Deck 14: The Politics of Sectionalism 1846-1861

Question 1

Which of the following was NOT one of the proposed solutions to slavery in the territories that dominated the debate from the late 1840s until 1861?

A) extension of the Missouri Compromise line to the Pacific
B) popular sovereignty
C) permanent protection of the right to own slaves
D) gradually legislating an end to slavery

Answer 1

gradually legislating an end to slavery

Question 2

The Wilmot Proviso proposed that:

A) free labor should exist in the territory gained in the Mexican War.
B) slavery should be ended by the turn of the century.
C) the gag rule should be restored in Congress.
D) the property of western slaveholders should be protected.

Answer 2

free labor should exist in the territory gained in the Mexican War.

Question 3

Proponents of popular sovereignty believed that:

A) all slaves should be declared free.
B) southerners were too unreasonable for a fair debate on slavery.
C) residents of a territory should decide the issue of slavery.
D) presidential elections should not be decided by the electoral college.

Answer 3

residents of a territory should decide the issue of slavery.

Question 4

The revolutions of 1848 were triggered by the downfall of the __________ government.

A) French
B) British
C) Austrian
D) Hungarian

Question 5

The revolutions of 1848 were driven by:

A) peasant laborers.
B) the working and middle classes.
C) the Protestant clergy.
D) high-ranking army officers.

Question 6

Ultimately, the revolutions of 1848 were:

A) victorious.
B) victorious in some countries, but defeated in others.
C) defeated.
D) the catalyst for the reelection of James Polk as president.

Question 7

Zachary Taylor's strong base of electoral support was in the:

A) far West.
B) Northeast.
C) South.
D) western territories.

Question 8

In January of 1848, gold was discovered in:

A) New Mexico.
B) California.
C) Texas.
D) Florida.

Question 9

The greatest significance of California's desire to enter the Union was:

A) the large tax revenue it would provide to the federal treasury.
B) the concern of Southerners that it would upset the balance of free and slave states.
C) the impact of California gold on the value of the dollar.
D) how Mexico would react.

Question 10

Pro-slavery southerners became concerned:

A) upon the election of Zachary Taylor.
B) that support for states' rights was slipping in the Lower South.
C) when California and New Mexico wished to be admitted as free states.
D) about the popularity of the Free-Soil Party in the South.

Question 11

The Compromise of 1850 established all of the following statutes EXCEPT:

A) the Fugitive Slave Act.
B) admission of California as a free state.
C) popular sovereignty in Utah.
D) admission of New Mexico as a slave state.

Question 12

Effects of the Compromise of 1850 included:

A) peaceful resolution of the fugitive slave issue.
B) sectional dissatisfaction by both sides.
C) the unsure status of slavery in California.
D) the South's decision to attack Fort Sumter.

Question 13

Reaction against the Fugitive Slave Act was strongest among:

A) members of the Free-Soil Party.
B) northern blacks.
C) working-class ethnic groups.
D) conscience Whigs.

Question 14

The League of Freedom and the Liberty Association were created:

A) by southerners who supported states' rights.
B) as political fronts for secessionists.
C) in support of Zachary Taylor for president.
D) to stop fugitive slaves from being captured.

Question 15

Under the Compromise of 1850, which of the following would be able to choose whether to be a free or a slave state?

A) California
B) Oregon Territory
C) Utah Territory
D) Minnesota Territory

Question 16

The influential novel Uncle Tom's Cabin was written by:

A) Hinton Rowan Helper.
B) Angelina Grimke.
C) Frederick Douglass.
D) Harriet Beecher Stowe.

Question 17

What effect did the publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin have on many northern white people?

A) It moved them to active participation in the debate and the end of slavery.
B) It had no effect.
C) It caused them to think about literature for the first time.
D) It made them more sympathetic towards slave owners.

