e. the Thirteenth Amendment
21. Which of the following groups did the Free-Soil party attract?
a. Northern Republicans
b. Northern Democrats opposed to slavery
c. Unhappy southern Democrats
d. Pro-slavery Whigs
e. Mainstream Know-Nothings
22. The __________ to California in 1849 resulted in the greatest mass migration in American
history.
a. Chinese influx
b. Irish migration
c. Gold Rush
d. Mexican migration
e. Oil Gush
23. Most miners arriving in California in search of gold intended to
a. build large homes on the coast once they struck it rich.
b. build large homes in the Hollywood Hills once they struck it rich.
c. strike it rich and return home.
d. strike it rich then bring their family out to join them.
e. start mining companies of their own.
24. The final version of the Compromise of 1850 proposed to
a. abolish slavery west of the Mississippi River.
b. admit California as a free state.
c. admit New Mexico and Utah as slave states.
d. continue the slave trade in Washington, D.C.
e. stop federal intervention into slavery issues.
25. Which of the following statements about the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 is accurate?
a. It made runaway slaves free.
b. It was supported by abolitionists.
c. It was used to recapture thousands of runaway slaves.
d. It was not controversial.
e. It required citizens to help locate and return runaway slaves.
26. Which of the following statements about the Kansas-Nebraska Act is accurate?
a. It repealed the Missouri Compromise.
b. It made both Kansas and Nebraska free states.
c. It made both Kansas and Nebraska slave states.
d. It helped Stephen Douglas’ political career.
e. It was a part of the Compromise of 1850.
27. What two new parties filled the gap left by the demise of the Whig party in the 1850s?
a. The Free-Soil party and the Know-Nothings
b. The Know-Nothings and the American party
c. The American party and the Republicans
d. The Democrats and the Federalists
e. The Free-Soil party and the Democrats
28. “Bleeding Kansas” was
a. a pro-slavery versus anti-slavery civil war in Kansas.
b. a minor event just prior to the Civil War.
c. a term referring to the large number of Kansans who fought in the Civil War.
d. a cause of the Mexican-American War.
e. the result of Ku Klux Klan violence.
29. Who was the only elected president to be denied renomination by his own party?
a. James Buchanan
b. Franklin Pierce
c. James K. Polk
d. Millard Fillmore
e. Zachary Taylor
30. Which of the following statements correctly describes President James Buchanan?
a. He was an advocate of secession and Texas independence.
b. He was the first Republican president.
c. He did not want to make concessions to the South over secession issues.
d. He was willing to compromise with northern Republicans.
e. He was an advocate of states’ rights and territorial expansion.
31. The first man to run for president under the banner of the new Republican party of the
1850s was
a. John C. Frémont.
b. James Buchanan.
c. Stephen Douglas.
d. Abraham Lincoln.
e. Franklin Pierce.
32. What did the Supreme Court decision in the Dred Scott v. Sanford case do?
a. It made slaves citizens of the United States.
b. It allowed Dred Scott to remain a free man.
c. It upheld the Fourteenth Amendment.
d. It maintained that Dred Scott must remain a slave.
e. It settled the controversial issue of slavery in the western territories.
33. In the 1850s, Abraham Lincoln’s views on slavery included
a. nationwide abolition.
b. allowing slavery in the western territories.
c. “popular sovereignty.”
d. prohibiting expansion westward.
e. abolition and equal rights for blacks.
34. John Brown’s raid was
a. the only successful slave rebellion in U.S. history.
b. an attack on military forces in West Virginia.
c. an effort to confiscate slave owners’ weapons.
d. the first battle of the Civil War.
e. an attempt to trigger a slave rebellion across the South.
35. What national political party split in the months prior to the presidential election of 1860?
a. Democrats
b. Republicans
c. Whigs
d. Know-Nothings
e. Free-Soil
36. When he won the presidency, Abraham Lincoln carried __________ slave states in the
Electoral College.
a. 0
b. 1
c. 2
d. 5
e. 7
37. Which of the following was the first southern state to secede from the Union?
a. Virginia
b. Texas
c. South Carolina
d. Alabama
e. Mississippi
38. What did President James Buchanan do in response to the secession of South Carolina?
a. He acted decisively.
b. He tried to force South Carolina to rejoin the Union.
c. He protected federal military installations across the South.
d. He tried to compromise.
e. He claimed he lacked constitutional authority to act.
39. How many southern states seceded before Lincoln even took office?
a. 11
b. 10
c. 7
d. 5
e. 3
40. Who was the president of the Confederate States of America?
a. John C. Calhoun
b. James Buchanan
c. Alexander H. Stephens
d. Jefferson Davis
e. David Wilmot
41. The Crittenden Compromise sought to
a. abolish slavery in the West.
b. convince the seceding states to rejoin the Union.
c. repeal the Missouri Compromise.
d. repeal the Compromise of 1850.
e. allow slavery to expand across the Southwest below the Missouri Compromise line.
42. What did Abraham Lincoln do in his first inaugural address?
a. He promised to end slavery everywhere.
b. He promised to punish the South.
c. He made the declaration of war.
d. He declared secession illegal.
e. He promised to expand slavery.
43. After Lincoln’s thoughtful inaugural address in 1861, southerners
a. reconsidered whether secession was the right thing to do.
b. tried to have him impeached.
c. plotted to have him assassinated.
d. picketed outside the White House.
e. remained unimpressed.
44. The first shots of the Civil War were fired at
a. Richmond, Virginia.
b. Fort Sumter.
c. Washington, D.C.
d. Charleston, South Carolina.
e. Atlanta.
ESSAY
1. Explain the phrase manifest destiny. What factors were most important in drawing Americans
to the West, both mentally and physically?
2. Explain the issues that led to the Compromise of 1850, and describe how the Compromise
was fashioned and passed.
3. Describe the “politics of slavery” as it applied to westward expansion (e.g., Texas, Mexican
territories acquired by war, Kansas-Nebraska Act issues, etc.). How could this be
characterized as a cause of the Civil War?
4. Explain the rise of the Republican party in the 1850s. What issues led to its development?
Whom did it appeal to and why? Who opposed it and why? What factors helped the party
win the presidency in 1860?
5. Why did seven southern states secede from the Union before Abraham Lincoln even took
office? Explain why those states had no desire to hear his “solutions” for the nation.
MATCHING
Match each person or group with one of the following descriptions.
a. Led an uprising in 1846 to establish the Republic of California
b. Led American forces at Veracruz
c. Rushed to California looking for gold
d. Introduced the concept of “popular sovereignty”
e. Introduced a proposal in Congress to prevent slavery in western territories
f. Authored the novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin, a powerful weapon for anti-slavery advocates
g. Was a leading promoter of Anglo-American settlement in Mexican Texas
h. Was president of the Republic of Texas
i. Was the first “dark horse” candidate for president
j. Lost his legal bid to become a free man
1. Stephen F. Austin
2. Sam Houston
3. John C. Frémont
4. James K. Polk
5. Winfield Scott
6. David Wilmot
7. Lewis Cass
8. Forty-niners
9. Harriet Beecher Stowe
10. Dred Scott
