Chapter 29 questions

1. List the main features of the New Freedom platform. Compare with the New Nationalism. What writer influenced TR in creating his platform? Which was the more conservative platform?
2. What factors, especially political considerations, gave Democrats hope that they could capture the White House in 1912?
3. What were the unusual features of the election of 1912? Use the information from the map on 730 as well as the actual text in forming your answer. What might have happened if TR and Taft had not split the Republican vote? What about the Socialists?
4. Explain: “Progressivism rather than Wilson was the run-away winner.”
5. Which party was stronger in 1912? Socialists or Progressives? Why?
6. How did Taft eventually find a happy ending?
7. How did Wilson’s heritage (birthplace and religious background) influence specific policies he advocated?
8. What tactic did Wilson use to attempt to “manage” the legislative branch as both governor and president? What impact did his personality have on the effectiveness of this tactic?
9. What three specific things did Wilson target as the cause of the economic inequality in America? Which one was addressed first, and why did this make sense?
10. What is the correlation between the Underwood Tariff Act and the 16th Amendment? How did Wilson get this bill passed despite opposition and lobbying?
11. How did the Federal Reserve Act attempt to fix the specific flaws of the Civil War Banking Act?
12. What two laws passed under Wilson attempted to break the power of the trusts? What were the main powers of the Federal Trade Commission?
13. How did the Clayton Act help labor? What were its main provisions? How historically significant did Samuel Gompers believe this law to be?
14. How did Wilson change the cultural makeup of the Supreme Court? What were the LIMITS of Wilson’s Progressivism, from a social point of view?
15. Create a chart of the specific pieces of major legislation passed during Wilson’s first term in office.
16. Was Wilson imperialist or anti-imperialist? Give a nuanced answer with specific examples.
17. Describe the reasons for Wilson’s less-than-friendly relations with Mexico.
18. How did most Americans regard our obligations at the start of World War I? How did economic ties influence our “neutrality?”
19. Why did German submarines attack non-military ships? Did they attack American ships? Explain why America was outraged by the attacks on the Lusitania, Arabia, and Sussex?
20. What pledges did Germany make, and what was the value of these pledges? What condition did Germany extract from the US in order to give the Sussex pledge?
21. What groups strongly supported Wilson in his re-election bid?

Chapter 27 questions

Chapter 27 Empire and Expansion

Due Tuesday January 28

1. According to pp 669-670, what general event (think Turner) and 8 specific developments (number them as you answer) caused American to turn its attention to the rest of the world by the 1890s? What did the Rev. Josiah Strong advocate, and why?

2. What was the “Big Sister” policy? How did our “little sister” like it, and how did it treat “her?”

3. Explain the meaning of the editorial cartoon on p. 670, and the meaning of the diner, the waiter, and the menu items.  What are the “Sandwich Islands?”

4. List or chart the major diplomatic crises in the late 1880s and 90s and their outcomes. Make sure you include the president at the time, with whom we were tangling, as well as what we were arguing about, and how these were resolved.

5. Who was Alfred Thayer Mahan, and how did influence government policy? What was his main thesis?

6. What details make the Venezuelan border crisis a perfect example of the competition occurring among countries at the end of the 19^th century? How did it alter US-British relations? Who is the eagle, and who is the lion?

7. How did Americans end up in Hawai’i in the 1820s? How did the McKinley Tariff and the treatment of Japanese workers end up influencing the “sugar lords” to attempt to take over the islands officially? How did they manage this? Why did it take until 1898 for Hawai’i  to be annexed by the US?

8. Why did Cubans rebel against Spanish rule, and what tactics did they use? What were the four reasons most American believed the US should support the insurrectos?

9. How did the planned Panama Canal influence our reaction to the Cuban rebellion?

10. What was the USS Maine doing in Havana harbor? What really happened—and what did people suspect? Why did people suspect this? When did the actual truth come out?

11.  Why did McKinley finally declare war on Spain? What is ironic about this decision? What was the Teller Amendment, and why was it passed?

