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Question 1

What was the Missouri Compromise (1820)?

Answer 1

An agreement allowing Missouri to enter the Union as a slave state and Maine as a free state, maintaining the balance. Slavery was prohibited north of the 36°30′ latitude in the Louisiana Territory, except for Missouri. It failed as sectional tensions grew and was later repealed by the Kansas-Nebraska Act.

Question 2

What were the key components of the Compromise of 1850?

Answer 2

California admitted as a free state, slave trade abolished in Washington, D.C., Fugitive Slave Act enforced stricter laws for capturing runaway slaves, and New Mexico and Utah territories allowed popular sovereignty to decide on slavery.

Question 3

What did the Fugitive Slave Act (1850) require?

Answer 3

It required citizens to assist in the capture of runaway slaves and denied accused fugitives the right to a jury trial.

This angered abolitionists and increased Northern resistance.

Question 4

What was the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)?

Answer 4

It allowed Kansas and Nebraska territories to decide on slavery through popular sovereignty, overturning the Missouri Compromise. It led to violent conflicts known as ‘Bleeding Kansas.’

Question 5

What is popular sovereignty?

Answer 5

The idea that the people living in a territory should decide whether slavery would be allowed.

Question 6

What was the significance of Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)?

Answer 6

The Supreme Court ruling declared African Americans were not citizens, Congress could not ban slavery in territories, and the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional, deepening sectional tensions.

Question 7

Who were key abolitionists?

Answer 7

Key figures include Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, and John Brown.

Question 8

What are states’ rights?

Answer 8

The belief that states have the right to govern themselves and make their own laws, often cited by the South to justify secession.

Question 9

What is secession?

Answer 9

The act of Southern states leaving the Union, leading to the formation of the Confederate States of America.

Question 10

What happened in 1820?

Answer 10

The Missouri Compromise was enacted.

Question 11

What occurred between 1836-1850?

Answer 11

Six states entered the Union (3 free, 3 slave).

Question 12

What was enacted in 1850?

Answer 12

The Compromise of 1850, including the Fugitive Slave Act.

Question 13

When was the Kansas-Nebraska Act?

Answer 13

It was enacted in 1854.

Question 14

What significant event occurred in 1856?

Answer 14

The Sumner-Brooks Affair.

Question 15

when was the Dred Scott case decided?

Answer 15

In 1857.

Question 16

When were the Lincoln-Douglas Debates?

Answer 16

They occurred in 1858.

Question 17

What happened in 1859?

Answer 17

John Brown’s Raid on Harpers Ferry.

Question 18

What significant event occurred in 1860?

Answer 18

The election of Abraham Lincoln; Southern states began to secede.

Question 19

What year did the Civil War start?

Answer 19

1861.

Question 20

Who was Preston Brooks?

Answer 20

A Southern congressman who attacked Charles Sumner with a cane after Sumner criticized pro-slavery forces.

Question 21

Who was Charles Sumner?

Answer 21

A Northern senator and abolitionist who delivered an anti-slavery speech that led to the Sumner-Brooks Affair.

Question 22

Who was Dred Scott?

Answer 22

An enslaved African American who sued for his freedom in the landmark Supreme Court case.

Question 23

Who was Abraham Lincoln?

Answer 23

The 16th President of the United States; his election in 1860 led to Southern secession.

Question 24

Who was Stephen A. Douglas?

Answer 24

A senator and proponent of popular sovereignty; he debated Lincoln in 1858.

Question 25

Who was John Brown?

Answer 25

A radical abolitionist who led the raid on Harpers Ferry in an attempt to start a slave rebellion.

Question 26

Who was John C. Breckinridge?

Answer 26

The Southern Democratic candidate in the 1860 presidential election, supporting slavery’s expansion.

Question 27

Missouri Compromise How did it address slavery in new territories?

Answer 27

The Missouri Compromise maintained the balance between slave and free states by admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. It prohibited slavery in the Louisiana Territory north of the 36°30′ latitude, except for Missouri.

Question 28

Why did the missouri compr fail?

Answer 28

It was a temporary solution. As the U.S. expanded westward, the balance between free and slave states became harder to maintain, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act repealed its provisions, increasing tensions.

Question 29

Compromise of 1850 What were its key components

Answer 29

California admitted as a free state. Slave trade banned in Washington, D.C. Strengthened Fugitive Slave Act. Popular sovereignty in Utah and New Mexico territories.

Question 30

What concessions were made to the North and South during the comrpomise of 1850

Answer 30

North: Gained California as a free state and saw the end of the slave trade in D.C. South: Gained stricter enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act and the possibility of new slave territories through popular sovereignty.

Question 31

Kansas-Nebraska Act How did it alter previous agreements regarding slavery?

Answer 31

It repealed the Missouri Compromise by allowing Kansas and Nebraska territories to decide slavery through popular sovereignty, rather than prohibiting it north of the 36°30′ line.

Question 32

What were its consequences?

Answer 32

It led to violent conflicts known as "Bleeding Kansas," as pro- and anti-slavery settlers clashed. It also deepened sectional divisions and contributed to the collapse of the Whig Party.

Question 33

Dred Scott Decision What was its significance?

Answer 33

The Supreme Court ruled that African Americans were not citizens and could not sue in federal court. It also declared Congress had no authority to ban slavery in the territories, making the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional.

Question 34

How did the dred scortt decision increase tensions between the North and South?

Answer 34

Northerners saw it as a threat to free states, as it opened the door for slavery to expand anywhere. Southerners felt vindicated, intensifying the divide between the regions.

Question 35

Role of Political Parties and the Election of 1860 What role did political parties play in the lead-up to the Civil War?

Answer 35

The Democratic Party split into Northern and Southern factions over slavery. The newly formed Republican Party opposed slavery's expansion, uniting Northern voters. Political divisions mirrored the growing sectional divide.

Question 36

How did Lincoln’s election trigger Southern secession?

Answer 36

Lincoln's election in 1860, without carrying a single Southern state, convinced Southerners that their interests were no longer represented. Fearing restrictions on slavery, Southern states began to secede, starting with South Carolina.