Deck 15: The Coming Crisis

Question 1

The Lincoln-Douglas debates occurred because Lincoln ran against Douglas for __________.

A) the 1860 Democratic presidential nomination
B) member of the U.S. House from Illinois
C) the 1860 Republican presidential nomination
D) U.S. senator from Illinois

Answer 1

U.S. senator from Illinois

Question 2

After the election of 1852, __________.

A) the Whigs became the dominant party
B) the Whigs never again fielded a national presidential candidate
C) the Whigs adopted a proslavery stance
D) the Democrats never fielded another presidential candidate

Answer 2

the Whigs never again fielded a national presidential candidate

Question 3

The Scarlet Letter, a work of social criticism, was written by __________.

A) Herman Melville
B) Emily Dickinson
C) Walt Whitman
D) Nathaniel Hawthorne

Answer 3

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Question 4

Southerners favored American expansion into Mexico and Cuba because they __________.

A) felt that slavery could grow there
B) wanted to spread the American ideology of liberty
C) were strong nationalists
D) wanted a barrier against South American threats

Question 5

By 1850, most southern leaders such as Calhoun __________.

A) agreed to confine slavery to the South
B) insisted slavery must be legal in all the territories
C) believed slavery was slowly on its way out
D) emphasized popular sovereignty

Question 6

During American expansion between 1800 and the 1850s, which section's interests were most threatened?

A) New England
B) the Old Northwest
C) the far West
D) the South

Question 7

The only part of the Compromise of 1850 strongly supported by the South was __________.

A) throwing open Indian Territory to slavery
B) postponing a determination of the boundaries of Texas
C) admission of California to the Union as a slave state
D) the enactment of a Fugitive Slave Law

Question 8

The Kansas-Nebraska Act opened Indian Territory to American settlers __________.

A) as slave territories
B) under the Wilmot Proviso
C) if they would agree to kill all Indians on sight
D) under the principle of popular sovereignty

Question 9

From 1800 to 1850, the land area of the United States __________.

A) nearly doubled but not quite
B) more than tripled
C) more than quadrupled
D) remained unchanged

Question 10

Incidents involving Anthony Burns and Thomas Sims demonstrated that the federal government __________.

A) had no desire to offend northern abolitionists
B) would vigorously enforce the Fugitive Slave Law
C) would only enforce the Fugitive Slave Law in the South
D) would use the Fugitive Slave Law to recover blacks who fled to Canada

Question 11

The "Young America" movement __________.

A) favored an isolationist foreign policy
B) favored the annexation of Canada
C) desired the acquisition of Cuba and Central America
D) supported lowering the voting age

Question 12

Southern political strategies of the 1850s depended on __________.

A) stopping the Underground Railroad
B) the concept of manifest destiny
C) popular sovereignty
D) maintaining supremacy in the U.S. Senate

Question 13

Many Northerners were fearful of what they called __________.

A) "the power of the purse"
B) "the power of 'King Cotton'"
C) "the slave power"
D) "Southern Power"

Question 14

Stephen Douglas's action in introducing the Kansas-Nebraska bill in 1854 proved to be __________.

A) a great political miscalculation
B) his most honorable stand
C) a step closer to the presidency for him
D) a brilliant political move

Question 15

The vast new territories gained in the Mexican-American War __________.

A) proved not to be as valuable as once was hoped
B) led to a "gag rule" in Congress
C) were off limits to new settlers until the issue of slavery could be resolved
D) provoked a new debate over the issue of slavery in the territories

Question 16

In the 1850s, the flowering of American works of fiction and poetry was called __________.

A) popular sovereignty
B) nativism
C) the "Young America" movement
D) the American Renaissance

Question 17

The Fugitive Slave Law made Americans realize that __________.

A) slavery was an unavoidable national issue
B) a national consensus had formed on slavery
C) Americans' sense of community was stronger than ever
D) the North had no responsibility for slavery

Question 18

The Missouri Compromise line of 1820 __________.

A) negated the Kansas-Nebraska Act
B) was extended across the Mexican cession by the Kansas-Nebraska Act
C) was repealed by the Kansas-Nebraska Act
D) was left intact by the Kansas-Nebraska Act

Question 19

The election of 1848 was a warning that __________.

A) political parties no longer represented a national political community
B) Democratic attacks on slavery threatened to fragment the Union
C) the South was becoming a Whig-only region
D) the loyalty to the nation outweighed sectional identity in most voters' minds

Question 20

In the election of 1852, __________.

A) the Whigs were much more united than the Democrats
B) the Democrats were much more united that the Whigs
C) both parties struggled to choose candidates
D) the Whigs renominated Fillmore on the first ballot

Question 21

Republicans characterized Frémont's performance in 1856 as "victorious defeat" because __________.

