Chapter 1: The origins of the Civil War, 1820-61

Who lives in the White House?

the U.S. president

What is the U.S. president in charge of?

approving or vetoing laws passed by Congress

What is the U.S. Congress in charge of?

drawing up laws

What are the 2 institutions of the U.S. Congress?

the Senate and the House of Representatives

How was the number of representatives determined?

the number of representatives for each state was proportional to their population

How did the Three-Fifths Compromise affect the House of Representatives?

it allowed 60% of states’ slave populations to be counted in the overall population, giving them more representatives

How many senators were there?

2 for each state

What is the Supreme Court in charge of?

interpreting laws and determining if they are constitutional

What was banned in 1808?

overseas slave trade

By the 1820s, what had all Northern states done?

banned slavery

What did the Mason-Dixon line eventually symbolize?

the dividing line between slave states and free states

Why was slavery so popular in the Lower South?

the development of cotton production caused an increase in the use of slave labor

What issue did the addition of any new state to the U.S. cause?

the possibility of a difference in the balance power between the sections

What were those who wanted to end slavery called?

abolitionists

What did slavery supporters have to do in order to maintain the existing sectional balance with new free states forming?

find new slave states by expanding into the southwest

Which method of emancipation would abolish slavery through agreement of key bodies?

peaceful emancipation

Which method of emancipation would free slaves as a strategy to defeat a rebellion in the context of a civil war?

military emancipation

Which method of emancipation would abolish slavery by force, such as in a revolution led by slaves?

violent emancipation

What was the ideology that was used to justifying expanding westward?

Manifest Destiny

What did Texas declare itself in 1836?

an independent republic

What condition did Texas have to agree upon in order to become a slave state?

any land north of the 36º30’ latitude had to be given up o the U.S. government

Who was the expansionist president that started the war over the boundary dispute between the U.S. and Mexico?

James Polk

Who was the former slave that became a leading abolitionist?

Frederick Douglass

What proposal attempted to prohibit slavery in lands expected to be acquired from Mexico?

the Wilmot Proviso

What was the name of the peace treaty in which Mexico surrender areas of its northern provinces to the U.S.?

the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

Why did the U.S.’s population grow during westward expansion?

immigration from Europe

What were pull factors of immigrating to the U.S.?

greater political freedom and economic opportunities

What were push factors for leaving Europe?

catastrophic crop failure and failed revolutions

What was the most significant factor in the U.S.’s economic growth?

increased cotton production by slave plantations

What was a secondary reason for the U.S.’s economic growth?

the population growth meant that they were more workers and more consumers

What compromise established the 36º30’ line and admitted Maine as a free state and Missouri as a slave state?

the Missouri Compromise of 1820

What was the purpose of the 36º30’?

all new states above the line would be free

Which political party valued states’ rights, was opposed to expanding the national government, and wanted to expand the U.S. westward for farmland?

the Democrats

Which political party wanted to use the national government to develop the U.S.’s industrial power?

the Whigs

Which party supported the abolition of slavery?

Liberty Party

Which party was against the large-scale immigration from Catholic Europe?

Native American / Know-Nothing Party

Which party wanted to limit the expansion of slavery to defend free paid labor?

Free Soil Party

Which 2 states were given their own territorial governments by the Compromise of 1850?

Utah and New Mexico

Which state was admitted on her own free constitution by the Compromise of 1850?

California

What was the concept that Douglas came up with in which the people in a territory have the right to choose the way their government is?

popular sovereignty

How did the Compromise of 1850 resolve the boundary dispute with Texas?

the U.S. paid off the debts that Texas had acquired while it was independent in exchange for Texas agreeing that its northern border would be the 36º30’ line

The Compromise of 1850 abolished slave trade in what region?

Washington, D.C.

What were Personal Liberty Laws?

laws aimed to help slaves escaping from Southern states

What argument did slaveowners make against Personal Liberty Laws?

the laws undermined their constitutional right to have their slaves returned to them

What was the name of the novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe that was a fictional attack on the practice of slavery?

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Why did the 1793 Fugitive Slave Act fail?

it did not provide any ways for the law to be enforced

How did the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act resolve the issues of the 1793 act?

it created new federal officials to enforce the laws and stated that any official that didn’t arrest a known fugitive slave would be fined $1000

What was the informal series of networks of those willing to help fugitive slaves escape known as?

the Underground Railround

Who was the former slave whose arrest led to the Boston Slave Riot, in which military force had to be sent to get control of crowds?

Anthony Burns

Who founded the Liberator, an abolitionist newspaper?

William Lloyd Garrison

What implications did the Fugitive Slave Act have?

it supported property rights by empowering slave owners to have runaway slaves returned to them, but also weakened states’ rights by overruling state laws which had been intended to protect fugitive slaves

Which act replaced the 36º30’ line in the Missouri Compromise with the concept of popular sovereignty?

the Kansas-Nebraska Act

What was the implication of the Kansas-Nebraska act?

slavery could expand into the Midwest

What was the fighting between pro slavery supporters and anti slavery supporters in Nebraska and Kansas called?

