Key Events and Concepts of the Civil War

What was the primary cause of the American Civil War?

• States' rights

• Economic differences

• Slavery

• Nationalism

What was a significant impact of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850?

• It allowed states to decide on slavery through popular vote.

• It required all citizens to help return suspected runaway slaves.

• It created a new political party dedicated to ending slavery.

• It established a transcontinental railroad through Illinois.

What principle did the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 formalize regarding slavery in new territories?

• Abolition of slavery in all new territories.

• The right of Congress to decide on slavery in territories.

• Popular sovereignty, allowing residents to vote on slavery.

• The immediate admission of Kansas and Nebraska as free states.

What was a direct consequence of the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the conflicts in Kansas?

• The immediate end of slavery in all U.S. territories.

• The formation of the Republican Party, opposing the expansion of slavery.

• A peaceful resolution to the debate over slavery in the West.

• The election of James Buchanan as a strong anti-slavery president.

What was the main reason Congress delayed Kansas's entry into the Union?

• The Lecompton Constitution was seen as fraudulent.

• Kansas wanted to join as a slave state, but Congress opposed it.

• There was not enough population in Kansas to become a state.

• Kansas had not yet written a constitution.

What was a major outcome of the Supreme Court's Dred Scott decision?

• It declared that all enslaved people in the US were immediately free.

• It established that Black Americans had the same rights as white Americans.

• It ruled that Black people were considered property and had no rights a white person had to respect.

• It allowed new territories to decide on slavery through popular sovereignty.

What was the main goal of John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry?

• To negotiate a peaceful end to slavery with Southern leaders.

• To capture weapons and distribute them to enslaved people for a rebellion.

• To establish a new independent state for formerly enslaved people.

• To protest against the Fugitive Slave Act.

What was the immediate consequence of Abraham Lincoln's victory in the 1860 presidential election?

• The immediate abolition of slavery across the United States.

• A peaceful resolution to the debate over slavery.

• Several Southern states seceded from the Union.

• The formation of a new political party dedicated to preserving the Union.