12. Why did the first engagement of the war begin in the Philippines? Who was the American commander? What happened to the Spanish fleet there? Why couldn’t the American forces quickly complete the capture of the islands?

13. What was the most successful engagement of the war, and what made it possible (think back to page 670)? What did this engagement—reveal as a key weakness for the Spanish military? Which part of our own military was the weakest, and why? What were the causes of injury/death of most casualties?

14. What roles did Teddy Roosevelt and Leonard Wood play in the Spanish- American War? What happened when we invaded Puerto Rico in terms of response form the Spanish?

15. What were the terms of the treaty which ended the Spanish American War (including new territories and approximately where they were)? How long had the war lasted, and what did that indicate? What were the greatest controversies over the terms?

16. Why did the Spanish American War actually inflame anti-imperialist sentiment in the US? What did anti-imperialists argue about the acquisition of the Philippines? How did the acquisition of the Philippines  impact American foreign policy vis-à-vis Asia?

17. Explain the situation surrounding the Insular Cases court decisions, and its implications for future American imperialism.

18. How independent was Cuba after the War? Include an explanation of the Platt Amendment in your answer.

19. How did the Filipino people respond to being acquired by the US? Be specific and thorough in your answer, and include an explanation of “benevolent assimilation.” Who was Emilio Aguinaldo?

20. How did America try to compete with other foreign powers in China? How successful were these attempts? What was the Boxer Rebellion, what caused it, and how was it put down?

21. How did Theodore Roosevelt come to be on the presidential ticket as candidate for vice president in 1900? What had he previously done in public service?

22. How did imperialism influence the election of 1800? Describe the platform of both parties. What impact did Teddy Roosevelt have in this area on the Republican ticket?

23. How did Roosevelt end up being president? How did that end up probably annoying the Republican establishment? What was Roosevelt’s stance regarding presidential power and authority?

24. Explain how the Panama Canal was built including explanation of relevant treaties and the US involvement in the Panamanian Revolt from Columbia.

25. How did Roosevelt’s presidency impact our relations with Latin America? What was the Roosevelt Corollary and the so-called “Bad Neighbor” policy, and how were they related?

26. Why did Japan and Russia go to war, and how did the US intervene? How did Roosevelt get rewarded?

27. Explain the “gentleman’s agreement” and the Root –Takahara agreement.

28. How did the “New Left” historians interpret imperialism?

Chapter 26 questions- due Tuesday

The Great West and the Agricultural Revolution

1. Why does the author refer to America as an “acquisitive nation” on page 634? What does this mean in comparison with the culture of Native peoples? What specifically were the specific provocations by whites that often precipitated Indian warfare?
2. Look at the litany of Native displacement that is described beginning in the left hand column on p. 634 through the first half of the right column of text. Think back to our discussions last semester. What caused that wave of migration and warfare?
3. What were basic terms of the treaties between Native nations and the US government in the post-Civil War era?Describe the main characteristics of the reservation system. What benefits did it have for the United States? What facets of Native culture made true negotiation with them difficult? What effect did this have on the legitimacy of treaties?
4. What was a “Buffalo Soldier,” besides being a great song by Bob Marley?

