US History final exam

Lost Cause Myth

• A belief created after the Civil War that reinterprets the Confederacy in a positive way

• Says the South fought for states’ rights, not slavery

• Portrays Confederate leaders as heroic

• Downplays or ignores slavery as the main cause

• Presents the South as a victim

Mary Surratt

Who she was:

Boardinghouse owner in Washington, D.C.

Connected to John Wilkes Booth

Key points:

• Her boardinghouse was used by conspirators

• Accused of helping plan Lincoln’s assassination

• First woman executed by the U.S. government

Fugitive Slave Law

• Required return of escaped enslaved people

• Forced even Northerners to support slavery
  👉 Increased tension between North and South

Kansas-Nebraska Act

• Let territories decide slavery (popular sovereignty)
  👉 Led to violence → Bleeding Kansas

Bleeding Kansas

• Pro- and anti-slavery groups fighting
  👉 Shows slavery conflict turning violent

Dred Scott v. Sandford

• Enslaved people not citizens

• Congress cannot ban slavery in territories
  👉 Strengthens slavery, angers North

Election of 1860

• Lincoln elected without Southern support
  👉 South fears losing power → secession

Emancipation Proclamation

• Freed enslaved people in Confederate states
  👉 Turns war into fight against slavery

Thirteenth Amendment

• Ends slavery everywhere in U.S.

Nullification Crisis

• South Carolina tries to ignore federal law
  👉 Shows tension over state vs federal power

Trail of Tears

• Native Americans forced west
  👉 Shows government power and expansion

Market Revolution

• Shift to factories, transportation, national markets
  👉 Changes economy and society

Abolitionism

• Movement to end slavery
  👉 Increases sectional conflict

CAUSES OF THE CIVIL WAR

Intro:

• Growing tensions between North and South

• Slavery is central issue

Body:

• Fugitive Slave Law → anger in North

• Kansas-Nebraska Act → conflict spreads

• Bleeding Kansas → violence

• Dred Scott → slavery protected

• Election of 1860 → South reacts

Conclusion:

• Political, legal, and social conflicts led to war

DEVELOPMENT OF SLAVERY / CONFLICT

Intro:

• Slavery becomes major dividing issue

Body:

• Expansion of slavery into territories

• Abolitionism grows

• Laws + court decisions support slavery

• Increasing tension

Conclusion:

• Conflict becomes unavoidable

ROLE OF GOVERNMENT POWER

Intro:

• Debate over federal vs state power

Body:

• Nullification Crisis → states challenge federal gov

• Fugitive Slave Law → federal power enforced

• Dred Scott → federal protection of slavery

Conclusion:

• Conflict over power contributes to division

SOCIAL CHANGE / REFORM (backup)

Intro:

• 1800s saw major social changes

Body:

• Market Revolution changes economy

• Reform movements (abolition, temperance)

• Nativism shows backlash

Conclusion:

• Society becomes more divided