The American Pagent Questions

“The American Pageant” Chapters 16-22 Assignment Questions:
1) What were the terms of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and what piece of previous legislation was repealed by the Kansas-Nebraska Act?
The Kansas Nebraska act would split the proposed Territory of Nebraska in half thus making Kansas and Nebraska. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 was repealed by the Kansas Nebraska Act as it violated the original proposal of abolishing slavery above the 36°30’ line.
2) What does the term “bleeding Kansas” refer to, and how does it relate to popular sovereignty?
The term “Bleeding Kansas” refers to the violence between those who were pro-slavery and those who were anti-slavery in Kansas. Many Northerners moved to Kansas as did Southerners to persuade the vote in an either pro or anti-slavery direction. The breaking point came in 1865 when proslavery raiders burned a part of the anti-slavery town of Lawrence. It related to popular sovereignty as each side tried to use it to their advantage in the voting booth.
3) How did Harriet Beecher Stowe’s book “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” increase hostility between the North and South?
The book exposed the wickedness of slavery. With strong imagery and the touching plot of the story, the book left a profound impression of slavery in the North.
4) What was the Underground Railroad?
The Underground Railroad was a chain of “stations” (antislavery homes/safe houses) through which scores of “passengers” (runaway slaves) were led by “conductors” (white and black abolitionists) from the slave states in the south to the free sanctuary of Canada.
a. Who was called “Moses” and why?
Harriet Tubman was called “Moses” because during 19 forays to the south, she rescued more than 300 slaves (including her aged parents).
5) What was the basis for the Dred Scott lawsuit?
The Dred Scott lawsuit was based on a black slave, Dred Scott, who had lived with his master for 5 years in Illinois and Wisconsin Territory. Backed by interested abolitionists, he sued for freedom on the basis of his long residence on free soil.
a. What was the Supreme Court’s ruling in the case, and the rationale for its ruling?
The Supreme Court ruled the case as invalid because Dred Scott was a black slave and black slaves were not yet considered citizens of the United States at the time so he did not have the right to sue in Federal Courts.
b. What piece of legislation was declared unconstitutional by this decision, and why was it considered unconstitutional?
The Compromise of 1820 was declared unconstitutional. This is because Congress had no power to ban slavery from the territories regardless of what territorial legislatures themselves may want.
6) What was the goal of the Republican Party prior to the Civil War?
The goal of the Republicans before the Civil war was to prevent slavery in the territories.
7) What was the significance of the Election of 1860?
The election of 1860 was the election in which Abraham Lincoln was elected. Lincoln was a republican and he would be the first to become President. Lincoln’s party were against slavery and wanted to abolish it. This election hung the issue of peace or civil war.
8) What led to the secession of southern states, and the formation of the Confederacy?
The southern states started seceding even after the election of Abraham Lincoln, some even before his inauguration, because they thought he would abolish slavery. The southern state’s economies were heavily dependent on farming cotton and tobacco, which were grown on large plantations that slaves worked on. Four of the seceding states, South Carolina (December 1860), Mississippi (January 1861), Georgia (January 1861), and Texas (February 1861) issued formal declarations of secession and stated that they were exercising their rights as states and that the government favored the economies of the north over the economies of the south. The states that ended up seceding were South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Louisiana, and Texas. These states formed the Confederacy on February 4, 1861, made Richmond, Alabama their capital and elected Jefferson Davis as president.
9) Identify the four Border States, and explain why they were unique.
The four Border States in the civil war were Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri. The Border States were unique because they were slave states that never declared secession from the U.S. The Border States were not sure which side they were on and as a result there were both pro-union and pro-confederate governments in Kentucky and Missouri. People in the Border States fought for both the Confederates and the Union which often caused families to split and fight against one another. There were about 170,000 men on the Union side and 86,000 men on the Confederate side in these Border States. The Border States witnessed a larger amount of guerilla warfare. After the civil war the Border States did not receive reconstruction like the confederate states did because the border states never left the Union, but they did go through their own readjustment phase. Even though the Border States never left the Union the Emancipation Proclamation did not apply to them. Two of the Border States, Maryland and Missouri, abolished slavery but Delaware and Kentucky kept it until the 13th amendment was ratified.
10) What were the North’s advantages going into the Civil War?
The North was more industrialized than the South and had the ability to produce better weapons. The population of the North was also greater than that of the South and as a result, the North had a larger army.
11) What was the North’s strategy for fighting the Civil War, and what were the three initial parts of their plan?
The North followed the Anaconda Plan. The three initial parts of this plan were to blockade the South’s ports, capture the Mississippi River, and then capture the Confederate capital of Richmond, Alabama.
12) What was the purpose of the Northern blockade?
The North enacted the blockade in order to prevent the South’s navy from being able to send or receive supplies and effectively cut off their communication with the rest of the world.