Question 18

All of the following statements about Uncle Tom's Cabin are true EXCEPT:

A) by the time of the Civil War, it had sold more copies than any work of American fiction ever.
B) northern blacks embraced the work as beneficial to aiding the plight of blacks.
C) it emphasized Christian values as being opposed to the institution of slavery.
D) all of the novel's antagonists were white southerners who personified evil.

Question 19

As a novel with social power, Uncle Tom's Cabin succeeded because it:

A) included symbolism which was difficult to interpret.
B) presented real characters and not just abstract arguments.
C) portrayed southerners as virtuous defenders of freedom.
D) never directly addressed the moral issues of slavery.

Question 20

The election of 1852:

A) was the first contested by the Republican Party.
B) saw the strongest showing ever for the Whigs.
C) focused primarily on troubles with Mexico.
D) was won by a northern Democrat.

Question 21

Members of Young America supported:

A) extending American influence throughout Central and South America.
B) universal suffrage for all males.
C) repeal of the unpopular Compromise of 1850.
D) Winfield Scott for president in 1852.

Question 22

Franklin Pierce failed to:

A) get elected president by a large margin.
B) consider foreign policy in developing his plans as president.
C) effectively handle the territorial problems in Kansas.
D) support the American cause in the Mexican War.

Question 23

President Pierce tried to mute the conflicts about slavery by emphasizing:

A) Indian removal acts.
B) rechartering of the National Bank.
C) widescale social reforms.
D) an aggressive foreign policy.

Question 24

Stephen Douglas likely wanted a transcontinental railroad for all of the following reasons, EXCEPT:

A) he was the majority owner of the Union Pacific railroad.
B) he felt it would help tie the nation together.
C) it would facilitate the spread of democracy.
D) he stood to profit personally from its completion.

Question 25

Stephen Douglas supported all of the following ideas EXCEPT:

A) expansion of the nation's rail system.
B) popular sovereignty.
C) the Kansas-Nebraska Act.
D) immediatism.

Question 26

Northerners of all parties were outraged by the Kansas-Nebraska Act because it:

A) admitted Nebraska to the union as a slave state.
B) was viewed as a plot to extend slavery above the Missouri Compromise line.
C) did not acknowledge California's existence as a permanent free state.
D) was passed after Stephen Douglas threatened that southern states would secede.

Question 27

Results of the Kansas-Nebraska Act included:

A) a brief period of peace in Kansas before the outbreak of the Civil War.
B) a bloody civil conflict between proslavery and antislavery forces in Kansas.
C) an increase in the popularity of Stephen Douglas in the North.
D) the congressional admission of both territories as new slave states in the Union.

Question 28

Who was an antislavery agitator in the middle of the violent confrontation in Kansas?

A) Hinton Rowan Helper
B) Frederick Douglass
C) John Brown
D) Charles Sumner

Question 29

Proslavery elements in Kansas manipulated the statutes of the Kansas-Nebraska Act by:

A) refusing to engage in slave trade in the territory.
B) encouraging and arming proslavery residents from Missouri.
C) boldly defending themselves against "the sack of Lawrence."
D) buying all of their slaves from traders in Nebraska.

Question 30

Which statement would most likely have been said by creators of the Republican Party?

A) "The extension of slavery must be stopped, for it is the largest issue facing our nation."
B) "If the people would follow the wise counsel of President Pierce, we would be at peace."
C) "States' rights were the foundation of this great republic and they must remain so."
D) "We welcome ex-southern Democrats as the foundation and backbone of this party."

Question 31

Anti-immigrant, anti-Catholic sentiment gave rise to this party.

A) Anti-Masons
B) Republican Party
C) Democratic Party
D) Know-Nothing Party

Question 32

The Republican Party's first candidate in a presidential election was:

A) Abraham Lincoln.
B) William H. Seward.
C) Thomas Hart Benton.
D) John C. Fremont.

Question 33

In the Dred Scott decision, Roger Taney argued that:

A) free blacks were citizens.
B) slavery could not be banned in any territory.
C) all the Founding Fathers intended for the rights of blacks to increase over time.
D) President Pierce had exceeded his authority regarding slavery in Kansas.

