People
A Confederate general during the Civil War, he was recognized for his strategic skills and leadership, especially in battles like Antietam and Fredericksburg. Despite several victories early in the war, his forces were eventually outmatched by the Union's greater resources, leading to his eventual surrender in 1865. After the war, he became a symbol of the South's resistance but remains a controversial figure due to his defense of slavery and secession.
Robert E. Lee
A law passed in 1862 that provided federal support for the construction of a transcontinental railroad. It granted land and financial aid to railroad companies, encouraging the rapid expansion of rail networks across the United States. This act played a crucial role in connecting the East and West, facilitating trade, settlement, and the economic development of the American frontier.
Pacific Railway Act
A law passed in 1862 that offered 160 acres of public land to any adult citizen who was willing to work the land and improve it for at least five years. It was designed to encourage westward expansion and provide opportunities for poor farmers, including formerly enslaved people. While it led to the settlement of much of the American West, many people faced challenges such as harsh conditions and conflicts with Native American tribes.
Homestead Act
A white supremacist group founded in the post-Civil War South that used violence and intimidation to resist Reconstruction and deny civil rights to African Americans. They targeted Black individuals, as well as white Republicans and other allies of Reconstruction, through lynchings, bombings, and other forms of terror. The group's actions led to widespread fear and reinforced racial segregation and discrimination, with a resurgence of their influence in the 1920s and beyond.
Ku Klux Klan
An executive order issued by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863 that declared all enslaved people in Confederate-held territory to be free. It did not immediately free all enslaved people but was a crucial step toward abolition and changed the character of the Civil War by making the fight for freedom a central goal. The proclamation also allowed African Americans to join the Union Army, which helped strengthen its forces and contributed to the Union's victory.
Emancipation Proclamation
A general in the Union Army during the Civil War, he led the Northern forces to victory, ultimately accepting the surrender of Confederate General Robert E. Lee at Appomattox Court House in 1865. His aggressive tactics and determination were key in securing Union victories, particularly in battles like Vicksburg and Chattanooga. Later, he served as the 18th president of the United States, focusing on Reconstruction and efforts to protect the rights of African Americans.
Ulysses S. Grant
A location in Virginia where, in 1859, abolitionist John Brown led a raid on a federal armory to arm enslaved people and initiate a rebellion. The raid failed, and Brown was captured and later executed, but it heightened tensions between the North and South over the issue of slavery. This event is seen as a key moment leading up to the Civil War, symbolizing the growing divide over slavery in America.
Harpers Ferry
Steam-powered warships with iron or steel armor, developed during the Civil War to replace wooden ships. These vessels were more durable and provided greater protection in battle, helping to shift naval warfare tactics. The famous battle between the USS Monitor and the CSS Virginia in 1862 marked the first meeting in combat of ironclad warships, signaling a new era in naval technology.
Ironclads
A group of Republicans during and after the Civil War who sought to implement stricter policies for Reconstruction and promote full civil rights for African Americans. They believed in using federal power to ensure equality and worked to pass laws and amendments that would protect the rights of formerly enslaved people. Their efforts led to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1866, the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments, and conflict with President Andrew Johnson, who opposed their views.
Radical Republicans
A law passed by Congress to grant citizenship and equal rights to all people born in the United States, regardless of race. It was designed to protect formerly enslaved people from discriminatory laws in the South, but its impact was limited because of weak enforcement. Although the president at the time tried to block it, Congress overrode his veto, making it the first major law passed despite a presidential rejection.
Civil Rights Act of 1866
A Union general during the Civil War, he is best known for his "March to the Sea," in which he led a destructive campaign through Georgia to break the Confederacy's will to fight. His tactics of total war, which targeted both military and civilian resources, helped shorten the war but also caused widespread suffering. Sherman’s strategy was controversial but played a key role in the Union's eventual victory.
William Tecumseh Sherman
The first major battle of the Civil War, fought in 1861 in Virginia, near a stream called Bull Run. The Confederate forces, led by General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, defeated the Union army, which was inexperienced and unprepared for battle. This victory boosted Confederate morale and demonstrated that the war would be longer and more difficult than initially expected.
