Kansas-Nebraska Act
What doctrine did the Kansas-Nebraska Act apply to the new territories?
popular sovereignty
Which year was the Missouri Compromise enacted?
1820
One provision of the Compromise of 1850 admitted which state as a free state?
California
What was the central legal holding of the Dred Scott decision regarding citizenship?
The Court ruled that enslaved people were not citizens and could not sue in federal court.
By the mid-1850s, which new party became the primary anti-slavery expansion party in the North?
The Republican Party (Free Soil/Republican coalition).
Explain how the Kansas-Nebraska Act directly overturned the Missouri Compromise restriction.
It allowed territories north of the 36∘30′ line to decide slavery by vote, effectively nullifying the earlier restriction.
Name the two states whose admissions were paired in the Missouri Compromise to maintain Senate balance.
Maine and Missouri
Name the federal law strengthened by the Compromise of 1850 that required the return of escaped enslaved people.
Fugitive Slave Act
Explain one legal consequence the Court’s ruling had for slavery in U.S. territories.
It limited Congress’s authority to exclude slavery from the territories, effectively opening territories to slavery claims.
Name one major Southern political alignment that defended slavery and states’ rights during this period.
Southern Democrats / pro-slavery Democratic alignment.
Describe Stephen Douglas’s political motivation tied to Illinois that influenced his proposal of the Kansas-Nebraska Act.
Douglas sought a transcontinental railroad route through Illinois; he needed southern support, so he proposed popular sovereignty to win passage.
What was the basic geographic line established by the Missouri Compromise that limited slavery in the Louisiana Purchase territory?
36,30 line
Explain how the Compromise of 1850 attempted to address slavery in territories gained from the Mexican-American War.
Allowed for decisions of slavery to be made based on popular sovereignty in territories!
Describe two political or social consequences in the North after the Dred Scott decision.
Consequences: Northern outrage and political mobilization; strengthened fears of “slave power”; increased Republican support.
Explain how the Kansas-Nebraska Act and events in Kansas contributed to the collapse of older parties like the Whigs.
The Act and violence exposed splits in Whig ranks; anti-slavery Northern Whigs and others formed the Republican coalition.
Identify one immediate political consequence of the Act for national parties.
It helped split national parties and encouraged formation of the Republican coalition in the North.
Describe the restriction the Missouri Compromise placed on slavery north of a particular latitude; state the latitude using the historical shorthand.
It promised that any new state above that particular latitude would be free and any below would be a slave state.
Describe one way the Compromise of 1850 increased tensions in the North.
Areas that weren't even officially states could influence whether a place would be free or not.
Analyze how the Dred Scott ruling affected Northern perceptions of any territory being “safe” from slavery.
Many Northerners concluded that no federal guarantee could protect territories from slavery, removing hope for a political safe haven.
Describe how party sectionalization affected the 1860 presidential election outcome.
Sectional parties allowed a candidate with strong Northern support (Lincoln) to win the presidency without Southern electoral votes, precipitating secession.
Analyze how the Act’s reliance on popular sovereignty made peaceful settlement less likely, citing two practical problems in implementation.
Problems: illegal voting (border ruffians) and unclear rules for voter eligibility and status of enslaved people; led to violence and migration of partisans to influence outcomes.
Identify one reason the Missouri Compromise did not apply to territories acquired after the Mexican-American War.
It only applied to land acquired during the Louisiana Purchase.
Assess how the Compromise of 1850 both delayed and contributed to a later crisis over slavery in the territories.
illegal voting, ignoring the Missouri Compromise, allowed for non-states to influence, etc.
Assess the decision’s role in escalating sectional tensions and contributing to the breakdown of national compromise mechanisms.
The decision nationalized the slavery issue and undercut legal compromises, accelerating polarization.
Analyze the transformation of the American party system from 1854–1860, naming at least two new political groupings and explaining their regional bases and positions on slavery.
From 1854–1860 new groups: Republicans (North — oppose slavery’s expansion), Northern Democrats and Southern Democrats (sectional splits), Free Soilers earlier — reflecting clear regional bases and distinct positions on slavery and territorial policy.