Key Terms
This term refers to an exaggerated loyalty to a particular region rather than the nation.
Sectionalism
This was the first state to formally secede from the Union in 1860.
South Carolina
This 1820 agreement drew an "invisible line" at the 36°30’ latitude.
Missouri Compromise
Name one of these five"stuck in the middle" states that allowed slavery but stayed loyal to the Union.
Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky, West Virginia, Missouri
This 1863 Union victory gave the North control of the Mississippi Valley and split the Confederacy in half.
Battle of Vicksburg
This term describes a system where the government requires citizens to join the military instead of waiting for volunteers.
draft
This term refers to a person who is not in the military.
civilian
This political doctrine allows people in a territory to vote on whether to permit slavery.
Popular Sovereignty
This militant abolitionist led a raid on Pottawatomie Creek and Harpers Ferry.
John Brown
Under the Compromise of 1850, this western territory was admitted as a free state.
California
In 1861, President Lincoln sent Union forces to seize this city, the Confederate capital.
Richmond, VA
This three-day battle in Pennsylvania is considered the "tide-turning" moment that put the Confederacy on the defensive.
Battle of Gettysburg
This Union General is famous for his "March to the Sea" and his use of Total War.
William T. Sherman
Soldiers who fight on foot are known by this term.
Infantry
A way of settling differences where each side gives up some demands to reach an agreement.
Compromise
The Civil War effectively began when Confederate forces threatened this fort.
Fort Sumter
This 1854 act repealed the Missouri Compromise and led to violence.
Kansas-Nebraska Act
This is the formal term for a state's withdrawal from the Union.
Secession
Before the Emancipation Proclamation, this 1862 event had reached a "tie" or "stalemate," prompting Lincoln to seek a greater moral purpose for the war.
Battle of Antietam
This military strategy involves destroying not just the enemy's army, but also crops, railroads, and resources.
Total War
This term describes the number of deaths in a specific group or event.
mortality
An organized division of a country not yet admitted as a full state.
Territory
He was the first and only temporary president of the Confederacy.
Jefferson Davis
This 1850 act forced ordinary citizens to help capture runaway slaves.
Fugitive Slave Act
The Union had a massive advantage in this, with 22,000 miles compared to the South's 9,000.
Railroads
General Lee officially surrendered to General Grant at this location on April 9, 1865.
Appomatox Court House
President Lincoln issued this decree on January 1, 1863, formally freeing slaves in rebel states.
Emancipation Proclamation
This term means to organize and prepare troops and resources for war.
mobilize
A person who favors the immediate end of slavery.
Abolitionist
This nickname was given to a territory that became a violent battleground in 1855.
Bleeding Kansas
In the 1820 deal, this state joined as a free state to balance Missouri's entry.
Maine
This country was the South's primary target for "Cotton Diplomacy".
Great Britain
This city, a major railroad hub and industrial center, was captured by General Sherman to break Southern morale.
Atlanta
Residents of this city were forced to live in hand-dug caves during a long Union siege.
Vicksburg
This was the nickname given to the Union's three-part strategy for victory that included blockading Southern ports, controlling the Mississippi River, and taking the South's capital.
Anaconda Plan