Antebellum Era
The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850:
A) Set harsher punishments for runaway slaves
B) Punished anyone for not helping to return runaway slaves, even in free states
C) Banned slavery in some new states
D) Granted freedom to enslaved people after they live for some time in a free state
B) Punished anyone for not returning runaway slaves, even in free states
What was the immediate cause of the secession by the Southern states?
Abraham Lincoln's election as president in 1861
Before his election as president in 1861, Abraham Lincoln:
A) Advocated for the immediate abolition of slavery
B) Advocated for popular sovereignty
C) Advocated for voting rights for Black men
D) Advocated for banning slavery in new states
D) Advocated for banning slavery in new states
List at least two tactics that abolitionists used to further their cause.
- Lawsuits
- Publishing writing and speaking (e.g. William Lloyd Garrison's "The Liberator", Frederick Douglass)
- Armed revolt (e.g. John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry)
- Helping free enslaved people through the Underground Railroad
- Organizing National Black Conventions and Anti-Slavery Societies
Who was emancipated by the Emancipation Proclamation?
Enslaved people in Confederate-controlled areas only.
List at least two ways that the Black Codes restricted the freedom of formerly enslaved people.
What role did slavery play in the annexation of Texas?
White American enslavers settled in Texas and declared independence against Mexico because of its ban on slavery. They then petitioned to join the United States.
Identify the main features of each Reconstruction Amendment.
13th: Abolished slavery in all states (except as punishment for a crime)
14th: Guarantees birthright citizenship & equal protection under the law
15th: Prohibits states from denying the right to vote on the basis of race
List two differences in the economic agendas of Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton.
Jefferson wanted America to be an agricultural society of independent landowners based on slavery. He opposed the expansion of federal power, immigration, industry, urbanization, and dependence on foreign trade.
Hamilton wanted America to be an industrial, urban society based on manufacturing. He supported immigration, foreign trade, and expansion of federal power.
In the case of Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857), how did the Supreme Court decide on the question of citizenship for Black Americans?
Persons of African descent cannot be and were never intended to be citizens under the U.S. Constitution.
Provide two examples of how President Johnson "softened" Reconstruction.
- Pardoned ex-Confederates and allowed them to return to government.
- Returned land to ex-Confederates
- Opposed 14th and 15th Amendments
- Vetoed the Civil Rights Bill of 1866 and the Reconstruction Act
List at least two specific responsibilities that the Freedmen's Bureau had.
1. Establish schools for Black children
2. Provide aid to freedmen
3. Ensure equal treatment under the law for freedmen
4. Oversee land confiscated from white Southerners
Consider the 1820 Missouri Compromise and the 1856 Kansas-Nebraska Act. What problem did both laws try to solve, and how were their solutions different?
Both laws decided whether slavery would be legal in new states. The Missouri Compromise banned slavery south of the Missouri border while the Kansas-Nebraska Act allowed white settlers in new states to decide the question by vote.
Provide two examples of how freedmen took advantage of their newly won rights during Reconstruction.
- Pursuit of education
- Voting and electing Black politicians
- Reuniting with family members
- Migrating into cities
- Pursuing land ownership
In the Compromise of 1850, California joined the US as a free state and the trade of enslaved people was banned in Washington D.C. What did Southerners gain in exchange from this Compromise?
2. Fugitive Slave Act of 1850