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Antebellum Period- Causes of the Civil War 1820-1860

Total questions: 30

Worksheet time: 2hrs 46mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

Why did the Founding Fathers choose not to abolish or get rid of slavery completely while drafting the Constitution in 1789?

a)

they all believed slavery was the only path for black people

b)

they needed the Southern states to form a united and bigger country for protection from the British, Spanish and other countries

c)

the cotton gin came out and all of the Founding Fathers who owned slaves would make a great profit

d)

the Founding Fathers all owned huge plantations, and they needed slaves for the land

2.

What United States federal law states “that if you add a slave state to the United States, then you must add a free state as well”?

a)

The Missouri Compromise of 1820

b)

The 3/5 Compromise of 1789

c)

The Great Compromise of 1789

d)

The Jackson Compromise

3.

When did the Transatlantic Slave Trade end according to the United States Constitution?

a)

1750

b)

1798

c)

1808

d)

1815

4.

What did David Walker’s Appeal ask slaves to do in the South in 1830?

a)

turn to God and he will give you freedom

b)

be kind to your masters and they will feel guilty and thus set you free eventually

c)

use passive aggressive tactics to rebel

d)

rise up and kill the white slave masters

5.

As a direct result of the “The Appeal,” what slave led a rebellion that killed 55-60 white slave holding families in 1831, and what law did Virginia pass to stop slave rebellions?

a)

Gabriel Prosser

b)

Denmark Vesay

c)

Nat Turner

d)

Frederick Douglas

6.

What former President and abolitionist was a lawyer and defended the Amistad slaves in front of the Supreme Court of the United States in 1841?

a)

John Quincy Adams

b)

Andrew Jackson

c)

Martin Van Buren

d)

John Tyler

7.

Why was Democratic President Martin Van Buren against freeing the Amistad slaves at the trial of 1841?

a)

Because he was a former slave holder

b)

he owned the Amistad ship

c)

he did not believe the slaves from Africa

d)

because he needed Southern slave states to vote for him during reelection

8.

In the movie Amistad, what was the result of the Amistad Supreme Court case of 1841?

a)

The Amistad slaves were put into prison because slavery was legal in the U.S.

b)

The Amistad slaves were freed because the slave trade had been against the law for 30 years

c)

The Amistad slaves were free because Connecticut is a free state

d)

The Amistad slaves were not free because the Supreme Court liked the Southerners

9.

In 1845, what two states did President James K. Polk make into slave states?

a)

Ohio and Indiana

b)

Pennsylvania and Maryland

c)

Texas and Florida

d)

North and South Carolina

10.

Which slave escaped in a box from Maryland in 1849?

a)

Henry Brown

b)

Harriet Tubman

c)

Frederick Douglass

d)

Sojourner Truth

11.

In 12 Years a Slave, where was Solomon Northup born, and what city was he kidnapped from in 1841?

a)

He was born in Trenton, and he was in South Carolina when he was kidnapped

b)

He was born in Philadelphia, and he was in Chicago when he was kidnapped

c)

He was born in Baltimore, and he was in North Carolina when he was kidnapped

d)

He was born in New York, and he was in Washington DC when he was kidnapped

12.

The Compromise of 1850 was a deal that said if you pass the Fugitive Slave Act for the Southern slave states, what did the Northern states want in return?

a)

California to be a free state

b)

Pennsylvania to be a free state

c)

Illinois to be a free state

d)

Texas to be a free state

13.

Which political party had most of its followers and members support the institution of slavery from 1828 until 1865?

a)

Republicans

b)

Democrats

c)

Whigs

d)

Free-Soil

14.

What was the main idea of the Kansas Nebraska Act of 1854, and what President signed it into federal law? (Read carefully)

a)

it said you must return an escaped slave to its slave master, and President Franklin Pierce signed it

b)

it said you must return an escaped slave to its slave master, and President Milliard Fillmore signed it

c)

it said that a state may have people within that state vote on whether or not they wanted slavery legalized in Northern free areas, and President Franklin Pierce signed it

d)

it said that a state may have people vote within that state on whether or not they wanted slavery legalized, and President Andrew Jackson signed it

15.

The term “Bleeding Kansas” from 1854-1856 refers to which one of the answers below?

a)

slave holders were going around and killing fugitive and runaway slaves in Kansas

b)

the fighting between anti-slavery abolitionists and pro-slavery Border Ruffians in Kansas

c)

abolitionists killing slaveholders in Kansas

16.