A) he carried most of the states of the North
B) he won a majority of the popular, but not the electoral, vote
C) he built the Republican Party into a national party
D) the Democrats fractured because of his candidacy

Question 22

As the election of 1860 neared, the South __________.

A) showed little interest in the election
B) verged closer to the brink of mass hysteria
C) closed ranks behind Douglas
D) promoted reasoned discussion of the issues

Question 23

"Filibustering" refers to __________.

A) opposition to the Fugitive Slave Law
B) private efforts to extend slave territory in Latin America
C) violent resistance to popular sovereignty
D) runaway slaves fleeing to Canada

Question 24

Which of these states seceded after the Civil War began?

A) South Carolina
B) Arkansas
C) Maryland
D) Texas

Question 25

The Dred Scott decision held that __________.

A) blacks, whether slave or free, were not citizens and could not sue in a court of law
B) slaves were citizens but could not sue in a court of law
C) only free blacks had legal rights
D) the Kansas-Nebraska Act was unconstitutional

Question 26

Between 1800 and 1850, American cities __________.

A) grew slowly but steadily
B) underwent the most rapid half-century of growth they were ever to experience
C) became more socially and economically homogenous
D) experienced a sharp decline in per capita income and the rate of economic growth

Question 27

The appearance of the Know-Nothing Party reflected Americans' __________.

A) tolerance of diversity
B) nativist leanings
C) disgust with intellectuals in government
D) support for greater immigration

Question 28

The 1860 election was made up of two regional contests: Breckinridge versus Bell in the South, and __________ in the North.

A) Lincoln versus Seward
B) Lincoln versus Douglas
C) Douglas versus Seward
D) Bell versus Douglas

Question 29

In the election of 1860, public interest was indicated by voter turnout that was __________.

A) about average for nineteenth-century elections
B) higher than any previous election
C) lower than any previous election
D) high in the South but low in the North

Question 30

In opposing the Lecompton constitution, Douglas was consistent with his principle of __________.

A) free soil
B) manifest destiny
C) the Freeport Doctrine
D) popular sovereignty

Question 31

The Republican strategy in 1860 was to __________.

A) take credit for John Brown's raid
B) focus entirely on the free states
C) campaign vigorously in the South
D) win southern support by vowing to protect slavery

Question 32

While the South was shocked by Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry, it was even more shocked by __________.

A) the lack of northern interest in the event
B) widespread northern mourning for Brown's death
C) the federal government's failure to send troops to capture Brown
D) southern politicians' support for Brown

Question 33

The Lecompton constitution was an unsuccessful attempt to create a state government for __________.

A) California
B) Texas
C) Kansas
D) Missouri

Question 34

South Carolina seceded from the Union in response to __________.

A) the election of Abraham Lincoln
B) the collapse of the national Democratic Party
C) the decision to bombard Fort Sumter
D) the Dred Scott decision

Question 35

The election of 1856 was __________.

A) two separate contests for the North and South
B) a return to power of the Whig Party
C) a victory for Fillmore
D) a setback for Democrats

Question 36

When Kansas applied for statehood, President James Buchanan __________.

A) endorsed the proslavery constitution
B) said the issue was a congressional one
C) refused to consider the request at that time
D) accepted the antislavery constitution

Question 37

After Anthony Burns was seized as a fugitive slave in 1854, President Pierce __________.

A) ordered him freed
B) sent troops to Boston to ensure his return to the South
C) denounced the Fugitive Slave Law as unconstitutional
D) refused to aid his owner in recovering him

Question 38

The Compromise of 1850 was made necessary because __________ applied for statehood and reopened the issue of the balance between slave and free states.

A) Texas
B) New Mexico
C) Utah
D) California

Question 39

In his 1861 Inaugural Address, Lincoln __________.

A) pledged total war against the South
B) offered nonbelligerent moderation
C) showed little ability to speak eloquently
D) offered to resign if the South would return in peace

Question 40

The Kansas-Nebraska Act passed Congress with support from a coalition of __________.

A) northern Whigs and northern Democrats
B) southern Whigs and southern Democrats
C) northern and southern Democrats
D) northern and southern Whigs

Question 41

What issue most split the nation's great religious organizations into northern and southern groups?

A) industrialization
B) slavery
C) tariffs
D) manifest destiny

Question 42

It has been estimated that America's real per capita income __________ between 1800 and 1850

A) fell by 50 percent
B) doubled
C) remained unchanged
D) quadrupled

Question 43

Why was Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin significant?

A) The novel aroused northern support for abolition.
B) The novel started the American Renaissance.
C) The novel was the first book written by a former slave.
D) The novel was the first commercially published book written by an American woman.

Question 44

Moby-Dick was __________.