5. Describe the Sand Creek massacre. How fair were the battles between indigenous warriors and the US Army in terms of weaponry, etc.? How did Helen Hunt Jackson and other reformers describe the treatment of the Indians?
6. What did Custer do to upset the peace after the Treaty of Ft. Laramie? What eventually happened to him?
7. How did Lt. William Fetterman indirectly lead to the establishment of the Sioux reservation—and the Battle of Little Big Horn?
8. What was unusual about the Battle of Little Big Horn? Why did the Nez Perce rebel, and what happened to them?
9. How did railroads affect Native American fortunes? How did they affect farmers (see p. 656)?
10. What methods were used to force Indians to assimilate? What about the buffalo?
11. What caused the “Battle” of Wounded Knee? Why is this battle considered to be significant?
12. What were the main features of the Dawes Severalty Act? What were its consequences?
13. What does “Kill the Indian and save the man” mean, and where did that saying come from? How did alleged “friends of the Indian” attempt to “help” the Indians?
14. What was the Comstock Lode? Where was it? What was the significance of the mining frontier in settling whites in the West (and upsetting the Indians)?
15. Women who were able to vote before 1900 were most likely to live where, and why?
16. How did the railroads influence the cattle industry? Describe the Long Drives and their routes. What were the main “cow towns?”
17. What developments forced the development of cattle raising as a big business?
18. What were the provisions of the Homestead Act? What were the advantages and the weaknesses of the Act?
19. What was the difference between the lands to the east of the 100th meridian and those west of it? Wallace Stegner wrote a book entitled “Beyond the Hundredth Meridian: John Wesley Powell and the Second Opening of the West.” What do you think this book is about? What does a hydraulic engineer do (see p. 648)?
20. Who were the sooners, the eighty-niners, and the boomers?
21. Why did farmers convert to cash crops? What effects did this have? How was agriculture mechanized?
22. What pressures did farmers face? What were the Grange and the Farmers’ Alliance? Who did farmers blame for their troubles, and how accurate was that? What happened to prices for farm goods, and why?
23. What were the main beliefs of the Populists? Who was William Jennings Bryan, and what was his point in his “Cross of Gold” speech?
24. Who were “Coxey’s Army?” What happened to them?
25. What did the US government do during the Pullman strike? What does “government by injunction” mean?
26. What was the main beef between “gold bugs” and “silverites?” What did the Gold standard Act do?
27. Summarize some of the main criticisms of Jackson’s frontier thesis.
28. Who were the main Indian leaders mentioned in your book? Match them with their tribe, and the basic area in which they operated (for instance: Chief Joseph, Nez Perce, Nez Perce, Oregon, surrendered to Oliver O Howard, 1877)

Chapter 25 questions

Due next Monday, January 13.

Chapter 25 questions

Answer completely, and always include dates and specific names.

1. What trends/pull factors contributed to the growth of urbanization in the 19^th century worldwide? What were the largest cities in the world by 1900? (what are they now? look them up and see if anything has changed!)
2. What advances in transportation helped cities grow from the size of “walking cities?”  How did people buy groceries and other goods in an urban environment?
3. Describe the types of housing available for the urban poor? What kinds of people lived there, and how did the Great Chicago Fire affect building materials? Describe this disaster.
4. What were the differences between the “New Immigrants” and the “Old?” Who received the harshest treatment, and why? What were the push/pull factors in this wave of immigration for each country (what was going on in Europe)? Did all immigrants stay permanently? Explain.
5. How did political machines flourish in this environment? What services did they provide?
6. How did urban squalor generate religious reformers during the late 19^th century to focus on social issues? Who were some of the leaders and reformist movements in the cities, and what did they do?
7. What did settlement houses try to do, and what kinds of people ran these? Was there a difference between Protestant and Catholic Christian responses? Google “settlement house St. Louis” and report what you find.
8. How did mainline Protestant Christianity respond to scientific development? What specific challenge did Darwin’s work present to some Christians? How was Darwin’s work later (mis)used in regards to the problem of the poor? What was the connection between this dispute and the novel Ben Hur?
9. What work opportunities were available for women in the cities? Was there a difference between jobs for  white women versus women of color? How did marriage fit into women’s working lives? What does “white-collar” mean when speaking of jobs?
10. Why was there a move to restrict immigration by both the APA and the unions?
11. How were American colleges and universities affected during this time? What is a “research university” and a “liberal arts college,” and what were some important ones founded during this time? What is the philosophical movement known as “pragmatism?”
12. What is the connection between the waves of immigration during this time and the status of a free public educational system? Why else did public schools become more common and more rigorous?
13. Make a chart to compare the work and explain the main disputes between Booker T. Washington and WEB DuBois. How did they differ in their visions for the immediate future of African Americans? What in their backgrounds made them so different from each other? Why did Washington receive more support—financial as well as political—from whites?
14. What impact did the industrial revolution have on standard of living and life expectancy?
15. What judgments were leveled at the robber barons in terms of the impact of income disparity in American society by people such as Henry George? What did Edward Bellamy and Horatio Alger think about industry’s impact on society?
16. What philosophy did Andrew Carnegie develop in regards to his massive personal fortune and the proper uses for it? How was this different from other tycoons (be specific)?
17. How did the newspaper industry change during this time, and who were the most famous newspaper publishers? What methods did they use to increase circulation?
18. How did American literature change in the way it portrayed the world? What were some important writers and their books?
19. How did attitudes toward family and personal lives (sex! divorce! Kim Kardashian!) change after the Civil War? What effects did this have?
20. How did women’s rights activists attempt to use women’s “traditional” roles to argue for the expansion of women’s rights? What were some important women’s rights groups and their leaders? Was the temperance movement a women’s rights organization? Explain.

