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Civil War Vocabulary
21 Word Vocab
Term | Definition |
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Sectionalism | Sectionalism is loyalty to the interests of one’s own region or section of the country, rather than to the country as a whole. In U.S. history, this often refers to the tensions between the North, South, and West before the Civil War. |
Fugitive | A fugitive is a person who is running away or trying to escape, especially from the law or from custody. In American history, this often refers to enslaved people who escaped from slavery. |
Secede | To secede means to formally withdraw from an organization, alliance, or political entity. In U.S. history, this refers to the Southern states leaving the Union before the Civil War. |
Abstain | To abstain means to deliberately choose not to participate in something, such as voting or making a decision. |
Popular Sovereignty | Popular sovereignty is 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. In the 1800s, it referred to allowing settlers of a territory to decide whe |
Border Ruffians | Border ruffians were pro-slavery activists from Missouri who crossed into Kansas to force the acceptance of slavery there in the period leading up to the Civil War. |
Arsenal | An arsenal is a place where weapons and military equipment are stored or made. |
Secession | Secession is the act of formally withdrawing from a federation or political state. In U.S. history, it refers to the Southern states leaving the Union to form the Confederacy. |
States’ Rights | States’ rights is the belief that individual states have certain rights and political powers that the federal government cannot overrule. This was a major issue leading up to the Civil War. |
Border State | A border state was a slave state that did not secede from the Union during the Civil War. Examples include Kentucky, Missouri, Maryland, and Delaware. |
Blockade | A blockade is the use of ships or troops to prevent movement into or out of a port or region, often to cut off supplies during wartime. |
Offensive | An offensive is a military operation in which forces attack the enemy, as opposed to defending against attacks. |
Rebel | A rebel is a person who rises in opposition or armed resistance against an established government or ruler. During the Civil War, "Rebel" referred to Confederate soldiers. |
Yankee | A Yankee was a term used by Southerners to refer to people from the North, especially Union soldiers during the Civil War. |
Blockade Runner | A blockade runner was a ship that slipped past a blockade to deliver goods or supplies, often used by the Confederacy to get around the Union blockade. |
Ironclad | An ironclad was a warship covered with protective iron plates, used during the Civil War for greater defense against enemy fire. |
Casualty | A casualty is a person killed, wounded, captured, or missing in a war or battle. |
Emancipate | To emancipate means to set someone free from slavery or bondage. |
Ratify | To ratify means to formally approve or confirm something, such as a law, agreement, or constitutional amendment. |
Habeas Corpus | Habeas corpus is a legal principle that protects against unlawful imprisonment by requiring a person under arrest to be brought before a judge or court. |
Draft | A draft is a system for requiring people to serve in the military, often by random selection. |
Bounty | A bounty is a sum of money offered as a reward, often for enlisting in the military or for capturing someone. |
Greenback | A greenback was a paper currency issued by the U.S. government during the Civil War. The name comes from the green ink used on the back. |
Inflation | Inflation is a general increase in prices and fall in the purchasing value of money. |
Entrenched | Entrenched means firmly established and difficult to change. In a military context, it refers to soldiers being in a strong defensive position, often in trenches. |
Total War | Total war is a strategy of war in which all of a society’s resources-economic, political, and civilian-are mobilized to achieve complete victory, often affecting civilians as well as soldiers. |