Social & Political Interaction
Regional Development
Development of Southern Culture
The development of a region influences, and is influenced by, social and political policies and decisions.
Essential Questions:
What is the role of social institutions (e.g. religion, education, and technology) in the development of a region?
How do political policies influence growth and development?
How do economic and political factors affect disenfranchised groups?
Explain the importance of key issues
and events
Missouri Compromise: an act of Congress where
Kansas-Nebraska Act: the act of Congress in 1854
that led to the Civil War:
Missouri was admitted as a slave state Maine as a free
that overturned the Missouri Compromise, and
Slavery: As more land was being acquired after the
removal of the Indians from Georgia slaves became
more popular. Slaves became more expensive as white
land owners acquired more land. As the demand for
slaves went up and so did the price. The nation began
to separate because some felt that slavery was wrong.
State’s Rights: This doctrine held the powers of the
individual states as greater than the powers of the
Federal government. State’s Rights meant that the
Federal government held its power only through the
consent of the states and that any powers not
specifically given to the Federal government remained
in control of the states.
Nullification: the power of a state to declare a federal
law null and void.
state, and slavery was prohibited in the Louisiana
Purchase north of latitude 36°30′N, except for Missouri.
Compromise of 1850: The compromise admitted
California into the United States as a “free” (no slavery)
state but allowed some newly acquired territories to
decide on slavery for themselves. Part of the
Compromise included the Fugitive Slave Act, which
proved highly unpopular in the North. Senator Henry
Clay was a force behind the passage of the compromise.
Fugitive Slave Act: allowed southern farmers to capture
and claim runaway slaves hiding in northern states. It
also made it illegal to hide runaway slaves. Before this
law was written if a slave escaped to a free state they
were free. After this law was passed slaves had to be
returned to their masters and if you were caught hiding
or helping a runaway slave you could be punished by
law.
Georgia Platform: was a statement executed by a
Georgia in response to the Compromise of 1850. The
document said that the acceptance of the Compromise
of 1840 as a FINAL resolution of the sectional slavery
issues while declaring that no further assaults on
Southern rights by the North would be acceptable. The
Platform had political significance throughout the
South.
said that the territories of Kansas and Nebraska
would decide on the question of slavery through a
vote based on the settlers who lived there.
Dred Scott Case: Dred Scott was a slave who went
to trial to sue for his freedom in 1847. Ten years
later, after a decade of appeals and court reversals,
his case was finally brought before the United
States Supreme Court. In what is perhaps the most
infamous case in its history, the court decided that
all people of African ancestry -- slaves as well as
those who were free -- could never become citizens
of the United States and therefore could not sue in
federal court. The court also ruled that the federal
government did not have the power to prohibit
slavery in its territories. Dred Scott remained a
slave.
Election of 1860: The 1860 election proved to be
one of the most momentous in American history as
it came at a time of national crisis, and brought
Abraham Lincoln, with his known anti-slavery
views, to the White House. Slave states do not
support this presidential candidate.
37a - rank and analyze the importance of key issues and events that led to the Civil War including slavery,
states’ rights, nullification, Missouri Compromise, Compromise of 1850, Georgia Platform, Kansas-Nebraska
Act, Dred Scott case, and election of 1860.
Directions: Read pages 188-194 and answer the following two column notes.
Slavery
 Urban North, Rural South: Urban residents, therefore, tended to be
___________________—that is, _________________________________ various
__________, such as food, shelter, and clothing. Pg. 185
 Westward Expansion of Slavery: For Georgia and other southern states to
_______________________ of __________ in the ________________________,
__________________ of the number of new states would have to allow slavery. Pg.
192, m.192
Dred Scott
 Further ____________ the _______________________ was growing opposition in the
case,
North to the new Fugitive Slave Law. In fact, the law promoted a growing abolitionist
194
movement in the North. Pg. 194

Missouri
Compromise,
193
In 1857, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on a _________ involving _______________, a
slave who had lived in free territory and wanted to sue in federal court for freedom. In
the ________________________, the court denied his right to sue. More importantly,
the court ruled that Congress could not ban slavery from America’s territories. Pg. 194
Agreement by Congress in 1820 to ________________ into the Union
_____________________ and Missouri as a slave state. However, in the future,
____________ would be _______________ in the western territories of the United States
_____________________________. Pg. 193

