Uncle Tom’s Cabin: Written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, this was the most successful American novel of the mid-nineteenth century. It consisted of vivid details of slavery from firsthand accounts.
Compromise of 1850: A compromise driven by Stephen Douglas which admitted California as a free state, allowed New Mexico and Utah to decide slave/free status through popular sovereignty, ended the slave trade in the District of Columbia, and enacted the Fugitive Slave Law.
Popular Sovereignty (Lewis Cass): A solution suggested to the slavery problem which consisted of the citizens of states voting in a free election whether or not to make slavery legal in the state.
Fugitive Slave Law: A segment of the Compromise of 1850 that required northern authorities to aid in the recapture of escaped slaves.
Ostend Manifesto: An attempt by the U.S. under President Pierce to forcibly purchase Cuba from Spain. The negotiation which included threats was leaked to the public, and the proposal was repudiated.
Kansas-Nebraska Act: An act introduced by Stephen Douglas that opened the territories of Kansas and Nebraska to popular sovereignty to decide slave or free status.
Bleeding Kansas: The civil war that occurred in Kansas as pro-slave and abolitionists competed for votes.
John Brown: An aggressive anti-slavery man who played a major role in Bleeding Kansas and died during his failed raid in the South.
Nativism: Those who opposed immigration and foreigners held this belief.
American Party/Know-Nothings: A political party that was anti-immigrant. Its members frequently would refuse to state their political views, hence the name of the party.
Nathaniel Hawthorne: Author of The Scarlett Letter and The House of the Seven Gables, he exposed the hypocrisy and repressiveness of Puritans and challenging moral choices faced by individuals.
Emily Dickinson: A renowned female poet, most of whose poems were published posthumously. She experimented with unrhymed verse.
Stephen Douglas: An influential Democrat who spearheaded the Compromise of 1850 and the Kansas-Nebraska act. He was an outspoken advocate of popular sovereignty regarding slavery. He was defeated in the elections of 1856 and 1860.
Lincoln-Douglas Debates: Public debates between Abraham Lincoln (anti-slave) and Stephen Douglas (pro-slave) during the 1858 Illinois senatorial campaign regarding slavery.
Republican Party: A political party founded in 1854 consisting of Whigs, northern Democrats, and Know-Nothings. The party advocated expansion and was anti-slavery. Its first presidential candidate was John C. Fremont.
Sumner/Brooks incident: A fight that occurred in the Senate when Preston Brooks (South Carolina) beat Charles Sumner (Massachusetts) with a cane after Sumner gave a derogatory anti-slave speech. Southerners supported the action and northerners were vehemently opposed.
Dred Scott decision: A Supreme Court decision in which Chief Justice Roger B. Taney held that any black person was not a citizen and dismissed the case when a former slave claimed freedom based on residence in a free territory. The ruling was supported by President Buchanan and outraged northerners.
Roger Taney: Chief Justice of the Supreme Court during the Dred Scott decision.
Lecompton Constitution: A pro-slavery document of governing for Kansas during a period of violent disagreement that was supported by President Buchanan but denied by Congress.
Panic of 1857: A small economic crisis began when news of a failure of an Ohio investment house was sent by telegraph all across the country, prompting investors to panic sell. The crisis affected the North more than it did the South.
Harper’s Ferry (John Brown’s Raid): An attempt to capture a southern arsenal and free slaves nearby by John Brown and twenty men that failed and led to Brown’s hanging. The action itself was not supported by the North, yet many felt sympathy for his cause and mourned his death.
Election of 1860: The election which consisted of John Breckinridge, John Bell, Stephen Douglas, and Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln won with an overwhelming number of electoral votes, and this event directly led to the secession of many southern states.
Confederate States of America: A proclaimed nation composed of seven southern states that had seceded after the election of Abraham Lincoln.
Jefferson Davis: A conservative former senator from Mississippi who was elected the president of the Confederate States of America.
Herman Melville: Author of Moby Dick, which emitted a profound study of the nature of good and evil and a critique of American society in the 1850s.
Harriet Beecher Stowe: Author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin and prominent abolitionist.
Election of 1856: An election which consisted of candidates James Buchanan (Democrat), John Fremont (Republican), and Millard Fillmore (Know-Nothing), which resulted in James Buchanan’s election.
Freeport Doctrine: A policy stated by Stephen Douglas during the Lincoln-Douglas debates that held that slavery could be suspended in western territories if the people of the territory voted for it. This policy alienated many of Douglas’ southern supporters.
