History Midterm

Question 1

Road to the Civil War

Question 2

Compromise of 1850

Answer 2

California would be a admitted as a free state, but other new territories would have no limits on slavery. The slave trade, but not slavery itself, would be illegal in Washington, D.C. Clay also pushed for a stronger fugitive slave law. Split up into 3 parts to be voted on separately.

Question 3

Fugitive Slave Act

Answer 3

Anyone who helped a fugitive could be fined or imprisoned.

Question 4

Underground Railroad (Harriet Tubman)

Answer 4

A system of cooperation created by free African Americans and whites to help aid and house runaway enslaved people find their way to freedom.

Question 5

Harriet Tubman

Answer 5

Born into slavery, she escaped in 1849 and fled to Philadelphia. Then, she returned the next year to free her family. She made 19 trips to the South and helped about 300 slaves escape to freedom.

Question 6

Kansas-Nebraska Act

Answer 6

A bill passed in 1854 that organized the region west of Missouri and Iowa as the territories of Kansas and Nebraska. It would repeal the Missouri Compromise, and allow the voters in each territory vote on whether to allow slavery or not (called “popular sovereignty).

Question 7

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Answer 7

Book written by Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852 that made a major impact on public opinion. The book portrayed slavery as a cruel and brutal system.

Question 8

Stephen A. Douglas

Answer 8

Senator from Illinois who introduced the Kansas-Nebraska Act.

Question 9

Popular Sovereignty

Answer 9

Central to the American system of government, this idea means that the people are the source of all government power. Douglas’s popular sovereignty came to mean a particular method for deciding the question of slavery in a place.

Question 10

Bleeding Kansas

Answer 10

A civil war between citizens in Kansas broke out after many border ruffians from Missouri went to Kansas just to vote for slavery. Opponents then refused to accept the new slavery laws, and two rival governments formed. Slavery supporters attacked the town of Lawrence, then they counter attacked and killed 5 pro-slavery supporters.

Question 11

Emergence of Republican Party

Answer 11

After the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the Democratic Party began to divide along sectional lines. Northern Democrats left the party. Antislavery Whigs and Democrats joined with Free-Soilers to form the Republican Party.

Question 12

Charles Sumner

Answer 12

Radical Republican from Massachusetts were determined not only to rebuild the South, but also to remake Southern society.

Question 13

Preston Brooks

Answer 13

A South Carolina Democrat who was a strong advocate for slavery and states’ rights. He attacked Charles Sumner on the floor of the Senate after his anti-slavery speech, and nearly beat him to death. This had a huge impact on the events that followed for the next four years, pushing the country towards war.

Question 14

Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)

Answer 14

Dred Scott was a slave, and he sued to win his freedom since he had lived with his owner in a free territory. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney ruled that a slave is someone’s property, and the Fifth Amendment prohibited the taking of property without “Due Process.” He wrote that Congress had no power to ban slavery, and the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional, and so was popular sovereignty. In effect, Taney said that the Constitution protected slavery.

Question 15

Lincoln-Douglas Debates

Answer 15

During the Illinois Senate race of 1858, Abraham Lincoln challenged Stephen A. Douglas to a series of 7 debates. The main topic was slavery. Douglas won a narrow victory, but Lincoln became widely known as a man of clear thinking.

Question 16

Lincoln’s Background

Answer 16

Lincoln was relatively unknown, from a poor rural family. He knew the importance of education, and taught himself and became a lawyer. Lincoln was intensely opposed to slavery.

Question 17

John Brown’s Raid (1857)

Answer 17

Abolitionist John Brown led a raid on a federal arsenal of weapons in Virginia, hoping to arm slaves and start a revolt against slaveholders. His raid was defeated, and he was convicted of treason and murder, and sentenced to death. Some in the North saw him as a martyr. This also confirmed the South’s fears of a great Northern conspiracy against them.

