Chapter 18
A Divided Nation
Name _______________________________
Section ________
Lesson 18.1 The Debate over Slavery
The Expansion of Slavery
1. After the Mexican War, a lot of land was added to the
United States. There was a debate over whether or not
to allow ________________________ in all parts of this
land (called Mexican Cession).
2. The Wilmot Proviso stated that slavery should never exist in any part of this territory. Did
the Wilmot Proviso pass and become law? ______________
3. Sectionalism happens when people favor the _______________________________________
________________________________________________________________________. (This is
a big idea and we talked about it in Chapter 12 also)
4. Another idea about whether or not to allow slavery in this new land was proposed by
Senator Lewis Cass. His idea was to allow the people living in each territory to
_____________________ if they wanted to allow or forbid slavery. This is called
_________________________ _________________________.
5. When California wanted to enter the union as a free state (means slavery is illegal), what
was the problem? _______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
The Compromise of 1850
6. Henry Clay comes up with another compromise to help the country. This compromise
had 5 parts.
a. California should enter the Union (US) as a ___________________________.
b. In the area called New Mexico, the status of slavery would be decided by
______________________________________.
c. He worked out the border dispute between _______________ & _______________.
d. The _______________ _______________ would end, but not slavery.
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e. There would be a new, more effective _____________________________________.
This Compromise passed in September and was called “________ ___________________
_______ __________________.”
The Fugitive Slave Act
7. It was a federal crime to ________________________________________, according to the
Fugitive Slave Act. Even in areas where slavery was illegal, a runaway slave could still be
________________________.What was the penalty for hiding or helping a runaway slave?
__________________________________________________________
8. Read about Frederick Douglas in box on the left of page 556. Why did Douglass have to
leave the country? _______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Antislavery Literature
9. Slave narratives are stories of the lives of slaves. Sojourner Truth’s narrative was different
in what two ways? ______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
10. Uncle Tom’s Cabin was an __________________________ novel written by Harriet Beecher
Stowe. She learned about the cruelty of slavery when she met with _______________
________________ in Ohio. She wrote her book to show _________________________ what
slavery was really like.
11. Read an excerpt of Uncle Tom’s Cabin on page 558. In this excerpt, what is happening to
Tom, a slave? ___________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
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Lesson 18.2 Trouble in Kansas
The Election of 1852
1. Franklin Pierce was a
_________________________ (his political
party). His party promised to enforce the
_____________________________________________.
2. The Whig party nominated ______________________________ as their candidate.
3. The winner of this election was Democratic candidate ________________________.
The Kansas-Nebraska Act
4. Stephen Douglas had a plan to build a railroad to the _______________________. He
wanted the railroad to go from Chicago, which meant it would go through the
_______________________ ______________________.
5. Southerners instead wanted the line to run from _____________________ across
____________________. These southerners said they would be okay with Douglas’s plan,
but they wanted __________________ to be allowed in the new territory west of Missouri.
6. The Kansas-Nebraska Act divided up the Louisiana Purchase into two territories,
______________________ and __________________. In these two territories, slavery would
be decided by _____________________ ___________________ (letting the people vote on
the issue).
7. __________________________ were upset because a previous agreement (the Missouri
Compromise) had said that there wasn’t supposed to be any slavery allowed in this area
(all area north of the _________________ line).
8. What region supported the Kansas-Nebraska Act? ______________________________
9. Did Douglas ever get his railroad deal? ______________________________________
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“Bleeding Kansas”
10. In Kansas and Nebraska, the people got to decide if slavery was going to be legal or not.
This is called __________________ ____________________.
11. When the elections for the legislature (lawmakers) were held in 1855, pro-slavery people
from Missouri snuck into _______________ voted there and then returned home. Because
all these pro-slavery people from Missouri crossed the border to vote, lots of pro-slavery
people were elected to the legislature. The new laws they created were pro or anti
slavery? __________________
12. Anti-slavery people in Kansas were upset and ended up creating their own
____________________. That meant there were ____ different legislatures (governments)
for Kansas.
13. Both of these sides were heavily ________________ and ______________ broke out. Some
antislavery leaders were charged with ____________________, and ___________ men
destroyed buildings and printing presses in _____________________.
14. An antislavery leader, _____________________________ John Brown wanted to punish the
_____________________ forces. He led some men along _____________________ Creek and
killed __________ pro-slavery men. This became know as the _______________________
_____________________.
15. This caused more violence to break out and within a few months, about ______________
people were killed. The entire country read about “Bleeding Kansas” in the
_______________________.
16. This violence wasn’t limited to Kansas. Where else did violence occur?
_________________________.
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Lesson 18.3 Political Divisions
New Divisions
1. Several political groups united to oppose the spread of slavery
in the West and became the ____________________________.
2. The Democrats were very careful to choose someone not
associated with the Kansas-Nebraska Act when they were selecting their presidential
candidate for the election of 1856. They selected _____________________ from
_______________________.
3. The Republicans chose _________________________ as their candidate. They liked him
because he opposed ___________________________________________. Many
_______________________ were very much against a Republican winning the election. The
winner of this election was ____________________________.
The Dred Scott Decision
4. Dred Scott was a slave of an army surgeon from _____________________. He traveled
with his owner to Illinois and the northern part of the ___________________
_____________________. Because he traveled parts of the country where slavery was
illegal, he believed that he had become a free man and _____________ for his freedom.
5. The Supreme Court had 3 issues to rule on. Fill in the chart with the issues and results.
Key Issue
Ruling
a. Was he a ________________ of the US?
b. Did living on __________ soil make him free?
c. Was the ban on _______________ in the
Louisiana Purchase constitutional?