The Caning of Charles Sumner in 1856 was an event that described

a)

an abolitionist Charles Sumner was beat, caned, and paralyzed by a Southern Congressmen Preston Brooks because Sumner insulted the Congressmen’s cousin personally

b)

an abolitionist named Charles Sumner was beating and caning a Southern slave holder named Andrew Butler and killed him on the U.S. Senate floor

c)

an abolitionist was beat to death on the streets of Washington D.C. by Southern slaveholders

d)

a slave holder beat and caned to death another slaveholder for letting their slaves go free before the end of their lives

17.

What was John Brown’s Plan in Harper’s Ferry, West Virginia in 1859?

a)

march to Washington D.C. kill President Buchanan because supported the South

b)

rob a weapons factory and lead a slave rebellion to free all slaves in Virginia and beyond

c)

protest slavery by dousing himself with gasoline and lighting himself on fire

d)

assassinate President James Buchanan, who lets the South keep their slavery

18.

Who was the only black person to survive the Harper’s Ferry Raid, and where did this person go afterward?

a)

Harriet Tubman and she escaped to Canada to write a book

b)

Martin Delany, and he escaped to California to act in a play

c)

Osbourne Perry Anderson, and he escaped to Canada to write a book of the experience

d)

Frederick Douglass, and he escaped to Cuba to write a book of the experience

19.

What was Abraham Lincoln's First Opinion of what to do with Slavery? What did he say to try and have Southerns relax and not be so paranoid?

a)

end slavery everywhere right away and invade the South

b)

end slavery gradually and slowly and keep the peace with the South.

c)

keep and allow slavery in the South, but do not let it spread in the Northern territories

d)

end slavery in the South and pay the slaveholders for their losses

20.

What novel or book exposed the evils of slavery to white Northerners unaware of the brutalities of slavery in 1853?

a)

The Scarlet Letter

b)

Uncle Tom's Cabin

c)

The Prince

d)

A Tale of Two Cities

21.

When the Southern states broke away from the United States, what was the name of that country, and who were its President and Vice President in 1861?

a)

Confederate States of America, and Jefferson Davis and Alexander Stevens were the two leaders

b)

Stars and Stripes, and Abraham Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin were the leaders

c)

Southern Belt, and James K. Polk and Zachery Taylor were the leaders

d)

Slave States, and Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson were the leaders

22.

What was the direct cause of the Southern states leaving and separating from the United States?

a)

Not enforcing the Fugitive Slave Act

b)

Distributing books that preached against slavery

c)

Election of Abraham Lincoln as President

d)

Fighting in Kansas territory between pro and anti slavery voters

23.

What federal law was passed by Congress as a response to the Underground Railroad successfully guiding runaway slaves to safety for 15 years, and what President signed off on it?

a)

Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, and it was signed by Andrew Jackson

b)

Kansas Nebraska Act, and it was signed by Milliard Fillmore

c)

Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, and it was signed by Milliard Fillmore

d)

Wilmot Proviso, and that was signed by Zachary Taylor

24.

In 1857, what did the Supreme Court decide in the Dred Scott case?

a)

they decided black people were not citizens could not sue in court, and Dred Scott was still a slave

b)

they decided that Dred Scott was a free man and the federal government was wrong

c)

they decided Dred Scott had to pay his master again to be free

d)

they decided Dred Scott was free, but could never go back to the South again.

25.

On April 12, 1861, what event led to the start of the actual Civil War?

a)

Caning of Charles Sumner

b)

John Brown's Harper's Ferry Raid

c)

The Siege and Firing on Fort Sumter

d)

The Battle of Bull Run

26.

What newspaper did Frederick Douglass publish during the years of slavery?

a)

Freedom Journal

b)

The Liberator

c)

Uncuffed

d)

The North Star

27.

The Northern abolitionists tried 3 non-violent actions below to resist stop slavery, but what answer was not used to resist slavery?

a)

Killing a President or a Governor

b)

Understand Railroad

c)

Free Produce Society and boycott Southern crops

d)

Great Mail Campaign

28.

Which slave escaped from Maryland in 1849, suffered from fainting, and helped greatly in the Underground Railroad?

a)

Joseph Cinque

b)

Martin Delany

c)

Frederick Douglass

d)

Harriet Tubman

29.

What Supreme Court justice wrote the majority decision in the Dred Scott Supreme Court Case, and what was the main idea of that decision?

a)

Justice Roger Taney, and he said black people were inferior to white people since the Declaration of Independence and are not citizens

b)

Justice Benjamin Curtis, he said black people have all the rights that white people do in free states and he does not see why they are treated so poorly.

c)

Justice Roger Taney, he said black people are in fact citizens and have a right to sue in court

d)

Justice Benjamin Curtis said black people have o rights at all

30.

What year did the Civil War begin between the North and the South?

a)

1850

b)

1855

c)

1859

d)

1861