Download Antebellum Study Guide 8-4.1 Antebellum Period

Antebellum Study Guide
8-4.1
Antebellum Period- Time period leading up to the Civil War. During this time period the Slave
Population more than doubled due to the invention of the cotton gin and the increased need for slaves.
During the antebellum period the regions of the upcountry and the Low Country began to compete in
the production of cotton. The capital of South Carolina was moved from Charleston to Columbia
because Columbia was more centrally located in the state.
Eli Whitney- Inventor of the Cotton Gin
8-4.2
Abolitionist – People who wanted to put an end to the institution of slavery
Fredrick Douglas- One of the most famous African American abolitionist
Sarah and Angelina Grimke- Sisters from South Carolina who moved north to join the Religious Society
of Friends, or the Quakers. They became famous Abolitionist.
Denmark Vesey led a slave revolt in Charleston
John Brown- An abolitionist who turned to violence. He led the raid on Harpers Ferry. He was captured
and executed . This outraged many in the north. John Browns execution was another issue that caused
tension and division between the North and the South.
8-4.3
Protective tariffs – Taxes that were imposed on imported goods to protect industry in the US.
Southerners opposed these taxes because there was little industry in the South and they relied
heavily on imported goods.
Nullification- The theory of government that a state has the power to reject a national law with
which it disagrees. John C Calhoun used it in opposing the Tariff of 1828. South Carolina adopted it
as the justification for nullifying the Tariff of 1832 during the Nullification Crisis. As a result of the
Nullification Crises tensions developed between the federal government and individual states and
South Carolina gained the reputation as the most radical state.
States’ Rights- The belief that state power superseded federal power. The state’s rights idea would
develop and evolve into the theory of secession, that the United States was a mere confederation
not a binding union.
Manifest Destiny- The belief that the American people have the right to occupy the entire American
continent from the Atlantic ocean to the Pacific ocean
Missouri Compromise- Allowed Missouri to enter the Union as a slave state and Maine to enter as a
free state. It also drew an imaginary line at the 36 30 parallel and stated that after Missouri, no
state entering the union could be a slave state.
Stephen Douglas – Northern senator who wanted to organize the Kansas and Nebraska territories
in order to provide land for a railroad to be built between Chicago and the West. He was the author
of the Kansas Nebraska Act. This Act allowed for the issue of slavery in theses territories to be
decided by Popular Sovereignty, which meant the people would vote.
Lincoln Douglas Debates- A series of seven debates between Republican Abraham Lincoln and
Democrat Stephen Douglas during the 1858 U.S. Senate campaign in Illinois. Lincoln lost the
election however; he gained national attention for his stance on the extension of slavery. He was
opposed to the expansion of slavery beyond the South.
The Compromise of 1850- California wanted to enter the union as a free state. Californians did not
want to compete with slave owners who would be able to use their slaves to mine gold. The
Compromise of 1850 allowed California to enter as a free state. It outlawed the slave trade in
Washington DC. It provided that the rest of the Mexican Cession would decide whether or not the
residence wanted to be a slave or free state through the vote, a concept called popular sovereignty.
Southerners also got the Fugitive Slave Law.
Fugitive Slave Law/Act- Law that made it a crime to help runaway slaves; allowed for the arrest of
runaway slaves in areas where slavery was illegal and required their return to slave owners.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin- Antislavery novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe that showed northerners
the violent reality of slavery and drew many people to the abolitionist movement.
Dred Scott Decision- US Supreme Court ruling that declared African Americans were not US citizens,
that the Missouri Compromise ‘s restriction on slavery was unconstitutional , and that Congress did
not have the right to ban slavery in any federal territory. It ruled that because slaves were
considered “property” a slave owner could not be prohibited from taking a slave into free territory.
Election of 1860- Abraham Lincoln won the Election of o1860. South Carolina seceded from the
Union followed by several other southern states.
8-4.4
Unionist, Cooperationist, and Secessionists/Fire eaters – See Notes
The secessionists / Fire-eaters struggled for political control in South Carolina during the 1850’s
Jefferson Davis- President of the Confederate States of America