U.S. History Module 9 Study Guide

Permitted California to join the Union as a free state

Introduced the Fugitive Slave Act - runaway slaves would be captured in the North and returned back into slavery

the people vote to decide whether to allow or prohibit slavery in their state

Was the leader of the Compromise of 1850

Lead the Compromise of 1850 because Clay was too weak

Also helped with the Compromise of 1850

Was against allowing California to enter as a free state

Henry Clay’s old rival

Supported the Compromise of 1850

Urged northerners to try to compromise with the South by passing a stricter fugitive slave law

Was opposed to any compromise on slavery

Believed that slavery was immoral and unjust

Was established as a radical on the issue of slavery

Taught to read and write by the wife of one of his owners

Escaped after a disagreement with his owner and took the identity of a free black sailor

Was an excellent speaker

Started his own anti-slavery newspaper, The North Star

Thought abolition could be achieved through peaceful political actions

A conductor of the Underground Railroad

Made 19 trips back to the South and is said to have helped 300 slaves

Was never captured

Became an ardent speaker for abolition

Runaway slaves who escaped to the North would be arrested, sent back to the South, and forced back into slavery

Whigs were divided over slavery

Northern and Southern Whigs took opposing positions on slavery legislation

Northern Whigs, anti-slavery Democrats, and Free-Soilers met to form a new political party: Republican Party

Pursue the cause of abolition by passing new laws

Won presidency via southern support

Endorsed the pro-slavery Lecompton Constitution

Anti-slavery settlers founded a town called Lawrence, and a fight between pro-slavery and anti-slavery activists caused the death of an anti-slavery activist

A pro-slavery grand jury condemned Lawrence’s inhabitants as traitors and called on the local sheriff to arrest them

The 800 pro-slavery men burned down the anti-slavery headquarters, destroyed two newspapers’ printing presses, and looted many houses and stores: Sack of Lawrence

In revenge, John Brown and his followers killed five men in the pro-slavery settlement of Pottawatomie Creek

Became known as the Pottawatomie Massacre

John Brown led 21 men into Harpers Ferry

Their goal was to seize federal arsenal, give the captured arms to slaves, and start a general slave uprising

No slaves joined

Local troops killed 8 of Brown’s men

Robert E. Lee led marines to Harpers Ferry and quickly captured Brown and his men

Brown was hanged for treason

Roger B. Taney ruled that slaves were property, not people. As a result, they did not have the rights of citizens and could not sue in court.

The constitution of the pro-slavery government in Lecompton, Kansas

Was rejected by Free-Soilers who outnumbered pro-slavery settlers

The legislature called for a referendum

President Buchanan endorsed the constitution, and requested Congress to pass it and allow Kansas to be admitted as a slave state

Angered Stephen Douglas because it did not respect the idea of popular sovereignty

The 16th president of the United States

Was not an abolitionist but believed that slavery was wrong and should not be allowed to spread

Rose to popularity through his debates with Douglas

Issued the Emancipation Proclamation which declared that all slaves living in areas currently under Confederate control were now free

Douglas believed in popular sovereignty

Lincoln believed that slavery was based on greed and was immoral

Douglas believed that popular sovereignty would allow slavery to pass away on its own

Lincoln doubted that slavery would stop spreading without legislation outlawing it in the territories

Northern Democrats backed Stephen Douglas

Southern Democrats backed John C. Breckinridge

The Constitutional Union Party backed John Bell

Abraham Lincoln was the winner but received less than half of the popular vote

He received no electoral votes from the South

He had sectional support, not national support

In most slave states, his name didn’t even appear on the ballot

If he ordered the navy to shoot its way into Charleston harbor and reinforce Fort Sumter, he would be responsible for starting a war and the slave states still in the Union might secede.

If he ordered the fort evacuated, he would be treating the Confederacy as a legitimate nation. This would anger the Republican Party, weaken his administration, and endanger the Union.

