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CHAPTER 14
The Gathering Storm, 1848–1860
TRUE/FALSE
1. Congress never passed the Wilmot Proviso.
2. Southern Democrats founded the Free-Soil party in support of slavery and free land for white
settlers in lands conquered during the Mexican-American War.
3. In the mid-nineteenth century, the population of Native Americans in California plummeted,
likely due to diseases and violence introduced by white settlers.
4. By 1850, men significantly outnumbered women in California.
5. In the mining frontier of the Far West, women often enjoyed greater opportunities than back east.
6. As a result of the Compromise of 1850, California entered the Union as a free state.
7. The book Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe was popular among southern planters
for its positive portrayal of slavery and the rural South.
8. The Republican party was created in 1854 by the merger of several anti-slavery groups.
9. James Buchanan’s great experience in public service helped him become one of the most
successful presidents.
10. The proposed Lecompton Constitution would have combined Kansas and Nebraska into
a larger free state.
11. In 1857, the majority of the population in Kansas was anti-slavery.
12. During his senatorial run against Douglas, Lincoln stated his belief in racial equality.
13. During the Lincoln-Douglas debates, Lincoln insisted that Stephen Douglas was indifferent
to the immorality of slavery.
14. Through his execution, John Brown accomplished little for the anti-slavery cause as few in
United States even noticed the event occurred.
15. The Republican platform in 1860 promised to end slavery in the southern states.
16. The states of the Deep South did not secede from the Union until Lincoln took office.
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. At midcentury, which of the following had a major impact on life in the United States?
a.
The nation had grown far less powerful overall, which caused opposing groups to turn their
attention to domestic issues such as slavery.
b.
Abolitionists were becoming far less militant, so pro-slavery southerners had a harder time taking
them and their intentions seriously.
c.
The Compromise of 1850 still appeared to be a powerful, long-term solution to the issue of slavery,
and the sudden onset of the Civil War came as a total shock.
d.
Constant political conflict over slavery had led a growing number of people to decide the United
States could no longer be a nation “half free and half slave.”
e.
Issues such as the fate of slavery in the Kansas Territory helped bring people with opposing views
together and offered a concrete example of effective policy.
2. Which of the following was true of the Wilmot Proviso?
a.
It would prohibit slavery in any lands acquired from Mexico.
b.
Both houses of Congress approved it.
c.
Abraham Lincoln opposed it in Congress.
d.
It would extend the Missouri Compromise line to the Pacific.
e.
It was clearly unconstitutional.
3. What was President James Polk’s role in the controversy surrounding the Wilmot Proviso?
a.
He pushed Congress to pass it because he believed it would help keep the Union together.
b.
He enthusiastically supported it in order to protect the interests of slaveholders and the economy.
c.
He dismissed it as an attempt to contain slavery and convinced Wilmot to withhold it.
d.
He blamed the South for the Mexican-American War and saw it as a way to punish southerners.
e.
He argued against it so persuasively that Wilmot’s idea would have little influence on the Civil
War.
4. The idea of popular sovereignty
a.
solved the controversy over slavery’s extension.
b.
would allow people in the territories to decide whether to permit slavery.
c.
guaranteed slavery would spread westward.
d.
allowed Oregon to enter the Union as a slave state.
e.
was adopted by the Whigs in the 1848 election.
5. Supporters of the Wilmot Proviso joined the Free-Soil party, as did
a.
plantation owners.
d.
pro-slavery Democrats.
b.
enemies of Martin Van Buren.
e.
anti-slavery Whigs.
c.
“cotton Whigs.”
6. The Free-Soil party stance on slavery
a.
was strongly endorsed by John C. Calhoun, thereby earning the party supporters.
b.
attracted Abraham Lincoln into its ranks, making it one of the major parties.
c.
led to the political downfall of Henry Clay, as he mainly appealed to those at the extremes.
d.
appealed to people who were not abolitionists but wanted to prevent its spread.
e.
resulted in the party’s support of the Kansas-Nebraska Act.
7. What was the significance of the 1848 presidential election, which included candidates Martin
Van Buren, Zachary Taylor, and Lewis Cass?
a.