Chapter 24 questions

Due on the first day back from break!

Chapter 24 questions

1. How, specifically, was railroad construction financed (including help from the federal government) in the late 19th century? What were the main railroad companies and the entrepreneurs who were associated with them?
2. What was the only railroad built without government aid? What are “hells on wheels?” How was the first transcontinental railroad completed, by whom (both entrepreneurs and workers) and where did the “wedding” take place?
3. What effects did the creation of a railroad network have on the American economy? How did it affect the telling of time? What technological improvements did the railroads encourage? What industries grew as a result of this network? Why was the Mesabi range important?
4. Explain pools, stock watering, and other dubious means used by railroad “barons” to make a profit. What were they attempting to do to competition? Why weren’t these practices regulated or otherwise halted? What was the first federal regulatory agency in history, and what was it supposed to do?
5. What impact did interchangeable parts and other new technologies have upon employment patterns, including women? What were “Gibson girls,” and what kinds of jobs did they do?
6. Which foreign countries were most involved in investment in American enterprises? How involved were these investors in the actual day-to-day management of American companies?
7. Make a chart comparing and explaining the main businesses and practices of Andrew Carnegie, John Rockefeller, J.P. Morgan, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jay Gould, and James Duke. Make sure to include these terms: interlocking directorate, pool, horizontal integration, trust, holding company,
8. Create a chart of the great inventors and their innovations: Edison, Bell, Bessemer (and Kelly), McCormick
9. What is the difference between “capital goods” and “consumer goods?” Which was most emphasized during this time period?
10. How was US Steel created, by whom, and why was it notable? What other corporations begun during this time are still around today?
11. What did Standard Oil actually do? Where was it located? What products were made from petroleum at this point? What immoral/illegal methods did this company use to ruthlessly crush its competition? What invention would later make this company even more profitable (that most of you can’t imagine living without?)
12. What was “the Gospel of Wealth?” How did this attempt to justify vast accumulations of wealth?
13. What is “Social Darwinism” and “survival of the fittest” in terms of economics? What were the implications then for poor people? What thinkers actually influenced this more than Darwin?
14. How did the 14th Amendment end up being interpreted as helping corporations during this time (and even now)? Be specific.
15. What did the Sherman Anti-Trust Act attempt to do? Why didn’t it work better? What was one group that it was ironically used against that probably hadn’t been anticipated, and what was the reasoning/justification for this?
16. How did the South begin to industrialize during this time? What manufacturing began to develop there, and why? What did Henry Grady urge?
17. What obstacles stood in the way of Southern development? What was the “Pittsburgh plus” pricing system’s impact?
18. What were working conditions like in the factories? What demographic group was most affected by industrialization, and why? How did “punching a clock” change traditional patterns of life? What was the Contact Labor Law of 1885?
19. What methods did companies use to try to suppress unions? Why did much of the general public feel negatively toward unions (consider Haymarket Square and the term “labor trust”), and when did that finally begin to change? Who was John P. Altgeld?
20. Make a chart of the major unions, their leaders, their membership composition, dates, etc. Did any of these survive until today? Don’t forget “Mother…”

Chapter 22 questions- These are due Monday, Dec. 9, 2013

Remember to check the schedule under upcoming deadlines for how the semester has been adjusted due to EOC week.