A) a celebration of American progress
B) a searing indictment of slavery
C) an examination of the hypocritical aspects of Puritan New England
D) a study of the nature of good and evil

Question 45

Stephen Douglas believed Northerners would support the Kansas-Nebraska Act because __________.

A) they had no reason not to
B) it promised to resolve the issue of slavery once and for all
C) it contained a popular sovereignty provision
D) it favored a northern route for the transcontinental railroad

Question 46

What technological innovation contributed to the Panic of 1857?

A) telephone
B) telegraph
C) railroad
D) typewriter

Question 47

The "Lager Beer Riots" and the violence in Kansas occurred at the same time. What common factors connected the two?

Question 48

How did the Panic of 1857 figure into the sectional conflict?

Question 49

What groups opposed William H. Seward's efforts to secure the Republican Party nomination for president in 1860?

A) immigrants and free blacks
B) Quakers and Free-soilers
C) moderates and nativists
D) radicals and abolitionists

Question 50

Which statement about American growth between 1800 and 1850 is true?

A) By 1850, the majority of the population lived west of the Appalachians.
B) Between 1800 and 1850, the population doubled in size.
C) Between 1800 and 1850, the population tripled in size.
D) By 1850, the majority of the population lived in cities.

Question 51

Why did the elections of 1856 and 1860 not only fail to resolve the sectional crisis over slavery, but make it worse?

Question 52

Why did southern cotton become less important to the American economy in the decades preceding the Civil War?

A) The economic power of Midwestern farms and Northeastern manufacturing increased.
B) Abolitionism decreased the value of slave labor.
C) Excessive farming of southern cotton lands decreased production.
D) An increase in European cotton farming reduced global reliance on American cotton.

Question 53

Residents of which of these states swept into Kansas to support the establishment of slavery in the territory?

A) Indiana
B) Ohio
C) Illinois
D) Missouri

Question 54

Much of the nation responded to the passage of the Compromise of 1850 with __________.

A) jubilation and relief
B) weary apathy
C) fear and uncertainty
D) anger and rage

Question 55

How did enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Law galvanize abolitionist support in the North?

Question 56

On what basis did Dred Scott claim freedom for himself and his family?

A) because his master had brought him into a free territory
B) because he had been born free
C) because his master had used him cruelly
D) because all men were free according to natural law

Question 57

How did American geographic expansion and economic development impact the South in 1850?

A) The South began to play a lesser role in national politics.
B) The South gained a veto-proof majority in Congress.
C) Southern cotton had the biggest influence on the national economy, resulting in the South having the highest real per capita income in the nation.
D) Geographic expansion and cotton's domination of the national economy led to the rapid extension of slavery in the territories won from Mexico in 1848.

Question 58

What were the most important differences between America in 1800 and America in 1850? How did these differences contribute to the growing sectional divide?

Question 59

In 1860, the northern Democrats and southern Democrats, respectively, nominated Stephen Douglas and __________ for president.

A) John C. Calhoun
B) James Buchanan
C) John C. Breckinridge
D) John Bell

Question 60

Which of the following was written by a former slave?

A) Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
B) Uncle Tom's Cabin
C) The House of the Seven Gables
D) Walden

Question 61

Which of the following was true of the Democratic Party during the 1860 presidential election?

A) It divided along sectional lines.
B) It won the electoral votes of most Northern states.
C) It did not appear on the ballots of most Northern states.
D) It remained united despite differences between members living in the nation's different sections.

Question 62

What was one significant result of the election of 1856?

A) The Republican Party became a major political party after the election of 1856.
B) The Whig Party became the dominant national political party in the United States.
C) The American Party had very little impact on the results of the election of 1856.
D) The Free-Soil Party reemerged as a major party in the election of 1856.

Question 63

Why was the new American Party known as the "Know-Nothings"?

A) Party members were supposed to keep party beliefs and programs a secret.
B) The anti-immigration stance held by party members was criticized as ignorant.
C) Party members chose to ignore the effects of slavery.
D) Party members refused to assist federal slave catchers.

Question 64

Why did John C. Calhoun argue that it was unconstitutional to prohibit slavery in the territories?

A) Calhoun believed that the territories were the common property of all states.
B) Calhoun believed that the nation's continued economic development depended on the extension of slavery.
C) Calhoun, as the leader of the Young America movement, saw that it was essential to keep slavery legal in the territories so that it could later be extended to Cuba and Central America after they became U.S. possessions.
D) Calhoun cited the hypocrisy of northern industrialists and their use of "wage slavery" as justification that slavery in the territories should be allowed because it was more humane.

Question 65

How did Anthony Burns play a role in the growing divisions between North and South during the 1850s?