Bleeding Kansas

What was the event in which Senator Charles Sumner was beat senseless by the relative of an opponent he had insulted?

the Caning of Senator Sumner

What did the events of Bleeding Kansas and the Caning of Senator Sumner signs of?

an approaching war

Why did the Whig party fall apart?

they became divided over the Kansas-Nebraska Act

What party formed from the opponents of the Kansas-Nebraska Act?

the Republican Party

Who was the first person chosen as a Republican presidential candidate?

John Frémont

Why did states’ rights become associated with the South?

they gave the states the power to leave the U.S., which was believed to be becoming increasingly more necessary as criticism against slavery grew

Who won the 1855 presidential election?

James Buchanan

What did James Buchanan believe when he took office?

that the issue of slavery had been resolved

Who made the case that he should be free after having been born in a slave state, moved to a free state, and then moved to another slave state?

Dred Scott

Who was Chief Justice at the time of the Dred Scott vs. Sanford case?

Roger Taney

What was ruled in the Dred Scott vs. Sanford case?

• An African American could not be an American citizen

• Dred Scott had no right to bring his case to court

• Slaveowners could take their slaves anywhere governed by U.S. federal law

• Congress had no authority to restrict the rights given to people by the Constitution

What did the Dred Scott decision overturn?

the Missouri Compromise and popular sovereignty

How did James Buchanan react to the Dred Scott decision?

he supported the ruling and even applied it to conflict in Kansas

How did Stephen Douglas react to the Dred Scott decision?

he was against the ruling because it overturned his principle of popular sovereignty

How did Abraham Lincoln react to the Dred Scott decision?

he accepted the Supreme Court’s authority, but opposed the idea that owners could take slaves anywhere

What was the implication of the Dred Scott decision?

slavery could expand further across the U.S. and into the North

How did Lincoln and Douglas’ beliefs differ in their debates?

Douglas believed that the Declaration applied only to white men and refused to say slavery was wrong, while Lincoln believed it applied to all men and that slavery was wrong

What was the concept that slavery could be banned via a series of local decisions rather than federal decisions and what was it a reiteration of?

Freeport Doctrine, popular sovereignty

What was the result of the senatorial election between Lincoln and Douglas?

Douglas won, but Lincoln gained a lot more attention and became a national figure

Who led the raid on Harpers Ferry?

John Brown

Why did the raid on Harpers Ferry fail?

it was expected that slaves would rebel and get weapons from the armory, but none came

What happened to John Brown after the raid on Harpers Ferry?

he was found guilty of treason and hung

What was the fallout of the raid on Harpers Ferry?

Northerners became inspired by John Brown’s courageousness, but it became an example that pro-slavery supporters to associate violence with abolition

What conspiracy theory did the South develop about the North?

Black Republicanism

What conspiracy theory did the North develop about the South?

slave power

What was the name of the group that believed the South needed to break away from the U.S. because the growing population of the North would tip the political balance?

Fire-eaters

What did Southerners start pushing for in the late 1850s?

the reopening of international slave trade and federal slave code

What strategy did Northerners want to use to end slavery constitutionally?

gradualism

Which presidential candidate did Northern Democrats choose?

Stephen Douglas

Which presidential candidate did Southern Democrats choose?

John Breckinridge

Who was the presidential candidate put forth by the Constitutional Union Party?

John Bell

Why was William H. Seward not put forth as the Republican Party candidate?

he had a role in the abolition debate and had an affiliation with radicals that put off centrists

Why was Lincoln chosen as the Republican party candidate?

he had few enemies and his support only grew

What were the goals of the Republicans?

• Returning fugitive slaves

• Preserving states’ rights while limiting spread of slavery

• Having western expansion favor free farmers

• Constructing a transcontinental railway

How did Douglas break tradition?

he actively campaigned across the country

How did three anti-Republican candidates attempt to stop Lincoln’s victory?

they formed a fusion ticket to combine popular vote

What was the political movement of young men in their 20s and 30s that showed enthusiasm toward helping Lincoln’s campaign?

the Wide-Awake Movement

What helped Lincoln win the 1860 presidential election?

the Democratic votes were split between Breckinridge and Douglas

What were the reasons given for the start of the Civil War?

• slave labor v. free labor

• industry v. agriculture

• urban v. rural

• North v. South

Why did states start to secede once Lincoln took office?

they thought he would ban slavery

Which was the first state to secede?

South Carolina

How many Deep South states seceded?

7

Which states were more likely to secede?

states with higher slave populations

Why did federal legislature become controlled by the Republican party?

Southern representatives supported the regional rebellion and withdrew from Congress

What proposed that the 36º30’ line be extended to the Pacific Ocean and slavery be protected in already existing slave states?

the Crittenden Compromise

Why was the Crittenden Compromise rejected?

Republicans in Congress were against the expansion of slavery