Civil War Test

What war threatened to destroy the balance between free states and slave states?

Mexican-American War

What compromise did not apply to the territory gained from Mexico in 1848?

Missouri Compromise

Fearing that the South would gain too much power, in 1846 __ __ of Pennsylvania proposed that Congress ban slavery in all territory that might become part of the United States.

David Wilmot

What proposal suggested slavery be banned in all territories that might become part of the United States?

Wilmot Proviso

Did the Wilmot Proviso pass in the House off Representatives?

Yes

Did the Wilmot Proviso pass in the Senate?

No

What was the Whigs’ stance on slavery in 1848?

They did not have a firm stance.

What was the Democrats’ stance on slavery in 1848?

They did not have a firm stance.

What did Senator Lewis Cass of Michigan propose to solve the issue of slavery in each new territory or state?

Popular Sovereignty

What is popular sovereignty?

People in a territory or state would vote directly on issues rather than having their elected representatives decide.

In August 1848, antislavery Whigs and Democrats joined forces to form a new political party. What was this party called?

Free-Soil Party

What was the Free Soil Party’s goal?

They aimed to ban slavery in the land earned from Mexican-American war and in the territories.

In 1848 who did the Free Soil party choose as its Presidential candidate?

Martin van Buren

How did Martin Van Buren do in the election of 1848?

He did poorly.

What 3 political parties ran in the presidential election of 1848?

Whigs, Democrats, Free Soil

Who was the presidential candidate for the Whigs in 1848?

General Zachary Taylor

Who won the election in 1848?

Zachary Taylor

What did southern leaders threaten to do if California was admitted as a free state?

Secede

What does it mean to secede?

Withdraw/break apart from the nation.

Where did northerners want the slave trade abolished?

Washington D.C.

What is a fugitive?

runaway slave

What did Southerners want Northerners to do with escaped slaves?

They wanted Northerners to catch and return escaped slaves.

Who’s nickname was the Great Compromiser?

Henry Clay

How did John C. Calhoun feel about Henry Clay’s compromise?

He opposed to Clay’s compromise.

How did Daniel Webster feel about Henry Clay’s compromise?

He agreed with Clay’s compromise.

Congress passed five bills based on Henry Clay’s proposal. What did they become known as?

The Compromise of 1850

How did the Compromise of 1850 please the North? (two things)

California was admitted as a free state and slave trade was banned in Washington D.C.

How did the Compromise of 1850 please the South? (two things)

Popular sovereignty would decide slavery in Mexcan cession and there was a new fugitive law.

What was the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850?

Allowed government officials to arrest anyone accused of being a runaway slave without trial and could be stripped of freedom if a slaveowner swore the person was their property. Citizens also had to help catch fugitives.

What was required to deprive people of their freedom under the Fugitive Slave Act?

A slave owner swears the person is their property.

How did many northerners feel about the Fugitive Slave Act?

They hated it and wanted to resist it.

Where did many African Americans flee after the Fugitive Slave Act was passed?

Canada

Why did many African Americans who were never slaves flee to Canada after the Fugitive Slave Act was passed?

They could easily be accused and sent to the South to work as slaves.

Who wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin?

Harriet Beecher Stowe

What is Uncle Tom’s Cabin about?

An enslaved man who dies after being abused by his owner

What is the author’s message in Uncle Tom’s Cabin?

Slavery is an evil thing towards humanity.

How did white Southerners feel about Stowe’s book and what did they call it?

They called it propaganda.

What is propaganda?

False or misleading info that is spread to further a cause.

What member of Congress pushed the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854 and why?

Senator Stephan Douglas because he wanted to develop the lands west of his home state Illinois.

What was the Kansas-Nebraska Act?

It suggested two new territories: Kansas and Nebraska

What compromise did the Kansas-Nebraska Act cancel out?

Missouri Compromise

What region of the country supported the Kansas-Nebraska Act?

South

What region of the country did not support the Kansas-Nebraska Act?

North

What was Bleeding Kansas?

Proslavery and antislavery groups resorting to violence to try to decide whether Kansas would be a free or slave state.

Who was John Brown and what did he do in Kansas?

John Brown was antislavery and went to Pottawatomie Creek to murder five proslavery people.

What happened to Charles Sumner?

He gave a speech criticising southern foes and a senator’s nephew beat him with a cane until he fell to the floor.

Many Northerner Whigs joined a new political party in 1854. What was this party?

Republican Party

What was the main goal of the Republican Party in 1854?

Stop the spread of slavery in the west

Who was the Republican Party’s presidential candidate in 1856?

John C. Fremont

Who was the presidential candidate for the Democratic Party in 1856?