Question 34

All of the following were effects of the Dred Scott decision EXCEPT that:

A) free blacks of the North organized in protest of the decision.
B) the Republican Party gained more electoral support in northern states.
C) southerners celebrated the decision as a huge victory for proslavery forces.
D) there was apathy on the part of most people in the North and South.

Question 35

Robert Walker showed integrity when he:

A) uncovered and revealed electoral corruption in Kansas.
B) defended John Brown at his trial.
C) resigned from the presidential cabinet after the Dred Scott decision.
D) stopped a congressional vote on the issue of secession.

Question 36

The Panic of 1857:

A) was only a mild recession.
B) favored the Republicans in 1858.
C) favored the Democrats in 1858.
D) was ameliorated by massive aid to the poor from the federal government.

Question 37

In an intriguing race for the U.S. Senate in Illinois, Abraham Lincoln was opposed by:

A) Stephen A. Douglas.
B) John C. Fremont.
C) James M. Mason.
D) John C. Breckinridge.

Question 38

Abraham Lincoln was a popular politician in Illinois for all of the following reasons EXCEPT:

A) his down-home humor and quick wit.
B) his charismatic speaking style.
C) his crafty avoidance of the issue of slavery.
D) his firm stand that slavery should not spread to the territories.

Question 39

In the 1858 senatorial campaign in Illinois:

A) Lincoln identified himself as a strong abolitionist.
B) Douglas held that all territories should become slave states.
C) Lincoln narrowly defeated Douglas.
D) Lincoln gained national recognition.

Question 40

The southern population was more inclined than the northern population to all of the following tendencies EXCEPT:

A) committing more acts of domestic violence and murder.
B) volunteering for military service.
C) strong evangelical support for slavery.
D) a firm commitment to public education.

Question 41

Compared to the North in 1860, the South had:

A) more people employed in agriculture.
B) a greater percentage of factories.
C) more miles of railroad tracks.
D) a lower illiteracy rate.

Question 42

John Brown hoped that his raid on Harper's Ferry, Virginia would:

A) force governments of the South to voluntarily emancipate slaves.
B) cause the government to support the Lecompton Constitution.
C) cause the resignation of James Buchanan.
D) start a slave rebellion in the state of Virginia.

Question 43

Effects of John Brown's raid included all of the following EXCEPT:

A) Congress momentarily putting aside sectional differences in favor of compromises.
B) many Northerners comparing Brown's death with that of a religious martyr.
C) Brown being hanged after being convicted of treason against the state of Virginia.
D) southerners feeling more disturbed about attacks on slavery.

Question 44

The Republicans became the clear favorite in the presidential election of 1860 when:

A) Stephen Douglas refused to run.
B) William Seward defected from the Democratic Party.
C) James Buchanan supported Abraham Lincoln.
D) the Democratic Party split into sectional factions.

Question 45

Who did NOT run for president in 1860?

A) John C. Breckinridge
B) James Buchanan
C) Abraham Lincoln
D) John Bell

Question 46

Abraham Lincoln earned the Republican nomination for president by upsetting:

A) Horace Greeley.
B) Stephen Douglas.
C) William Seward.
D) James Buchanan.

Question 47

The election of 1860 revealed that:

A) very few voters cared a great deal about the issues expressed by the candidates.
B) Republicans had very little electoral support in the East.
C) Americans voted very strongly along sectional lines.
D) urban voters in the South were the strongest proslavery voters.

Question 48

In the 1860 election, who received the second highest popular vote count, yet the lowest number of electoral votes?

A) Stephen Douglas
B) John Bell
C) John C. Breckinridge
D) John C. Fremont

Question 49

Within three months after the election of 1860:

A) Stephen Douglas left the Democratic Party.
B) the South had attacked Fort Sumter and Washington D.C.
C) Lincoln decided to express no words of reconciliation.
D) six southern states had left the Union.

