slavery and the path to the Civil War

Question 1

balance between slave and free states

Answer 1

In 1819, there were 22 states (11 free, 11 slave)

Question 2

The Missouri Compromise of 1820

Answer 2

Missouri wanted to join the US as a slave state. Henry Clay compromised that Maine would join as a free state to balance it out. Also, no slavery north of the 36 degree 30’ parallel (except MO)

Question 3

Wilmot Proviso

Answer 3

An attempt, in 1846, to prevent slavery to expanding into the lands that might be gained from a war with Mexico. Didn’t pass the Senate, only the House.

Question 4

Popular Sovereignty

Answer 4

A policy that proposed allowing citizens of the new state to decide whether to outlaw slavery or not instead of Congress deciding.

Question 5

The Compromise of 1850

Answer 5

Allowed popular sovereignty to decide slavery status in New Mexico and in Utah.
Admitted CA as a free state.
Passed the Fugitive Slave Law.

Question 6

Fugitive Slave Law

Answer 6

All state governments were required to help catch runaway slaves - even free states.

Question 7

Slave Ownership in the South

Answer 7

About 35% of southern households had slaves. Most had 1-9 slaves. Southerners viewed slavery as a part of southern life and the south’s economic success.

Question 8

The Economics of Slavery

Answer 8

Supporting a slave (providing food, shelter etc.) cost less than the amount of income a slave made for their master through labor. Therefore, investing in a lave resulted in profits for the slave-owner.

Question 9

Power Structure of Slavery

Answer 9

Slaves were considered property. Slavery was based on the false idea that whites were superior to blacks. Slavery was dependent upon punishment to keep slaves under control and to dehumanize them.

Question 10

Impacts of Slavery on Individuals

Answer 10

Slaves had to work from whenever they could to whenever they couldn’t which took serious tolls on the human body. They were also not allowed to be educated. Plus the whippings they received as punishment left lifelong marks on their bodies.

Question 11

John C. Calhoun

Answer 11

Supported slavery and white racial superiority from his seat in Congress.

Question 12

Frederick Douglass

Answer 12

He was a slave until he was 15. Wrote an autobiography that opened many Northerners eyes to the horrors of slavery. Published the North Star an anti-slavery newspaper. Used money from his lectures to aid runaway slaves.

Question 13

William Lloyd Garrison

Answer 13

Opposed slavery but he wanted a country without any blacks (wanted northern states to secede). He wrote The Liberator, an anti-slavery newspaper.

Question 14

Grimke’ Sisters

Answer 14

Southern women whose family owned slaves. They freed their own slaves and wrote pamphlets using “moral suasion” to help fight slavery.

Question 15

Hinton Helper

Answer 15

He opposed slavery but only because he thought it hurt poor white people. He wanted only white people in the US. Wrote a book in 1857.

Question 16

Abe Lincoln

Answer 16

Had mixed views. He didn’t want to interfere with previously established slavery but he also didn’t want slavery to expand.

Question 17

James Kirke Paulding

Answer 17

He supported slavery. Claimed abolitionists were out to destroy America and that blacks were inferior to whites. Wrote a book.

Question 18

George Fitzhugh

Answer 18

Supporter of Slavery. Argued that slaves had better conditions than northern factory workers and that slavery was the best form of labor. He wrote pamphlets and books encouraging the growth of slavery.

Question 19

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Answer 19

A book written by Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852 that opened Northerners eyes and made them feel a connection with slaves because the main character (Uncle Tom) was a slave.

Question 20

Kansas Nebraska Act

Answer 20

This was significant in the lead up to the civil war because it created a lot of tension between the North and the South. Also, first time there was a lot of violence. Passed in 1854.

Question 21

Dred Scott Decision

Answer 21

In 1857, Dred Scott, a slave, sued for his freedom after his master died in a free state. The court decided that since Scott was a slave he had no rights and that the MO compromise was unconstitutional. Setback for the abolitionists because the court took the Souths side and discouraged free blacks about their future.

Question 22

John Brown’s Raid

Answer 22

John Brown and a group of men planned to seize federal arsenal. They were captured or killed by Robert E. Lee and the US Army. This event showed southerners that northerners weren’t afraid to take action. Happened in 1859

Question 23

Election of 1860

Answer 23

Republican Abraham Lincoln was elected. He promised that slavery would no longer be allowed to spread which led some southern states, including SC to secede because the election made it clear the north was gaining power.