Agreement by Congress in 1820 to allow _______________ to enter the Union
____________________, ________________________ to
__________________________ to their southern owners, drop 36˚30’ as the dividing
line for slavery in future states, and allow the population of each territory seeking
statehood to vote on its statues as slave or free. Pp. 193-194

Compromise of 1850: ___________ of each ______________ would
______________________________________________. But supporters of slavery and
of abolition (making slavery illegal) both sought to use ________________________
[allowing the ___________ to decide an issue by ___________] to their advantage. Pg.
194
Georgia
Platform

[Georgia’s response to the Compromise of 1850 came] In December, the convention
adopted the “_____________________.”
__________________________________________________ providing the __________
did also. Pg. 194
Nullification
188

States’ Rights: Some believed so strongly in states’ rights that they argued states had the
power of __________________—the right to determine if __________ passed by
Congress is constitutional or not. If a state believed that a federal law violated the U.S.
Constitution, then it could ____________ such law “null and void”
(__________________) within that state. Pg. 188

Also, at the same time, many Georgians—particularly in the mountain regions of the
state—felt a strong desire to stay within the Union. So, Georgia backed away from
nullification. Pg. 188
Compromise
of 1850,
m.193, 193194
Role of
Alexander
Stephens,
177, 194, 203,
206, 230, p. 232,
232

Reaction in Georgia: Many influential leaders argued for immediate
_____________________________. … Other Georgians asked delegates to
_________ and _________________________ as president ___________
making a final decision. Pg. 203
 _______________________, who had served in _____________ and knew
Lincoln well, argued that his election by itself could not harm Georgia. Pg. 203
 Georgia’s _______________________ was picked to be the
_________________________________. Pg. 206
 Elected to Georgia’s ______________________ in 1836 Pg. 232
 _____________ in 1843 and again in 1872 Pg. 232
 _____________ in 1882 Pg. 232
AKS 37: Choose (A) if the following statement is TRUE and (B) if the following statement is FALSE.
1. _____Sectionalism is the belief that national interests should be placed above sectional interests.
2. _____Southern planters and merchants feared that high tariffs on imported goods would hurt trade with
Great Britain—specifically, cotton exports would be affected.
3. _____Most political leaders in the North opposed high tariffs on imported goods.
4. _____States’ rights is the belief that states had more power to the national government.
5. _____The doctrine of states’ rights was more popular in the South than in the North.
6. _____Most political leaders in the North believed that states could secede from the Union if they felt
their rights were violated.
7. _____Nullification was the belief that a state could nullify (or veto) a law passed by Congress that it
considered unconstitutional.
8. _____Georgia was the strongest supporter of nullification of the U.S. tariffs of 1828 and 1832.
9. _____The Missouri Compromise allowed Maine to enter the Union as a free state and Missouri to enter
as a slave state.
10. _____Southern planters and politicians were not worried about prohibiting slavery in the western
territories of the United States because most of the West was not suited for growing cotton.
11. _____The Compromise of 1850 allowed California to enter the Union as a free state and required free
states to return escaped slaves to their owners in the South.
12. _____Under the Fugitive Slave Law, Congress provided that any slaves who escaped to a free state
would be granted freedom and citizenship.
13. _____The Georgia Platform called for Georgia’s immediate secession from the Union in reaction to the
Compromise of 1850. The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 allowed Nebraska to enter the Union as a free
state and Kansas to enter as a slave state.
14. _____In the Dred Scott case in 1857, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Congress could not ban slavery
in America’s western territories.
15. _____Abolitionists were Southerners who called for the abolition of the Union.
16. _____In the presidential election of 1860, a split between northern and southern Democrats helped
assure the election of Abraham Lincoln.
17. _____Many political leaders in the South believed that Lincoln’s election eventually would lead to total
abolition of slavery in America.
18. _____Jefferson Davis was elected president of the Confederacy, and Georgia’s Alexander Stephens was
elected vice-president.