Unit 6 Short Answer Questions

B. Explain another specific action taken by Northern abolitionists taken between 1820 and 1860.

Around the 1820s, the effects of the 2nd Great Awakening started to rise throughout the north. Tensions between the North and the South strengthened especially with the North's response to the Fugitive Slave Act. Following 1850, northerners could no longer ignore the brutality of the slave system since this act brought the effects of the system to the North. In response to this, many northerners passed the "personal liberty laws" which offered protection to fugitives. Many whites and free African Americans even protested throughout the North by forming vigilance committees to prevent the slave catchers from carrying out their orders.

B. Explain ONE piece of specific evidence from the period to support your explanation.

Before the admission of California into the nation, the number of free and slave states was at a balance. When California was admitted due to the Compromise of 1850, the free states gained a large advantage over the slave states. The balance of the Senate was now with the free states, and this was the last push for the slave states to believe their rights as citizens were being taken away. With the foreseeable end to slavery, the Southern slave states had to bound together and turn their relationship against the North.

C. Explain one specific piece of historical evidence that contradicts (disagrees with) the Spot Resolutions.

Contrary to Lincoln's skepticism, the war against Mexico was not declared simply out of the mistaken belief that Americans had been attacked on their own soil, but rather out of Polk's covetous desire to obtain California for the Union in addition to Mexico's failure to pay damage claims dating back to the days of the Texas revolution. This slogan of Manifest Destiny, rather, was simply a claim that pushed expansionist American sentiments for war over the top. It was because of this that ultimately the House did not act on Lincoln's resolutions, and Polk remained steadfast in his claim that the conflict was a just war.

8. A. Explain the Missouri Compromise of 1820.

In an effort to preserve the balance of power in Congress between slave and free states, the Missouri Compromise was passed in 1820 admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. Furthermore, with the exception of Missouri, this law prohibited slavery in the Louisiana Territory north of the 36° 30´ latitude line.

C. Explain one specific example of an action taken by radical abolitionists.

John Brown was a radical abolitionist who believed in the violent overthrow of the slavery system. By early 1858, he had succeeded in enlisting a small "army" of insurrectionists whose mission was to stir up rebellion among the slaves. In 1859, Brown and 21 of his followers attacked and occupied the federal arsenal in Harpers Ferry. Their goal was to capture supplies and use them to arm a slave rebellion. The raid at Harpers Ferry is an example of an action taken by the radical abolitionist, John Brown.

C. Explain one specific historical event or concept that contradicts A.

One historical event that contradicts the abolitionist views expressed in this painting was the legislative passing of a more stringent fugitive-slave in law as part of the larger Compromise of 1850. Such a ruling theoretically increased the obstacles a runaway slave must face in order to obtain the freedom that they so desire. Under the new pro-slavery law, runaway sleeves were denied the right to testify in the form of a trial by jury. Fortunately for the slaves, this law was never enthusiastically supported in the north and was in fact completely disregarded following southern antagonism that Northerners harbors end following the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854.

B. Explain one specific historical event or concept that supports A.

One historical event that supported the views presented above was the banning of the future importation of slaves from Africa in 1808. This political action hoped to suppress the "peculiar institution" (as it was referred to by those who claimed its status as an institution that is contradictory of American democratic ideals) by eliminating the source of its expansion. Unfortunately, the slave population continued to increase in the face of this banned importation in the form of natural reproduction.

C. Explain one specific historical event or concept that contradicts the viewpoint represented.

One historical occurrence that contradicts the viewpoint presented above was Abraham Lincoln's Spot Resolution. A common claim of expansionists at the time used the claim that "American blood had been spilled on American soil" to justify a US Declaration of war. Lincoln, questioning such rationale, requested information on the precise spot where this infraction occurred, confirming his skepticism of the waging of war simply to annex new territory for the region.

B. Briefly explain ONE development from the period 1844 to 1856 that led to the point of view expressed by the cartoonist.

One historical occurrence that may have led to this denouncement of the Democratic Party was William Walker's assertion of the presidency in Nicaragua in 1856, whereupon he shortly after legalized the institution of slavery. This was a feeble attempt on the part of the slaveholders to establish a refuge for their beloved institution, to which opposition was quickly being mounted in the US back home. Such an obscure event likely owes its inspiration to the pro-US expansion policies of the democratic president Franklin Pierce, whom the artist criticizes in this drawing.

B. Explain one specific historical event or concept that supports the viewpoint represented.

One historical occurrence that supports the viewpoint presented above was the US Declaration of War against Mexico. President Polk, eager to purchase the California territory from Mexico, sent John Slidell to Mexico to make an offer to purchase the land. Upon Slidell's rejection, Polk, envoicing the will of his expansionist people, declared war against Mexico to fulfill America's covetous desire for this Western region. Such an occurrence shows how influential the concept of manifest destiny was on contemporary political policies and legislations.

