1. Senator John C. Calhoun would most likely
What was Justice Taney’s decision in the Dred
agree with which of the following statements?
a. Preserving the Union is more
important than states’ rights.
b. States’ rights are more important than
preserving the Union.
c. The federal government should have
the power to decide whether states
allow slavery.
d. New territories should be allowed to
determine for themselves whether to
allow slavery.
2. Why did northern and southern Democrats
support Franklin Pierce?
a. Northerners supported him because
he promised to annex Texas as a free
state and Southerners supported him
because he promised to annex Texas
as a slave state
b. Northerners supported him because
he agreed to uphold the Compromise
of 1850 and Southerners supported
him because he agreed to enforce the
Fugitive Slave Act.
c. Northerners supported him because of
his participation in the Mexican-
American War and Southerners
supported him because his
participation in the US Civil War
d. Neither northern or southern
Democrats supported Franklin Pierce
3. What contributed most directly to the Sacking
of Lawrence?
a. The anti-slavery government in
Kansas declared slavery illegal in state
b. Representative Preston Brooks
attacked Senator Charles Sumner
c. The pro-slavery government in Kansas
charged the anti-slavery government
with treason
d. The government began to question
slaveholder's rights in the territories
4. Why would Southern planters oppose the
Wilmot Proviso?
a. It would prevent plantation owners
from moving slaves to land acquired in
the Louisiana Purchase.
b. It would legalize slavery everywhere
except in the Mexican Cession
Territory
c. It would abolish slavery in territory
acquired during the Mexican War.
d. It would only allow slavery below the
Missouri Compromise line.
5.
Scott case?
a. It considered slaves to be property
without rights.
b. It outlawed slavery in all U.S. states
c. It required that slavery not be allowed
in all new states
d. It gave slaves all the rights of U.S.
citizens
6. Which statement summarizes the effects of the
Missouri Compromise?
a. It had little effect on the balance of
slave and free states.
b. It helped ensure a balance of slave
and free states for almost 30 years.
c. It triggered a sharp rise in the number
of free states shortly after 1848
d. It ensured a decrease in the number of
slave states.
7. Which statement best expresses the reaction
of many northerners to the Fugitive Slave Act
of 1850?
a. "This law justly protects the rights of
property owners."
b. "We disagree with this law, even
though it does not affect us directly."
c. "We agree with our southern
neighbors that this is a fair law."
d. "We don't respect this law, and we
won't obey it."
8. When President Abraham Lincoln said to
Harriet Beecher Stowe, "So this is the little
woman who made this big war," he meant
that…
a. her political activities had made war
inevitable.
b. her pro-southern writings had
encouraged the South to secede.
c. her book had provoked people i n both
the North and the South.
d. her opinions about trade had angered
southern planters.
9. Dred Scott sued for his freedom on the basis
that…
a. he had been a resident in a free state.
b. slavery was immoral and unjust.
c. he was kidnapped and sold into
slavery.
d. certain states had allowed African
Americans the right to vote.
10. What was the main idea of Lincoln’s “House
Divided” speech?
 a. Lincoln said that the United States
could not continue to be half Slave and
half Free.
b. Lincoln said that the United States
could continue to be half Slave and
half Free as long as the Union
committed to keeping the Missouri
Compromise line intact.
c. Lincoln pointed out that the division of
one's personal property is an excellent
source of additional income.
d. Lincoln introduced a concept sketch of
a children's game consisting of
interlocking logs which still bears his
name to this day.
11. What was the Freeport Doctrine?
a. It states that territories and states lost
the right to ban slavery after the Dred
Scott decision.
b. It states that European powers are no
longer welcome to establish colonies
in the Western Hemisphere.
c. It stated that America would do
whatever it could to return the world to
normal economic activity after the Civil
War.
d. It states that territories and states kept
the right to exclude slavery, even after
the Dred Scott decision.
12. Why did John Brown mount his raid on
Harper’s Ferry?
a. to free African Americans who had
been captured by the U.S. Army
b. to raise an army of African Americans
and lead them in a revolt
c. to protest the Pottawatomie Massacre
in Kansas
d. to demonstrate that he sided with
