Sectional tensions and the Civil War ( 1850-1877) Flashcards
The discovery of gold in __________ resulted in a drastic rise in population for that territory, and in 1849, they asked to be admitted as a state.
California.
Gold was discovered in California at Sutter’s Mill, and within a year the population had multiplied. At this time, admitting a new state was a big deal because it could upset the balance between free states and slave states.
The Compromise of 1850 was proposed by __________ in an attempt to resolve matters between the North and South relating to slavery.
Henry Clay.
Henry Clay, who had originally engineered the Missouri Compromise came up with the Compromise of 1850. This was shortly after Southerners held a convention in 1850 discussing ways to protect their interests.
The Compromise of 1850 was finally adopted when President ______, who strongly opposed it, died in office.
Taylor.
President Taylor died on July 9, 1850. His successor, Millard Fillmore, supported the Compromise.
The main reason that it took so long to admit new states such as Texas and California was the issue of _______.
Slavery.
The main issue when admitting a state was deciding whether slavery would or would not be allowed in that state. A new slave state meant more pro-slave senators and representatives, upsetting the balance.
The _______ Purchase occurred during President Pierce’s term, and added a strip of land under the Mexican Cession.
Gadsden.
The Gadsden Purchase was purchased to provide a route for a transcontinental railroad to span the lower United States.
The economy in the South was heavily dependent on their export of ______.
Cotton.
By 1860, cotton represented nearly two thirds of all American exports, and was the cash crop of the South. President Lincoln exploited this weakness during the Civil War by blockading the Southern coast to prevent them from making money from cotton exports.
Under President _______________, Commodore Perry went to Japan and opened up relations between the US and Japan.
Franklin Pierce.
The Compromise of 1850 was supposed to smooth relations between the North and South, but the ________ Slave Law, which was part of the Compromise, angered Northerners.
Fugitive.
The Fugitive Slave Law, which was strengthened under the Compromise of 1850, was designed to return blacks in the north who had run away from the south as slaves.
Laws passed in Northern states to protect runaway slaves within their borders were called ________ Liberty Laws.
Personal.
These laws were passed as a form of protest against Federal laws which supported the capture of runaway slaves in the free states. By 1856 the only free states which approved the extradition of runaway slaves were California and New Jersey.
The Book ____________ Cabin, written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, turned many Northerners against slavery.
Uncle Tom's.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin was a fictional book which described the life of a slave, and while many Northerners disapproved of slavery, this made them actively oppose it.
______________________ was a famous abolitionist in the North who relied on what he called “moral suasion,” the assumption that planters would voluntarily free their slaves once they became aware of the evil they were doing.
William Lloyd Garrison.
Garrison believed in what he called “moral suasion.” He thought that he could convince planters that slavery was evil and that they would release their slaves voluntarily. Until he died in 1879, he was a driving force in the abolition movement. However, by 1840 the movement had split and the focus switched from moral suasion to using political means to prohibit slavery by law.
The Kansas-Nebraska Act repealed the ________ Compromise.
Missouri.
The Kansas-Nebraska Act, introduced by Senator Douglas, created the Kansas and Nebraska territories. It also repealed the Missouri Compromise, which would have forbidden slavery in those territories.
The Kansas Act resulted in much bloodshed between people who were proslavery and those who were _____________.
Abolitionists.
The Kansas-Nebraska Act resulted in what was known as “Bleeding Kansas,” practically a small-scale Civil War in which over 200 people were killed. This Act repealed the Missouri Compromise that had prohibited slavery north of the line between Missouri and the Rocky Mountains, and it divided Nebraska into the Kansas and Nebraska territories.
“Bleeding Kansas” referred to the months of ________ that occurred after the Kansas-Nebraska Act as pro-slavery and anti-slavery groups clashed.
Violence.
Bleeding Kansas was how the press referred to the violence which occurred in Kansas. At least 200 people died as guerilla warfare erupted in the territory.
The __________ Party became the opposing party of the Democrats after the disintegration of the Whig Party.
Republican.
The Republican Party was established in 1854. This party was different from the initial Republican Party which had opposed the Federalists in the early United States.
In the Dred Scott vs Sanford case, the Supreme Court ruled in support of _______.
Slavery.
In the Dred Scott vs Sanford case, Chief Justice Taney ruled that a slave had no right to sue in court, and that Congress had no power to control slavery in the new territories.
The Compromise of 1850 enacted a new and tougher ________ slave act, making it easier for southerners to recover slaves who had run away to the North.
Fugitive.
The Compromise of 1850 included a new and tougher fugitive slave act. This part of the Compromise made slavery a national problem, instead of only the South’s problem, because suddenly blacks everywhere, including free blacks in the North, were in danger of being hauled into slavery.
The _________ Constitution was a state constitution for Kansas which allowed slavery and was almost passed simply to appease the South.
Lecompton.
The Lecompton Constitution was drafted by a convention in Kansas through unfair means, not at all representing the desires of the majority of the territory. Once Kansas voters were allowed to choose, they voted against the Lecompton Constitution.
__________ attempted to arm slaves in Virginia and incite an uprising in the South. He raided a federal arsenal in Harper’s Ferry, but was caught and hanged.
John Brown.
A man named John Brown led a group of men in an attempt to steal weapons and arm slaves. He was hanged as a criminal, but many Northerners saw him as a martyr.
The _______ growing season in the North meant that slavery was not economically feasible.
Shorter.
Prior to the 1800’s, slavery was legal in the Northern states, but soon became obsolete. It was not economically feasible in the North because much of the farming done in the North involved subsistence farming, and there was a high overhead associated with owning slaves–slaveholders had to house, feed and clothe their slaves.
John Brown took over the Harper’s Ferry arsenal in 1859 in an attempt to lead a _____ uprising.
Slave.
Brown encouraged slaves to murder their owners and claim their freedom. Though captured by Robert E. Lee before his plan went very far, he had many open supporters, including Henry David Thoreau.
A group of Northern abolitionists who actively supported John Brown’s plans for the raid on Harper’s Ferry were known as “the __________.”
Secret Six.