C. Explain one specific long-term effect of the Mexican War American War.

One long term effect of the war was the impact of the territorial gains of the US on slavery. The lands acquired from Mexico—most of the present-day American Southwest, from Texas to California—reopened the question of extending slavery into the western territories. The decade and a half following the Mexican War witnessed a series of ineffective efforts to settle the free versus slave state disputes, including the Compromise of 1850, the conflict-breeding Kansas- Nebraska Act of 1854, and the Supreme Court's inflammatory decision in the Dred Scott case of 1857. Ultimately, the slavery question was settled by force of arms, in the Civil War itself.

7. A. Explain one specific cause of the Mexican American War.

One specific cause of the Mexican American War was the idea of Manifest Destiny; the belief that the U.S had a God-given right to occupy and civilize the land "sea from shining sea." When the expansionist-minded administration of U.S. President James K. Polk won the election of 1844, the conquest and annexation of Texas, California, New Mexico and the rest of what is today the U.S. Southwest was of no question to Americans. When Polk's offer to purchase those lands was rejected, he instigated a fight by moving troops into the disputed zone between the Rio Grande and Nueces River. This belief of Manifest Destiny was a specific cause of the Mexican American War.

C. Briefly explain ONE specific historical example that either supports or challenges the view expressed by the cartoonist.

One specific historical example is the Kansas-Nebraska act which gave those states the power to chose to be a slave states. This meant that the Missouri Compromise and the 30 36 line would be repealed. Abolitionist feared the spread of slavery into these territories and felt that slaveholders from the south would establish and maintain slavery in the new territories aswell force it onto the Freesoilers living in those states (hence the cartoon). This eventually lead to the violent conflicts known as "Bleeding Kansas" in which mass migrations of slaveholders and freesoilers. The point of view expressed by this cartoonist is supported by the events that took place and Kansas and the fears that the Free Soil Party had.

B. Explain one specific short-term effect of the Mexican American War.

One specific short-term effect of the Mexican American War was the loss and gain of money after the war. At the end of the war, America had spent an estimated $75 million dollars and was in no position to repay all the debt. Fortunately enough, with the acquisition of California from Mexico, America also acquired the vast gold deposits that led to the Gold Rush of 1849. A total of $2 billion worth of precious metal was extracted from the area during the Gold Rush, which peaked in 1852. This money was easily spent on the Mexican American War debts and contributed to a specific short-term effect of the loss and gain of money after the Mexican American War.

B. Explain one specific piece of historical evidence that supports Lincoln's view in the above passage.

Prior to Texas's independence, the Nueces River was recognized as the northern boundary of Mexico. Spain had fixed the Nueces as a border in 1816, and the United States ratified it in the 1819 treaty by which the United States had purchased Florida and renounced claims to Texas. When Polk claimed that "american blood spilled on american soil", it was not clear exactly where that spot was. In fact, in subsequent public addresses, Polk took care to concede that the land on which the battle took place was disputed territory. This is historical piece of evidence supports Lincoln's request that the Senate know exactly where the skirmish was fought before claiming war on Mexico.

B. Explain the Compromise of 1850.

The Compromise of 1850 was a set of laws passed dealing with the controversial issue of slavery. As part of the compromise California entered the Union as a free state, the trading of slaves was abolished in Washington, DC, the Fugitive Slave Act was passed, a territorial government was established in Utah, and Texas gave up its claim to New Mexico but was compensated with 10 million dollars.

5. A. Explain why the Compromise of 1850 best represents a turning point in the relationship between the North and the South.

The Compromise of 1850 was a set of laws passed dealing with the controversial issue of slavery. As part of the compromise California entered the Union as a free state, the trading of slaves was abolished in Washington, DC, the Fugitive Slave Act was passed, a territorial government was established in Utah, and Texas gave up its claim to New Mexico but was compensated with 10 million dollars. Of all the bills that made up the Compromise of 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act was the most controversial. It required citizens to assist in the recovery of fugitive slaves. What makes this Compromise so important to the turning point in the relationship between the North and South is that the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act made abolitionists all the more resolved to put an end to slavery. The Underground Railroad became more active, reaching its peak between 1850 and 1860. The act also brought the subject of slavery before the nation. Many who had previously been ambivalent about slavery now took a definitive stance against the institution.

6. A. Explain the context of Abraham Lincoln's proposed Spot Resolutions.

The Nueces River was always recognized as the northern boundary of Mexico. When Texas declared its independence, however, it claimed as its territory an additional 150 miles of land, to the Rio Grande. With the annexation of Texas in 1845, the United States adopted Texas's position and claimed the Rio Grande as the border. Mexico broke diplomatic relations with the United States and refused to recognize either the Texas annexation or the Rio Grande border. After being denied the offer of cancellation of Mexico's debt to United States, provided Mexico would formally recognize the Rio Grande boundary, President James Polk ordered General Zachary Taylor to move his troops the Rio Grande River. After a skirmish on the Rio Grande border, Congress declared war. It was in this stage that Lincoln proposed his Spot Resolutions.