ALWAYS INCLUDE DATES AND NAMES IN YOUR ANSWERS!!!

1. How did the end of the war affect most Southerners’ views regarding their understanding of the union and their “lost cause?” What happened to most Confederate leaders?
2. How quickly was emancipation implemented? What tasks did most freedmen then set out to do and rights did they claim for the first time?
3. Who were the Exodusters, and how many were there? Where were they headed, and why? Why did this movement end?
4. What was the full name and mission of the Freedmen’s Bureau? Who led it? What was it most successful at? How did white Southerners view it, and why was that kind of spiteful? What precedent did this agency set in terms of government responsibility for citizens? What did Andrew Johnson do to it and why? What impact did this have on his presidency?
5. What factors had led to choosing Andrew Johnson as Lincoln’s vice president in 1864? What group in particular did he champion as a politician? Who were the leaders of the Radical Republicans who opposed him so vehemently?
6. What were the basic differences between presidential and congressional Reconstruction. Start by comparing Lincoln’s plan for Reconstruction with the Wade Davis Bill. Which was more lenient, and why? How was Johnson’s plan unique, and which one was it most similar to? What is the “conquered provinces” theory, and who promoted it? Why were Congressional Republicans concerned about what would happen if the Southern states rapidly regained their representation in Congress?
7. What was the main purpose of the Black Codes? What were the major provisions of these? How did Northerners interpret these kinds of laws?
8. What were the main provisions of the Civil Rights Bill of 1866? What happened to this bill, and why? How is this law connected to the 14th Amendment? What did the 14th Amendment do? What did it say about Confederate officials? Which Southern states ratified the 14th Amendment in 1866?
9. What did the 15th Amendment do? Why were feminists disappointed in it (as well as with the 14th Amendment?
10. Discuss the activities of other groups besides the Freedmen’s Bureau that attempted to help freedmen—the Union League and the American Missionary Association, in particular. How did African American women get involved in securing rights for blacks, and what limits were placed upon them?
11. What were “Radical Reconstruction” governments’ accomplishments? How corrupt were they compared to governments elsewhere? What are scalawags and carpetbaggers?
12. Where, when how, and why did the Ku Klux Klan rise up originally? What were its goals? What attempts did the federal government make to suppress the Klan (include dates!!!!)?
13. Why did Congress finally attempt to impeach Johnson? What was the specific charge? Was this legitimate? How did Johnson escape?
14. How and why did we attain Alaska? Why was this important?
15. What were the basic philosophical controversies that were confronted during Reconstruction, besides how to readmit Southern states to full membership in the Union?
16. Make a chart detailing the intents of each of these laws:
– Military Reconstruction Act
-Tenure of Office Act
-Freedmen’s Bureau Act
-Force Acts

Questions chapter 21

Questions chapter 21

These are due on Monday, December 2.

1. Why was Richmond significant? How far was it from Washington? Why is this significant in choosing the site of the first major battle? What ironic effect did the Southern victory have there, and why?

2. What were the consequences of the 1^st Battle of Bull Run (Manassas)? What did Lincoln hope that a victory there would do, militarily and psychologically? How did Gen. Jackson distinguish himself? What happened at the second battle there?

3. What was the name of the main Union force in the eastern theatre? Who was its commander, and what were his flaws? What was he supposed to do after taking command (make sure you name the campaign as well as explain it)?

4. Describe the intent of the Peninsula Campaign. How did early Confederate strategy affect McClellan? What was the price/consequences to each side?

5. What is total war? Describe its components as practiced by the Union army. How was it to be accomplished?

6. Why was the blockade of the Confederacy implemented so slowly? Why didn’t Britain protest more? What was the policy of “ultimate destination?”  What role did the Virginia and the Monitor play, and what happened to them?

7. By the time after the Battle of Antietam, how many times had the Union army changed commanders? What was the short and long-term outcome of the battle, and why was it so critical? How does the character of the war change after this battle?

8. What was the point of the Emancipation Proclamation, and why was it carefully worded? (See blog for the text of the Proclamation) What was the public response and the perceived significance? What were the specific effects?