Northerners in the debate over slavery
13. Which statement would have been supported
by southern Democrats in 1860?
a. The violence in Kansas illustrates the
problems caused by the Missouri
Compromise.
b. The federal government must do more
to protect US industries from foreign
competition.
c. The federal government does not have
the right to ban slavery in any state or
territory.
d. The Dred Scott decision was an
unfortunate ruling.
14. Which group recognized no political principles
other than the Constitution, the Union of the
states, and the enforcement of the laws?
a. Republican Party
b. Know Nothing Party
c. Free Soil Party
d. Constitutional Union Party
15. How did Lincoln’s and Douglas’s positions on
slavery in the territories differ?
a. Douglas believed the people in each
state should decide the issue; Lincoln
opposed extending slavery in the
territories.
b. Lincoln wanted to extend slavery in the
territories; Douglas did not.
c. Douglas wanted to wait to extend
slavery to the territories; Lincoln
wanted to extend it to the territories
right away.
d. Douglas wanted Congress to decide
the issue; Lincoln wanted each state to
decide the issue.
16. Which of the following best describes the
Pottawatomie Massacre?
a. It occurred in reaction to California's
acceptance into the Union in the
Missouri Compromise
b. It was led by John Brown and a group
of abolitionists outraged at the injustice
of the Fugitive Slave Act.
c. John Brown and his sons avenged the
attack on the town of Lawrence by
killing five pro-slavery men
d. It refers to the night a senator was
beaten with a cane in the Senate
chamber.
17. Which was NOT a direct result of the Kansas-
Nebraska Act?
a. Settlers in Kansas and Nebraska were
able to decide whether to allow
slavery.
b. The Missouri Compromise was
immediately declared unconstitutional.
c. Illegal voting and a repeat election left
Kansas with two opposing
governments.
d. Fiery debate among senators led to
bloodshed in the Senate Chamber.
18. What was the goal of the Free Soil Party?
a. to extend slavery in the western
territories
 b. to give settlers free land in western
territories
c. to ban slavery in the western territories
d. to help runaway slaves reach freedom
19. Why was Sumner caned by Brooks on the
Senate floor?
a. Brooks was an abolitionist and
Sumner had spoken out in favor of
slavery right after the Lincoln-Douglas
debates
b. Brooks was a slaveholder and Sumner
had stolen one of his slaves after the
Fugitive Slave Act was passed
c. Sumner and Brooks were both
abolitionists, but Brooks thought that
Sumner had betrayed the cause by
helping to pass the Kansas-Nebraska
Act
d. Sumner was an abolitionist who spoke
out against slavery after Bleeding
Kansas, insulting Brooks’ relative in a
speech
20. What was the main goal of the compromises
made in the mid-1800s?
a. return fugitive slaves to their owners.
b. establish standards for achieving
statehood.
c. maintain a balance between free and
slave states.
d. end slavery in US territories.
21. What was the effect of the cotton gin on
slavery in the South?
Name:
a. It reduced the need for slaves on
plantations.
b. It increased the demand for slaves to
produce more cotton.
c. It helped improve the slaves' work
conditions.
d. It had no significant effect on slaves or
slavery.
22. Which of the following is an example of
popular sovereignty?
a. In 1837, Michigan becomes a free
state because it is north of Missouri.
b. In 1836, Arkansas becomes a slave
state because it is south of Missouri.
c. In 1849, California voters approve a
state constitution that bans slavery.
d. In 1846, the House of Representatives
bans slavery in territories won from
Mexico
23. Border Ruffians from Missouri voted in the first
territorial election because:
a. they intended to move to Kansas
Territory in the future.
b. they wanted to see if they could get
away with illegally voting in another
state.
c. they wanted the proslavery forces to
take control of Kansas Territory.
d. they did not know where the border of
Missouri was located.
Period:
Short Answer Question: List all 5 parts of the Compromise of 1850. Put the letter N next to the parts that were
favorable to the North, and the letter S next to the parts that were favorable to the South.

1)

2)

3)

4)

5)

Essay Question (6 points): How did sectionalism affect American politics in the decade leading up to the Civil War?
You should write at least two paragraphs, making sure to define sectionalism in your response.
Hint: think about specific political parties, legislation, and events that we talked about in this unit.

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