Glossary of Historical Terms - Essay Example

Defining Historical Terms By Yuliya Your Academic Organization Defining Historical Terms General Grant General Grant was a commanding Union military leader during the Civil War in 19th Century America. Many of the battles fought by Grant were directly against General Robert E. Lee and Grant and his military genius led to a final surrender at Appomattox for the Confederate Army. Grant was later to be elected as the 18th U.S. president. General Robert E. LeeLee was a renowned leader of the Confederate Army during the Civil War.

Lee was heralded for winning the Battle of Fredericksburg. Though after the war Lee did not rise to high political status during the Reconstruction era (post-war), he was celebrated as a strong military leader of that time. The Black CodesBlack codes were a series of laws designed to prevent former black slaves from having extraordinary freedoms. They were designed to stop these former slaves from having citizenship and voting rights. The 14th AmendmentOpposite of the black codes, the 14th Amendment was designed to offer more freedoms to the former black slaves after the Civil War.

This amendment also ensured that due process was undertaken in the legal system for those on trial or accused of criminal behavior. Manifest DestinyThis was the belief, during the middle portion of the 19th Century, that the United States was wholeheartedly destined to expand the country from the Eastern seaboard all the way to the Pacific coastline. This belief led to the America we know today in terms of size and scale. King CottonBelieving that cotton was the most important crop in the Southern states during the Civil War era led to the phrase King Cotton which was used by politicians (and others) to express the importance of securing the Southern economic future in relation to agriculture.

Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln was the 16th president of the United States, and was assassinated in 1865. Lincoln wholeheartedly opposed slavery and did not want the country to go to war against itself, issuing many publicized proclamations condemning the potential act prior to the start of the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln radically changed the face of slavery during his short stint as president, declaring slaves to be free men. During the reconstruction phase of the South after the war, Lincoln was instrumental in assisting in creating policies designed to re-integrate the South back into the country in terms of agriculture and industry.

What factors led to the Civil War?Slavery was the primary issue leading to the Civil War, with most Southerners believing that slavery was a vital aspect of ensuring a strong agricultural and industrial future, while most of the Northern citizens believed slavery to be immoral and against religiously-inspired freedoms. Further, the South believed in their own superiority in many ways, thus they thought they had a right or destiny to break free of the North (succession) and start their own political and national regime.

Also, there was significant animosity over Lincolns rise to presidential power by Southerners who believed that his authority would undermine the needs and requirements of the southern people, especially regarding slavery. TariffsExtremely fast modernization was a key goal of the Northern political leaders during this time period, thus they thought in order to compete with European industries, higher tariffs were necessary. With this mindset, the North was for the tariffs while the South opposed them because they threatened their agricultural ideals.

Westward ExpansionThe North and South were pretty much in agreement over the opportunities involving expanding the nation, however Northerners were worried that slavery would spread and take a strong root in the Pacific (and mountain) regions of the country. The North did not want this to happen, where the South felt slavery expansion into Western regions was a necessary evil to ensure high productivity and economic stability. States rights theory of governmentThe Northerners believed that trade by foreign competitors represented future economic problems for the North.

During the 19th Century, the government had a much weaker federal system than it does today. States rights meant that individual states would have their own rights in particular matters, especially political and economic, which would defy the need for strong federal influence. The South preferred the federal system while the North believed much more strongly in states rights to ensure their success in industry and agriculture. Dred Scott decisionJust prior to the start of the Civil War, this was a legal case which was designed to limit the freedoms of slaves to prevent them from ever becoming American citizens.

This made the South happy, who wanted slave labor to stay profitable. The North, however, thought this was against the rights of the slaves.