United States History
Mr. Smith
Study Guide: Sectional Crisis and Civil War
Terms:
Wilmot Proviso (1846)
Free Soil Party
“Conscience” Whigs
Gold Rush
Nashville Convention (1850)
Stephen Douglas
Compromise of 1850
Know Nothing Party
Ostend Manifesto (1854)
Transcontinental railroad
Gadsden Purchase (1853)
Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)
“Bleeding Kansas”
Pottawatomie Massacre
Free Labor, Free Soil Ideology
slave power conspiracy
Proslavery Ideology
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
northern abolitionist conspiracy
paternalism
Republican Party
Dred Scott v Sanford (1857)
Impending Crisis of the South
Lincoln-Douglas Debates (1858)
Harper’s Ferry Raid (1859)
Crittenden Compromise
Anaconda strategy
1st Confiscation Act
Vicksburg
Gettysburg
total war
land-grant college
Homestead Act (1862)
military draft
transcontinental railroad
domestic insurrection
copperheads
writ of habeas corpus
2nd Confiscation Act
Emancipation Proclamation
Special Field Order #15
13th Amendment
Westward Expansion (1840’s) and the Compromise of 1850
 How and why did American expansionism re-ignite the issue of slavery? What is the Wilmot
Proviso? Why was it forwarded? What was the debate over slavery in the election of 1848?
How did the Gold Rush change the situation in the west regarding slavery? What was the
Compromise of 1850? What did the agreement say? How did this event demonstrate a
changing leadership in the Congress? What was the long-term impact of the Compromise in
terms of resolving the slavery issue in new American territories?
 Ostend Manifesto (1854): What was the Ostend Manifesto? Why did the United States want
Cuba? What did filibusters do? Why did Congress reject it and how did it further inflame
sectional tensions
 Transcontinental Railroad: Why would a transcontinental system benefit the nation? What
were the proposed routes for the line? What were the sectional issues involved? What were
the interests on both sides? What was the purpose of the Gadsden Purchase?
Kansas-Nebraska Act
 What were the issues surrounding the Nebraska Territory? What did each side want? What
was the Kansas-Nebraska Act? How did it meet the needs of both sides? How did it impact
previous settlements of the slavery question? What were the results of the act?
 What were the Lecompton and Lawrence governments? How did this act lead to “Bleeding
Kansas?” Who are Preston Brooks and Charles Sumner? What did John Brown and his
followers do in Kansas? What happened at the Pottawatomie Massacre?
Sectional Differences
 Northern ideology: What is “free soil, free labor” ideology? What did it say about American
democracy and freedom? What was its critique of the South?
 Southern ideology: What was the proslavery ideology? What did it say about the institution
of slavery and its impact on the United States? What was its critique of the North?
Steps to the Civil War:
 Dred Scott v Sanford: What was the issue involved in this case? What was the court’s
decision? What did it say about the status of slaves in the United States? What did it say
abut the authority of the federal government to regulate slavery?
 Impending Crisis of the South (Rowan Helper): How did this work impact sectional
tensions? How was it received in different sections of the nation?
 Lincoln-Douglas Debates: What were the primary arguments the two men offered during
the debates concerning slavery? What was the significance of the debates for Lincoln in
particular, and the nation as a whole?
 John Brown’s Raid at Harper’s Ferry: How did Brown’s actions impact attitudes in the South
concerning slavery, the North, and the federal government?
 The Election of 1860: What was the impact of Lincoln’s election on the state of the Union?
What message did Southerners take from the election results? On what grounds did
Southern states secede?
 Crittenden Compromise: What was the proposal offered by Senator John Crittenden? Why
did the Republicans refuse to accept it?
 What are different historical interpretations of what caused the Civil War?
Civil War—Strategy
 What initial expectations did the Union and the Confederacy have about the severity and
length of the Civil War? How did the Battle of Bull Run change these expectations?
 What was the victory strategy of the Union and the Confederacy? What advantages and
disadvantages did each side face? How did each design their military strategies to achieve
victory? How did Northern strategy evolve and change during the course of the war?
Civil War—Battles
 Battle of Vicksburg: What strategy did Gen. Grant employ to take Vicksburg? What was the
significance of this battle in terms of the western theater and the overall war?
 Battle of Gettysburg: What strategy did each side utilize at this battle? Why did Gen. Lee
choose to fight at this location? What were his other options? What was the significance of
this battle in terms of the eastern theater and the overall war?
Presidential Power
 What kinds of power did President Lincoln have during the war under his authority as
commander-in-chief? How did his use of his power lead some to accuse him of abusing it?
How might some of his actions seem inconsistent or in violation of the Constitution? What
were Lincoln’s objectives behind these controversial policies?
Emancipation
 How did the Radical Republicans and Lincoln initially differ on the issue of emancipation?
How and why did Lincoln move to finally endorse abolition as an objective for fighting the
war? What were the limitations of the Emancipation Proclamation? What was the purpose
of Sherman’s Field Order #15? What precedent would it have set?
Civil War—Results
 What was the social, political, and economic impact of the war on the North and the defeated
Southern states? What issues were left unresolved by the outcome of the war?