C. Explain why ONE of the other options is not as persuasive as the one you chose.

The Wilmot Proviso proposed an American law to ban slavery in any territory acquired from Mexico in the Mexican War. It passed the House twice but failed in the Senate twice, where the South had greater representation. In 1848, an attempt to make it part of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo also failed. The Wilmot Proviso, while decidedly one of the major events leading to the American Civil War, was overshadowed in importance to turning the North and South relations because of its failure to pass in the Senate and failure to become a law.

B. Explain one specific example of an action taken by moderate abolitionists.

The gifted and eloquent former slave Frederick Douglass, a moderate abolitionist and self-educated orator of rare power was most well known for his influential antislavery paper published during the antebellum era, The North Star. It was used to not only denounce slavery, but to fight for the emancipation of women and other oppressed groups. This prominent newspaper is an example of an action taken by a moderate abolitionist, Frederick Douglass. In his thousands of speeches and editorials, Douglass levied a powerful indictment against slavery and racism.

A. Explain the difference between moderate and radical abolitionists.

The goal of the abolitionist movement was the immediate emancipation of all slaves and the end of racial discrimination and segregation. The main differences between moderate and radical abolitionists are in regards to their strategies to abolish slavery. Moderates are willing to change things slowly and one step at a time. They also prefer political methods such as paper publication and petitioning to the government in place of violence. On the other hand, radical abolitionists want drastic change and they want it now. They are also usually willing to use violence to get the job done.

9. A. Briefly explain the point of view expressed by the cartoonist about Territorial Expansion.

The point of view expressed in this 1856 cartoon by John Magee is a condemning one, as it denounces the democrat's support for the expansion of slave territory: a grievance commonly expressed among southerners at the time. Franklin Pierce, the democrat president at the time, closely aligned his policies with the wants of his southern advisers. Written on the democratic platform are territories that the democrats hoped to expand slavery to; it is by the ideal of the expansion of slavery, the artist claims, that all democratic principles are based.

1. A. Explain the point of view presented in the above painting.

This painting, entitled "After The Sale: Slaves Going South From Richmond", depicts a common scene from this period in our nation's history: a slave auction in which scores of doomed peoples were sent away to the dark realm of forced servitude. This painting emphasizes the lack of sensitivity and outright disregard that the white slave traders express for the laments of the slaves as their families are torn apart, never to be reunited again. Therefore, with an emphasis on this cruel aspect of slavery, this painting lends itself to the viewpoint of the abolitionist cause, pushing for this sickeningly immoral separation to be ceased.

4. A. Explain the viewpoint represented in the above painting.

This painting, entitled "American Progress", expresses the viewpoint of manifest destiny, a belief that God had destined the American people to expand across their continent, conquering land and spreading their democratic ideals as they went. This way of thinking was embraced by many Americans during the 1840s, and the presidential victory of James K. Polk can be much attributed to his embodiment of these views. Zealous Americans eager to pioneer the western lands were given the name "expansionists", and they expressed their support for the annexation of territories such as California, Oregon, and Texas.

A. Explain a specific action taken by Northern abolitionists between 1820 and 1860.

Throughout the 1820 to 1860, northern abolitionists dedicated themselves to exposing the brutality of slavery. Many did this by reaching out to the public. People such as William Lloyd Garrison and Harriet Beecher Stowe expanded the truth about slavery by writing "The Liberator" and "Uncle Tom's Cabin". Both authors were loved and hated across America due to their uncompromising position of moral outrage on slavery. For many northerners, these novels painted the true picture of slavery and enhanced the importance of freedom and individual rights. Both these novels outraged white southerners, who feared for the end of slavery and attempted to have the novels banned.

C. Explain a specific action taken by Southern states to counter Northern abolitionists.

Throughout this time period, white southerners focused on defending slavery as a "positive good". They used the power of the church, claiming that the Bible sanctioned slavery. Southerners argued that the Bible demanded submission of the inferior classes and justified slavery through the "Mudsill Theory", a theory claiming that for civilizations to flourish, it was necessary for a lower class of people to do the menial work so that a higher class may engage in more elevated pursuits. As well as this action, men such as George Fitzhugh argued over the hypocritical "free labor" ideology seen in the north. Southern men contrasted the slave system with the "wage slaves" of the north, arguing that those men were not fed or taken care of, and were fired once seen as useless.

C. Make an argument for how the Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850 exemplify either continuity or change.

While distinctly different in their own right, the Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850 exemplify continuity with their manifest intent to compromise ideals between the North and the South. When the Missouri Compromise added Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state to maintain the balance of free and slave states, the Compromise of 1850 entered California to the Union as a free state but also passed the Fugitive Slave Act that favored the Southern states because of its mandate to all citizens to return all runaway slaves. Both compromises served to relieve sectional tension about the slavery debate, but at the same time continued to separate the North and South to lead to the inevitable Civil War.