Eras & Events
This era was characterized by the secession of southern states and war between the Union and Confederacy.
What is the Civil War?
Slavery in the United States first began in this colony during the Colonial era.
What is Virginia?
Faced with the prospect that slavery could end, this state was the first to secede from the Union.
What is South Carolina?
The Civil War officially began in April 1861 when Confederate forces fired on this federal fort.
What is Fort Sumter?
The North had access to a more extensive network of these, helping them move supplies and men.
What are railroads?
In April 1865, Robert E. Lee surrendered to this Union general.
Who is Ulysses S. Grant?
This U.S. President led the nation during the Civil War.
Who is Abraham Lincoln?
The balance of power between free and slave states was maintained by this 1820 agreement.
What is the Missouri Compromise?
Southern leaders claimed this Constitutional amendment prevented the federal government from interfering with slavery in territories.
What is the 10th Amendment?
This July 1863 battle was the turning point of the war, repelling Lee's invasion of northern territory.
What is the Battle of Gettysburg?
Because the South had better ports, the North instituted one of these to cut off trade.
What is a blockade?
President Lincoln was assassinated in April 1865 by this southern sympathizer.
Who is John Wilkes Booth?
This executive document freed enslaved persons in rebelling territories.
What is the Emancipation Proclamation?
The South staunchly defended the need for slave labor to support this type of economy.
What is an agrarian-based economy?
Southern states that seceded joined together to form this new nation.
What are the Confederate States of America?
With 23,000 casualties, this battle in Maryland was the bloodiest one-day battle in American history.
What is the Battle of Antietam?
Union control of this major river divided the Confederacy in two.
What is the Mississippi River?
Lincoln's assassination allowed this political group to control Congress and dictate the terms of Reconstruction.
Who are the Radical Republicans?
After four years of bloodshed, the war ended with a surrender at this Virginia location.
What is Appomattox Court House?
A growing population of immigrants accelerated western settlement and supported this movement to end slavery.
What is Abolition (or Abolitionism)?
This 1860 event led many Southern political leaders to believe the federal government was contemplating abolishing slavery.
What is the election of Abraham Lincoln?
The North captured this stronghold from May to July 1863 to gain control of the Mississippi River.
What is the Siege of Vicksburg?
Southern soldiers gained an advantage during battles from their knowledge of this physical geographic factor.
What is the terrain?
The southern economy was dependent on the exportation of these, which was severely limited by the northern blockade.
What are cash crops?
The issue of slavery had fueled these geographic and political tensions for decades before being addressed by the war.
What are sectional tensions?
Northerners felt their states' rights were violated by this 1850 federal act requiring them to help recapture runaway slaves.
What is the Fugitive Slave Act?
The Union victory and the ratification of this amendment confirmed the authority of federal law over state laws.
What is the 14th Amendment?
The Union victory at Antietam built confidence and led President Lincoln to issue this significant document.
What is the Emancipation Proclamation?
Union control of the Mississippi River was critical because it cut off these important logistical paths to the South.
What are supply routes?
By limiting the export of cash crops, the northern blockade crippled the southern states' ability to raise this.
What is revenue?