Chapter 15: A Divided Nation

Popular sovereignty: The idea that political authority belongs to the people.

Sectionalism: A devotion to the interests of one geographic region over the country as a whole.

Harriet Beecher Stowe: she was an abolitionist and author of the famous anti-slavery novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

Stephen Douglas: American politician and pro-slavery nominee for president , he debated Abraham Lincoln about slavery during the Illinois senatorial race.

Dred Scott: Enslaved African who filed suit for his freedom stating that his time living in a free state made him a free man; the Supreme Court ruling known as the Dred Scott decision upheld slavery and found Missouri Compromise unconstitutional.

Abraham Lincoln: Sixteenth president of the United States, he promoted equal rights for African-Americans in the Lincoln- Douglas debates. His election set in motion the Civil War and issued the Emancipation Proclamation. He was determined to preserve the Union.

John Brown’s raid: An incident in which abolitionist John Brown and 21 other men captured a federal arsenal in Harper’s Ferry, Virginia, in hope of starting a slave revolt.

Secession: The act of formally withdrawing from the Union.

Confederate States of America: The nation formed by the southern states when they seceded from the Union; also known as the Confederacy.

Jefferson Davis: First and only president of the Confederate States of America.