American History Quiz: The Road to the Civil War

What was the purpose of the Missouri Compromise?

• To maintain the balance between free and slave states

• To admit Missouri as a free state

• To expand slavery to all territories

• To abolish slavery in all states

What was the 'gag rule' in Congress?

• A rule prohibiting any discussion on ending slavery

• A rule allowing open debate on ending slavery

• A rule to promote the abolition of slavery

• A rule to maintain the balance between free and slave states

What did the Compromise of 1850 include?

• Legalizing slavery in all new states

• The Fugitive Slave act as well as banning slavery in Washington, D.C

• Repealing the Fugitive Slave Act

• Allowing the buying and selling of people in Washington, D.C.

What did the Kansas-Nebraska Act allow the population of the territory to decide?

• Whether to legalize slavery

• Whether to abolish slavery

• Whether to join the Union

• Whether to become an independent country

Who was Abraham Lincoln's opponent in the 1860 presidential election?

• John Breckenridge

• Stephen Douglas

• John Bell

• Edward Everett

What did the Southern states threaten to do if Abraham Lincoln was elected president?

• To expand slavery to all states

• To leave the Union

• To join the Union

• To abolish slavery

What did the South Carolina state legislature vote for on Dec. 20, 1860?

• To join the Union

• To abolish slavery

• To dissolve the union with the United States

• To expand slavery to all states

What did the Kansas-Nebraska Act repeal?

• The Fugitive Slave Act

• The Compromise of 1850

• The Missouri Compromise of 1820

• The Gag rule in Congress

What did the Fugitive Slave Act require of officials and citizens of free states?

• To capture and return escaped enslaved people

• To help enslaved people escape to free states

• To provide sanctuary for escaped enslaved people

• To ignore escaped enslaved people

What was the purpose of the Maine and Missouri territories wanting to become states?

• To maintain the balance between free and slave states

• To expand slavery to all territories

• To abolish slavery in all states

• To join the Union