History Initiative: Sectionalism Documents:

History Initiative: Sectionalism
Documents:
Wilmot Proviso – an 1846 proposal that outlawed slavery in any territory
gained from the War with Mexico.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin – a novel published by Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852,
which portrayed slavery as brutal and immoral.
Fugitive Slave Act – an 1850 law to help slaveholders recapture runaway
slaves.
Kansas-Nebraska Act – an 1854 law that established the territories of Kansas
and Nebraska and gave their residents the right to decide whether to allow
slavery.
Crittenden Plan – a compromise introduced in 1861 that might have
prevented secession.
Terms:
People:
Henry Clay (1771-1852) - known as "The Great Compromiser" for his ability to get
people to compromise. He was known as a "War Hawk," someone who wanted war
with Great Britain. He was the author of the Missouri Compromise, which attempted to
solve the Slavery Crisis.
John C. Calhoun (1782-1850) - Vice-president of the U.S. under John Quincy Adams
and Andrew Jackson. A native of South Carolina, he was originally a supporter of the
American System, a plan to use the federal government to increase business. He later
became a big supporter of states' rights.
John Quincy Adams (1767-1848) – son of John Adams, 6th President of the U.S.
from1825-1829.
Daniel Webster (1782-1852) - Famous lawyer and public speaker who made many
speeches in favor of the Constitution, the federal government and the Union. He served
in both houses of Congress and then as Secretary of State for Presidents William Henry
Harrison, John Tyler, and Millard Fillmore.
Stephen A. Douglas (1813-1861) – one of the most powerful members of Congress in
the mid-1800s. He suggested that the people of each territory should decide whether or
not to allow slavery.
Tariff – a tax on imported goods.
Free-Soil Party – a political party dedicated to stopping the expansion of slavery.
Platform – a statement of beliefs
Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896) – abolitionist and author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
Abraham Lincoln said to her, "So you are the little woman who wrote the book that
started this great war."
Secede – to withdraw.
Secession – withdrawal.
Confederate States of America – the confederation formed in 1861 by the
Southern states after their secession from the Union.
Ideas:
Abolition – the movement to end slavery.
Popular sovereignty - a government in which the people rule
John Brown (1800-1859) – an extreme abolitionist. In 1859, Brown led an
unsuccessful raid on the federal armory at Harpers Ferry that ended with his capture.
Brown's trial resulted in his conviction and a sentence of death by hanging.
Republican Party – the political party formed in 1854 by opponents of slavery in the
territories.
James Buchanan (1791-1868) - the 15th president of the U.S. from 1857–1861, serving
immediately prior to the Civil War. He is the only president from Pennsylvania and the
only president who remained a lifelong bachelor.
Dred Scott (1795-1858) - a slave who unsuccessfully sued for his
freedom and that of his wife and their two daughters in the Dred Scott v.
Sandford case of 1857.
Dred Scott (1795-1858) - a slave who unsuccessfully sued for his
freedom and that of his wife and their two daughters in the Dred Scott v.
Sandford case of 1857.
Roger B. Taney (1777-1864) - the fifth Chief Justice of the U.S.. He is
most remembered for the “Dred Scott Decision” (1857), that ruled that
African-Americans, having been considered inferior at the time the
Constitution was drafted, were not part of the original community of
citizens and, whether free or slave, could not be considered citizens of
the United States.
Roger B. Taney (1777-1864) - the fifth Chief Justice of the U.S.. He is
most remembered for the “Dred Scott Decision” (1857), that ruled that
African-Americans, having been considered inferior at the time the
Constitution was drafted, were not part of the original community of
citizens and, whether free or slave, could not be considered citizens of
the United States.
Abraham Lincoln(1809-1865) - the 16th president of the U.S., serving
from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. Lincoln led the
U.S. through its Civil War--its bloodiest war and its greatest moral,
constitutional and political crisis. In so doing he preserved the Union,
abolished slavery, strengthened the national government and modernized
the economy.
Abraham Lincoln(1809-1865) - the 16th president of the U.S., serving
from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. Lincoln led the
U.S. through its Civil War--its bloodiest war and its greatest moral,
constitutional and political crisis. In so doing he preserved the Union,
abolished slavery, strengthened the national government and modernized
the economy.
Jefferson Davis (1808-1889) - the President of the Confederate States
of America during the entire Civil War. He took personal charge of the
Confederate war plans but was unable to find a strategy to defeat the
larger, more powerful and better organized Union.
Jefferson Davis (1808-1889) - the President of the Confederate States
of America during the entire Civil War. He took personal charge of the
Confederate war plans but was unable to find a strategy to defeat the
larger, more powerful and better organized Union.
Events:
Events:
Compromise of 1850 – a series of Congressional laws intended to settle
the major disagreements between free states and slave states.
Compromise of 1850 – a series of Congressional laws intended to settle
the major disagreements between free states and slave states.
1856 - Dred Scott v. Sandford - Supreme Court case in which a slave,
Dred Scott, sued for his freedom because he had been taken to live in
territories where slavery was illegal; the Court ruled against Scott.
1856 - Dred Scott v. Sandford - Supreme Court case in which a slave,
Dred Scott, sued for his freedom because he had been taken to live in
territories where slavery was illegal; the Court ruled against Scott.
1859 - Harpers Ferry – a federal arsenal in Virginia that was captured
during a slave revolt.
1859 - Harpers Ferry – a federal arsenal in Virginia that was captured
during a slave revolt.