Give Me Liberty Ch. 13 A House Divided - Review Questions
What enabled Lincoln to emerge as president from the divisive party politics of the 1850s? (Ch 13 A House Divided Focus Questions)
In seeking reelection, Douglas faced an unexpectedly strong challenge from Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln's speeches combined the moral fervor of the abolitionists with the respect for order and the Constitution of more conservative northerners. Lincoln campaigned against Douglas for Illinois's senate seat. To Lincoln, freedom meant opposition to slavery. Douglas argued that the essence of freedom lay in local self-government and individual self-determination. Douglas asserted at the Freeport debate that popular sovereignty was compatible with the Dred Scott decision. Lincoln shared many of the racial prejudices of his day. Douglas was reelected by a narrow margin
Explain how sectional voting patterns in the 1860 presidential election allowed southern "fire-eaters" to justify secession. (Ch 13 A House Divided Review Questions)
In the eyes of many southerners, Lincoln's victory placed their future at the mercy of a party avowedly hostile to their region's values and interests. Those advocating secession did not believe Lincoln's administration would take immediate steps against slavery in the states. The election of 1860 marked a shift in the power in the beginning of a long period of Republican rule, and what the southerners believed to be an entire way of life at stake. Slaveowners feared Republican efforts to extend their party into the south by appealing to non-slaveholders. Rather than accept permanent minority status in a nation governed by their opponents, the Deep South political leaders struck for their region's independence.
How did western expansion affect the sectional tensions between the North and South? (Ch 13 A House Divided Review Questions)
In the first half of the nineteenth century, the United States and its citizens were moved by a belief in manifest destiny, which held that it was the right and fate of the United States to cover the continent. Technology, specifically in the form of the railroad, dramatically accelerated expansion. Expansion intensified the sectional tension between the North and South by bringing to the forefront the issue of the extension of slavery into the West. Brief compromises relieved the tension from time to time, but no compromise was able to resolve the fundamental differences between the North and South. The Inescapable Sectional Tensions Leading to the Civil War. Compromises concerning slavery, states' rights, and economical issues were created to satisfy the North and South, but were not sufficient enough to ease the differences to prevent the Civil War.
What was the "Slave Power," and why did many northerners feel threatened by it? (Ch 13 A House Divided Review Questions)
The Slave Power were the political leaders of the South who supported slavery. Northerners felt threatened by it because it was opposite of the idea of freedom that America was suppose to represent. If slavery was to expand it would deny people from becoming landowners or getting jobs if a state was to become a slave state. America was split into two political parties the north which was antislavery and the south which was pro slavery. The South had almost equal amounts of people and power as the North in Congress. If more states were to become slave holding states there would be more supporters of slaves in the government. There was a possibility that the whole continent would eventually be a slave holding nation. Slave Power had a influence in congress and threaten the future of the nation with more slavery.
Based on the Lincoln-Douglas debates, how did the two differ on the expansion of slavery, equal rights, and the role of the national government? Use examples of their words to illustrate your points. (Ch 13 A House Divided Review Questions)
Lincoln and Douglas differed greatly on the expansion of slavery such that Douglas was an advocate and Lincoln wanted to prevent it. Lincoln stated that "a house divided against itself will not stand" which meant that he believed the United States should either completely abolish slavery or allow slavery everywhere. Douglas believed in popular sovereignty which allowed each state to decide if they wanted to be a free or a slave state. Though Lincoln was an abolitionist, he did not believe in making blacks equal to whites, which is a point he and Douglas agreed on because Douglas believed that black men should remain inferior. Lincoln supported colonization. Overall, Douglas believed in expansion, popular sovereignty, and self-government, whereas Lincoln believed the United States must choose complete abolition or complete slavery.
