APUSH Antebellum and Civil War Study Guide (answer with definition and multiple choice)

A white abolitionist who was murdered by a mob of white people in Alton, IL

Elijah Lovejoy

Who established “The North Star” ?

Frederick Douglas

William Lloyd Garrison discovered ___ at an abolitionist convention

Frederick Douglas

Frederick Douglas was able to buy his freedom when his ____ raised money for him

English friends

What treaty ended the Mexican American war?

Guadalupe - Hidalgo

What did the treaty of Guadalupe - Hidalgo end?

The Mexican American war

Who was David Wilmot?

A Pennsylvania representative who claimed that slavery would be banned in all new territory acquired from Mexico

What was the Wilmot Proviso?

A failed 1846 proposal to ban slavery in any U.S. territory gained from Mexico after the Mexican-American War, increasing North vs. South tensions over slavery's expansion. It passed the House but failed in the Senate

Southerns saw the Mexican cession as an opportunity to ___?

expand slavery

What did Northerners see in the Mexican cession?

a slave conspiracy

The Compromise of 1850

an attempt to reconsider the slavery issue

How did the Southern States react when California entered as a free state?

worried that this would tilt the balance of power to the free states of the North and demanded concessions

What parts of the Compromise of 1850 favored the North?

California entered the Union as a free state.

What parts of the Compromise of 1850 favored the South?

Popular sovereignty would be used to determine the future of slavery in each territory. Along with that, the Fugitive Slave law would be strictly enforced.

Who wrote “Uncle Tom’s Cabin?

Harriet Beecher Stowe

How did Harriet Beecher Stowe’s “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” affect Northerners?

Previously, most Northerners accepted slavery as a necessary evil and were indifferent towards it. After reading the novel, they began to embrace the idea of abolitionism as a moral crusade.

What was one of the most important aspect’s of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s work?

she made it clear that slavery was not simply a Southern sin. Northerners were complicit in the crime, and benefiting from the violence and hatred implicit in the institution.

Who offered the idea of popular sovereignty being used in the Western states to decide on slavery?

Stephen Douglas

What did popular sovereignty in the Western states lead to?

Almost a full blown civil war, “Bleeding Kansas”

What two groups fought against each other during Bleeding Kansas?

Slave-holding “Jayhawkers” and abolitionist settlers

Stephen Douglas was opposed by who?

abolitionists and moderates like Abraham Lincoln, who believed the federal government could simply ban slavery in the territories.

What happened at Pottawatomie Creek?

John Brown and his sons murdered several slave owners in cold blood

When did the Republican party emerge?

1850s

At the time of the emergence of the Republicans, what was the situation with other parties?

the Whig Party had fallen into decline in both the north and the South, and “free-soil” parties were emerging in many Northern states

What did the Republicans seek?

Wanted to join anti-slavery forces in the North with Americans seeking cheap land in the West in a political coalition

How did the Republicans oppose the Democrats?

They recruited men from “free-soil” parties and anti-immigrant parties like the “Know Nothings”

Who was Dred Scott?

An enslaved man suing for his freedom based on the logical argument that, since he was living in a free state, he must be free.

What did Chief Justice Taney decide in the Dred Scott case?

In a very important ruling, he argued that Scott was not free. Enslaved people had “no rights which white men were bound to respect,” and Scott could not even bring a case to the Supreme Court, since he was not a citizen.

What were the implications of the Dred Scott case on American political society?

It meant that the rights of slave owners were inviolable, and that they could move their slaves anywhere they chose to. Hence, slavery was not only legal in the South, it was legal everywhere

Were the candidates of the Lincoln-Douglas debates favored by southerners?

No

Douglas favored what?

Popular sovereignty

Lincoln favored what?

Banning slavery in the territories by Congress

What did Lincoln think about popular sovereignty towards slavery?

He thought voting on the issue was a perversion of democracy.

Who won in the Lincoln-Douglas debates?

Stephen Douglas

What did John Brown intend to do during his raid?

He led a group of 18 men on a raid of the federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, intending to assault the arsenal, take over the stockpile of weapons there, and then organize a massive slave revolt.

What did John Brown and his men expect to happen during the raid of Harper’s Ferry?

Expected for enslaved people all over the Shenandoah Valley to rally towards the arsenal, receive weapons, and then fight to liberate others all up and down the ridge of the Appalachian Mountains

How did John Brown’s raid fail?

Members of the US Army led by Robert E. Lee recaptured the arsenal quickly, and took Brown into custody. John Brown was arrested, put on trial for treason against the state of Virginia, convicted, and executed before the end of the year in 1859.

How did Northerner’s react to John Brown’s death?

Abolitionists rang church bells, convinced that Brown had died a martyr

How did Southerner’s react to John Brown’s death?

Cheered and toasted Brown’s death

Did Lincoln get support from the South during the election of 1860?

No

How many Southern States didn’t even have Abraham Lincoln on the ballot?

10

What did Southerners believe after the Dred Scott decision?

southern slave owners thought it was a violation of their rights to even vote on the future of slavery

What percentage of the popular vote did Lincoln win?

40%

Lincoln dominated over ____ in the election of 1860

the electoral college

What was the political state of the Southern States before Lincoln was even inaugurated?

Seven Southern States had already seceded from the nation to form the confederacy

What did Lincoln have to deal with as soon as he was inaugurated?

The Civil War