U.S. History
Ms. Areces
Chapter 15: A Divided Nation
Section 1: The Debate over Slavery (pg. 476-481)
New Land Renews Slavery Disputes



New land was added after winning the Mexican-American War in 1848 (__________________
square miles)
o It caused bitter debate over slavery
o Remember! The _________________________________ (1820) had divided the
Louisiana Purchase into free and slave territories along the ____________ line
o President Polk wanted to extended that line all the way out west
o But many leaders agreed with ____________________________________ (definition:
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________)
—meaning the people within the land would decide on banning or allowing slavery
Some wanted to outlaw slavery completely—so they proposed the
_____________________________ (definition:
______________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________)
o The northern-controlled House passed by the document but the South had more power
in the Senate, so it did not pass—it showed growing ____________________________
o Antislavery northerners formed a new party, the ________________________ Party,
which supported the document
 They worried that slave labor would mean
_________________________________________________________________
After much debate, California entered as a __________________ state because many
Californians opposed slavery
o The South wasn’t happy because they were worried that it would throw off the balance
of power (Free vs. State)
Compromise of 1850


__________________________ helped to propose yet another compromise!
o His compromise sparked debate:
 NY Senator William Seward agreed with it
 SC John C. Calhoun argued that the balance of power would be thrown off—and
he asked that the slave states be allowed to ______________ from the Union
(definition: _______________________________________________________)
Compromise of 1850:
o ________________________________________________________________________
o ________________________________________________________________________
o ________________________________________________________________________
Fugitive Slave Act
1
U.S. History
Ms. Areces



Definition:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
Details:
o Could testify: _____________________________________________________________
o Could NOT testify: ______________________________________________________ &
________________________________________________________________________
o Commissioners earned more money if they
________________________________________________________________________
Reactions:
o Enforcement began in __________________________________________
o Thousands of African-Americans fled to ___________________________
o Fugitive slaves were declared free in ___________ out of ______________ cases
o Many Northerners did not like the Act because the commissioners had too much power
and because it was a trial without a jury—most resisted peacefully, but there were some
instances of violence like the case with ______________________________________
 Explain what happened:
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
Antislavery Literature

Most famous piece of fiction about slavery: ___________________________________
o Author: ________________________________________
o Synopsis:
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
o Impact:__________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Section 2: Trouble in Kansas (pg. 483-487)
Election of 1852

Winner: ________________________________________________________
o He promised to honor
_______________________________________________________________________
so he got the respect from the North and the South
The Kansas-Nebraska Act
2
U.S. History
Ms. Areces




Stephen Douglas wanted to build a railroad to __________________________________
o He needed the rest of the Louisiana Territory to become different states
 Because of the Missouri Compromise, the land he wanted would be free
 Southerners did not like that—they wanted the train to run through the South
 But Douglas wanted the train to start in Chicago
o Douglas got a few key southern senators to support his plan by
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
January 1854: Douglas introduced the _______________________________________________,
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
o It eliminated
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
o The law was signed into law, but unfortunately the railroad would not be approved until
1862
Elections for the Kansas territorial legislature were held in March 1855
o The new legislature had a huge pro-slavery majority because
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
o Strict laws:
 _________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
 _________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
A small anti-slavery group set up their own government in
Bleeding Kansas

April 1856: a congressional committee arrived in Kansas to decide which government was
legitimate—pro-slavery or antislavery (and both sides had weapons!)
o May 1856: Sack of Lawrence (Describe what happened):
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
o Abolitionist John Brown had moved to Kansas from New England—and he wanted to
“fight fire with fire.”
 May 24, 1856: _________________________________________, which is when
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
________________________________________ along the Pottawatomie Creek
3
U.S. History
Ms. Areces

 Brown said his orders had been ordered by _____________________.
o The events in “_______________________________________” became national frontpage news
The violence even affected the Senate
o Senator Charles Sumner of MA criticized pro-slavery people in Kansas and insulted
Senator Andrew Pickens Butler
o Rep. Preston Brooks (Butler’s relative) responded by
________________________________________________________________________
on May 22, 1856 on the Senate floor
o It divided the country even more
Section 3: Political Divisions (pg. 488-492)
Political Parties Undergo Change


In 1854: Whigs, Democrats, Free-Soilers, and abolitionists joined together to form
_______________________________________________ -______________________________________________________________________________
o Democrats lost supporters
o The Whigs fell apart (some joined the Know-Nothing Party)
Election of 1856
o Democrats: _______________________________________________________
o Republicans: _______________________________________________________
 But the pubic saw Republicans as a ____________________________________
 *Put a star next to the winner of the election*
Dred Scott Decision