Question 50

The first state to choose secession was:

A) Texas.
B) Louisiana.
C) South Carolina.
D) Georgia.

Question 51

In the last days of his presidency, James Buchanan was:

A) responsible for the secession of all Upper South states.
B) successful at stalling secessionist fever.
C) criticized for firing southern cabinet members.
D) ineffective and powerless.

Question 52

President Lincoln's strategy regarding secession focused on:

A) stopping states of the Lower South from seceding.
B) keeping states of the upper South in the Union.
C) ignoring the demands of any slave state.
D) installing military governments in the Lower South.

Question 53

In his inaugural address, President Lincoln urged Americans to be guided by the:

A) "needs of the many."
B) "better angels of our nature."
C) "noble heritage of freedom."
D) "necessities of each state."

Question 54

The Confederacy fired shots at Fort Sumter when Jefferson Davis discovered that:

A) the Union was plotting to kill him.
B) the Union army was closing in from the west.
C) Union gunners had fired upon Confederate positions.
D) President Lincoln ordered that food be sent to the fort.

Question 55

The Confederates' taking of Fort Sumter was led by:

A) Robert E. Lee.
B) P.G.T. Beauregard.
C) Stonewall Jackson.
D) Robert Anderson.

Question 56

Effects of the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter included all of the following EXCEPT:

A) the amazing fact that no one was killed.
B) Arkansas and Tennessee refused to secede from the Union.
C) northerners were angered by the loss of the fort.
D) President Lincoln asked militias of the upper South to put down the rebellion.

Question 57

What is the correct order of events?

A) Dred Scott decision, John Brown's raid, election of 1860
B) election of 1860, John Brown's raid, Dred Scott decision
C) Dred Scott decision, election of 1860, John Brown's raid
D) election of 1860, Dred Scott decision, John Brown's raid

Question 58

Which event happened after the Kansas-Nebraska Act?

A) Compromise of 1850
B) election of 1852
C) Wilmot Proviso
D) passing of the Lecompton Constitution

Question 59

Which event happened first?

A) John Brown's raid
B) first publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin
C) "Bleeding Kansas"
D) the Dred Scott decision

Question 60

The Confederates attacked Fort Sumter in:

A) 1858.
B) 1860.
C) 1861.
D) 1863.

Question 61

Which event happened last?

A) Lincoln elected
B) Virginia secedes from the Union
C) South Carolina secedes from the Union
D) Fort Sumter attacked

Question 62

In what year were the Know-Nothing and Republican parties formed?

A) 1848
B) 1850
C) 1854
D) 1860

Question 63

Which of the following happened first?

A) Kansas-Nebraska Act passed
B) Franklin Pierce elected president
C) John Brown's Raid
D) California applies for statehood

Question 64

What were the four main approaches to slavery expressed in the 1850s?

Question 65

What characterized the response to the Fugitive Slave Act?

Question 66

What factors caused the creation of the Republican Party?

Question 67

What was the mixture of views expressed by the Know-Nothing Party?

Question 68

How did the election of 1860 reveal the severe nature of sectionalism?

Question 69

Frederick Douglass discussed "necessary links in the chain" that would lead to the destruction of slavery. As you look at the 1850s, what three events, more than any other, drove the nation toward conflict over the issue of slavery?

Question 70

Discuss the ways in which the North and South had become far different cultures in the areas of politics, economics, and social customs.

Question 71

Imagine that you are either a southern Democrat or northern Whig in the U.S. Congress of 1854. Express your opinion on the proposed Kansas-Nebraska Act.

Question 72

As a work of art and as a politically influential piece of writing, what accounted for the huge success of the novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin?

Question 73

Address the following statement: "The 1850s was a time of attempted compromise when compromise was no longer possible."

Question 74

Write a series of letters from Abraham Lincoln to Stephen Douglas that reveal the two men's different visions of solving the nation's problems.