9. What new recruiting practice was adopted by the Union army after the Emancipation Proclamation? What difference did this make long-term? How did the South respond to the use of blacks in either army? What did “Remember Fort Pillow!” mean (similar to the movie Glory….)?

10. How did the presence of so many slaves in the South affect the Southern war effort?

11. What were the consequences of giving command to A. E. Burnside? To Hooker? Describe the outcome of the battles with which each was associated.

12. What did Lee and Jefferson Davis hope to achieve in attacking Northern soil after Chancellorsville? Describe the battle that took place and why it contained the “high tide of the Confederacy.”

13. List all of the Union commanders in order up to Grant. How and where did he initially distinguish himself, both positively and negatively? What was his nickname?

14. How and where did the Union Army and the Union Navy work together in the Western theatre of the war? What was the practical effect?

15. Why was July 3-4, 1863 such an important day for the overall outcome of the war? What two battles were fought on Northern soil?

16. How did Grant and Sherman work together in the Eastern theatre? What tactics were utilized in “Shermanizing” the South as he went through Georgia?

17. What political challenges did Lincoln face during the war? How did Lincoln attempt to appeal to the broadest number of voters possible in 1864? Be specific and complete in your answer, and include the influence of the Peace Democrats as well as Copperheads.

18. Why did the Democratic party struggle during the war? Describe the various factions. Who was Clement Vallandingham? Who was Philip Nolan? (see blog for more info). Who did they eventually choose as their candidate to run against Lincoln in 1864?

19. What does “Vote as you shot” imply? How did military events influence the election of 1864? What was the “bayonet vote?”

20. Why was the warfare in 1864 and 1865 referred to as “meat-grinder warfare?” How does the battle at Cold Harbor illustrate this term? How do Lee’s casualty rates compare to Grant’s?

21. How does the war end? Does Grant live up to his original nickname at Appomattox?

22. Why was Lincoln assassinated five days after Lee’s surrender, and how was this actually a “calamity for the South?” What was the “crucifixion thesis” of historians?

23. What issues were settled by the Civil War as “the supreme test of American democracy?”

Chapter 20 questions

Answer fully and in detail with specifics. Use your own words.

1. What geographical truth did Lincoln point out in his inaugural address? Did Lincoln arrive in DC triumphantly? Explain.
2. What crazy scheme did Secretary of State William Seward propose to get the South to, in effect, “nullify” secession? Do you think he was joking?
3. What happened to most of the federal property in seceding states? What were the exceptions, and why were the exception important?
4. Describe the dilemma Lincoln faced regarding Ft. Sumter. How did the events at Ft. Sumter become symbolic to both the North and South? Who fired first, and on what excuse?
5. Why did public opinion change after Ft. Sumter? What is significant about the fact that Lincoln issued a call for 75,000 militiamen?
6. What were the Border states (also list them), and why did they not join the Confederacy? Why was it vital that the North keep these areas in the Union? How did this need influence strategy and goals– what lengths did Lincoln go through to keep them?
7. What happened in Missouri during the war? What about southern Illinois to southern Ohio? In modern Oklahoma (by the way, your book is not exactly correct about this)?
8. Why did Lincoln take care NOT to make antislavery one of his war aims? What WAS his stated war aim?
9. Create a chart about the strengths and weaknesses of the opposing sides. Make sure include military and political leadership, economic strength, etc.
10. What were the main characteristics of common soldiers on both sides? What was the greatest danger soldiers faced during the war? How did supplies impact one side over the other?
11. Why was cotton overestimated by Southerners as a way to gain influence and support overseas? What agricultural product eventually ended up being more persuasive in keeping Britain out?
12. What role did Britain play in the Civil War? Consider especially the blockade of the South by the Union navy (remember the Trent Affair, the Alabama and the Laird Rams). What role did Charles Francis Adams play in keeping the British out of the war?
13. What was the Southern navy like? What is a commerce raider? What role did Canada play during the fighting?
14. Who was Maximilian? How did Napoleon attempt to take advantage of the chaos in America?
15. Describe the strengths and weaknesses of Confederate political and constitutional structure. Why did Lincoln actually have an easier time of it?
16. Describe Lincoln’s record on civil liberties during the war (make sure you review the entire chapter)? Were these justified? Were they constitutional? Explain.
17. What is conscription and why was (is) it controversial? What were ways to evade conscription, and how and why did some protest this method of raising troops? What were the differences between conscription in the North versus in the South?
18. Why were Irish Americans likely to resent being drafted, from an economic standpoint (this is review of material we have discussed in class)?
19. How did the Union attempt to raise revenue to pay for the war? List and explain the various methods used, and their efficacy.
20. What was the intent of the National Banking System? How did each side try to pay for the war?
21. Why did the South have more trouble financing the war? What was the economic impact on the South? Include statistics.
22. Why did the North actually prosper during the war? Include statistics.
23. What corrupt practices occurred during the war, and why were they possible?
24. How did women contribute to the war effort on both sides?