First Battle of Bull Run
A system that emerged after the Civil War where individuals worked on land owned by someone else, typically in exchange for a share of the harvest. This arrangement often left workers trapped in a cycle of debt, as they had to borrow supplies and tools from landowners. It became widespread in the South, particularly among African Americans, and contributed to the persistence of poverty and inequality in the region.
sharecropping
A series of seven debates in 1858 between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas during their campaign for a U.S. Senate seat in Illinois. The central issue was the expansion of slavery into the territories, with Douglas advocating for popular sovereignty and Lincoln opposing the spread of slavery. Although Douglas won the Senate seat, the debates helped Lincoln gain national recognition, setting the stage for his successful presidential campaign in 1860.
Lincoln-Douglas Debates
An amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1865, that abolished slavery and involuntary servitude, except as punishment for a crime. It was a significant step in securing freedom for African Americans and marked the end of legal slavery in the United States. The passage of this amendment was a major victory for the abolitionist movement and a key moment in the aftermath of the Civil War.
Thirteenth Amendment
As the vice president who became president after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, he led the country during the early years of rebuilding after the Civil War. He clashed with Congress by opposing efforts to grant civil rights to formerly enslaved people and attempted to allow Southern states to return to power with few restrictions. His resistance to congressional policies led to his impeachment, though he narrowly avoided removal from office.
Andrew Johnson
A law passed in 1854 that allowed the territories of Kansas and Nebraska to decide for themselves whether to allow slavery through popular sovereignty. It effectively repealed the Missouri Compromise, which had prohibited slavery in those areas, and led to violent conflict between pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers, known as "Bleeding Kansas." The act deepened the divide between the North and South, contributing to the rise of the Republican Party and the eventual outbreak of the Civil War.
Kansas-Nebraska Act
An informal agreement ended a political dispute over a presidential election by allowing the candidate from the Republican Party to take office in exchange for removing federal troops from the South. This deal marked the end of efforts to protect the rights of formerly enslaved people, as white-controlled governments regained power in the region. The agreement led to widespread racial discrimination and segregation laws that lasted for decades.
Compromise of 1877
A Supreme Court case in 1857 in which an enslaved man, Dred Scott, sued for his freedom after living in free territories. The Court ruled that African Americans, whether free or enslaved, could not be citizens and that Congress had no authority to ban slavery in U.S. territories. The decision intensified sectional tensions, angered abolitionists, and further divided the North and South, contributing to the onset of the Civil War.
Dred Scott v. Sanford
An amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1868, that granted citizenship to all persons born or naturalized in the United States, including formerly enslaved people. It also provided equal protection under the law, prohibiting states from denying any person life, liberty, or property without due process. This amendment was crucial in securing civil rights and played a significant role in later legal battles for racial equality.
Fourteenth Amendment
A congressman from Pennsylvania, he was a leading voice in the House of Representatives for ending slavery and granting equal rights to formerly enslaved people. During the period of rebuilding after the Civil War, he pushed for strict policies to reshape the South and ensure racial equality, including land redistribution and voting rights. Although many of his ideas were not fully realized, his efforts helped lay the foundation for future civil rights movements.
Thaddeus Stephens
A federal agency created in 1865 to assist formerly enslaved people and poor whites in the South by providing food, shelter, education, and legal support. It also helped with the transition to freedom by negotiating labor contracts and helping people reunite with family members. While it had some successes, the Bureau faced strong opposition from Southern whites and was eventually dismantled, but its efforts laid the foundation for future civil rights initiatives.
Freedmen's Bureau
Laws passed in Southern states after the Civil War to restrict the freedoms of African Americans and maintain a labor force similar to slavery. These codes limited African Americans' rights to own property, work in certain jobs, and move freely, effectively keeping them in a subordinate position. The Black Codes were a direct response to the abolition of slavery and led to the establishment of the Reconstruction Amendments to protect African Americans' rights.
Black Codes
Northern individuals who moved to the South after the Civil War, often to take advantage of the economic opportunities created by Reconstruction. Many were viewed with suspicion and hostility by Southerners, who accused them of exploiting the region's post-war instability for personal gain. Despite the negative perception, carpetbaggers played a key role in Southern politics, helping to implement Reconstruction laws and support African American rights.
carpetbaggers
An amendment to the U.S. Constitution, ratified in 1870, that granted African American men the right to vote. It was a major victory for the civil rights movement after the Civil War, aiming to ensure political equality for formerly enslaved people. Despite its passage, many Southern states used tactics like literacy tests and poll taxes to prevent African Americans from voting for decades.
Fifteenth Amendment