Compromise of 1850: A compromise driven by Stephen Douglas which admitted California as a free state, allowed New Mexico and Utah to decide slave/free status through popular sovereignty, ended the slave trade in the District of Columbia, and enacted the Fugitive Slave Law.
Popular Sovereignty (Lewis Cass): A solution suggested to the slavery problem which consisted of the citizens of states voting in a free election whether or not to make slavery legal in the state.
Fugitive Slave Law: A segment of the Compromise of 1850 that required northern authorities to aid in the recapture of escaped slaves.
Ostend Manifesto: An attempt by the U.S. under President Pierce to forcibly purchase Cuba from Spain. The negotiation which included threats was leaked to the public, and the proposal was repudiated.
Kansas-Nebraska Act: An act introduced by Stephen Douglas that opened the territories of Kansas and Nebraska to popular sovereignty to decide slave or free status.
Bleeding Kansas: The civil war that occurred in Kansas as pro-slave and abolitionists competed for votes.
John Brown: An aggressive anti-slavery man who played a major role in Bleeding Kansas and died during his failed raid in the South.
Nativism: Those who opposed immigration and foreigners held this belief.
American Party/Know-Nothings: A political party that was anti-immigrant. Its members frequently would refuse to state their political views, hence the name of the party.
Nathaniel Hawthorne: Author of The Scarlett Letter and The House of the Seven Gables, he exposed the hypocrisy and repressiveness of Puritans and challenging moral choices faced by individuals.
Emily Dickinson: A renowned female poet, most of whose poems were published posthumously. She experimented with unrhymed verse.
Stephen Douglas: An influential Democrat who spearheaded the Compromise of 1850 and the Kansas-Nebraska act. He was an outspoken advocate of popular sovereignty regarding slavery. He was defeated in the elections of 1856 and 1860.
Lincoln-Douglas Debates: Public debates between Abraham Lincoln (anti-slave) and Stephen Douglas (pro-slave) during the 1858 Illinois senatorial campaign regarding slavery.
Republican Party: A political party founded in 1854 consisting of Whigs, northern Democrats, and Know-Nothings. The party advocated expansion and was anti-slavery. Its first presidential candidate was John C. Fremont.
Sumner/Brooks incident: A fight that occurred in the Senate when Preston Brooks (South Carolina) beat Charles Sumner (Massachusetts) with a cane after Sumner gave a derogatory anti-slave speech. Southerners supported the action and northerners were vehemently opposed.
Dred Scott decision: A Supreme Court decision in which Chief Justice Roger B. Taney held that any black person was not a citizen and dismissed the case when a former slave claimed freedom based on residence in a free territory. The ruling was supported by President Buchanan and outraged northerners.
Roger Taney: Chief Justice of the Supreme Court during the Dred Scott decision.
Lecompton Constitution: A pro-slavery document of governing for Kansas during a period of violent disagreement that was supported by President Buchanan but denied by Congress.
Panic of 1857: A small economic crisis began when news of a failure of an Ohio investment house was sent by telegraph all across the country, prompting investors to panic sell. The crisis affected the North more than it did the South.
Harper’s Ferry (John Brown’s Raid): An attempt to capture a southern arsenal and free slaves nearby by John Brown and twenty men that failed and led to Brown’s hanging. The action itself was not supported by the North, yet many felt sympathy for his cause and mourned his death.
Election of 1860: The election which consisted of John Breckinridge, John Bell, Stephen Douglas, and Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln won with an overwhelming number of electoral votes, and this event directly led to the secession of many southern states.
Confederate States of America: A proclaimed nation composed of seven southern states that had seceded after the election of Abraham Lincoln.
Jefferson Davis: A conservative former senator from Mississippi who was elected the president of the Confederate States of America.
Herman Melville: Author of Moby Dick, which emitted a profound study of the nature of good and evil and a critique of American society in the 1850s.
Harriet Beecher Stowe: Author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin and prominent abolitionist.
Election of 1856: An election which consisted of candidates James Buchanan (Democrat), John Fremont (Republican), and Millard Fillmore (Know-Nothing), which resulted in James Buchanan’s election.
Freeport Doctrine: A policy stated by Stephen Douglas during the Lincoln-Douglas debates that held that slavery could be suspended in western territories if the people of the territory voted for it. This policy alienated many of Douglas’ southern supporters.