Unit 61820 – 1877
A Nation Divided
Study the words
Vocabulary
Standard 7.8b — Slavery in the New Territories: 0 of 12 Words Mastered
12 words still to learn. You choose what counts as mastered — you can always move a word back.
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Standard 7.8b — Slavery in the New Territories
Missouri Compromise
A deal that let Missouri join as a slave state and Maine as a free state, so neither side gained power in Congress. It also banned slavery in territory north of the 36°30′ line. It was one of the first big attempts to avoid a fight over slavery.
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Standard 7.8b — Slavery in the New Territories
Wilmot Proviso
A law proposed in 1846. It would have banned slavery in any land won in the Mexican American War. The House passed it but the Senate did not, so it never became law. Still, the fight over it made North–South tensions worse.
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Standard 7.8b — Slavery in the New Territories
Compromise of 1850
A package of five laws meant to calm the North and South. California came in as a free state, the laws on returning runaways got stricter, and new territories were left to vote on slavery themselves. It was supposed to settle the argument and instead started more of them.
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Standard 7.8b — Slavery in the New Territories
Fugitive Slave Law
This law made people and officials in free states help catch enslaved people who had escaped. They had to send them back south. It was part of the Compromise of 1850. It angered Northerners who wanted no part of slavery, and pushed more of them to fight slavery openly.
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Standard 7.8b — Slavery in the New Territories
Kansas-Nebraska Act
This law let the people of two territories vote on whether to allow slavery. That threw out the Missouri Compromise line, and settlers on both sides poured in and turned Kansas violent. It divided North and South further.
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Standard 7.8b — Slavery in the New Territories
Bleeding Kansas
The violent fighting in Kansas after the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers both rushed in to swing the vote. The fighting turned deadly. It showed how angry and split the country had already become.
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Standard 7.8b — Slavery in the New Territories
Popular Sovereignty
The idea that the people living in a territory should vote on whether slavery is allowed there. The Kansas-Nebraska Act used it. Instead of peace it brought violence, because both sides rushed in to control the vote.
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Standard 7.8b — Slavery in the New Territories
Dred Scott vs. Sanford (1857)
Dred Scott, an enslaved man, sued for his freedom after living in a free state. The Supreme Court ruled that enslaved people were property, not citizens, so he had no right to sue — and that Congress could not ban slavery in any territory. The decision outraged the North and moved the country closer to war.
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Standard 7.8b — Slavery in the New Territories
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
A novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe, published in 1852, that showed how cruel slavery was. It sold hugely in the North and changed how many people there thought about slavery. Southerners hated it and said it was full of lies.
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Standard 7.8b — Slavery in the New Territories
John Brown
An abolitionist who believed only force would end slavery. He led violent attacks in Kansas. He then raided the federal weapons store at Harpers Ferry, hoping to start a revolt of enslaved people. He was caught, tried for treason, and hanged. The North saw a hero; the South saw a villain.
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Standard 7.8b — Slavery in the New Territories
Charles Sumner
A senator from Massachusetts who gave a furious speech attacking slavery and Southern leaders. A Southern congressman answered by beating him with a cane on the Senate floor. The attack shocked the country and showed how deep the split over slavery ran.
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Standard 7.8b — Slavery in the New Territories
Harriet Beecher Stowe
The author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, a white woman from the North who used writing to speak out against slavery. Lincoln reportedly called her "the little lady who made this big war," which says something about how much her book mattered.
Still learning
Mastery by standard
The same colours as your packet. Pick a standard to practice just the words you are still learning in it.
Standard 7.8a — Sectional Differences
0 / 15 Mastered
Standard 7.8a — Sectional Differences: 0 of 15 terms mastered.Standard 7.8b — Slavery in the New Territories
0 / 12 Mastered
Standard 7.8b — Slavery in the New Territories: 0 of 12 terms mastered.Standard 7.8c — Causes of the Civil War
0 / 10 Mastered
Standard 7.8c — Causes of the Civil War: 0 of 10 terms mastered.Standard 7.8d — The Course of the Civil War
0 / 11 Mastered
Standard 7.8d — The Course of the Civil War: 0 of 11 terms mastered.Other Vocabulary — Not listed under a standard
0 / 1 Mastered
Other Vocabulary — not listed under a standard: 0 of 1 terms mastered.