| A | B |
|---|
| Wilmot Proviso | proposal by David Wilmot of Pennsylvania to have Congress ban slavery in all the territory gained by the Mexican-American War |
| popular sovereignty | people in the territory or state would vote directly on issues, rather than having their elected representatives decide |
| Lewis Cass | Democratic candidate for President in 1848, advocated the use of popular sovereignty |
| Free-Soil Party | formed by antislavery Whigs and Democrats in 1848; called for a ban on slavery in the Mexican Cession |
| Martin Van Buren | Free-Soil candidate for President in 1848 |
| General Zachary Taylor | hero of Mexican-American War, Whig candidate and winner of 1848 Presidential election |
| secede | to withdraw |
| fugitives | runaway enslaved people |
| Henry Clay | the Great Compromiser |
| crisis | turning point or deciding event in history |
| John C. Calhoun | Senator from South Carolina was against the admission of California as a free state, advocated a constitutional amendment to protect slavery or secession |
| Daniel Webster | Senator from Massachusetts who advocated for compromise and an end to bitter sectionalism |