13) What were the South’s advantages going into the Civil War?
The South had more experienced military leaders in comparison to the North, and they were defending their land instead of invading land. They also had a passion for what they were fighting for.
14) What was the South’s strategy for fighting the Civil War?
The South wanted to use the strategy of “attrition” or winning by not losing. The south aimed to win the Civil war by avoiding large full-scale battles and using guerilla warfare. The plan of the south was to wear out the Union to the point where it wasn’t worth it for the Union to fight them anymore. The south also attempted to gain recognition in the world and gain the assistance of Britain or France to even out the war just like in the Revolutionary War.
15) What was the role of foreign powers in the Civil War?
While the United States was at war with each other, Europe took advantage of America’s distress. The Trent affair between the US and Britain during late 1861 forcibly removed two Confederate diplomats bound for Europe. The Anglo-American relations arose over the un-neutral building in Britain of Confederate commerce-raiders. In 1863, London openly violated its own leaky laws and seized another raider being built for the South, in order for Britain to remain truly neutral, Confederate-commerce-destroyers captured more than 250 Yankee ships which crippled the American merchant marine.
16) What was the purpose of the Emancipation Proclamation?
Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 declared freedom for all of the slaves in the South forever.
a. What prohibited slavery everywhere in the United States?
The prohibition of slavery everywhere in the United States was legally achieved by the ratification of the Thirteenth Amendment in 1865, eight months after the Civil War had ended.
17) What was Lincoln’s primary goal at the beginning of the war?
Lincoln’s primary goal at the beginning of the Civil War was the keep the Union whole.
18) What new technologies were introduced in the war?
New technologies that were introduced in the war include the eight and a half ton federal mortar, the railroad flatcar, and miles of railroad track.
19) What was the first battle of the Civil War?
The first battle of the Civil War was at the Battle of Bull Run.
a. Which battle illustrated that the war would not be quick or easy?
The Battle of Bull Run illustrated that the war would not be quick or easy.
b. Which battle was the turning point of the war, and why?
The Battle of Gettysburg was the turning point of the war because it was the most decisive of the Civil War.
c. Why was the battle of Vicksburg significant?
This battle helped the Union gain control of the Mississippi River which was a major part of the Anaconda Plan. The loss of the Mississippi split the Confederacy in half. Furthermore, combined with the defeat of Robert E. Lee at Gettysburg on the previous day, the Confederacy faced economic problems as the prices of war bonds dropped significantly.
d. Which Union general practiced total warfare, and what was the result?
William Sherman practiced total warfare. Sherman’s March destroyed industry, infrastructure, and civilian property. This disrupted the economy and transportation networks of the South. Although his methods were brutal, but he shortened the struggle and saved lives by instilling fear into the enemy.
e. Who were the generals in command of the Union and Confederate forces?
The general in command for the Confederate forces was Robert E. Lee and the general in command of the Union forces was Ulysses S. Grant.
20) What is the significance of the Appomattox Court House?
The Appomattox Court House is where General Robert E Lee was surrounded and eventually defeated by Ulysses S Grant. It was one of the last major battles fought in the war and with Lee’s defeat, the army of the confederates was disbanded. Grant met with Lee on Palm Sunday and granted generous terms of surrender, and the Confederate were allowed to keep their horses for spring plowing.
21) Who were the Copperheads, and what was their role during the war?
The copperheads were the people who wanted peace and openly opposed the Civil war. The role of the Copperheads in the Civil war was to promote peace between the Confederacy and the Union although they favored the Union.
22) Compare and contrast the three Reconstruction Plans.
The three Reconstruction Plans were Lincoln’s plan, Johnson’s plan, and the Radical Republican Congressman’s plan. Lincoln’s plan and Johnson’s plan gave amnesty to former Confederate officials and officers. Lincoln’s plan required Confederate officials to swear an oath of loyalty to the Union. The Radical Republican Congressman’s plan did not pardon former Confederates. Lincoln’s plan said that if 10% of the state swore an oath to the Union they could write a new constitution, elect state officials, and send representatives to Congress, this was also known as the 10% Plan. Johnson’s plan accepted Lincoln’s 10% Plan. The Radical Republican Congressman’s plan created a committee to judge the qualifications of Southerners elected to Congress and refused to seal Southern representatives. Both Lincoln’s plan and Johnson’s plan allowed the individual states to determine the status of freed slaves. The Radical Republican Congressman’s plan supported Freedman’s Bureau (1865), which required food, clothing, shelter, job training, and education to be provided to blacks in the South and prosecutions to those who denied former slaves their civil rights, the Civil Rights Act (1866), which banned discrimination by states based on race, and the First Reconstruction Act (1867), where freed slaves had the right to vote and hold office.
a. Which plan was most harsh and most lenient, and which plan was implemented?
