10th Grade Civil War Part 1:
Study Questions and Vocabulary
1. Explain how the issue of slavery created tension in America before the
Civil War.
2. Identify and explain the importance of at least five key abolitionist
figures.
3. Identify and explain at least three key events that served to increase
tension between free and slave states in America before the Civil War.
4. Explain how the issues of slavery, sectionalism, and secession led to
the Civil War in America.
5. Be able to define, use, and give examples of the following vocabulary terms.
Vocabulary Terms
1. ideal - an honorable or worthy standard or goal
2. institution - a practice, relationship, or behavior pattern that is important to community life
3. compromise - a settlement of differences in which each side gives up some of its demands
4. Constitution - document that outlines America’s plan of government
5. import - trade good brought into a country
6. abolitionism – 19th century anti-slavery movement
7. reformers - people seeking to make changes to correct societal problems
8. activism - work for social or political reform
9. suffrage - the right to vote
10. feminism - movement for women’s rights
11. radical - extreme in viewpoint or actions
12. descendant - one in a direct line from a past person or group
13. revolt or uprising - an often violent act of protest
14. mutiny - rebellion to take control of a ship at sea
15. district attorney - lawyer who prosecutes cases for a government
16. popular sovereignty - pre-Civil War law allowing people in new states to decide whether or not
to allow slavery there
17. repeal - the withdrawal or undoing of a law
18. sue - to bring civil proceedings against another for some wrong
19. civil suit - a legal case having to do with the rights of citizens (as opposed to criminal cases
involving broken laws)
20. advocates - people who support a cause
21. arsenal - supply of weapons and ammunition
22. armory - storage place for arms and ammunition
23. thesis - statement of opinion defended by facts that support it
24. legacy - what is left behind for future generations
25. secession - formal withdrawal from the Union
26. resolution - formal statement of an assembly / group
Brief Answers to Study Questions
1. Explain how the issue of slavery created tension in America before the Civil War.
A. The issue of slavery divided America from the beginning.
1. Southerners who relied heavily on large-scale farming believed slavery was necessary to their
region’s economy.
2. Most people in the North didn’t have and didn’t want people enslaved.
3. In the end, both sides put the slavery issue “on the back burner” in order to unite the nation.
B. As the nation grew and new states were added, the issue arose time and again.
1. Since both sides wanted to see its viewpoint become the law of the land, neither wanted the other
to gain a majority of seats in Congress.
2. To prevent this, a series of compromises were made, each angering one side or the other and
increasing tensions between the two.
2. Identify and explain the importance of at least five key abolitionist figures.
A. Harriet Tubman helped organize the Underground Railroad to free slaves.
B. William Lloyd Garrison published a newspaper, The Liberator, expressing abolitionist viewpoints.
C. Frederick Douglass wrote an autobiography entitled My Bondage and My Freedom detailing the
horrors of slavery as experienced by Douglass
D. Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin, a novel that caused controversy for its accurate
portrayal of the Southern slave system.
E. Sojourner Truth gave inspiring speeches advancing both abolitionism and women's rights.
F. The Grimke Sisters, once slave owners themselves, joined the Quaker movement and began speaking
out against slavery.
G. Lucretia Mott attended the first World's Anti-Slavery convention and also worked for women's rights.
H. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B Anthony were both teachers and Quakers that worked with the
women's rights and abolitionist movements.
3. Identify and explain at least three key events that served to increase tension between free and slave
states in America before the Civil War.
A. Nat Turner's Rebellion was a slave uprising that increased Southern paranoia about the status of
slavery.
B. The case of the Amistad prisoners enraged Southerners as they saw it as a direct government attack
on slavery.
C. The Compromise of 1850 angered Southerners as it opened the way for a “free” majority in Congress.
D. Abraham Lincoln's election further infuriated Southerners as they saw him as an abolitionist
sympathizer.
4. Explain how the issues of slavery, sectionalism, and secession led to the Civil War in America.
A. Slavery was an issue from the nation’s beginning and led to sectionalism between the North and
South.
B. The North and South grew increasingly divided over slavery and states’ rights to make laws that
affect their residents.
C. Finally, when tensions rose to the point that Southern states could no longer tolerate conditions,
fearing the loss of their lifestyle and economy, the southern states seceded one by one, sparking the
war.
D. The Civil War was, in the end, fought to decide whether the nation should remain one or be split into
two parts.