Key Terms:
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Fort Sumter
- The first shots of the Civil War were fired here by the Confederate forces after the Union forces tried to provision the fort.
Border States
- 5 slaves states that didn't become part of the Confederates during the Civil War. Lincoln kept them part of the Union by saying the war wasn't about abolishing slavery, just saving the Union.
West Virginia
- Region of Virginia that broke away and became its own state when Virginia seceded, most of the residents being farmers and miners who didn't own slaves so they didn't support Confederates.
Trent affair
- Threatened to bring the British into the Civil War on the Confederates side, after a Union warship had stopped a British steamer and arrested two Confederate diplomats that were on board.
Alabama
- British-built and manned Confederate warship that raided The Union's shipping during the war.
Laird rams
- Two British-built warships made for the Confederacy, but to avoid war they were bought by the British government for its Royal Navy.
Dominion of Canada
- Canadian government created to protect Canadians from potential attacks from the U.S.
writ of habeas corpus
- Petition that requires law enforcement officers to put detained individuals in front of a court to see the legality of the arrest, was suspended by Lincoln during the war.
New York draft riots
- An uprising of working class Irish-American against the draft and resented Lincoln for it. They didn't like that the rich were able to hire substitutes or buy their way out.
Morrill Tariff Act
- Increased duties form 5% to 10%, about the same of the Walker Tariff of 1846, but then were increased again as there were more necessities of war, they were put in place to raise revenue for the war.
greenbacks
- Paper money that was issued by the Treasury during the War, they fluctuated in value throughout the war, and as the Treasury had to make bonds, it led to the National Banking System.
National Banking System
- Started partly as a stimulant to the sale of government bonds and was designed to establish a standard bank-note currency. Banks who joined would buy government bonds and issue sound paper money (greenbacks) backed by them.
Homestead Act
- Gave settlers 160 acres of land for $30 if they lived on it for 5 years and improved it but many people found their land was infertile.
U.S. Sanitary Commission
- Elizabeth Blackwell helped organize it to assist the Union armies in the field. They trained nurses, collected medical supplies, and equipped hospitals.