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Yes or
no
(circle one)
Yes or
no
(circle one)
Yes or
no
(circle one)
6. White __________________________ were happy with the decision, while
____________________ were very upset.
The Lincoln-Douglas Debates
7. Abraham Lincoln joined the Republican Party because he __________________________
____________________________________________________________________________.
8. Abraham Lincoln challenged Stephen Douglas to a series of debates when they were both
running for the office of ____________________________ of Illinois.
9. In these debates, what issue did Abraham Lincoln stress as the central issue?
__________________________________
10. Douglas criticized Lincoln saying that he wanted to make every state a ____________
______________.
11. One of Douglas’s responses regarding popular sovereignty and slavery became known as
the __________________________________. This put the control of the slavery question
back in the hands of __________________ __________________.
12. Though he did not win this election, what did Lincoln gain from these debates?
_____________________________________________________________________________
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Lesson 18.4 Secession
The Raid on Harpers Ferry
1. John Brown believed that talk alone would not end
slavery. He believed that ___________________ was necessary.
2. John Brown had a plan to start a slave revolt by attacking the federal
_____________________ (military storehouse) and use the weapons stored there to arm the
________________ nearby. With 2 years of planning, he only had ____________ people
involved, including his own ___________.
3. Once he took over the arsenal, how many slaves joined him? ______________ What
happened instead? ______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________
Judging John Brown
4. John Brown was charged with (and convicted of) _______________, _______________ &
_______________________________________________________________. What was his
sentence? _____________________________________________________________________
5. Many people in the _________________ supported Brown. While Lincoln agreed that
slavery was wrong, he did not support _____________________. In the South, whites felt
___________________ that another attack might happen. Some newspapers started saying
that the __________________ should leave the ______________.
The Election of 1860
6. Because the Northern and Southern members of the Democrat couldn’t agree on a
candidate for the presidential election, they ___________ into two. That meant there were
two Democratic candidates for president for this election. In the North, they chose
_____________________________, in the South, they chose ___________________________.
7. A new political party, which recognized the Constitution as the only source of laws, was
called the _____________________________________. Their candidate was _____________.
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8. The Republicans chose ______________________________ as their candidate. He was
against the ______________ of slavery but said that he would not try to get rid of slavery
where _____________________________.
9. The winner of this election was _________________________. Not a single ______________
state had voted for him. The South was losing its power in the United States.
Breaking with the Union
10. Many southern whites thought that once Lincoln became president, he would
______________ slavery in the South. Did Lincoln say he would do this? _______
11. Formally withdrawing from the Union (officially leaving the United States) is called
_________________________. In December of 1860, what did South Carolina vote to do?
______________________________________________________________________
12. Because the Constitution doesn’t mention secession, southerners believed they could do it
if they wanted to. Since they had joined the Union (United States) voluntarily, with a state
convention to ratify (approve) this decision, they felt they could ________________
voluntarily too.
13. __________________ and _______________ both said that states shouldn’t be able to leave
when they want. A bunch of _________________ were proposed by Crittenden to try to
satisfy the South, but Lincoln did not like this idea.
The Confederate States of America
14. Other states joined South Carolina in leaving the US. These states were
_____________________, _____________________, ____________________,
_____________________, ______________________, & ____________________.
15. They joined together to create a new country called the ____________________________
_______________________. One big difference in their constitution was that citizens were
guaranteed what right? ___________________________________________________
16. They elected _____________________ _________________ as their president. Was he
thrilled to be elected? ______________
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CHAPTER 18
Chapter Tutorial
IDENTIFYING TERMS Choose the term or name that correctly matches each definition.
______ 1. allowed escaped slaves to be arrested where slavery
was illegal
a. Stephen Douglas
b. Harriet Beecher Stowe
______ 2. wrote a powerful antislavery novel published in 1852
c. popular sovereignty
______ 3. introduced the Kansas-Nebraska Act
d. Fugitive Slave Act
______ 4. allowing voters in a territory to decide whether they
e. secession
wanted to ban or allow slavery
______ 5. act of formally withdrawing from the Union
SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS
Lesson 18.1
1. List the main conditions of the Compromise of 1850.
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
2. Explain the effect of the Mexican War on the debate over the expansion of slavery.
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
Lesson 18.2
3. Describe the Kansas-Nebraska Act and explain how people reacted to it.
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
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4. Describe what happened in Lawrence, Kansas.
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
5. Describe what happened in the Pottawatomie Massacre.
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
Lesson 18.3
6. Why did Dred Scott sue for his freedom and how did the Supreme Court rule on his case?
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
Lesson 18.4
7. Describe what happened at Harper’s Ferry.
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
8. Why did some Southern states decide to leave the Union?
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
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Study Topics – Chapter 18
People, Groups & Places
Events & Documents
Franklin Pierce
Henry Clay
Dred Scott
Steven Douglas
John Brown
Abraham Lincoln
Jefferson Davis
James Buchanan
Frederick Douglass
Sojourner Truth
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Republican Party
Democratic Party
Constitutional Union Party
Confederate States of America
Lawrence, Kansas
Harpers Ferry, Virginia
Kansas-Nebraska Act
Freeport Doctrine
Dred Scott decision
Wilmot Proviso
Pottawatomie Massacre
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Lincoln-Douglas Debates
John Brown’s Raid (Harper’s Ferry)
Election of 1860
Compromise of 1850
Fugitive Slave Law
Other Terms
popular sovereignty
secession
sectionalism
“Bleeding Kansas”
Be able to . . . .
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Describe what happened at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia
List the main conditions of the Compromise of 1850
Explain the effect of the Mexican War on the debate over the expansion of slavery
Describe what happened in the Pottawatomie Massacre
Explain the Dred Scott Case and results
Describe what happened in Lawrence, Kansas
State the reasons for the secession of some southern states
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