Dred Scott was the slave of Dr. John Emerson, an army general that lived in St. Louis, Missouri
1830s: Scott traveled with the doctor to the Illinois and Wisconsin Territories (free territories)
When they returned to Missouri, the doctor died and Scott became a slave to Emerson’s widow
1846: Scott sued for _____________________________ in the Missouri state courts, arguing
______________________________________________________________________________
A lower court ruled in his favor, but the Missouri Supreme Court overturned the ruling
Scott’s case reached __________________________________ in 1857
o Most of the Supreme Court justices were from the __________________
o They had to decide on 3 key issues:
 _________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
 _________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
 _________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
Chief Justice Roger B. Taney wrote the majority opinion:
4
U.S. History
Ms. Areces
o

All African Americans (whether free or slave) were ______________________________
so Dred Scott did not have the _______________________________________________
o Scott’s residence on free soil ________________________ make him free
o The Missouri Compromise was ____________________________________ because the
______________ Amendment said
________________________________________________________________________
 And slaves were considered _________________________
After the decision was made, most white southerners were _________________, and many
northerners were ____________________________
o A young Illinois lawyer, __________________________, even commented on the case—
saying that next case might prohibit states from even banning slavery
Lincoln-Douglas Debates




1858: Illinois Republicans nominated Abraham Lincoln for the U.S. Senate
o His opponent was Democrat ___________________________________________
Lincoln challenged Douglas in what became the historic _________________________________
o 1st Debate:
 Lincoln said that African Americans were
“________________________________________________________________”
 However, Lincoln did not think that that African Americans were social or
political equals of whites
 Douglas charged Lincoln by saying that the
“________________________________________________________________”
o 2nd Debate:
 Location: ________________________________________________
 Lincoln pressed Douglas on the apparent contradiction between the Democrats’
belief in __________________________________________________________
 He said if Congress could not ban slavery from federal territory, why could
Congress allow the citizens to ban it?
 Douglas responded by saying that
_________________________________________________________________
because they people have the right to introduce or exclude it as they please
 Freeport Doctrine:
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
The Freeport Doctrine put the slavery question in the hands of ___________________________
Lincoln did not win the seat in the Senate, but he became a powerful figure in the Republican
Party
Section 4: The Nation Divides (pg. 493-497)
Raid on Harpers Ferry
5
U.S. History
Ms. Areces







1858: _______________________ started an uprising
o He wanted to break into the federal arsenal in Virginia to seize weapons
o He planned to arm local slaves, and kill/take hostage any white southerners
October 16, 1859:
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
o But the enslaved African Americans did not participate because
________________________________________________________________________
o Instead,
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Federal troops arrived the following day
o Led by ________________________________________________
Brown was convicted of __________________________________________________________
The judge ordered Brown to be ________________________ which happened on
_____________________________________________
Many northerners mourned John Brown’s death, but some abolitionists thought his actions
were too radical
Most southern whites felt _________________________ by John Brown’s actions because
___________________________________________________________________________
Election of 1860




Democrats could not decided
o Northern: ___________________________________________
o Southern: ___________________________________________
Constitutional Union Party: ________________________________________
o Definition:
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Republican: ________________________________________
o The Republicans chose him because
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
*Put a star next to the winner of the Election of 1860*
The South Secedes



Lincoln said he would not change slavery in the South
o But he said that slavery could not expand and would eventually die out
Southerners believed ________________________________________________________
would be destroyed without slave labor
The South reacted quickly—meeting in _________________________________
6
U.S. History
Ms. Areces
o


They considered ___________________________--saying that it was possible to leave
the Union voluntarily because they had joined it voluntarily
 Some thought the idea of secession was ridiculous, though
December 20, 1860: The Confederacy, or ____________________________________________
was formed
o States involved: __________________________________________________________
o New constitution allowed __________________________________________________
o President: _______________________________________
o There was the issue of federal property—who owned the property since they were not
part of the United States of America?
 They did not want the federal government to control the forts
March 4, 1861: President Lincoln is ____________________________________
o In his inaugural address, he used many of the nation’s founding documents
o He was opposed to the idea that the southern states could leave the Union because
they were unhappy with the government’s position on slavery
o He announced he would _________________ all government property in the seceding
states
o But he also tried to convince southerners that his government would not provoke war
o He hoped that the southern states would return to the Union in time
7