How do Lincoln and Douglas differ on what rights black Americans are entitled to enjoy? (Ch 13 A House Divided From letter)
Lincoln and Douglas had different views on the rights for black Americans. Abraham Lincoln was a member of the new antislavery Republican Party. He believed that slavery needed to be ended. He wanted to abolish slavery since he won the presidential election. He was firmly believed that slavery was immoral and wrong. However, Douglas considered that ending slavery would result in war. Douglas thought black people were not the equal of white people, so that whites and blacks were in different social classes. Douglas felt that there was no need to end the slavery. Douglas had no real ideas about slavery.
Why did many Americans criticize the Mexican War? How did they see expansion as a threat to American liberties? (Ch 13 A House Divided Review Question)
Many Americans criticized the Mexican War because it was another war in which a superior country waged violence against a smaller country that basically had no chance of winning. The beginning of the war was a "false start" and not probable cause for a war because Americans claimed that Mexicans had shed blood on American soil when, in fact, that did not happen. Once the United States won, there was a dispute over whether slavery should expand into the newly acquired land from Mexico, which then resulted in the Compromise of 1850--which declared California a free state, included a fugitive slave law, and delayed determination of the slave status in Utah and Oregon. Many people who civilly protested the war against Mexico was thrown in jail, which infringed upon their right of free speech. The people began to see the United States government as acting more of a monarchy than a republic.
What were the major factors contributing to U.S. territorial expansion in the 1840s? (Ch 13 A House Divided Focus Questions)
Most importantly was economic ties with California because of the recent discovery of gold, and then John C. Calhoun's letter which linked the idea of absorbing Texas to the expansion of slavery. Ties with California would promote economic growth for the colonies and absorbing Texas not only added land to the already expanding nation but also created conflict between the two most prominent political parties: the Republicans, who wanted to prevent the expansion of slavery, and the Democrats, who advocated expansion. Eventually, James K. Polk settled territorial disputes with Britain over Oregon, which encouraged further settlement westward.
How did the concept of "race" develop by the mid-nineteenth century, and how did it enter into the manifest destiny debate? (Ch 13 A House Divided Review Questions)
Race during the 19th century was a notion involving color, origin, culture, class, and religion. With the annexation of Texas came the issue of assimilating a lot of non-white Catholics into the United States, which were deemed unfit for citizenship. The Texas Constitution denied civil rights to Indians and person of African origin. Only whites were permitted to purchase land and the entrance of free blacks into the states was prohibited altogether. Expansion into Texas solidified the belief that the west was meant to be a place of opportunity specifically for whites.
Explain the justifications for the doctrine of manifest destiny, including material and idealistic motivations. (Ch 13 A House Divided Review Questions)
The initial justification for expansion westward was the doctrine of Manifest Destiny, which was believed that God intended for the American people to extend their country from the Atlantic to the Pacific ocean. One of the complications of westward expansion was Indian removal from those lands, which then led to the Trail of Tears and the devastation of one of the most prominent Indian tribes of the Native Americans. A major reason as to why so many people flocked westward at once was because of the discovery of gold in 1851. Probably the most important reason for the westward migration was the promise of a better life. So many families lived in poverty in the colonies so when the opportunity presented itself, there was mass migration. People believed gold panning and mining was a quick way to get rich, families sought to start life anew, and the hopes of success.
How does each of the speakers balance the right of each state to manage its own affairs against the right of every person to be free? (Ch 13 A House Divided From letter)
The two sides in this debate, Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas, are polar opposites. Lincoln believes everyone should be free regardless of race and Douglas, from the South, is against any form of negro citizenship or freedom. While Lincoln admits that there will not be any social equality between the races; he states that, "there is no reason in the world why the Negro is not entitled to all the natural rights enumerated in the Declaration of Independence", foreshadowing he intends to use the Federal government to extend the liberties to everyone living in the Union. Mr. Douglas questions why the Union can't remain half slave and half free, essentially calling for two separate divisions under the Union. Stephen Douglas wants the Unionto remain intact and allow each state to decide for themselves whether or not to allow slavery. In the end Lincoln wants the Federal government to have much more control over the states and abolish slavery entirely; whereas Douglas wants the Federal government to retain less control over each state and cater to the freedom of white men only.
