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Civil War Vocab
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Sectionalism | Loyalty to the interests of one's own region or section of the country, rather than to the country as a whole. |
Fugitive | A person who has escaped from a place or is in hiding, especially to avoid arrest or persecution. |
Secede | Withdraw formally from membership in a federal union, an alliance, or a political or religious organization. |
Abstain | Formally decline to vote either for or against a proposal or motion. |
Popular Sovereignty | The principle that the authority of a state and its government is created and sustained by the consent of its people, through their elected representatives (Rule by the People), who are the source of all political power. |
Border Ruffians | Pro-slavery activists from the slave state of Missouri, who in 1854 to 1860 crossed the state border into Kansas Territory to force the acceptance of slavery there. |
Arsenal | An important supply and manufacturing center for the Union Army during the American Civil War, and the site of the single largest civilian disaster during the war. |
Secession | The action of withdrawing formally from membership of a federation or body, especially a political state. |
State's Rights | Refers to political powers reserved for the state governments rather than the federal government according to the United States Constitution, reflecting especially the enumerated powers of Congress and the Tenth Amendment. |
Border State | Any of the slave states that bordered the northern free states during the US Civil War. |
Blockade | An act or means of sealing off a place to prevent goods or people from entering or leaving. |
Offensive | An attacking military campaign. |
Rebel | Rise in opposition or armed resistance to an established government or ruler. |
Yankee | An inhabitant of New England or one of the northern states. |
Blockade Runner | Usually a lighter-weight ship used for evading a naval blockade of a port or strait, as opposed to confronting the blockaders to break the blockade. |
Ironclad | A 19th-century warship with armor plating. |
Casualty | A person killed or injured in a war or accident. |
Emancipate | Set free, especially from legal, social, or political restrictions. |
Ratify | Sign or give formal consent to (a treaty, contract, or agreement), making it officially valid. |
Habeas Corpus | A writ requiring a person under arrest to be brought before a judge or into court, especially to secure the person's release unless lawful grounds are shown for their detention. |
Draft | A system for selecting young men for compulsory military service, administered in the United States by the Selective Service System. |
Bounty | Men who enlisted in the Union or Confederate army during the American Civil War only to collect a bounty and then leave. |
Greenback | Paper currency (printed in green on the back) issued by the United States during the American Civil War. |
Inflation | A general increase in prices and fall in the purchasing value of money. |
Entrenched | Apply extra legal safeguards to (a right, especially a constitutional right, guaranteed by legislation). |
Total War | Warfare that includes any and all civilian-associated resources and infrastructure as legitimate military targets, mobilizes all of the resources of society to fight the war, and gives priority to warfare over non-combatant needs. |