Background Essay questions
1. How did the Missouri Compromise limit the growth of slavery?
The Missouri Compromise limited the growth of slavery by setting a boundary line at the 36,30 line of
latitude.
2. How did Sam Houston’s opinions compare with those of most Texans on the Kansas-Nebraska Act and
secession?
Sam Houston did not want to see slavery expand into the prairies and he did not believe that south could
win a war with the North; the war would devastate the South.
3. What event in 1859 increased tensions between the North and South?
The event at Harper’s Ferry where John Brown took over the military arsenal and encouraged the slaves
to revolt was what really increased the tensions.
4. How many Southern states seceded before Texas?
There were 6 southern states that left the Union before Texas (SD, GA, FL, MS, AL, LA)
5. What evidence is there that Governor Houston felt strongly against secession?
The evidence that Sam Houston felt strongly against secession is in paragraph 5, it says he refused to
sign an oath of loyalty to the confederacy and he believed it would be a disaster and loss for the south to
break away.
6. Define each of the following:
Missouri Compromise—a law passed that admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free
state, it set the boundary for slave states at the 36,30 line of latitude.
Repeal—to undo a law, to take away the law
Kansas-Nebraska Act—a law passed that gave Kansas and Nebraska territories the right to vote
on whether to be a free or slave state.
popular sovereignty—the idea of having people’s choice or letting people vote about an issue
secede—to formally withdraw from a country, to break away from a country
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1860-Lincoln elected president of the United States
1861-Texas secedes from the Union
1862-42 Union sympathizers handed in Gainesville, Texas
1863-Sam Houston dies in Huntsville, Texas
1865-May 12-13: Last battle of Civil War fought at Palmito Ranch near Brownsville more than a month
after Civil War was over.