Civil War
This battle, fought on April 12, 1861, marked the official start of the Civil War.
Battle of Fort Sumter
This idea suggested that people in each territory should decide for themselves whether to allow slavery.
popular sovereignty
This formerly enslaved man became a leading abolitionist, famous for his speeches and autobiography describing his experiences under slavery.
Frederick Douglass
This year marked the beginning of slavery in the English colonies with the arrival of enslaved Africans in Jamestown, Virginia.
1619
This law required free states to assist in the capture of escaped slaves.
Fugitive Slave Act
He was president of the United States during the Civil War.
Abraham Lincoln
This 1850 agreement admitted California as a free state and created a stricter fugitive slave law.
Compromise of 1850
Formed in 1849, this anti-immigration political party believed foreigners should live in the U.S. for 21 years before becoming citizens.
Know-Nothing Party
Many Native Americans died from these diseases brought by Europeans.
measles, smallpox, influenza, and other European diseases
This party, led by Andrew Jackson, supported slavery and states’ rights in the South.
Democratic Party
This document, issued by Lincoln on September 22, 1862, freed enslaved people in Confederate-controlled areas.
Emancipation Proclamation
Written by Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852, this book showed the harsh realities of slavery and sold over 2 million copies.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
In growing 19th-century American cities, these poorly designed apartment buildings housed many immigrants in overcrowded, unsafe conditions.
tenements
The transatlantic journey enslaved Africans endured on ships was known by this name.
Middle Passage
Formed in 1848, this short-lived party opposed the spread of slavery into western territories.
Free-Soil Party
After escaping slavery, many African Americans joined the Union army and were known by this term
contrabands
This violent series of events in Kansas earned the nickname “Bleeding Kansas” after pro-slavery and antislavery settlers clashed.
Pottawatomie Massacre (or Bleeding Kansas)
This philosophical movement taught that people could “transcend” material things and find spiritual wisdom through nature and self-reflection.
Nathaniel Hawthorne
This term describes the global spread of African peoples and culture due to the slave trade.
African Diaspora
This political party was formed in the 1850s by antislavery Whigs and Democrats who opposed the Kansas-Nebraska Act.
Republican Party
This three-day battle in Pennsylvania was the bloodiest of the Civil War, resulting in about 51,000 casualties and a turning point for the Union.
Battle of Gettysburg
After Abraham Lincoln won the 1860 election, this Southern state was the first to secede from the Union.
South Carolina
These Americans opposed immigration and believed that new arrivals—especially Catholics—threatened traditional U.S. culture and jobs.
nativists
This 1854 act allowed settlers to decide slavery by popular sovereignty, sparking conflict.
Kansas-Nebraska Act
This Confederate general won several early victories and was known for his bold tactics.
Robert E. Lee