A) Burns was a runaway slave who galvanized northern antislavery sentiment after the Fugitive Slave Law required his legal return to the South.
B) Burns was a northern abolitionist who harbored runaway slaves and intentionally broke the law by not following the Fugitive Slave Law.
C) Burns was a runaway slave who lectured on behalf of freedom even though he lived in constant danger of being returned to the South as a slave under the provisions of the Fugitive Slave Law.
D) Burns was a slave catcher who, by the legal authority of the Fugitive Slave Law, captured free northern African Americans, thus inciting an antislavery riot in Boston.

Question 66

Why did John Brown lead an attack on the federal armory at Harpers Ferry?

A) to incite a slave revolt
B) to free antislavery activists
C) to challenge the Supreme Court's decision in the Dred Scott case
D) to protest federal labor laws

Question 67

Why did president-elect Lincoln's political strategy toward the South fail?

A) He overestimated the pro-Union sentiment in the South.
B) He failed to prevent additional states from seceding.
C) He failed to address the non-slaveholding interests in the South.
D) He underestimated the prevalence of racism in the North.

Question 68

Why did Southerners refuse to support Stephen Douglas for his party's presidential nomination in 1860?

A) Douglas would not support the creation of a federal slave code.
B) Douglas would not support popular sovereignty.
C) They required their candidate to be a slaveholder.
D) They required their candidate to be a Southerner.

Question 69

What happened to John Brown after Harpers Ferry?

A) He was publicly executed as a traitor.
B) He was killed during the raid.
C) He fled into exile in England.
D) He was jailed until the outbreak of the war.

Question 70

Which statement best describes the opinions of Southerners and Northerners about manifest destiny?

A) They both believed in it, but it had different meanings for each group.
B) Southerners opposed it because they feared it would hinder the spread of slavery.
C) Northerners opposed it because they believed in the expansion of an American ideal of personal liberty.
D) Each group saw it only as a way to gain power over the other group.

Question 71

Why was it most important to southern states that slavery be expanded into western territories?

A) to maintain a balance of free and slave states in the Senate
B) to garner new lands for immigrants
C) to increase profits from textile production
D) to maintain a balance between free and slave states in the U.S. House of Representatives

Question 72

How did the constitution of the Confederate States of America differ from the U.S. Constitution?

A) It made abolishing slavery practically impossible.
B) It did not establish a national legislature.
C) The constitution of the Confederate States of America, like the British Constitution, was unwritten.
D) It gave women the right to vote.

Question 73

Why was the Panic of 1857 worse in the North than in the South?

A) High cotton prices mitigated the effects of the panic in the South.
B) The southern economy was more diversified than the northern industrial system.
C) Fewer Southerners were aware of the Ohio bank failure that precipitated the panic.
D) The South did not have as many agricultural exports to Britain.

Question 74

Which of these was a consequence of Pierce's support of proslavery expansionist enterprises?

A) He lost the goodwill of his northern supporters.
B) He lost the goodwill of his southern supporters.
C) He became more popular in both the North and the South.
D) He became less popular in the North and the South.

Question 75

How did Stephen Douglas contribute to the growing sectional divide between North and South during the 1850s?

A) Douglas instigated the crisis over the admission of Kansas and Nebraska into the nation.
B) Douglas beat Senator Charles Sumner on the floor of the U.S. Senate for publicly criticizing the Kansas-Nebraska Act, a bill that he personally wrote.
C) Douglas led violent raids on proslavery settlements in Kansas.
D) Douglas supported the seizure of lands from Indians who were living in Kansas and Nebraska.

Question 76

Why did both Northerners and Southerners race to establish strongholds in Kansas after the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act?

A) to vote in elections on the status of slavery in Kansas
B) to lay claim to the rich farmland
C) to buy up valuable land along the proposed railroad line
D) to prepare for sectional war

Question 77

Who were the "border ruffians"?

A) proslavery Missouri residents who fraudulently voted in Kansas elections
B) inhabitants of Kansas and Missouri who engaged in skirmishes with each other
C) northern abolitionists who came to Kansas to establish it as a free state
D) displaced Indians who remained on the border of their land and attacked settlers

Question 78

How did Northerners respond to the Dred Scott decision?

A) They questioned the legitimacy of the Supreme Court.
B) They threatened to secede from the Union.
C) They formed the American Party.
D) They wrote the Lecompton constitution.

Question 79

What course of action did Lincoln adopt before his inauguration?

A) a refusal to compromise on the extension of slavery
B) a refusal to compromise on the existence of slavery
C) a plan to invade the South if attacked by the Confederacy
D) a plan to emancipate slaves to weaken the Confederacy

Question 80

What was the Lecompton constitution?

A) a proslavery constitution in Kansas endorsed by President Buchanan
B) an antislavery constitution in Kansas endorsed by President Buchanan
C) a Nebraska constitution that deferred the decision on slavery within the state to Congress
D) a Nebraska constitution that Congress invalidated because it was not approved by the voters