Term | Definition | Definition 2 (If Necassary) |
Missouri Compromise | ~Occurred in 1820
~Maine was admitted to the Union as a free state and Missouri was entered a slave state
~All of the Louisiana Purchase territory north of the southern boundary of Missouri, except Missouri, would be free | |
Nullification Doctrine | During Jackson’s presidency
Written in the style of the Articles of Confederation by
John C. Calhoun as a result of the Tariffs of 1828 and
1832
Calhoun argued that the Constitution was an agreement
amongst sovereign states | Declared that states could block the enforcement of
federal laws
Declared that if the federal government intervened to
collect the tariff, then South Carolina would secede from
the Union |
Tariffs of 1828 and 1832 | Congress passed a high tariff on goods
Proceeds of the tariff would help the North exclusively
South Carolina proclaimed these to be null and void
If the government intervened to collect the tariff, then
South Carolina would secede | Unable to win support for its position from other
states, South Carolina repealed its tariff nullification |
Compromise of 1850 | Disagreement occurred because of the territory gained
from the Mexican War
Agreement brokered by Henry Clay, “The Great
Compromiser”
Included the stipulation that California enter the Union
as a free state | Passage of this law included a strong fugitive slave law –
most controversial part of the bill
Banned the slave trade in Washington, D.C. |
Fugitive Slave Law | Stated that a slave catcher was to bring his captive before a federal commissioner
All that was required for a slave-owner or any white witness to swear that the suspect was the slave-owner's property
Enraged Northerners | ~Required U.S. Marshals to aid in capturing escaped slaves
Payment guidelines for the slave catchers and commissioner were viewed as unfair and prejudiced
Federal government, as decreed, was responsible for the cost/expenses of catching escaped slaves |
Kansas-Nebraska Act | Law engineered by Stephan Douglas
Slavery in these territories would be decided by
popular sovereignty
Resulted in “Bleeding Kansas,” in which proslavery and
antislavery settlers clashed
Kansas, as a result, had two governments | Frustration and tension from this act led to violence in the U.S. Senate, when a congressman physically assaults
a senator |
John Brown's Raid | An antislavery settler from Connecticut who
committed violence in Kansas before his raid
His goal was to raise an army and then free
enslaved people in the South
Unsuccessful slave revolt at Harpers Ferry in Virginia | Hanged for treason in 1859
Northerners considered this person a maytr |
Lincoln-Douglas Debate | Between Republican candidate (Lincoln) and Democratic senator (Douglas)
Met in small Illinois towns to share their views on
slavery should not be spread to the new Western territories
Made Abraham Lincoln famous throughout the
country | ~“A house divided against itself cannot stand”
Douglas promoted popular sovereignty
Gave speeches stating that slavery |
Dred Scott Decision | Dred Scott was a black man
Sued for his freedom on the grounds that he had lived where slavery was illegal
The Supreme Court rules that no black man, free or slave, was a U.S. citizen; Scott was considered property | Stated that Congress never that the right to ban slavery in the territories
Made the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional
that no black man had the right to sue in federal court
Supreme Court ruled against Scott on two grounds |
The Election of 1860 | John Breckinridge is the leading candidate in the
South
Lincoln won in every free state, but he only
received 40% of the popular vote
In response, South Carolina secedes, followed by
six more states | |
US-Mexican War | President Polk sends General Taylor to provoke Mexican troops
U.S. wanted to annex Texas (idea of Manifest Destiny)
War was very popular with Americans
Receive land from the Mexican Cession, for which the U.S. paid $18 million | Led to the Wilmot Proviso, in which legislation was passed
trying to prevent slavery in the territories gained from the
war
~Prior to the skirmish, Texas territory secedes from Mexico
Captured Mexico City |
Nat Turner's Raid | Slave revolt that occurred in Virginia in 1831
Resulted in the passage of aggressive slave laws,
including the prohibition to teach slaves to read
and write
Led by an educated, African American preacher | |