Question 18

Election of 1860

Answer 18

The issue of slavery split the Democratic Party. Northern Democrats supported popular sovereignty and nominated Stephen A. Douglas. Southern Democrats wanted to uphold slavery and nominated John C. Breckinridge. The Republican Party nominated Abraham Lincoln. With the Democrats divided, Lincoln won a clear victory.

Question 19

The South’s Secession

Answer 19

The Republicans and promised not to stop slavery where it already existed. But, Southerners did not trust them to protect their rights. South Carolina seceded from the Union in December 1860. 6 other states joined them in February 1861 and formed a new nation called the Confederate States of America.

Question 20

Fort Sumter

Answer 20

A day after Lincoln took office, The Confederates surrounded federal Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor and demanded its surrender. Before Union supplies could arrive, the Confederates attacked on April 12, 1861, starting the Civil War.

Question 21

The Civil War

Question 22

Advantages of the North (Union)

Answer 22

The North had a larger population and more resources than the South.

Question 23

Advantages of the South (Confederacy)

Answer 23

The South had excellent military leaders and a strong fighting spirit. Because most of the war was fought in the South, they knew the land well and had the will to defend it.

Question 24

Strategy of the Union

Answer 24

The North knew they would have to defeat the South completely. Their plan was called the “Anaconda Plan.” First, they would blockade Southern ports. Second, they would gain control of the MIssissippi river. Then, they would capture the South’s capital of Richmond, Virginia.

Question 25

Strategy of the Confederacy

Answer 25

The Confederacy’s basic strategy was to conduct a defensive war. This meant that it would hold as much territory as possible, and if they showed enough determination to be independent, the North would tire of the war. The South also tried to win the support of Great Britain and France, who’s economies suffered when the war started without the export of cotton from the South.

Question 26

1st Battle of Bull Run (Manassas)

Answer 26

The first major battle of the Civil War. 30,000 Union troops attacked a smaller Confederate force led by Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson in northern Virginia. At first, the Union drove the Confederates back. Then, the Confederates held their position and launched a savage counter-attack that broke the Union lines. The loss shocked Northerners.

Question 27

Robert E. Lee

Answer 27

Came from a leading Virginia family. He attended West Point and graduated 2nd in his class. He was in the U.S. Army stationed in Texas when that state seceded. He returned to Virginia, then resigned from the Army and became the commander of Virginia’s military.

Question 28

Ulysses S. Grant

Answer 28

A general for the North and led the Union to victory in the Civil War. His reputation carried him to win the presidential election of 1868, then again in 1872.

Question 29

George B. McClellan

Answer 29

Lincoln appointed him general after the loss at the 1st Battle of Bull Run. He was an expert at preparing for battle, but was overly careful and slow to act. Later, Lincoln replaced him when he didn’t follow one of his orders. He ran against Lincoln for president and lost in the election of 1864 as the Democrat Party candidate.

Question 30

Thomas “Stonewall” Jackson

Answer 30

Born in Virginia, went to West Point Academy. Went on to have a short and unremarkable career in the U.S. Army. He was a teacher at Virginia Military Institute. He became one of the Confederacy’s top military leaders.

Question 31

Ironclads - The Merrimack & Monitor

Answer 31

An ironclad was a warship equipped with iron plating for protection. The Merrimack was a damaged frigate ship that had been abandoned by the Union. The South rebuilt it and added the iron armor, then renamed the ship “Virginia.” The North then made their own ironclad called the “Monitor.” The two ironclads met in battle, but neither ship won.

Question 32

2nd Battle of Bull Run

Answer 32

In 1862, the Confederate forces had a string of impressive victories. The turned back General George B. McClellan at the Seven Days Battle, General John Pope at the Second Battle of Bull Run, and General Ambrose Burnside at Fredericksburg. In May 1863, Lee’s army defeated a Union force twice its size at Chancellorsville, Virginia.