The Free-Soilers divided both the Democratic vote and the Whig vote on the state-level in such a
way that Taylor—who was a slave owner but opposed slavery in the West—won nationwide.
b.
Because none of the candidates wanted to alienate possible supporters, their campaigns managed to
avoid the topic of slavery in the western territories altogether, ultimately prolonging the issue.
c.
The Democrats would take control of the White House, the Congress, and the Supreme Court in a
showdown that guaranteed endorsement of the Kansas-Nebraska Act
d.
The vote was decided in the House of Representatives after a tie between the Democrats and the
Whigs, which resulted in an outcry by the public on the validity of the election.
e.
The election broke up the Whig party to such an extent that it would never again have a candidate
in future American elections and its platform would be subsumed under the other parties.
8. Which of the following statements accurately describes Zachary Taylor?
a.
He supported the extension of slavery into the new western territories, and this stance drove his
politics.
b.
He was the Democrats’ second choice after Henry Clay; however, Clay was too busy as the party’s
leader to run for president.
c.
He had no political experience, but the Whigs recruited him as a candidate in part because he was a
hero in the Mexican-American War.
d.
The “cotton Whigs” were his strongest supporters, and the party adopted his plan of popular
sovereignty as a key campaign promise.
e.
He approved of the idea of southern secession due to his belief that the North and South had
fundamental differences and that war should be avoided.
9. In addition to spurring a massive migration of gold seekers, the discovery of gold in California
a.
started a brief war with Russia due to competition for resources.
b.
improved relations with Native Americans and led to preservation of their lands.
c.
encouraged American dreams of a Pacific commercial empire linked to Asia.
d.
resulted in a massive economic recession because the gold standard was worth less
e.
caused the population of cities such as San Francisco to be predominantly white.
10. In 1850, the new California state legislature allowed whites to force ________ to work for
them in exchange for food and clothing.
a.
European indentured servants
d.
the many unmarried women there
b.
“unemployed” Native Americans
e.
injured miners
c.
young orphan children
11. What did Zachary Taylor propose in late 1849?
a.
California’s immediate entry as a free state
b.
strict laws that drastically improved the safety of miners
c.
extension of slavery to the Pacific
d.
abolition of slavery in Washington, D.C.
e.
giving Texas back to Mexico
12. President Zachary Taylor wanted to admit California as a state immediately because he
a.
was anti-slavery and California had voted on a free-state constitution.
b.
was pro-slavery and California had voted on a slave-state constitution.
c.
wished to bypass the divisive issue of slavery in the territories.
d.
was afraid Mexico would make new claims on the area since gold had been discovered there.
e.
was persuaded to do so by his overwhelmingly northern cabinet.
13. During the debates over the Compromise of 1850, Henry Clay pushed for national harmony while
a.
John Calhoun bitterly opposed any compromise.
b.
President Taylor resigned because of irreconcilable differences within his party.
c.
Stephen Douglas pushed for California to be a slave state.
d.
Jefferson Davis emerged as a voice of moderation.
e.
Daniel Webster made an impassioned argument for secession.
14. What was the impact of Zachary Taylor’s death?
a.
It strengthened the chance for compromise over slavery in 1850.
b.
It put pro-slavery Franklin Pierce in the White House.
c.
It put anti-slavery William H. Seward in the White House.
d.
It prevented California from gaining admission into the Union.
e.
It brought great relief to the nation, because he had started the current sectional crisis.
15. Given the bitterness of the congressional debate, why was Stephen Douglas successful in
getting the Compromise of 1850 passed?
a.
He dropped the question of the slave trade in the District of Columbia.
b.
He could depend on a sympathy vote from supporters of deceased President Taylor.
c.
His support for popular sovereignty allowed many abolitionist senators to vote with him.
d.
He split the issues into separate bills that would be voted on one at a time in Congress.
e.
He was in better health and was more charismatic than Clay.
16. Which of the following elements did the Compromise of 1850 include in its final version?
a.
It granted Texas more territory out of recognition for the heroism citizens there had shown during
the Mexican-American War.
b.
It admitted Utah as a slave state because this would enforce the role of the federal government in
creating such distinctions.
c.
