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Abolitionists
A group of American citizens who were extremely unsupportive of slavery. They thought that having people do hard labor for them was a national sin and that they should be freed and returned back to their homes. -
Missouri Compromise
A bill created by Henry Clay that was considered an effort to end the sectional and political rivalries, and it granted Missouri the position of a slave state. -
Tariffs
A tariff (Tariff of Abominations) that was passed so that the tax on imported and manufactured goods would increase.The goal was to boost the sales of the products of the United States and protect the Northern manufacturers from cheap British goods. -
Underground Railroad
A network of escape routes that could help free African Americans from the hard labor and punishment from the owners. It was created by abolitionists so that they could help the slaves escape. -
Nat Turner
Nat led the largest rebellion in the United States that was known as Nat Turner's Rebellion. It was a slave revolt that planned to make damage to the slavery system by going from plantation to plantation with intentions to kill white slave owners. -
Compromise of 1850
A set of laws that was passed as a result of the major conflict between groups who supported slavery and groups who didn't. Included in the compromise is the amending of the Fugitive Slave Act, the end of the slave trade in Washington D.C, California's freedom as a state, and the addition of a territorial government in Utah. -
Fugitive Slave Act
This act was included as part of the Compromise of 1850. It was created to command the citizens of the United States to help slave owners to catch their runaway slaves. It was passed with hope that the North would recognize that the South had some power over them. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
A novel that was written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. It is about how people who live in free states that help and aid runaway slaves would be committing a crime. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
An act that was passed by Congress that stated that American citizens that live in the territories located in Kansas and Nebraska can vote and decide whether or not their state will be supportive of slavery. -
Bleeding Kansas
A series of violent Civil War between the North and the South that was caused by the disagreement on slavery in the state, Kansas. This was caused because President Pierce only looked over the legislature of the proslavery group because he was a supporter of slavery. This action caused the antislavery group to go to their last resort, battle. -
Dred Scott vs. Sanford
A case that was won by Sanford when he accused a slave, Dred Scott, that he didn't have the right of freedom even though he was in a free state and a free territory. The result of this case was that slaves would not be considered citizens of the United States. -
John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry
An effort by an abolitionist, John Brown, to lead a slave revolt. The goals were to kill as many of the white settlers that were slave owners as they could. -
States' Rights vs. Federal Government
This is a conflict between political powers. The southern states believed in having stronger state governments, but the northern states thought they should have a stronger federal government.