The Radical Republican Congressman’s Plan was most harsh and Lincoln’s plan was the most lenient. The plan to be implemented would be Johnson’s plan.
23) Identify and describe the three Reconstruction Amendments.
The three Reconstruction Amendments were the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth amendments. The Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery. The Fourteenth Amendment included the privileges and immunities clause, applicable to all citizens, and the due process and equal protection clauses applicable to all persons. The Fifteenth Amendment prohibits discrimination in voting rights of citizens on the basis of race.
24) What was the purpose of the Freedman’s Bureau?
The purpose of the Freedman’s Bureau was to aid distressed freed slaves during the Reconstruction era. It provided clothing, food, water, health care, communication with family members, and jobs to freed slaves.
a. What were Black Codes?
Black Codes were laws passed by Southern states in 1865 and 1866. These laws had the intent and the effect of restricting African Americans’ freedom and compelling them to work in a labor economy on low wages or debt.
b. What was the Ku Klux Klan, and what was their goal?
The Ku Klux Klan (KKK) was a group which advocated extremist ideologies such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration. Their goal was to politically defeat the Republican Party and maintain absolute white supremacy in response to newly gained civil and political rights by southern blacks after the Civil War.
25) What was the Tenure of Office Act, and why was it significant?
The Tenure of Office Act denied the President the power to remove anyone who has been appointed or approved by Congress. This act is significant because President Andrew Johnson violated it by attempting to remove Secretary of War Edwin Stanton which led to Johnson’s impeachment.
26) What ended Reconstruction, and what was the result?
The Compromise of 1877 and removal of the remaining federal troops from the South ended the Reconstruction era. The end of the Reconstruction era resulted in all the southern states drafting new constitutions, ratifying the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments, and pledging loyalty to the Union.
27) What were the sharecropper/tenant farmer systems?
Sharecropping/tenant farming was a system of near slavery without legal sanctions. The recovery of the southern economy depended on getting the freed slaves back into farming but they were not ready to manage their own farms. Landowners or planters would give each freed slave’s family a small plot of land to farm and provided food, shelter, clothing, and the necessary seeds and farm equipment. When the crop was harvested, the landowner or planter took the crop and gave half of the proceeds to the tenant.
28) Who were Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois?
Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois were African American leaders that pushed for equality. Booker T. Washington was an educator, author, orator, and an advisor for the President of the U.S. Booker T. Washington was the dominant black leader from 1890-1915 when he died. Booker T. Washington’s Atlanta compromise made him nationally famous. The Atlanta compromise insisted on avoiding confrontation over segregation and focusing on long-term educational and economic advancement of Black people. W.E.B. DuBois initially supported the Atlanta compromise but then founded the NAACP. W.E.B. DuBois became an opponent of Booker T. Washington as they fought to be the dominant black leader after this. W.E.B. DuBois was a sociologist, historian, civil rights activist, and an author. W.E.B. DuBois graduated from Harvard and was the first African-American to earn a Doctorates degree. W.E.B. DuBois was the leader of the Niagara movement which supported equal rights for blacks. W.E.B. DuBois strongly protested against racism, lynching, discrimination in education and employment, and Jim Crow laws. After Booker T. Washington died in 1915 W.E.B. DuBois took the lead with his organization the NAACP.
29) What was southern segregation laws called, and what are some examples?
The southern segregation laws were called the Jim Crow laws. Jim Crow laws separated the whites from the blacks in many ways. Some examples of the Jim Crow laws are segregation of public schools in which there were white only and colored only schools, public places were split into white and colored sections, public transportation was split into colored and white spots like colored train cars and white train cars or whites at the front and colored in the back of the bus, restrooms were specified as colored or white along with water fountains, even the military was segregated. The colored only things were normally not very good quality and with a low standard while the white only things were significantly better.
30) Which Supreme Court case upheld segregation using the idea of “separate but equal”?
The Supreme Court case that upheld segregation using the idea of “separate but equal” was the Plessy vs Ferguson case. In the time of the Plessy vs. Ferguson case there was a separate car act. The separate car act required trains to have colored and white accommodations. Homer Plessy boarded a white car and refused to leave it. Homer Plessy got arrested. The people of New Orleans fought for Mr. Plessy’s right and wanted to repeal the Separate Car act. Homer Plessy went against the state of Louisiana on this case and argued that it violated the 13th and 14th amendments. The court ignored Plessy’s case and charged him a $25 fine and right after that Homer Plessy took advantage of the Writ of Prohibition. Homer Plessy appealed the case and was sent to the Supreme Court of Louisiana which also denied him. The case was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court and tried again. The U.S. Supreme Court made a 7 to 1 (one of the justices was not there) decision that Homer Plessy’s rights were not violated in any way by the state of Louisiana and stated that the law was “separate but equal”.