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. |
Arsenal | a place where weapons and military equipment are stored or made. |
Secession | the action of withdrawing formally from membership of a federation or body, especially a political state. |
States rights | the rights and powers held by individual US states rather than by the federal government. |
Border state | Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, and Missouri. |
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 | a person who rises in opposition or armed resistance against an established government or ruler |
Yankee | an inhabitant of New England or one of the northern states. |
Blockade runner | a lighter-weight ship used for evading a naval 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 | compulsory recruitment for military service. |
Bounty | The draft of 1863 allowed individuals to pay a bounty to someone else to fight in their place rather than be drafted. |
Greenback | Paper currency. |
Inflation | a general increase in prices and fall in the purchasing value of money. |
Entrenched | to place in a position of strength; establish firmly or solidly. |
Total war | A war in which the laws of war are disregarded. |