Chapter 19 questions due next Monday

Questions Chapter 19

Answer fully and in your own words.

1. What specific event provoked the writing of Uncle Tom’s Cabin? What impact did it have worldwide, especially politically? How did it impact the enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Law?
2. What previous movement had influenced Harriet Beecher Stowe? Use the index to find where her family (the Beechers) had been mentioned in our text, and summarize their claims to fame.
3. How did Uncle Tom’s Cabin help win the war for the North, both at home and abroad?
4. What was Hinton R. Helper’s argument against slavery? What was the fate of both Uncle Tom’s Cabin and the Impending Crisis of the South, politically and culturally?
5. What were Beecher’s Bibles? Who would use them, where, and why? Who were “border ruffians?”
6. Use specific facts to explain why it was illogical and impractical to think that Kansas would become a slave state. By 1855, what did the Southerners expect to happen to the status of Kansas?
7. How did “squatter sovereignty” lead to illegality and fraud in Kansas’ elections, and who was perpetrating the fraud? Make sure you discuss the dueling capitals and the “rape of Lawrence” as a symptom of this dysfunction.
8. Describe the misadventures of John Brown in this chapter, including his actions at Pottawatomie Creek as well as Harper’s Ferry.
9. What was the trick involved in the Lecompton Constitution? Why would the election over it then appear to be unrepresentative and fraudulent?
10. What stance did President Buchanan take on the Lecompton Constitution, and what effect did this have on the Democratic Party? What stand did Stephen Douglas take, and what were the consequences for his ambitions?
11. Explain why Charles Sumner got beaten to a pulp by Preston Brooks. Why did Brooks decided not to challenge Sumner to a duel? How did this incident– and the responses of the various sections of the country to it– reveal a widening and alarming increase in sectional tensions?
12. Why did Douglas not get the Democrats’ presidential nomination in 1856? What other parties and candidates ran against Buchanan—the Dem’s eventual choice? What were their campaign slogans and basic beliefs?
13. Why did Buchanan win? What were the reasons why the Republicans lost? Why was this probably a lucky thing? What was the significance about this election?
14. Explain the several parts of the Dred Scott decision. What were the consequences of each of these parts? What was considered to be the most outrageous part? How did the Republicans try to deny the legitimacy of the decision?
15. What were the causes of the Panic of 1857? What attitude did the South take after this panic, and why?
16. Why was the idea of free Western homesteads so controversial, both in the East and in the South? Why did Buchanan veto the act passed in 1860?
17. What two economic issues did the Panic provide to the Republicans for use in 1860?
18. Describe Lincoln’s background and early career?
19. What office did Lincoln attempt to gain in 1858? Who was his opponent? How were these officeholders chosen at this time in US history? Who won the seat in the end?
20. Describe the basic points of the argument of each of the candidates during the Lincoln-Douglas debates. How did these debates make Lincoln a national figure?
21. What happened to the Democrats? Explain the outcome of each of the conventions they held in 1860. What did their platform include?
22. Who supported the Constitutional Union Party, and why? Explain the nicknames associated with them. Who was their candidate?
23. What happened to the Republicans as they searched for a presidential candidate in 1860? List the main points of the Republican platform.
24. Explain the claims that Lincoln was a minority president and a sectional president. Why could the Dems not have won even if they had been unified?
25. Explain the timeline for the creation of the Confederate States of America, beginning, of course, with the actions of South Carolina.
26. What did John Crittenden propose? When did he propose it, and why did Lincoln reject it?
27. Explain the phrase “the despotic majority of numbers,” and “vassalage.” Why is the South described as a “subnation?”