It postponed California statehood for so long that it would not be reconsidered until after the Civil
War.
d.
It confirmed the border between New Mexico and Texas and ended the slave trade, but not slavery,
in Washington, D.C.
e.
It weakened the Fugitive Slave Act to protect runaway slaves who had managed to reach the North
from being returned to the South.
17. In addition to the specifics of its conditions, what was the lasting significance of the
Compromise of 1850?
a.
It won the support even of extremists on both sides of the debate and would serve as an ideal model
for settlements through the modern era.
b.
The word “compromise” proved ironic, for the Civil War erupted almost immediately due to its
passage and the divisions it initiated.
c.
Rather than a true example of factions making concessions, it was an evasive truce that postponed
secession and civil war for a time.
d.
Although anti-slavery groups failed to find it to be adequate, it greatly altered the position of the
group known as the fire-eaters or Ultras on the issue of slavery.
e.
It would make South Carolina far less likely to secede from the Union than other southern states
and, thus, delay the onset of civil war.
18. Why was the new Fugitive Slave Act controversial, in many cases causing outrage?
a.
It offered a strong temptation to kidnap free blacks in northern free states.
b.
It required the licensing of slave catchers.
c.
It guaranteed fugitive slaves a jury trial.
d.
It allowed northern states to become slave states.
e.
It reintroduced the legal international slave trade.
19. Why did Uncle Tom’s Cabin infuriate slave owners?
a.
It was written to convince readers of the benefits of slavery, but few copies were sold.
b.
It demonstrated how the brutal realities of slavery harmed everyone associated with it.
c.
It convinced many poor southern whites to oppose slavery.
d.
Its publication despite its censorship sparked the onset of the first battle of the Civil War.
e.
It was an objective description of life under slavery, especially in its combinations of characters.
20. In addition to Franklin Pierce’s winning the presidency, what was one way the election of
1852 was significant?
a.
The results showed how without their leaders, Clay and Webster, the Whigs had lost virtually all
their support in the Lower South.
b.
The results revealed that the American public had largely rethought its enthusiasm about western
expansion.
c.
The election saw the disappearance of the Free-Soil party from American politics and signaled the
resurgence of the Whigs.
d.
The election was dominated by the recent onset of a major economic depression, which temporarily
took precedence over slavery.
e.
The results marked the failures of candidates who were seen as being in any way similar to
President Andrew Jackson.
21. Stephen Douglas’s proposed Kansas-Nebraska Act
a.
might have allowed slavery in Kansas and Nebraska.
b.
strengthened the Missouri Compromise.
c.
showed his enthusiastic support of slavery.
d.
strengthened his presidential prospects.
e.
promoted construction of a transcontinental rail line along a southern route.
22. Why did so many northern Whigs oppose the Kansas-Nebraska Act?
a.
The act admitted both territories as states.
b.
The act repealed the fugitive slave law.
c.
The act would bring about immediate abolition.
d.
The act repealed the Missouri Compromise.
e.
The act failed to embrace “popular sovereignty.”
23. Passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act was a victory for
a.
abolitionists who sought to keep slavery from the western territories.
b.
immigrant groups in America.
c.
the concept of popular sovereignty.
d.
southerners who wanted a transcontinental railroad to run west from New Orleans.
e.
the preservation of the Union.
24. Why did the Whig party eventually collapse?
a.
It no longer had sufficient numbers of people voting for it because it was entirely at odds with the
Republican Party.
b.
It opposed slavery to such a degree that it lost all support among southern voters and could not
recover.
c.
The strain of the Kansas-Nebraska Act pushed northern and southern members toward joining
different parties.
d.
The Republican party successfully defeated the major Whig candidates in the 1852 election.
e.
Its economic policies were perceived as too socialist considering the recent onset of a major
depression.
25. The Republican party reflected a combination of
a.
fire-eaters and Ultras.
b.
conscience Whigs and anti-slavery Democrats.
c.
Free-Soilers and Know-Nothings.
d.
cotton Whigs and industrialists.
e.
nativists and immigrants.
26. How did passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act impact the settlement of Kansas?
a.