Question 33

Battle of Antietam

Answer 33

Lee started to invade Maryland, and split his army into four parts to confuse McClellan. A Confederate officer lost his copy of the orders (called Special Order 191) describing the plan and the Union got them. Antietam was then a key victory for the Union. It was also the deadliest single day of fighting in the war. A group of about 500 Confederate soldiers held Burnside’s Bridge for a few hours before The Union finally captured the bridge and forced the Confederates back. At Bloody Lane, more than 5,000 lost their lives. Lee then retreated back to Virginia afterwards.

Question 34

The Emancipation Proclamation

Answer 34

Decree issued by President Lincoln freeing enslaved people in those parts of the Confederacy on January 1, 1863. With it, the government declared slavery to be wrong. It was clear that a Union victory would end slavery in the U.S. The abolitionists described slavery as a moral wrong that needed to be abolished. They also pointed out that slavery was the root of the divisions between North and South. Also, if the U.S. made the war a fight to end slavery, Britain and France would be less likely to support the South, who needed their help to win.

Question 35

Battle of Gettysburg

Answer 35

Battle was almost an accident. Confederates entered the town looking for supplies, then found the enemy there. The outnumbered Union won the battle after four days. The Union had 23,000 casualties, and the Confederates 25,000. Lee ordered and attack called “Pickett’s Charge.” General George Pickett led thousands of troops on the Union position at Cemetery Ridge. First they fired 140 cannons at the Union, then they advanced across open land to attack. The charge did not succeed, and half lay dead or wounded at the end. Gettysburg ended the Confederates’ hope of gaining help from Britain and France.

Question 36

Gettysburg Address

Answer 36

On November 19, 1863, officials and citizens gathered to dedicate the Soldier’s National Cemetery at Gettysburg. President Lincoln delivered this famous speech, where he honored the soldiers and their cause, and stated his vision for the country. It remains one of the most enduring and powerful speeches in American history.

Question 37

General Sherman’s “March to the Sea”

Answer 37

Even after it was clear that the Confederate capital Richmond was doomed to be lost, the South kept fighting. The Union was determined to break the South’s will to continue to fight. General Sherman burned much of Atlanta, then led his troops on a march across Georgia toward the Atlantic, burning cities and crops as they went. This trail of destruction became known as “Sherman’s March to the Sea.”

Question 38

Appomattox Court House and the End of the War

Answer 38

Lee first believed he must fight on. Then, the Union captured the train carrying food to his starving troops and completely surrounded his army. Lee knew it was over. He met with Grant in a small Virginia town called Appomattox Court House. For their surrender, Grant allowed Lee’s officers to keep their small firearms, and any soldier with a horse could keep it. And they would allow the soldiers to leave and make their way home. Grant also gave them 25,000 food rations to feed Lee’s troops. This was the official end to the war.

Question 39

Reconstruction

Question 40

Lincoln Assassination

Answer 40

April 14, 1865, things took a dramatic turn when Lincoln was watching a play at Ford’s theater in Washington, D.C. Actor and Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth shot Lincoln in the head, and he died hours later. That was part of a larger conspiracy plan intended by Booth to eliminate the 3 most important people in the U.S. government. The plot failed, and Booth was killed after initially escaping 12 days later. 4 others were also later hanged for their roles in the conspiracy.

Question 41

President Johnson and Reconstruction

Answer 41

Vice President Andrew Johnson took over as President after Lincoln. He was a Southerner, but had supported the Union during the war. He had his own ideas about how to reconstruct the South. He wanted to humiliate Confederate leaders, who would have to appeal to the president directly to get pardoned. His plan also opposed equal rights for African Americans. His plan did require Southern states to outlaw slavery before rejoining the Union. They also had to ratify the 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery in the U.S.

Question 42

Radical Republicans

Answer 42

Some members of Congress thought Lincoln’s plan went too easy on the South. A group of Republicans favored a more radical approach to Reconstruction. They thought the South must be completely broken up and rebuilt. They were powerful, and had a big influence on Congress.

