Samantha Golden

1/8/12
Civil War Terms
1. Kansas/Nebraska Act (1854) a bill was introduced to Congress to organize
some western land into the Kansas and Nebraska territories in order to
facilitate the building of the transcontinental railroad; included the repeal of
the Missouri Compromise (which banned slavery above the 36,30 line) and
replaced it with the idea of popular sovereignty; created conflict between the
North and South
Bleeding Kansas North and South both sent people into Kansas to vote on
slavery issue; Northerners form the New England Emigrant Aid Company;
Missouri border ruffians flooded into the state, armed
- A pro-slavery government was formed after the vote, but the free soil
party proclaimed it illegitimate and formed their own government now two
governments existed in Kansas
- guerilla warfare between them broke out
- John Brown murdered 5 pro-slavery men at Pottawatomie Creek
because he claimed God told him to
-violence in Congress: Charles Sumner gave a speech denouncing
slavery; Preston Brooks beat him with a cane in the middle of the Senate
2. Lecompton Crisis the pro slavery government in Kansas created a state
constitution that allowed slavery and submitted it to Congress to enter the
Union; at the same time, free soilers drafted their own constitution and
submitted it to Congress as well; in order to appease the south and avoid
their secession, President Buchanan backed the Lecompton constitution;
Congress gave Kansas voters a chance to decide in a fair election, and they
turned down the pro-slavery constitution; Kansas remained a territory, and
then was finally admitted as a free state in 1861 after the south seceded.
3. Dred Scott Case A slave named Dred Scott tried to sue for his freedom
because his owner had taken him to live in a free state; first, the court ruled
that he was not a citizen and could not sue; then they decided to go further,
settling the slavery issue once and for all; Chief Justice Roger B. Taney ruled
that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional because Congress did not
have the authority to outlaw slavery in any territory
4. Lincoln-Douglas debates Lincoln said that Douglass idea of popular
sovereignty did not recognize that slavery was morally wrong, and that
because Douglas did not take a stand against slavery, he secretly supported
it; Douglas tried to make Lincoln seem like a radical abolitionist who
supported racial equality and race mixing

5. John Browns Raid (see packet) 1859; devout abolitionist; murdered proslavery men in cold blood; claimed God told him to; captured by Robert E.
Lee he knew he wouldnt get away with what he did, his intention was to
force the south to make a move and it worked

7. The Union
a. Northern leaders:
i. Lincoln Dark Horse Candidate; Emancipation Proclamation
set all the slaves free and allowed them to join the Union Army;
supported slavery containment, not abolition because he knew US
could not exist without it and the South had a right to continue the
institution
ii. Grant - Union general
iii. Sherman
b. Ex Parte Merryman/Ex Parte Milligan; habeas corpus
-Lincoln tried to suspend habeas corpus to keep Merryman in jail,
he was working for the South trying to isolate Washington DC from Union
territory; Taney ruled that he was not authorized to do this, but Lincoln
ignored him
8. Southern Seccession
a. Southern leaders:
i. Jefferson Davis
ii. Robert E. Lee
b. Confederacy