Key Events and Figures of the American Civil War

Dred Scott Case

Dred Scott, an enslaved African American, unsuccessfully sued for his freedom.

Emancipation Proclamation

Issued by President Abraham Lincoln, this document granted freedom to enslaved people in Confederate states.

Anaconda Plan

A Union military strategy aimed at strangulating the South through land and naval blockades.

Jim Crow Laws

These laws enforced racial segregation in the Southern United States.

"White Backlash"

The negative response of some white people to the racial progress of other ethnic groups.

Fugitive Slave Law

Part of the Compromise of 1850, this law required the return of enslaved people who escaped to free states.

Frederick Douglass

After escaping slavery, he became a prominent abolitionist and activist.

Gettysburg Address

A speech by Abraham Lincoln emphasizing the principles of equality and freedom.

Harriet Tubman

Born into slavery, she rescued approximately 70 enslaved people and became a leading abolitionist.

Robert E. Lee

A Confederate general known for his military leadership during the Civil War.

15th Amendment

This amendment granted voting rights to all men regardless of race.

Compromise of 1850

A series of measures aimed at resolving sectional tensions, including the admission of California as a free state.

William Sherman

A Union general known for his "March to the Sea" and contributions to Union victory.

Ulysses S. Grant

The 18th president of the United States and a key Union general during the Civil War.

Missouri Compromise

This compromise admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state.

Policy of Leniency

President Lincoln's plan for Reconstruction, offering a path for Confederate states to rejoin the Union.

Radical Republicans

A political faction advocating for the abolition of slavery and civil rights for African Americans.

Total War

A military strategy involving the complete mobilization of resources and targeting of civilian infrastructure.

Plessy v. Ferguson

A Supreme Court case that upheld the constitutionality of racial segregation under the "separate but equal" doctrine.

Dawes Act of 1887

This act aimed to assimilate Native Americans into European-American culture by dividing tribal lands into individual allotments.

Jefferson Davis

The president of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War.

Habeas Corpus

A legal principle protecting individuals from unlawful imprisonment.

Homestead Act

This act granted 160 acres of land to settlers who agreed to cultivate and improve the land.

Battle of Olustee

The largest battle fought in Florida during the Civil War, resulting in a Confederate victory.

Terminology

Scalawag: A term used to describe Southerners who supported Reconstruction policies.

Black Codes: Laws passed by Southern states to restrict the rights of African Americans after the Civil War.