Abolish
To end totally and completely; to end immediately, as in slavery
Abolition
The immediate and total end to slavery
Electoral College
A group representing all states that casts the final vote in
presidential elections, based upon the majority vote in each state. A
candidate may win only 51 percent of the pop votes in a state but win
all the state electoral votes. The number of electoral votes assigned
each state based on pop; the electoral vote is equal to the num of its
members of the House of Representatives plus two senators.
Federal
A large or central government under which states are governed. In
this context, the United States government in Washington, D.C., the
Union government
Homestead Act
To encourage western settlement, the U.S. Congress in 1862 passed a
law ranting 160 acres free to any man who would occupy and cultivate
the land
Insurrection
Revolt; uprising
Moderate
A reasonable viewpoint that isn't considered extreme; in the middle
Patronage
To make appointments to government jobs based on grounds other than merit
Secede
To withdraw from an organization or a government
Southern consciousness
The belief that the Southern way of life was distinct from and
incompatible with the Northern "Yankee" way of life
States' Rights
The belief that if a law passed by the federal government was deemed
unfair or unconstitutional, the states had a right to accept, deny, or
evaluate the policy.
Unanimous
In total; one hundred percent agreement
Conditionalists
Those in the South who wanted to secede from the Union only under
certain conditions, namely, if President Lincoln took actions harmful
to the South
Cooperationists
Those in the South who were willing to wait and see what Lincoln
might do as president rather than secede merely on the basis of his election
Jefferson Davis
The president of the Confederate States of America
Isaac Murphy
From Madison County, the only person to vote against Arkansas
secession. Later, he served as the Union governor in Little Rock
Mrs. Frederick Trapnall
A wealthy Little Rock resident who threw flowers from the balcony of
the statehouse to Isaac Murphy when he voted against secesion
Judge David Walker
Unionist from Fayetteville who leads secession conventions. At the
second convention, he voted for secession
Confederate States of America
Nation formed by Southern states that seceded from the Union because
of fears of the elimination of slavery and the threat to states' rights