Why did the expansion of slavery become the most divisive political issue in the 1840s and 1850s? (Ch 13 A House Divided Focus Questions)
Those who weren't abolitionists wanted to keep slavery because they benefited from it. Morally, most rejected it because they knew deep down that it was a bad thing. There were clearly divided political parties which has to do with the sectionalism between the north and the south. Although slavery was a major issue in the civil war it was not the only issue. Because the north and south were so different in terms of lifestyle(more slavery in the south), it also divided them further.
How did the market revolution contribute to the rise of the Republican Party? How did those economic and political factors serve to unite groups in the Northeast and in the Northwest, and why was that unity significant? (Ch 13 A House Divided Review Questions)
With the railways complete, the economy in the North grew much more rapidly than in the south; unifying the northeast cities, to the northwest farming and commercial centers. The economic integration created the groundwork for their political unification in the Republican Party.
What combination of issues and events fueled the creation of the Republican Party in the 1850s? (Ch 13 A House Divided Focus Questions)
Slavery was one of the main reasons. Whigs in the north that were truly against slavery had a lot to do with this idea. They wanted to keep slavery out of the territories. Land distribution throughout the western United States was also a factor that played a role in the creation of the Republican Party. In doing this many new tariffs were produced.
Why did Stephen Douglas, among others, believe that "popular sovereignty" could resolve sectional divisions of the 1850s? Why did the idea not work out? (Ch 13 A House Divided Review Questions)
Stephen Douglas believed that popular sovereignty could resolve sectional differences because clearly there is a distinction between states beliefs and that there was no way they could compromise and meet in the middle. He believed in the use of slaves and intended on fighting for popular sovereignty to keep slaves in use. The idea did not work out because he could not change the mind of all people and wein fact already have our government written and signed by our founding fathers. Slaves are not humane and it was at a time that most people in the north and some in the south thought that it should be abolished.
What do the California gold rush and the opening of Japan reveal about the United States' involvement in a global economic system? (Ch 13 A House Divided Review Questions)
That were are becoming a global economy. we were producing alot of gold that would be used everywhere and then it was also the first time in 2 decades japan communicated with a foreign government. this opened up two ports for fueling so that we could trade with china.
What three questions did the Supreme Court address in the Dred Scott case? Assess the court's arguments.
The Dred Scott case brought up three main question to the Supreme court: 1. Could slaves sue in court since they technically weren't citizens? 2. Could Congress prohibit slavery in a territory? and finally 3. Did residence in a free state make a slave free? The court ruled that since slaves did not have any rights that a white man must respect, which included suing in court, then slaves technically couldn't sue. Because the case raised a lot of important questions, the Supreme Court decided to press on anyway, ruling that Congress does not have the power to prohibit slavery in a territory, and he remained a slave even though he had residence in a free state.
What were the final steps on the road to secession? (Ch 13 A House Divided Focus Questions)
-Attack on Harpers Ferry -Southern states' refusal to put Lincoln on the ballot -Election of Abraham Lincoln-->southern states felt their interests were not represented and their rights weren't recognised -Incumbent President Buchanan did nothing to stop secession movement from gaining momentum -Rejection by Lincoln of Crittendon Compromise -Deep South seceded, and Upper South followed.
Why does Lincoln believe the nation cannot exist forever half slave and half free, whereas Douglas believes it can? (Ch 13 A House Divided From letter)
Douglas believes that the nation can exist forever as half slave and half free because that is how the founding fathers formed the nation. Douglas also argues that the nation has been half slave for many years why can't it continue. Lincoln argues that the founding fathers wanted to restrict slavery not to expand it. Lincoln says that slavery should not be expanded because it also restrict white people from finding new homes and ways to improve their life. Douglas argues that the white people who owns slaves have the right to do what they want and is the same as people who are not slave holders. Lincoln argues that there is something wrong with the people who find nothing wrong in the issue of slavery and defend it. Lincoln believes that the rest of the nation should become free.