Download Civil War Vocabulary- Chapters 21, 22, and, 23

Civil War Vocabulary- Chapters 21, 22, and, 23
1. Abolitionist- one who took action against slavery, with the intent to “abolish” or outlaw it.
2. Missouri Compromise- 1820- a compromise between states passed to regulate slavery of
the western territories of the United States. Object of the compromise was to balance the
number of slave-states and free-states. The boundary line was drawn at the 36/30degree
parallel.
3. Racism- the belief that one person is less “human” than another person, biased based on
skin color, language, or culture.
4. Wilmot-Proviso- A proposal made in 1846- to prohibit slavery in the territory added to the
U.S. as a result of the Mexican-American War.
5. Compromise of 1850- the agreement made in order to admit California in the Union as a
free-state. This arrangement allowed for the New Mexico and Utah territories to decide
whether they would be slave-territories or not.
6. Fugitive Slave Act- This was a federally mandated order that if a slave ran away to the North,
then the owner of the slave had the right to go retrieve the run-away . Also, a $1,000 fine
would be given to anyone who did not turn in a known fugitive.
7. Uncle Tom’s Cabin- an anti-slavery novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Revealed the horrors of
slavery to many Northerner who read it.
8. Popular Sovereignty- the idea that the government’s authority should come from the
people.
9. Kansas-Nebraska Act- This act repealed the Missouri Act. This act allowed people in the
territories of Kansas and Nebraska to decide whether they would allow slavery to be
accepted in the territory.
10. “Bleeding Kansas”/Bloodshed in Kansas- Border war between slavery and anti-slavery
states. John Brown came into Kansas to fight against slavery. The tension for fighting started
because many neighboring states were pro-slavery and Kansas was divided.
11. John Brown- an abolitionist who believed armed fighting was the only way to end slavery.
Commanded forces in Kansas and raided at Harper’s Ferry’s.
12. Dred Scott Supreme Court Case- Supreme Court ruling on slavery and the rights of slaves as
they travel from free to slave states. Conclusions from the ruling: 1. African-Americans were
not U.S. citizens. 2. The federal government had no power to regulate slavery in any
territory (it becomes a states-rights issue) acquired subsequent to the creation of the U.S.
13. Secede/secession- to withdraw from an organization or alliance.
14. Confederate States of America (Confederacy)- made up of 11 states that seceded from that
Union. The Southern states were: South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana,
Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee.
15. Anaconda Plan- Union Gen. Winfield Scott’s plan for surrounding and over-taking the
Confederacy through blockades of Southern ports to isolate and “strangle” the Confederate
states by the Union.
16. Gettysburg Address- Address given on the Battlefield of Gettysburg, in memoriam of those
who died fighting for the freedoms of others.
17. Emancipation Proclamation- The order issued by President Lincoln through a speech
presented in January 1, 1863 by President Lincoln declaring that the slaves in the
confederate states to be free.
18. 13th Amendment- Ratified in 1865- abolishing slavery
19. 14th Amendment- 1868- granting citizenship to anyone born in the U.S and guaranteeing all
citizens equal protection under the law.
20. 15th Amendment- 1872- declaring that the states cannot deny anyone the right to vote
because of race or color, or because the person was once a slave.
21. Reconstruction- The time period after the Civil War in which the Southern states were
rebuilt and brought back into working order in the union.
22. Freedmen’s Bureau- Agency established by Congress at the end of the Civil War to help
protect newly freed Black Americans.
23. Black codes- laws passed in 1855-1865, in the former Confederate states to limit the rights
and freedoms of African Americans.
Civil War Categories
Place each vocabulary word in the appropriate category:
Leads to the Civil War:
Abolitionist
Missouri Compromise
RacismWilmot-Proviso
Compromise of 1850
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Popular Sovereignty
Kansas-Nebraska Act
Bleeding Kansas”/Bloodshed in Kansas
John Brown
Dred Scott Supreme Court Case
Secede/secession
Black codes
Takes place during the Civil War:
Fugitive Slave Act
Confederate States of America (Confederacy)
Anaconda PlanGettysburg AddressEmancipation Proclamation
Black codes
After the Civil War ends:
13th Amendment
14th Amendment- 1868
15th Amendment- 1872
Reconstruction
Freedmen’s Bureau