Unit 5 Review - Civil War

Which TWO statements explain why Southern politicians refused to accept California's petition to enter the Union as a free state before the Compromise of 1850 was reached?

• Southern politicians would make less money if cotton farming spread west.

• The admission of a new free state would upset the balance of power in the Senate.

• Too much unincorporated territory still existed between California and the rest of the United States.

• California's large population would give it too many representatives in the House of Representatives.

• California's admission as a state would violate the Missouri Compromise because of its territorial boundaries.

Answer explanation

One reason the Compromise of 1850 became necessary was because a new free state would create an anti-slavery majority in the Senate. Since the larger populations of free states meant free states already had more representation in the House of Representatives, the slave states feared that legal abolition would follow an anti-slavery majority in the Senate.

The United States purchased Florida from which country?

• England

• France

• Spain

• Germany

What treaty ended the Mexican War and forced Mexico to give up the northern half of its nation to the United States?

• Treaty of Paris

• Treaty of Versailles

• Treaty of Ghent

• Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

Analyze the two quotes below to answer the question that follows:

“The true course in conducting military operations is to make no movement until the preparations are complete” – George B. McClellan

“The art of war is simple enough. Find out where your enemy is. Get at him as soon as you can. Strike him as hard as you can, and keep moving on.” – Ulysses S. Grant

QUESTION: What conclusion can be drawn about how Ulysses S. Grant’s tactics for fighting the Civil War differed from those of George B. McClellan?

• Grant made much more use of military intelligence than McClellan did.

• Grant had more people surrounding him that knew how to win a battle

• Grant adapted his plans quickly while McClellan struggled to deviate from his.

• Grant had no organized plan while McClellan had many elaborate plans.

Answer explanation

McClellan’s desire not to move until all preparations were complete made it harder for him to adapt to changing circumstances than it was for Grant to do so.

In the Southern estates, wealth was based on land ownership and production of cash crops such as cotton.

Which of the following resulted from the Southern states’ focus on the production of cash crops?

• The development of an economy centered on large plantations with most of the wealth owned by a few.

• The development of an economy based on large-scale textile production.

• The development of an economy focused on producing new and better machines to help with farming.

• The development of an economy where many small farms produced the crops.

Read the passage below and answer the question that follows:

"In 1860, the South was still predominantly agricultural, highly dependent upon the sale of staples to a world market. By 1815, cotton was the most valuable export in the United States; by 1840, it was worth more than all other exports combined....

Southern agriculture remained labor intensive while northern agriculture became increasingly mechanized. By 1860, the free states had nearly twice the value of farm machinery per acre and per farm worker as did the slave states, leading to increased productivity. As a result, in 1860, the Northern states produced half of the nation's corn, four-fifths of its wheat, and seven-eighths of its oats....

Free states attracted the vast majority of the waves of European immigration through the mid-19th century. Fully seven-eighths of foreign immigrants settled in free states."

                                                                                                             - Benjamin T. Arrington, National Park Service

QUESTION:

Which THREE conclusions about the Civil War does the passage support? 

• The South had an advantage because it utilized slave labor to produce cotton.

• The South had a population disadvantage because it attracted fewer immigrants, which caused its population to grow more slowly than the Northern population.

• The North had a supply advantage because it produced more food and had a larger population, allowing for the development of a stronger war economy.

• The South had a supply disadvantage because its economy was dependent on trade and could not support itself if trade slowed or was blocked during the course of the war. 

• The North had a manufacturing advantage because its population could produce more raw agricultural goods per acre with equipment than the South could produce with slaves. 

The ________ ___________ allowed Maine to enter the union as a free state and involved the creation of a line that defined slavery and antislavery territories.

"…[We] here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."

Which of the following describes Lincoln’s sentiment in this selection from the Gettysburg Address?

• The Union will win the war because of its principles.

• The Union will fight on in spite of the loss at Gettysburg.

• The Union will defend itself from invasion by the Confederacy.

• The Union will care for the widows of those who died at Gettysburg.

Answer explanation

Lincoln was framing the war not merely as an attempt to preserve a political unit, but as a contest of ideas.

Which politician was instrumental in forging the Missouri Compromise of 1820?

• James Quincy Adams

• Henry Clay

• Stephen Douglas

• Abraham Lincoln

Answer explanation

Henry Clay was known as the Great Compromiser because he helped create the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and the Compromise of 1850.

Which statement BEST summarizes why General Ulysses S. Grant was a more effective commander than most of the generals who commanded the Army of the Potomac?

• He was more willing than General George B. McClellan had been to send soldiers into combat.

• He understood the necessity of the Army of the Potomac to relentlessly pursue the Army of Northern Virginia.

• He, unlike General George Meade, understood that the Confederate states were still United States territory.

• He had more experience winning battles than most of the generals who commanded the Army of the Potomac.

Answer explanation

Grant's strategy was to wear down the Army of Northern Virginia to make Robert E. Lee surrender.