| A | B |
|---|
| Lewis Cass | Veteran (General) of the war of 1812; Elected by Democrats by election of 1848; Believed in popular sovereignty. |
| Stephen A. Douglas | Was at the convention of the Compromise of 1850; Played an important role; Supported Webster, Calhoun, Clay in their fight for Southern rights. |
| Franklin Pierce | Elected by Democrats for election of 1852; Wins election of 1852 |
| Zachary Taylor | Elected by Whigs for electio of 1848 and wins. Thought that he might veto any compromise that came from the convention and thought to believe in the "higher law" idea. Died suddenly in 1850, before the compromise was agreed upon or signed. |
| John C. Calhoun | Died in 1850; Before doing so he was at the convention for the Compromise of 1850. Played an important role and said "The South! The South! God knows what will become of her!" Appeared with Webster and Clay and fought for Southern rights. |
| Winfield Scott | Elected by Whigs for electio nof 1852. Called "old fuss and feathers." Hero in the Mexican War |
| Martin Van Buren | Elected by Free Soilers for election of 1848. |
| Daniel Webster | Was a the convention for the Compromise of 1850. Played an important role; appeared with Calhoun and Clay and fought for Southern rights. |
| Matthew C. Perry | Leader of the American fleet to Japan. Brother of the other Perry, Lake Erie Battle. Got Japan to sign a memorable treaty that got American commercial interests inside. |
| Harriet Tubman | One of the well known "conductors" of the underground railroad. Was an excaped slave herself and risked her own safety many times by going back and getting others. |
| William H. Seward | Was at the convention for the Compromise of 1850. Played an important role. Fought for the North in abolishing slavery. Proposed ideas of a "higher law" from God to have all men equal. |
| James Gadsden | Sent by Jefferson Davis (Secretary of War) to Mexicto to buy an area about the size of S. Carolina for Railroad purposes. Paid 10 million and allowed teh South to have claim towards the one railroad to the west. |
| Henry Clay | Lost nomination because of his too many pro-internal improvement and protective tariff speeches and enemies; was at the convention for the Compromise of 1850; Played an important role, appearing with Calhoun and Webster and fighting for Southern rights. |
| Milliard Fillmore | Vice-president for Taylro, became president when Taylor died suddenly. Was a New York lawyer-politician. Signed a series of compromises and helped push the compromise of 1850 through the Senate. |
| Popular sovereignty | People's choice in territory to be slave or non-slave slate; Thought by many as a great compromise between abolitionists and slave owners. |
| Free Soil Party | Organized for the election of 1848 because the North didn't trust either of the candidates. Platform: abolitionists, internal improvements, and Wilmot Proviso. |
| Fugitive Slave Law | Passed in 1850; Denied escaped slaves trial by jury or the right to testify; Also put government support in the recapturing of escaped slaves. |
| Personal Liberty Laws | Denied local jails to federal officials; hampered enforcement of the fugitive slave law. |
| Underground Railroad | A secret trail to freedom from the South for slaves; It had many "stations" where it stopped and then would go to another "station." They were led by "conductor" abolitonists, usually to Canada. |
| Compromise of 1850 | California entered as free state and Utah and New Mexico were under popular soverignty. Big deal because of the effects it would have on slavery issues. Clay, Webster, Seward, Calhoun, and Douglas were major players in the convention for this compromise. |
| "Fire eaters" | Nickname given to Southern people that protested California's admission as a free state. |
| Clayton-Bulwer Treaty | Stated that neither America nor Britain would fortify or control the area proposed for the Central American canal. |
| Seventh of March Speech | Made by Webster at the Convention for the Compromise of 1850. It had the most immediate and long-term effects of all of his speeches. |
| Ostend Manifesto | Secret manifesto dealing with the purchase of Cuba. The South wanted Cuba to balance the scale in the Senate; North found out about its dealing and stopped them. |
| "Higher Law" | Belief in a higher law from God to make all men equal. Proposed by Seward |
| Kansas-Nebraska Act | The Act would split the Nebraska territory in half: one Kansas and one Nebraska. Douglas set up the failure Act; It passed and caused great turmoil. It was believed that Nebraska would remain free while Kansas would be slave. To do this the Missouri Compromise had to be repealed. |
