US History: Civil War

What was the primary cause of the American Civil War?

Slavery and its expansion into new territories, along with states' rights disputes tied to the institution of slavery

When did the Civil War begin and end?

April 12, 1861 (attack on Fort Sumter) to April 9, 1865 (Lee's surrender at Appomattox)

What was the Emancipation Proclamation?

An executive order by President Lincoln on January 1, 1863, declaring enslaved people in Confederate states to be free

Who was the president of the Confederate States?

Jefferson Davis, who served from 1861 to 1865

What was the significance of the Battle of Gettysburg?

A Union victory in July 1863 that was the turning point of the war and the site of Lincoln's Gettysburg Address

What was the Missouri Compromise of 1820?

Legislation admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, with slavery prohibited north of the 36 30' line

What was the Compromise of 1850?

A series of laws admitting California as a free state, establishing popular sovereignty in new territories, and enacting a stricter Fugitive Slave Act

What was the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854?

A law allowing settlers in Kansas and Nebraska to decide on slavery through popular sovereignty, leading to violent conflict ('Bleeding Kansas')

What was the Dred Scott decision?

An 1857 Supreme Court ruling that African Americans were not citizens and Congress could not ban slavery in territories

Who was Ulysses S. Grant?

Commander of the Union armies who led the North to victory and later served as the 18th President (1869–1877)