Dr



Dr. Murray

AP U.S. History, 2008-09

Study Questions for Unit 6: The Road to Secession, 1845-1861

Major Issues

What were the roots of American territorial expansion in the 1840s? How did many Americans (especially Democrats) justify this expansion? Why were other Americans deeply disturbed by these developments?

What was the doctrine of "Free Soil"? How was it similar to abolitionism? How was it different? How did southerners respond to this doctrine?

What was the doctrine of popular, or "squatter," sovereignty, and why was it attractive to so many Americans in the late 1840s and early 1850s?

Why did the Compromise of 1850 ultimately fail to stem the increasing tensions between North and South? What role did the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854) play in the disintegration of the Union? How did the emergence of the Republican Party in 1855-56 contribute to the crisis?

What was the significance of the Dred Scott decision (1857)? How did it worsen sectional tensions?

At some point in the troubled decade of the 1850s, did secession become inevitable? If so, at what point? If the nation had been blessed with better leaders, could America have avoided secession and civil war?

Movement to the Far West (Text, Chapter 13, 244-50)

What was the significance of the Webster-Ashburton Treaty (1842)? What was the continuing dispute between the United States and Britain in the Pacific Northwest? How did Mexico's decision in 1822 to allow free trade between its northern provinces and the United States--together with its encouragement of settlement by U.S. citizens in Texas--ultimately contribute to tension between the two nations? What issues increasingly divided American settlers in Texas from the Mexican government? How did the Republic of Texas come into being? Why was it not immediately annexed by the United States? Who were the Mormons, and what were their principal beliefs? How did they end up settling in Utah?

John L. O’Sullivan, from“The Great Nation of Futurity” (1845), American History Online

What is Sullivan's conception of history? In other words, how does he interpret the past? How do the principles of "equality" and "privilege" fit into his interpretation? How does O'Sullivan perceive America's place in the unfolding of human history? To what extent are O'Sullivan's views based on Paine's vision of America as "an asylum for mankind"? How does O'Sullivan's essay serve to justify America's continuing westward expansion?

Texas, Manifest Destiny, and the Mexican War (Text, Chapter 13, 250-56)

Why did the settlement of U.S. citizens in regions beyond the boundaries of the United States (e.g., Texas, New Mexico, Oregon) almost always lead to tensions between the U.S. and the nations that controlled those areas? How did President John Tyler initiate the process of westward expansion? Why did Tyler and John C. Calhoun join forces over the issue of the annexation of Texas? Why was the annexation policy pursued by Tyler and Calhoun so politically dangerous? Why was the annexation strategy of James K. Polk more attractive than the one advanced by Tyler and Calhoun? How did the Democrat Polk manage to defeat the Whig Henry Clay in the presidential election of 1844? What does the defection of a group of antislavery Whigs to form an abolitionist party (the Liberty party) suggest about the future of the Second American Party System? What were the "three main ideas" associated with "Manifest Destiny"? How did the ideology of Manifest Destiny build upon earlier Puritan and Jeffersonian notions? To what does the phrase "Fifty-four forty or fight" refer? What do you make of Polk's negotiations with the British? Was it clever bargaining or blustering stupidity?

To what extent was the war against Mexico a "just war"? Why did the Mexicans take so long to make peace, despite a series of crushing military defeats? What were the terms of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848)? What were some of the reasons why Polk and his advisors decided not to annex all of Mexico? Why was the Mexican War (1846-48) generally unpopular in the North? How did the war contribute to sectional tensions?

Thomas Corwin, “Against the Mexican War” (1847), American History Online

What are Corwin's arguments against the Mexican War? What does he fear will happen as a result of the nation's acquisition of territory from Mexico?

The Legacy of the Mexican Cession: The Wilmot Proviso, the Free-Soil Movement, and the Compromise of 1850 (Text, Chapter 14, 265-69)

Why was it possible to reach a compromise on the slavery issue in 1850, while it would not have been possible to reach a compromise five years later? In what sense did the Constitution protect slavery in the Southern states? To what extent did Congress under the Constitution have the power to determine the status of slavery in the territories? What was the Wilmot Proviso (1846)? Why was the Free-Soil movement more attractive to many Northern whites than abolitionism? What was the ultimate fate of the Proviso? Why did the vote on the Proviso in the House of Representatives bode ill for the future of the two political parties—and the future of the Union? What was Lewis Cass’s idea of “squatter sovereignty” (sometimes known as “popular sovereignty”)? What was the ambiguity contained within this idea? What was the Free-Soil party of 1848, and who supported it? Why was the appearance of this party—like the vote on the Wilmot Proviso two years earlier—a worrisome development? What impact did President Zachary Taylor’s plan have upon the South? How close was the nation to a secession crisis in 1849-50? How did Senators Clay and Douglas help to resolve the impasse? What were the stipulations of the Compromise of 1850? In what sense was it not a true compromise?