The act’s vagueness about the status of slavery greatly discouraged settlement to the
new state.
b.
Popular sovereignty encouraged supporters and opponents of slavery to flood Kansas to vie for
political control of the territory.
c.
It ensured that Kansas would be admitted into the Union as a free state with a population deeply
committed to abolition.
d.
It made Kansas a slave state with a majority population of slaveholders who had traveled from the
South.
e.
It was similar to the Compromise of 1850 in that it soon provided a sense of resolution regarding
the issue of slavery in a new state.
27. Which of the following statements is true of John Brown?
a.
Although a staunch abolitionist, he refused to engage in bloodshed for any cause.
b.
He wrote the pro-slavery Lecompton Constitution.
c.
He sympathized with slave owners and worried about the southern economy.
d.
He led a massacre against pro-slavery groups, which led to guerrilla warfare in Kansas.
e.
He was fanatically committed to fight to protect the institution of slavery.
28. Why was Preston Brooks regarded as a hero throughout the South?
a.
He convinced many northerners to reject the Republican party.
b.
He violently attacked Charles Sumner who had just given an anti-slavery speech in Congress.
c.
He demonstrated in a powerful speech that both North and South rejected political extremists.
d.
He helped preserve slavery by spreading and emulating a message of pacifism at all costs.
e.
He led the Pottawatomie Creek massacre and killed several abolitionists.
29. In the election of 1856, who was the Republicans party’s first candidate to run for the presidency?
a.
Franklin Pierce
d.
Abraham Lincoln
b.
William Seward
e.
James Buchanan
c.
John Frémont
30. In the 1856 election, which of the following did the Democrats support?
a.
the idea that Congress should refuse to interfere with slavery in the states or territories
b.
the repeal of both the Fugitive Slave Act and the Kansas-Nebraska Act
c.
much of the agenda of the former Whigs, including the idea of slavery as barbaric
d.
the reinstitution of the Missouri Compromise
e.
federal funding for a transcontinental railroad and western expansion
31. A major reason the James Buchanan won the 1856 election was that
a.
the Republicans were mired in political scandal.
b.
the Democrats were the only remaining national party.
c.
the northern Whigs threw their support to the Democrats.
d.
slavery and sectional divisions were not an issue in the election.
e.
the Republicans did not have a candidate to run against him.
32. The Panic of 1857
a.
became by far the worst depression in American history.
b.
ended sectional bickering for a time as groups came together to restore the economy.
c.
greatly weakened the confidence of southerners in their cotton economy.
d.
was triggered by the violence in Kansas as residents feared for their lives.
e.
inspired southerners to insist northerners should embrace slavery to avoid white workers voting
33. On what legal basis did Dred Scott sue for his freedom?
a.
He had married a free woman.
b.
The physical abuse he suffered was illegal.
c.
He argued that slavery was unconstitutional.
d.
He claimed that living for extended periods in areas where slavery was forbidden
made him free.
e.
His father was a free man.
34. What did the Supreme Court rule in Dred Scott v. Sandford?
a.
Slaves who were taken to free states would be considered free.
b.
Slaves who were taken to free territories would be considered free.
c.
The Missouri Compromise was still legally binding.
d.
Blacks did not have citizenship and therefore lacked legal standing.
e.
State bans on slavery did not violate the property rights of masters.
35. What was one major reason the Supreme Court’s Dred Scott decision proved significant?
a.
It granted Dred Scott and many former enslaved African Americans freedom.
b.
The Republicans applauded it during campaigns as an example of justice.
c.
It implied that the Missouri Compromise had been unconstitutional.
d.
It guaranteed the future admission of slave states.
e.
It recognized that free blacks were U.S. citizens.
36. Why was Kansas’s Lecompton Constitution controversial?
a.
It banned slavery even though an overwhelming majority of residents supported it.
b.
It banned slavery but provided an exception to existing resident slave owners.
c.
It legalized slavery even though a majority of residents opposed it.
d.
It allowed each county in Kansas to vote on the legality of slavery.
e.
It advocated for Kansas independence rather than statehood.
37. Why did President Buchanan support the Lecompton Constitution?
a.
