina.


Dred Scott Decision - 1834-

Dred Scott, a slave, was taken from Missouri (slave state) to Illinois (free state). Scott claimed he was free since he had lived in a free state.

Supported by abolitionists, the case went to the Supreme Court.

1857- the Court said as a slave, he was not a citizen and could not sue. This angered Northerners.


Compromise of 1850

Because of the California gold rush of 1849, California was big enough to become a state and wanted to be a free state.

In the compromise, Congress passed a law saying runaway slaves must be returned to their owners.

Georgia supported the compromise in the “Georgia Platform”, knowing it was necessary if the state wanted to stay in the Union.


Kansas-Nebraska Act- 1854

Allowed the new states of Kansas and Nebraska to let their people decide if they wanted to be free or slave states.

Angered Northerners who felt it reversed the Missouri Compromise.


Election of 1860-

became the breaking point between the North and the South.

Republicans wanted Abraham Lincoln for president. He was against everything the South wanted.

Lincoln won with virtually NO support from the South.


Southerners no longer felt they were part of the Union.

Georgians began to discuss secession, and all eyes turned toward South Carolina. SC had said they would secede if Lincoln was elected.




Alexander Stephens

Georgian who originally spoke out against secession, then became the Vice President of The Confederate States of America (CSA).


Documents

Civil War Vocabulary and Cause of the Civil War