Question 43

Freedmen’s Bureau

Answer 43

Lincoln and Congress together created the Freedmen’s Bureau. Its main purpose was to help African Americans adjust to life after slavery. It provided food, clothing, and medical care to poor Southerners, especially those freed from slavery. It set up schools, some staffed with teachers from the North. It helped some people get their own land to farm or to find work for fair pay. Johnson later tries to veto its extension, Congress overrides his veto.

Question 44

13th Amendment

Answer 44

On January 31, 1865, Congress passed the 13th Amendment, which banned slavery in the United States.

Question 45

14th Amendment

Answer 45

The 13th Amendment had ended slavery, but Congress worried that the courts might overturn the Civil Rights Act. The 14th Amendment took the next step protected the citizenship extended to African Americans in the Act. I guaranteed that citizenship could not later be taken away by passing another law. No state could take a person’s life, liberty, or property, without due process of law. It stated that every person was entitled to equal protection of the laws.

Question 46

Reconstruction Act (1867)

Answer 46

Congress passes a law dividing the South into 5 military districts. Johnson vetoes, Congress overrides. South would remain under the military’s control until 1877.

Question 47

Johnson and Impeachment

Answer 47

Johnson vetoed 29 bills. Congress passes an act which makes it illegal to fire someone in the presidential cabinet without notifying Congress. Johnson fires his Secretary of War. Congress attempts to impeach him but the Senate votes to acquit him and he remains president by only 1 vote.

Question 48

Ku Klux Klan (KKK)

Answer 48

Originally a fraternal group of former Confederate soldiers, it transformed into a national group with the purpose of “maintaining order,” terrorizing, and killing black Americans. Group members often met at night wearing white robes (meant to scare former slaves; the ghosts of confederate soldiers).

Question 49

Jim Crow Laws

Answer 49

State and local laws in the South that provided for segregation. Lasted for about 100 years; those who attempted to defy them often faced violence, prison, or death.

Question 50

Black Codes

Answer 50

Restrictive laws denying blacks legal equality or political rights that forced former slaves to sign yearly labor contracts or be arrested and jailed for vagrancy.

Question 51

Plessy v. Ferguson

Answer 51

In 1896, the Supreme Court upheld segregation laws in Plessy v. Ferguson. The case involved a Louisiana law that required separate sections on trains for African Americans and whites. The Court ruled that segregation was legal as long as African Americans had access to public places equal to those of whites. This became a “separate but equal” doctrine.

Question 52

The Grant Presidency

Answer 52

Ulysses S. Grant wins the election of 1868. Grant remains popular during his 1st term. Grant signs the Ku Klux Klan Act and the Force Acts. Along with Congress, creates the Department of Justice to help prosecute KKK members. He makes Christmas a federal holiday, and Yellowstone a national park. Grant re-elected in 1872. 2nd term dominated by 3 scandals. Credit Mobilier Scandal. a contracted company building railroads overcharges the government and allows people in Grant’s administration to buy cheap stock. Salary Grab Scandal: Grant raises the salary for President, Supreme Court, and his administration at a time when many Americans are suffering financially. Whiskey Ring Scandal: whiskey distillers commit fraud against the government - members of Grant’s administration knew. Panic of 1873 also took place under Grant, and was like a Great Depression and the economy suffered.

Question 53

Election of 1876

Answer 53

Republicans attempted to keep control of the White House, and chose Ohio Governor Rutherford B. Hayes as their candidate. He held moderate views on Reconstruction. He ran against Democrat Samuel Tilden. Neither got a majority of the electoral votes, mainly because of confusing election returns from 3 Southern states. These states were all under Republican rule. Congress named a commission to decide which candidate should receive the disputed electoral votes from those states. The commission recommended giving all of the votes to Hayes, which would make him President by 1 electoral vote. To make sure Congress would accept this outcome, Republicans made many promises to Democrats. One of them was to withdraw the troops in the 5 military districts who had been in place since the end of the Civil War.