He opposed the spread of slavery, and the constitution banned it from Kansas.
b.
He was born in Lecompton and always supported his hometown.
c.
He was politically dependent on northern congressmen, who also supported the constitution.
d.
Southern advisers, who also supported the constitution, influenced him.
e.
Northern advisers and abolitionists convinced him to support it.
38. Which of the following statements accurately describes Abraham Lincoln’s position during the Lincoln-Douglas
debates?
a.
At one point a prominent banker, he opposed the concept of a national bank and sought to
drastically lower protective tariffs.
b.
Although he opposed the further spread of slavery, he showed his own racism in rejecting the idea
of black equality.
c.
A staunch abolitionist, he promised to end slavery wherever it existed and viewed civil war as
inevitable to make this possible.
d.
He relied on his reputation as a military hero and the support this had given him even in southern
states.
e.
He refused to mention slavery to other politicians or during debates because he feared it was far too
controversial and would turn away voters.
39. The Lincoln-Douglas debates
a.
saw Douglas abandon popular sovereignty, which angered his party.
b.
bolstered Lincoln’s eventual presidential prospects although he lost the election to the Senate.
c.
accomplished little in terms of raising Lincoln’s profile as a politician.
d.
demonstrated Douglas’s experiences with poverty and commitment to the working poor.
e.
saw Lincoln endorse the Dred Scott ruling, which created public controversy.
40. John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry was intended to
a.
start a civil war.
b.
unify the Republican party.
c.
provoke slave insurrections.
d.
punish enslaved African Americans for escaping.
e.
provoke a fight with the U.S. Army.
41. John Brown targeted Harpers Ferry, Virginia, because
a.
he knew he had the support of the townspeople.
b.
it was the site of a federal arsenal.
c.
it was an important railroad center.
d.
many abolitionists lived in the area.
e.
it had banks with large deposits.
42. What was the result of John Brown’s raid?
a.
It led to the appointment of John Brown as one of the early generals of the Civil War.
b.
It made civil war far less likely, as Jefferson Davis was temporarily appeased.
c.
It caused restrictions on the movement of slaves to be lifted in Congress.
d.
It created a martyr for the abolitionist cause and set off a panic throughout the slaveholding South.
e.
It received widespread condemnation by abolitionists such as Frederick Douglass.
43. As the election of 1860 approached, the Democratic party
a.
renominated Buchanan.
b.
was silent on the issue of slavery.
c.
condemned the Kansas-Nebraska Act.
d.
was dominated by southern extremists.
e.
broke up into warring northern and southern wings.
44. The Republican party platform in 1860 supported a transcontinental railroad as well as
a.
the acquisition of a colony in Africa.
b.
a higher protective tariff and free farms out west.
c.
an extension of slavery all the way to Arizona.
d.
mainly anti-Whig policies.
e.
the end of designating lands as federal out west.
45. Lincoln won the election of 1860 by
a.
appealing to fear.
b.
sweeping the free states.
c.
carrying the biggest states in both North and South.
d.
massive voter fraud.
e.
changing his position on slavery.
46. What was the state of the cotton economy in the South at the time of Lincoln’s political ascension?
a.
The cotton economy in the South was still thriving at record levels, and although such plans were
not in place, southerners worried that Lincoln was determined to prevent its continued expansion.
b.
The cotton economy had recently taken a serious downturn, and southerners blamed the rise of
Lincoln and his public denunciation of slavery for the lack of people willing to buy southern cotton.
c.
The recent invention of new industrial equipment promised to replace slave labor in the production
of southern cotton, and as a result, Lincoln felt confident planning to free the enslaved population.
d.
Although terrible drought in the South had destroyed most of the cotton crop, the wider American
economy remained intact, which led Lincoln to feel confident that outlawing slavery was viable.
e.
Because the tobacco industry, which also called for slave labor, had expanded and become far more
important to the southern economy than cotton, southern politicians argued for reinstituting the
international slave trade.
47. Why did the states of the Confederate States of America secede after Lincoln’s election?
a.
Lincoln had promised to abolish slavery immediately after taking office, which greatly angered and
scared southerners.
b.