"Wilmot Appeals for Free Soil," "Southerners Threaten Secession," "Calhoun Demands Southern Rights," "Webster Urges Concessions," and "Free-Soilers Denounce Webster," American Spirit, Vol. I, 378-85

Why do you think that it is so important to David Wilmot to distinguish between opposing slavery per se and opposing the extension of slavery? On what grounds does Wilmot oppose the extension of slavery to the California and New Mexico territories? How would a Southerner probably respond to Wilmot's arguments? How does Robert Toombs, the Georgia representative, respond to the suggestion that slavery be disallowed in California and New Mexico? What is Calhoun's understanding of the Constitution? What does he want the North to do? Why does Webster see "peaceful secession" as an impossibility? Why did Massachusetts Free-Soilers condemn Webster's support of the Compromise of 1850?

The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, the Collapse of the Whigs, and the Rise of the Republican Party (Text, Chapter 14, 269-75)

In what sense did the Compromise of 1850 actually weaken the Second American Party system? Why did the presidential election of 1852 suggest that the Whig party was in serious trouble? What was the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854), and why did Stephen Douglas construct it? What was the impact of the bill on relations between North and South? What was the bill’s impact on the Second American Party system? What was the “Ostend Manifesto” (1854), and how did it contribute to the political furor? What was the Know-Nothing movement? Where did it come from? Why did it fail to become a replacement for the now-defunct Whig party? What groups joined to form the Republican party in the mid-1850s? What were the Republican party’s main political principles? How did the Republicans exploit the violence in Kansas between pro- and anti-slavery forces? What impact did the surprisingly good showing of the Republicans in the 1856 presidential election have upon the South?

“The Kansas-Nebraska Act, 1854” and “Two Portraits of the West,” The American Record, Vol.1, 285-87

How do the painting and the cartoon reflect the attitudes and values of many northerners in the mid-1850’s?

The Dissolution Continues: Dred Scott, the Lecompton Controversy, and the Lincoln-Douglas Debates, 1857-58 (Text, Chapter 14, 275-78)

How was the growing cultural divide between the North and the South reflected in religion, education, and literature? Why did President Buchanan encourage the Supreme Court to issue a broad decision in the Dred Scott case (1857)? What arguments did the Court majority use in ruling against Scott? What did the Court decide regarding the issue of slavery in the territories? Why was this part of the decision so controversial? What impact did the decision have upon the Republican party? What was the controversy surrounding Kansas’ Lecompton constitution? What role did the Buchanan administration play? What position did Stephen Douglas take? How was the controversy resolved? What impact did the controversy have upon the Democratic party? In the Lincoln-Douglas debates (1858), how did Abraham Lincoln’s views on slavery differ from those of Stephen Douglas--given that Douglas, like Lincoln, had opposed slavery’s extension into the territories, in practice if not in principle? Why could it be said that although Lincoln lost the Illinois senatorial election in 1858, the Republican party was strengthened by the experience?

“The Lincoln-Douglas Debates, 1858,” The American Record, Vol.1, 287-94

How would Southerners respond to Lincoln’s assertion that the nation “cannot endure permanently half slave and half free”? What do you make of Lincoln’s response to Douglas’ accusation that Lincoln favors Negro equality? What are Lincoln’s views on racial equality? What are his views on the morality of slavery? What does he think that we should do about the extension of slavery into the territories? About the continuation of slavery where it already exists? Would you agree with Douglas that prior to 1854, both major parties agreed that the issue of whether or not slavery should be allowed in a particular territory should be decided by the territory’s settlers? Is it true that Lincoln was bent on “abolitionizing” the Whig party? Are Douglas’ views on “Negro inferiority” consistent with his support of “popular sovereignty”? To what extent do Douglas’ views reflect his desire to keep the Democratic party united across sectional lines? Is Lincoln convincing when he asserts that although whites are superior to blacks, slavery is morally evil and inconsistent with the Declaration of Independence? Is he convincing when he defends himself against the charge of abolitionism? Is he convincing when he claims that the Founding Fathers supported his position on the slavery question?

The South’s Crisis of Fear, 1859-60 (Text, Chapter 14, 278-82)

Why did John Brown’s raid on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, VA (1859) convince many Southerners that secession was the only alternative? What was “Helperism,” and why were Southerners as frightened of it as they were of abolitionist-inspired slave revolts? What was the outcome of the presidential election of 1860? Why did the South see it as catastrophic? Of the various explanations that the textbook offers for the sectional crisis, which do you find most persuasive?

“Fire-Eaters Urge Secession” and “The North Resents Threats,” American Spirit, Vol. I, 411-12

What grievances against the North does the Southern editorial present? In the Northern editorial, how does the writer represent the South and its concerns? Assuming that the two editorials accurately reflect public opinion in the two regions, what were the chances of finding a solution to the nation's problems by 1860?

Abraham Lincoln, "First Inaugural Address," The American Reader, 140-43

What arguments does Lincoln put forward to support the view that the Union cannot be lawfully dissolved? What other arguments does Lincoln use to persuade Southerners that secession is a bad idea? To what extent does he go out of his way not to offend or frighten Southerners?

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