Name:
Date:
Study Guide for Pre-Civil War Quiz
Directions: Answer the following questions on a separate piece of paper
What is the Wilmot Proviso?
David Wilmot propses a resolution prohibiting slavery from all territory
acquired from Mexico. Party lines crumbled and people began supporting
their region (North/South). The measure passed the House (Majority of
northern reps.) but failed in the Senate (no majority).
Why is the Wilmot Proviso dangerous for the United States? Who proposed the
Proviso and when did it occur?
The Proviso showed that the country was being divided along regional lines.
The Proviso also further polarized the regions. This Proviso was proposed in
1846.
What is the Compromise of 1850?
California requests to join the country in 1849 (potentially upsetting the
balance of slave and free states)
Henry Clay introduces a series of resolutions in 1850 in hope to seek a
compromise to avoid a crisis.
Fugitive Slave Act
End of the Slave trade in Washington D.C.
California enters as a free state
Boundary dispute settled between Texas and New Mexico
What are the added pressures being applied by the Fugitive Slave Act? Who is the
Fugitive Slave act affecting most, why?
Penalizes people that do not help with finding runaway slaves. Officials were
required to assist in collecting runaways. Slaves could not ask for a trial/jury.
Aiding a runaway had consequences as well.
The pressure is being applied to northerners to assist southerners. The slave
act is affect northerners most.
What is the importance of the Fugitive Slave Act?
Slavery is going from a regional issue to a national issue. Slavery was
previously defended on the premise of a states’ rights issue.
Who are the critical people involved in the Compromise of 1850?
John C. Calhoun
Daniel Webster
Henry Clay
Stephen Douglas
Millard Filmore
What are the results of allowing “popular sovereignty” in Kansas?
The results after popular sovereignty is bleeding Kansas.
Who supports the Kansas Nebraska Act?
Southerners are convinced that Stephen Douglas’ Act will give slavery the
opportunity to succeed in the future in territories out West (popular
sovereignty). Southern Democrats support the Act, Northern Whigs and
Democrats leave and join the Republican Party.
Explain the importance of the Dred Scott case.
Congress is unable to legislate whether slavery is allowed in the territories out
west (Popular Sovereignty) because the Supreme Court has ruled that no one
can legislate whether slavery is allowed. This also takes a direct shot at the
Republican Party platform on slavery (restrict slavery to just where it exists).
Why is the Lecompton Battle important?
After the Dred Scott Decision the Buchannan administration attempts to get a
pro-slavery Kansas Constitution passed. Stephen Douglas and a coalition of
northerners attempts to block the Lecompton Constitution (successfully).
The Lecompton battle convinces southern Democrats that Democrat Stephen
Douglas can no longer be trusted. He is no longer a national party leader.
Is the southern assertion that Lincoln is an abolitionist (based on Lincoln’s
beliefs leading up to the Civil War) correct?
No, Lincoln attempts repeatedly to emphasize the Republican Party platform.
Lincoln believes in limiting slavery to where it exists presently and not to
allow it to advance any further. Lincoln also is willing to concede New Mexico
as a slave state to keep the country together after the secession crisis.
What is a complete definition for southern nationalism?
Fire eaters (radical southerners) that viewed the southern region’s prospects
as better outside of the United States (independent of the U.S.). Southward
expansion to obtain Cuba , West Indian Islands, Mexico, and parts of Central
America were promoted. These fire eaters wanted an independent southern
empire based on slavery.
What event leads to the political parties being divided among regional lines? How
does that affect the election of 1860?
The Kansas Nebraska Act, Compromise of 1850, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, popular
sovereignty, Dred Scott Decision, Lecompton Compromise, and Wilmot
Proviso all promote the polarization of the North and South. The 1860 election
becomes an election that is decided upon regional lines.
Who is John Brown and why is he important?
John Brown is a radical abolitionist that led a group of men in the
Pottawatomie Creek Massacre in Kansas (In response to the Lawrence KS
Massacre). Afterward John Brown attempts to seize a federal arsenal at
Harpers Ferry. His attempt fails and leaves much of the country in fear of a
slave rebellion and another large portion viewing Brown as a martyr.
What is the Free Labor Ideology?
A coalition of anti-slavery Democrats, northern Whigs, Free Soilers, and KnowNothings opposed to the further expansion of slavery.
The opposite of a free society is a slave society. A worker should have the
opportunity to move up in status. Economic independence is essential to
freedom. Slavery created a stagnant social order of slaves, poor whites, and
idle aristocrats.
What seven states initially secede and by when do they secede? How does this relate
to Lincoln taking office?
S.C., TX, MS, AL, GA, FL, LA secede all before Lincoln becomes President in
1861. These states were already convinced they lost their voice within the
American Government.
How does James Buchannan handle the southern states seceding?
James Buchannan does not believe states have the right to secede but also
believes the federal government does not have the right to intervene.
What is the Crittenden Compromise and what is Lincoln’s stance on the Crittenden
Compromise?
Introduced by John Crittenden of Kentucky, would guarantee slavery where it
edxisted, and extended the MO Compromise line to the Pacific Ocean divided
between slave and free states.
Southern states say it is too little too late and Lincoln believed that the
Compromise gave too much to the South since he just won an election on
principles stated to everyone.
What is the “cornerstone” of the Confederacy?
The cornerstone of the Confederacy is that blacks are inferior to whites. With
that inferiority comes a guarantee of slavery to maintain the status that is
deemed a best fit for blacks.
What happens at Fort Sumter? How do the actions taken by Lincoln show his
political ingenuity?
President Lincoln attempts to resupply a garrison of 68 men in Fort Sumter
(located in Charleston Harbor). He notifies the governor of S.C. and forces the
South to respond to his actions. The South will open fire to start the Civil War.
Lincoln successfully navigates between making the North appear to be the
aggressor (through a deliberate attack on the South) and legitimizing the
Confederate government (by being willing to negotiate with the Confederacy).