Lincoln was pushing for an invasion of the South in his victory speech, which alerted southerners
that the time had come.
c.
The southern secessionists were convinced that Lincoln would move against slavery despite his
assurances otherwise.
d.
Throughout the campaign, the southern secessionists had secretly planned to invade the North and
impose slavery on the entire Union.
e.
The southern secessionists believed that Jefferson Davis had won the 1860 election but was denied
the office through fraud.
48. What was President Buchanan’s response to secession?
a.
He said he supported it.
b.
He declared martial law.
c.
He abandoned Fort Sumter.
d.
He did practically nothing.
e.
He let Lincoln take office ahead of schedule.
49. What did the Crittenden Compromise propose?
a.
to outlaw slavery in the United States but only after 1865
b.
to guarantee continuance of slavery in the states where it then existed
c.
to guarantee that all new territories would be open to slavery
d.
to give slaves full representation rather than allow them to count for only three-fifths of
a person
e.
to provide a federal slave code for the western territories
50. How did the Civil War begin?
a.
Lincoln got into a heated public argument with Jefferson Davis, and rather than issuing an apology,
Lincoln issued a formal declaration of war as part of his inauguration speech.
b.
Lincoln gave the South a deadline by which they needed to return to the Union to avoid breaking
the law and facing reunification by force, but the South brazenly allowed this deadline to pass.
c.
Jefferson Davis ordered Major Robert Anderson to abandon Fort Sumter and instead engage in
diplomacy, but Anderson ignored the Confederate president’s commands and launched an attack.
d.
The U.S. Constitution had always described slavery as an evil, and Congress finally managed to
reach a consensus that the practice had indeed forever been against the law.
e.
Despite warnings that if the South were to fire first it would unite the public opinion of northerners
against secessionists, Confederates began firing their cannons at Fort Sumter.
ESSAY
1. Explain the issues that led to the Compromise of 1850 and show how the compromise was
fashioned and passed.
2. Explain how the Mexican-American War opened wounds between the North and the South as
it spurred controversy over slavery in the acquired territories. Discuss whether the war could
be blamed for causing the Civil War.
3. What various solutions were proposed to deal with the problem of slavery in the territories?
4. At what point (if any) did the Civil War become inevitable? If you could change historical
events, what would you do at that point to avoid war?
5. What caused the Civil War? (Your answer should not be simply a detailed chronology of
events.)
6. Detail the Wilmot Proviso. What impact did it have on the debate over slavery?
7. Discuss the California gold rush and the mining frontier. How did these pioneers treat Mexicans
and Indians as they settled in the West?
8. Discuss the election of 1852. Which were the major political parties, what were the central issues
of the campaign, and what was the outcome?
9. Trace the Kansas-Nebraska crisis. What were the causes, issues, and results, and how did the country react to the
crisis?
10. Discuss the Dred Scott case and how it impacted the conflict over slavery.
MATCHING
Match each description with the item below.
a.
was a presidential candidate for the Constitutional Union party in the 1860 election and ran on a
highly vague platform
b.
was one of the most experienced presidents but had limited ability, facing events such as the Dred
Scott decision early on that resulted in his undoing
c.
was Franklin Pierce’s friend and secretary of war who was later elected president of the
Confederacy
d.
was a reluctant Whig presidential candidate in 1848 who had previously had no party affiliation
e.
was a South Carolina congressman who openly campaigned for a pro-slavery Kansas and caned
Charles Sumner
f.
was the “Little Giant” who succeeded in getting the Compromise of 1850 passed and saw it as a
way to stop the slavery debate
g.
argued that Congress needed to protect the right of slave owners to take their property into the
territories
h.
was the chief justice for Dred Scott case who was from Maryland and supported the South
i.
was the 1848 Free-Soil presidential candidate, which was unique because he had already been
president as part of a different party
j.
was the president who supported the Compromise of 1850 and who had inherited the office rather
than running for it
1. Preston Brooks
2. James Buchanan
3. John C. Calhoun
4. Jefferson Davis
5. Stephen A. Douglas
6. Millard Fillmore
7. John Bell
8. Roger B. Taney
9. Zachary Taylor
10. Martin Van Buren