James Buchanan

Who won the presidential election of 1856?

James Buchanan

Explain the case of Dred Scott v. Sanford

Dred Scott lived with his owner in Illinois and Wisconsin, where slavery was illegal. When they moved to Missouri, he sued saying he was a free man because he previously lived where slavery was illegal.

What was the Supreme Court’s decision in the Dred Scott case and what did they say about Congress and the territories?

They did not grant Scott freedom. They said Congress had no right to prohibit slavery anywhere because it’s unconstitutional.

What were the two reasons Roger B. Taney gave for not granting Scott his freedom?

Soctt cannot sue in federal court because African Americans aren’t citizens. Living in a free territory doesn’t automatically make you free.

What did the Dred Scott decision do to the Missouri Compromise?

It declared the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional.

How did most Southerners feel about the Dred Scott decisions?

They agreed with it because it meant slavery was legal in all territories.

How did most northerners feel about the Dred Scott decision?

They disagreed with it because they had hoped slavery would die out if restricted to the South

Who was the now-famous Illinois lawyer that spoke out against the Dred Scott decision?

Abraham Lincoln

In 1858, who did Illinois Republicans choose to run for the Senate against Stephen Douglas?

Abraham Lincoln

Who ran against Abraham Lincoln in the 1858 Illinois Senate race?

Stephan Douglas

In 1859, John Brown and a small band of supporters attacked the town of __ __ in Virginia.

Harpers Ferry

What was John Brown’s goal in attacking Harpers Ferry, Virginia, and seizing guns?

To give enslaved African Americans weapons and lead them in a revolt.

Who led the attack on Harpers Ferry, Virginia?

John Brown

What did the court decide in the trial of John Brown?

Sentenced him to death.

Who did the Republicans choose as their presidential candidate in the election of 1860?

Abraham Lincoln

How did the Southern Democrats feel about slavery in the territories?

They wanted slavery in the territories.

How did the Northern Democrats feel about slavery int he territories?

They opposed slavery in the territories.

What did views on slavery in the territories do to the Democratic Party?

It split the Democratic Party into North and South.

Who did Southern Democrats choose as their presidential candidate in the election of 1860?

Vice President John Breckinridge of Kentucky

Who did the Northern Democrats choose as their presidential candidate in the election of 1860?

Stephan Douglas

What two things did members of the Constitutional Union Party want to accomplish?

Protect slavery and keep the union together

Who did the Constitutional Union Party choose as their presidential candidate int he election of 1860?

John Bell of Tennessee

How many political parties were represented in the presidential election of 1860 and what were they?

4

Who won the election of 1860?

Abraham Lincoln

What did the election of Lincoln mean to many Southerners?

It seemed the South no longer had a voice in government

What state was the first to secede from the Union?

South Carolina

What did South Carolina do on December 20, 1860

It stated South Carolina was no longer part of the United States

How many states seceded in all?

7

What did the states that seceded call themselves?

Confederate States of America

Did all the slave states secede?

No

Who was the president of the Confederate States of America?

Former Mississippi Senator Jefferson Davis

When it comes to slavery, what did Abraham Lincoln promise the states that had seceded, in his inaugural address?

He promised he wouldn’t attack them.

After Lincoln’s assurance of friendship was rejected what did the seceding state take over?

Fort Sumter

Where is Fort Sumter?

On an island in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina

What fort can be found in Charleston Harbor, South Carolina?

Fort Sumter

What happened at Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861?

The Union was attacked by Confederates from the mainland. They set everything ablaze. Lincoln didn’t want to break his promise of friendship so he only sent food and supplies. After 34 hours, U.S. troops surrendered.

What attack marked the beginning of the Civil War?

Attack of Fort Sumter

What is a civil war?

A war between opposing groups of citizens of the same country.

How many years did the Civil War last?

4 years

Southerners felt the war was inevitable and it was better to start it on their terms, so they attacked what fort?

Fort Sumter

To put down the rebellion, what did President Lincoln ask the nation’s governors to raise?

75,000 troops

At the outset of the war how did many young men across the North respond?

They eagerly supported and volunteered.

What state split in two during the Civil War?

Virginia

What are border states?

Slave states that did not secede.

How many border states were there?

4

Name the 4 slave states that did not secede at the start of the war.

Delaware, Knetucky, Missouri, Maryland

What caused Kentucky to support the North?

Confederate forces invaded it in September 1861.

What is martial law?

A type of rule where the military is in charge and citizen rights are suspended.

Why did Lincoln put eastern Maryland under martial law?

Its southern supporters were destroying telegraph lines and railroads.

What 3 advantages did the South have?

They would be fighting on their own soil, had help from local people, and had the most experienced military officers.