Causes of the Civil War terms

Planter – These were the large-scale farmers who owned more than 20 slaves.  This group, though small, were political leaders and were very wealthy.  When northerners thought about the culture of the south they often had planters in mind. 

Yeomen – these were the small farm owners in the south.  Very few had slaves and most were working just to support their families. 

Abolition – Complete end to slavery

Emancipation – Free the slaves either immediately or over time (In NY it took almost 30 years from the time emancipation started until there were no more slaves 1799-1827)

William Lloyd Garrison – A radical abolitionist who demanded the immediate emancipation of all slaves.  Published The Liberator – Abolitionist newspaper started by Garrison in 1831.

American Anti-Slavery Society – In Garrison helped start this group that worked to end slavery and bring racial equality.  They sent petitions to representatives in Washington, spread anti-slavery literature across the country, traveled around giving speeches and started thousands of small abolitionist groups.  The group divided over two issues, how fast emancipation should take place and how much women should be involved in the movement.    

Frederick Douglas – A former slave who became an important abolitionist after he was inspired by the Liberator.  He traveled the country speaking about the evils of slavery and wrote a book explaining the hypocrisy of slavery in a democratic society.

Underground Railroad – Networks of people who helped slaves escape to the free north.  It was called an underground railroad because it was done secretly at night.  During the day the escaping slaves hid in an abolitionist’s (conductor) home or barn (station) or in the woods.  It is estimated that 40,000 slaves escaped this way. 

Harriet Tubman – A famous escaped slave she became a “conductor” on the Underground Railroad who made at least 19 trips to the South to help more than 300 slaves escape to freedom. 

Nat Turner – In Virginia the same year the Liberator was first published Nat Turner led a violent revolt against slaveholders.  Believing that God had called him to end slavery he and his fellow slaves killed 60 whites before they were stopped.  This terrified many in the South.

Manifest Destiny – The belief that it was Americas mission to spread all the way to the Pacific because our democratic, religious and economic values were good for everyone.  This was probably not what American Indians and Spanish settlers living in these areas felt.

Sectionalism – When people worry about the interests of their own region more than the interests of the entire country 

Wilmot Proviso – During the Mexican war representative Wilmot proposed that in any new land gained by the U.S. slavery should not be permitted.  This is what he said, “neither slaver nor involuntary servitude shall ever exist in any part of the territory”.  This angered many in the south who wanted the opportunity to move west with their slaves.    

Popular Sovereignty – Voters in a state or territory would decide if they would allow slavery.  The representatives of these states would act on the will of the majority.

Compromise of 1850 - As a result of the Mexican War the U.S. took control of another large piece of the continent reaching all the way to the Pacific Ocean.  California was declared a free state and the rest of the Mexican Cession was to decide the slavery issue by popular sovereignty.      

Fugitive Slave Act – This was one part of the compromise of 1850.  It stated that helping a runaway slave was a federal crime even in the free northern states.  Those who helped runaways could spend six months in jail and get a fine of $1,000.  The people in charge of carrying out the law were paid more money if they returned a suspected slave than if they proved the suspected slave was actually a free person.  This pleased southern slave owners but angered many in the north. 

Uncle Tom’s Cabin – An antislavery novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe.  She wrote the book to show northerners how cruel slavery was.  In the 10 years before the Civil more than 2 million copies were sold.  People in the South hated the book because it attacked their way of life as evil.  A northerner said that Stowe had, “created two millions of abolitionists” with her novel.  It has been called “the most influential novel ever published in the United States” because it turned so many people against slavery.  

Bleeding Kansas – In 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act declared that popular sovereignty would decide if Kansas would be slave or free.  Violence broke out across the state in 1856 when during an election season proslavery and antislavery people rushed to the state with weapons and lots of anger.  The state had its own civil war and over 200 people died.  This violence showed what could happen to the whole country if the question of slavery was not solved.

John Brown – a fanatical white abolitionist who said the only way to end slavery was to use violence against slave owners.  He killed 5 pro-slavery people in Kansas in 1856 this helped spark the civil war there. In Virginia at the town of Harper’s Ferry in 1859 he tried to start a slave revolt.  The plan did not work and he was captured hanged.  His actions scared southerners and were supported by some northerners who were getting tired of waiting for slavery to end.    

Dred Scott decision – This 1857 Supreme Court decision said that blacks had “no rights” that whites and the government had to respect.  Slaves were to be considered property and not citizens.  This decision in effect cancelled any previous compromises over slavery because it meant that any law against slavery was unconstitutional.  As a result all the new territories would be open to slavery and maybe even the Northern states would be forced to permit slavery.