Term | Definition |
Sectionalism | restriction of interest to a narrow sphere; undue concern with local interests or petty distinctions at the expense of general well-being. |
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 | restrain oneself from doing or enjoying something. |
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 | The Border Ruffians were 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 | a collection of weapons and military equipment stored by a country, person, or group. |
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 | the rights and powers held by individual US states rather than by the federal government. |
Blockade | an act or means of sealing off a place to prevent goods or people from entering or leaving. |
Offensive | causing someone to feel deeply hurt, upset, or angry. |
Rebel | a person who rises in opposition or armed resistance against an established government or ruler. |
Yankee | a person who lives in, or is from, the US. |
Blockade Runner | a vessel that runs or attempts to run into or out of a blockaded port. |
Ironclad | a 19th-century warship with armor plating. |
Casualty | a person killed or injured in a war or accident. |
Emancipate | 1. set free, especially from legal, social, or political restrictions.
2. free from slavery |
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 | a sum paid for killing or capturing a person or animal. |
Greenback | a dollar bill; a dollar. |
Inflation | a general increase in prices and fall in the purchasing value of money. |
Entrenched | (of an attitude, habit, or belief) firmly established and difficult or unlikely to change; ingrained. |
Total War | a war that is unrestricted in terms of the weapons used, the territory or combatants involved, or the objectives pursued, especially one in which the laws of war are disregarded. |