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The Second Great Awakening
The Second Great Awakening was a movement that emphasized the importance of the individual. It inspired new ways of thinking about society, religion, and the freedoms granted to people. This movement is significant to the prelude of the Civil War because it provided the ideas necessary for social reform to happen, such as those supporting anti-slavery and temperance movements. https://revival-library.org/histories/1792-the-second-great-awakening/ -
The Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise was a compromise which established Missouri as a slave state, Maine as a free state, and abolished slavery above the 36 degree 30' latitude line. Prior to the Civil War, this compromise caused further conflict with the already present question on the expansion of slavery. It heightened tensions and increased separation between the North and South. https://www.loc.gov/resource/g3701sm.gct00483/?sp=22 -
Abolitionist Movement
The abolitionist movement was a campaign by abolitionists to end slavery. Many abolitionist views were rooted in reformed religious ideals - slavery was viewed as a sin and implementing ideas such as moral suasion and immediatism. This is important in the context of the Civil War because the increasingly violent and insistent actions of the abolitionists and their enemies heightened tensions to a breaking point. https://www.historycrunch.com/american-abolitionist-movement.html#/ -
Nat Turner's Rebellion
Nat Turner's Rebellion was a slave uprising led by Nat Turner against their enslavers. The violence of the rebellion caused great amounts of panic amongst both anti-slavery and pro-slavery parties. Many in the South accused the North for encouraging a slave uprising and called for stricter, more oppressive laws on slavery, while anti-slavery groups advocated for the abolishment of slavery, both wanting to prevent further uprisings. https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/nat-turner -
Fugitive Slave Act
The Fugitive Slave Act was passed in order to return escaped slaves to their enslavers. This provided harsher punishments to slaves for escaping, and any who aided them. The act strengthened the continued oppression of slaves in support of pro-slavery sentiments, which only served to increase the ferocity of anti-slavery movements and the mounting tensions between groups leading up to the Civil War. https://www.battlefields.org/learn/primary-sources/fugitive-slave-act