Civil War Vocabulary and Terms

Prior to the Civil War, sectionalism divided America. What does sectionalism mean?

• Sectionalism refers to the unification of a country under a single government.
• Sectionalism is the economic system that promotes free trade between all states.
• Sectionalism means the cultural exchange between different regions of a country.
• Sectionalism is the division of a country into distinct regions with differing interests and priorities.

What is an Abolitionist?

• A politician advocating for economic reforms.
• A historian who studies the Civil War.
• A person who supports the continuation of slavery.
• A person who advocates for the abolition of slavery or other practices.

Who was Frederick Douglass?

• A famous poet from the 19th century.
• A military general during the Civil War.
• Frederick Douglass was a prominent abolitionist and advocate for civil rights.
• A politician who opposed slavery.

What is the Missouri Compromise?

• The Missouri Compromise was an 1820 agreement to balance free and slave states, admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state.

• A law passed in 1850 to abolish slavery in all states.

• An agreement to allow California to enter as a slave state only.

• A treaty between Missouri and Kansas regarding land ownership.

What is the Freeport Doctrine?

• The Freeport Doctrine prohibits slavery in all territories.
• The Freeport Doctrine mandates federal enforcement of slavery laws.
• The Freeport Doctrine allows states to ignore all federal laws.
• The Freeport Doctrine states that territories can decide on the legality of slavery regardless of federal laws.

What is the Compromise of 1850?

• An agreement to divide the United States into free and slave territories.
• The Compromise of 1850 was a set of laws passed to ease tensions over slavery by allowing popular sovereignty in new territories over the question of slavery.

• A law that abolished slavery in all states.
• A treaty signed to end the Civil War.

What is the Fugitive Slave Act?

• The Fugitive Slave Act is a law that required the return of escaped slaves to their owners.
• A law that abolished slavery in the United States.
• A law that allowed slaves to vote in elections.
• A law that provided financial compensation to slave owners for lost property.

Why was the Republican Party formed?

• The Republican Party was formed to oppose the expansion of slavery into U.S. territories.
• To promote the rights of Native Americans.
• To support the establishment of a national bank.
• To advocate for higher tariffs on imports.

What was the Dred Scott decision?

• The Dred Scott decision allowed enslaved people to sue for their freedom.
• The Dred Scott decision upheld the Missouri Compromise.
• The Dred Scott decision granted citizenship to all African Americans.
• The Dred Scott decision ruled that African Americans could not be citizens and invalidated the Missouri Compromise.

What was John Brown's raid?

• A peaceful protest against slavery in the North.
• A military campaign during the Civil War.
• John Brown's raid was an armed attack on Harpers Ferry to incite a slave rebellion.
• A debate in Congress about abolition.