Chapter 18 questions- due Monday

Chapter 18 Questions
Make sure answer specifically and in your own words.

1. What did both of the national parties do regarding the discussion of slavery in order to try to maintain appeal in all sections of the nation? What impact did the slavery questions have on party unity and party policy?
2. Why did politicians such as Cass believe that popular sovereignty could be a solution to the slavery question? Explain how popular sovereignty was supposed to work.
3. What four specific consequences did the outcome of the Mexican War have? How did the war impact the election of 1848 and the candidates chosen?
4. Explain the cartoon, including the symbolism used, on p. 417.
5. What were the core beliefs of the Free Soil Party? What specific groups of people supported it? Summarize the argument against slavery that this party advocated. What stance on slavery did each of the main parties take in 1848?
6. In what ways did New York influence both the election of 1844 and 1848 (look back to page 404)?
7. How did the discovery of gold threaten to inflame the controversy over slavery?
8. Pages 420-21 lists specific Southern strengths, and specific Southern fears by 1850. Compare and contrast these. How did California threaten the equilibrium, and how might it be a precedent that concerned Southerners?
9. Explain how the Underground Railroad worked. What method did most slaves utilize to gain their freedom, and yet what did Southerners emphasize as a concern as a matter of principle and honor?
10. What are “fire-eaters” and what did they attempt to do in Nashville in 1850 (see p. 422 and 424)?
11. Who were the “immortal trio,” and what specific plans did they suggest as Congress fought to find a compromise in 1849 over the slavery/territorial issue? What was the point of the Seventh of March speech? What impact did this have on Webster’s public standing?
12. What was the difference between the Young Guard and the Old Guard? What was William Seward’s stance on the controversy? Include nicknames of all involved.
13. To what previous incident does the term “Jacksonize” on p. 423 refer? How did it apply to the slavery controversy? To what were they reacting?
14. Who was the second president to die in office? How did this affect the controversy?
15. Use a chart to explain the various provisions of the Compromise of 1850 and whether each one favored the North or the South.
16. What was the “iron law of nature” mentioned on p. 425? How did it impact the possible future expansion of slavery?
17. Why was the Fugitive Slave Law such an explosive development? What law did it replace? Why did it backfire on the South, becoming a blunder rather than a blessing?
18. What were “personal liberty laws” attempting to do?
19. How was “time fighting for the North?”
20. How did Franklin Pierce become the nominee of the Democrats in 1852? How did he compare with Whig nominee Scott? Who was the Free Soil nominee, and how did he impact the election?
21. What was the state of the Whig party by 1852, and why? Who were “finality men?” What were the main accomplishments of the party?
22. What were the long-term consequences of this election?
23. Where was the first “transcontinental railroad,” and why was it built?
24. Who was William Walker, and what impact did he have on the slavery controversy?
25. How did Pierce miss a chance to go to war in Cuba, and how was this related to the Ostend Manifesto? How did northerners react to news of the “manifesto of brigands?”
26. How did the acquisition of California lead to more attention being paid to Asia? Explain the treaties of Wanghia and Kanagawa?
27. How was the Gadsden Purchase an indication of appeasement to Southerners? What was its purpose? What were the competing claims for either a northern or southern route for a transcontinental railroad? How did the railroad eventually influence national politics over slavery in the territories?
28. What were the expectations about the slave status of Kansas and Nebraska? What did the Kansas-Nebraska Act do, and why? Why did Stephen Douglas sponsor this law?
29. What were the consequences of the Kansas-Nebraska Act? What happened to the Missouri Compromise as a result, and why?