Terms and Names
Free-soil party
Political party dedicated to stopping the spread of slavery
The Confederate States of America
The Confederation formed in 1861 by the Southern states after their secession from the Union.
Republican party
Political party formed in 1854 by opponents of slavery.
Dred Scott v. Sandford
1856 Supreme Court case in which a slave, Dred Scott, sued for his freedom; the Court ruled against Scott.
Why was the Republican Party created?
To represent the antislavery interests of the north.
Fugitive Slave Act
1850 law meant to help slaveholders recapture runaway slaves.
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Novel published by Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852 that showed slavery as brutal and immoral.
Abraham Lincoln
Illinois Republican who ran against Stephen A. Douglas in 1858.
Harpers Ferry
Federal arsenal in Virginia captured in 1859 during an antislavery revolt.
What were two ways that the North and South differed by 1850?
The south’s economy relied on plantations and slaves, the North’s on industry and commerce; the South wanted slavery to expand westward, the North wanted it stopped.
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Abolitionist and author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
Jefferson Davis
The first president of the Confederate States of America
James Buchanan
Democratic presidential candidate in 1856.
What attempts did the north and the south make to compromise? What were the results?
-The Crittenden Compromise sought to protect slavery in the South and compensate owners of fugitive slaves, but it was defeated in the Senate.
Why was the Kansas-Nebraska Act so controversial?
It allowed each territory to vote on whether slavery would be legal where it had already been banned by the Missouri Compromise. It resulted in violence.
Kansas-Nebraska Act
1854 law that established the territories of Kansas and Nebraska and gave their residents the right to decide whether to allow slavery.
The Compromise of 1850
Series of laws intended to settle the major disagreements between the free states and slave states.
John C. Fremont
Republican presidential candidate in 1856.
How did John Brown’s attack on Harpers Ferry increase tensions between the North and South?
Northern abolitionists honored John Brown; Southerners were enraged by Brown’s actions and horrified by the North’s reactions to his death.
How did Uncle Tom’s Cabin affect national politics?
It fueled the North’s antislavery feelings but angered the South, which claimed the book presented a false picture of slavery.
Stephen A. Douglas
Illinois senator who backed the compromise of 1850.
Wilmot Proviso
1846 proposal that outlawed slavery in any territory gained from the war with Mexico.
Robert B. Taney
Supreme Court chief justice who wrote the majority opinion in the case of Dred Scott v. Sandford.
What was the first state to leave the Union?
South Carolina
Who were the candidates in the 1860 presidential election, and what policies did each candidate support?
-Douglas: supported popular sovereignty, did not want new slavery laws passed.
-Breckenridge: wanted to defend slavery.
-Bell: wanted to preserve the Union.
-Lincoln: opposed expansion of slavery.