Lincoln believed that these states would be essential to the success of the Union if war broke out

They had thriving industries and good access to important rail and water routes

Their location bordering both North and South made the four states crucial to the movement of troops and supplies

Maryland almost surrounded Washington DC, the seat of government

The Union had a much larger population than the Confederacy

The North had more factories, greater food production, and a more extensive railroad system which meant that Northern armies would have easier access to weapons and transportation than their opponents

The North had a better wartime president, Lincoln was patient, skillful at balancing factions, and trustworthy

The South earned profits through cotton

The South had first-rate generals, a strong military tradition, and soldiers with high morale because they were defending their homeland

Was a tough Union military commander

Was nicknamed “Unconditional Surrender” Grant because he demanded unconditional and immediate surrender

Was promoted to commander of all Union armies by Lincoln

Monitor was the North’s ironclad ship and Merrimack was the South’s ironclad ship

The battle was a draw

The Confederate military commander

Opposed secession

Cautious Union military commander

Did not go after the battered Confederate army in the Battle of Antietam

Was fired by Lincoln

The proclamation did not free any slaves immediately

Its terms applied only to areas behind Confederate lines, outside Union control

It did not apply to southern territory already occupied by Union troops or to the slave states that had not seceded

Heavy casualties and widespread desertion led to conscription

The Confederate law drafted all able-bodied white men between the ages of 18 and 35

This was eventually changed to 17 and 50 due to the Confederacy suffering more losses

The law exempted planters who owned 20 or more slaves

The Union law drafted white men between 20 and 45 for three years

Caused by resentment over the drafts

Angry men thought it was unfair that poor whites would have to fight a war to free slaves who they believed would take their jobs

The rioters wrecked draft offices, Republican newspaper offices, and the homes of anti-slavery leaders

They attacked well-dressed men on the street and African-Americans

Lasted for three days

Union held the high ground and won

Crippled the South so badly that General Lee would never again possess sufficient forces to invade a northern state

Vicksburg was one of only two Confederate holdouts preventing the Union from taking complete control of the Mississippi River

Two Union attacks on the city failed

Grant settled for a siege — heavy artillery fire, city was surrounded, food ran low

Confederate commander of Vicksburg asked Grant for terms of surrender and the city fell on July 4

5 days later Port Hudson, Louisiana, the last Confederate holdout on the Mississippi, also fell and the Confederacy was cut in two

Lee and Grant met to arrange a surrender on April 9, 1865

Grant paroled Lee’s soldiers and sent them home with their personal possessions, their horses, and three days’ rations

Within two months, all remaining Confederate resistance collapsed

Soldiers had poor living conditions, diet, and medical care

Food was not very appealing

Disease was common

Medical care was extremely primitive

Nation’s first superintendent of women nurses

Union nurse who cared for the sick and wounded at the front lines

Collected and distributed supplies and dug bullets out of soldiers’ bodies

Was good at anticipating troop movements and sometimes arrived at the battlefield before the fighting had even begun

Was described as the “angel of the battlefield”

After the war, no state had ever seceded again

Greatly increased the federal government’s power

The economies of northern states boomed

Devastated the Southern economy

360,000 Union soldiers and 260,000 Confederates died

275,000 Union soldiers and 225,000 Confederates were wounded

Veterans with missing limbs became a common sight nationwide

Disrupted soldiers’ education, careers, and families

Union and Confederate governments spent a combined total of about $3.3 billion during the war

Mostly defensive for the Confederates

Goal was to survive as a nation

Encouraged their generals to attack & even invade the North if the opportunity arose

It was essential to fight the Confederate government & the civilian population as well

Civilians produce the food, weapons, and transported the goods to the soldiers

Strength of the people’s will kept the war going

Destroy that will and they believed the Confederacy would surrender

Blockade southern ports: Prevents the South from exporting cotton and importing manufactured goods

Seize the Mississippi River: Split the Confederacy in two

Seize Richmond: Capture the Confederate capital

Confederate diplomats asked Britain (a major importer of Southern cotton) to formally recognize the Confederacy as an independent nation but Britain remained neutral

Confederacy initiated an embargo on selling cotton to Britain, but it failed

Britain was no longer dependent on the South for cotton, already had a large inventory, and found other sources such as India and Egypt

Northern blockade prevented the South from selling their surplus cotton on the world market