is for Antietam (battle)

The Union was able to hold its own against the Confederate army thanks to Antietam. It was the bloodiest single-day combat in American military history. Additionally, it provided Abraham Lincoln the self-assurance to make the basic Emancipation Proclamation in a strong rather than desperate situation.

is for Battle of Bull Run (first)

The Civil War's opening large-scale engagement took place at Bull Run. The ferocious battle there made it clear to both the North and the South that the war would be brutal and protracted. This fight was won by the Confederacy.

is for Confederacy

Following President Abraham Lincoln's election, a group of 11 states known as the Confederate States of America broke away from the Union in 1860. The Confederacy, which existed from 1861 to 1865 under the leadership of Jefferson Davis, fought for legitimacy but was never acknowledged as a legitimate state. The Confederates established an openly anti-democratic, pro-slavery, and white supremacist nation-state based on the idea that not all men are created equally.

is for Democratic party

The Northern Democrats split into two groups during the Civil War: the War Democrats, who backed President Lincoln's military strategies, and the Copperheads, who vehemently opposed them. Southern Democrats took the initiative to split from the Union and create the Confederate States after Abraham Lincoln was elected.

is for Emancipation Proclamation

Abraham Lincoln signed an executive decree known as the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. It announced the liberation of slaves in the eleven Confederate states that were still in uprising. Additionally, it ruled that liberated slaves might join the Union Army, adding to the army's numbers.

is for Fort Sumter

Confederate States of America forces attacked the American military stronghold at Fort Sumter, South Carolina, on April 12, 1861. Two days or less later, the fort was abandoned. There was no fatality. The Civil War, however, which was the bloodiest struggle in American history, began with the battle.

is for Gettysburg (battle)

The Battle of Gettysburg was won by the Union. The Confederacy suffered a humiliating loss in the conflict. 23,000 Union soldiers lost their lives in the engagement, compared to 28,000 Confederate soldiers, or more than a third of Lee's army. Campaign Gettysburg was significant. It halted the Confederate upsurge and most likely ended any hope of an intervention from Europe. It provided the Federals a win they desperately needed and raised spirits in the North.

is for Harper's Ferry

A small band of men invaded the Virginian town of Harper's Ferry in 1859. They intended to take the weapons and deliver them to the slaves to incite a rebellion. The group took possession of the weapons but was apprehended. However, the south was now tremendously terrified.

is for Ironclad Warship

At the Battle of Hampton Roads in Virginia in 1862, ironclads engaged in combat against wooden ships and—in a momentous clash—against one another for the first time in the history of warfare. Their performance proved that the ironclad was now the most potent warship on the water, taking the place of the unarmored Ship of the Line. During the American Civil War, ironclad gunboats saw great success.

is for John Tyler

The manifest destiny was aided by Tyler. Polk's victory served as President John Tyler's cue to push through Congress the annexation of Texas. Tyler got both houses of Congress to pass a joint resolution for annexation in place of asking the Senate to approve a treaty, which would have needed a two-thirds majority. All that was needed for this process was a simple majority in each house. Polk was left by Tyler to handle Mexico's response to annexation.

is for Kansas-Nebraska Act

The Kansas-Nebraska Act provided for popular sovereignty, abolished the Missouri Compromise, and established two additional territories. A violent revolt known as "Bleeding Kansas" was partly a result of the pro- and anti-slavery advocates who flocked to the territories to influence the vote.

is for Lincoln

On his political platform, Lincoln opposed the spread of slavery in the territories. The Civil War broke out as soon as his election became official. Lincoln refused to ratify any resolution that might cause the South to secede from the Union after taking office. As commander in chief throughout the Civil War, he oversaw the Union.

is for Maryland Campaign

The Antietam Campaign, also known as the Maryland Campaign, took place between September 4 and 20, 1862, and is regarded by many as one of the American Civil War's key turning moments. Major General George B. McClellan and the Army of the Potomac repelled Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee's initial invasion of the North by moving to intercept Lee and his Army of Northern Virginia and ultimately attacking them close to Sharpsburg, Maryland. The ensuing Battle of Antietam ended up being the deadliest day in American history.

is for Nativism

The Supreme Order of the Star-Spangled Banner, founded by nativists as a covert anti-foreign society, later became the American Party, a political party. The American Party was referred to as the Know- Nothing Party because party members frequently answered political queries with "I know nothing." They backed laws that extended the five-year window for immigrants to become citizens to twenty-one years and restricted access to public office to those who were born in the country.

is for Overland Trails

A much bigger number of settlers ventured west after the mountain men with the hope of clearing the forests and farming the rich lowlands of California and Oregon. Following the Oregon, California, Santa Fe, and Mormon trails allowed hundreds of thousands of people to reach their destination in the west by 1860. The number of Americans began to increase.

is for Popular Sovereignty

When it came to the antebellum expansion of slavery into the territories, the idea of popular sovereignty was a political theory that gave the inhabitants of the territories the power to decide whether or not to authorize slavery, rather than Congress. One of the reasons for the Civil War was popular sovereignty, which led to intense hostility and violence between the northern and southern states. People from neighboring free/slave states were able to enter Kansas under the popular sovereignty system and influence the state's residents to support their cause.