wayground logo

Free Printable Worksheets

Font size

S
M
L
XL
Worksheets

Changing Politics 1820-1860 | READING CHECK

Total questions: 10

Worksheet time: 2hrs 1mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

How does the section “The Missouri Compromise, 1820” relate to the section “The Compromise Of 1850”?

a)

Both sections describe laws that were passed to determine if new states would allow slavery.

b)

Both sections explain the important role Stephen A. Douglas played in eliminating slavery in the United States.

c)

Both sections show the importance of California in the debate over slavery.

d)

Both sections highlight violent encounters between pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces.

2.

Which detail supports the idea that slavery caused lots of arguments?

a)

In 1819, Missouri wanted to become a state.

b)

This meant that there was an equal number of senators from slave and free states in the Senate.

c)

This land included present-day Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, and parts of Colorado and Wyoming.

d)

Southern representatives kept their power in the Senate by refusing to allow new states.

3.

Which sentence from the section "The Compromise Of 1850" explains why California applied to become a state?

a)

New settlers moved west because of the Gold Rush in 1849.

b)

At the same time, the United States had new land from Mexico.

c)

California would enter as a free state.

d)

It also created a harsher law to catch runaway slaves in the North.

4.

The states of Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada, and parts of Colorado and Wyoming were COLLECTIVELY known as....

a)

Louisiana Purchase

b)

Mexican Cession

c)

Gasden Purchase

d)

Oregon Territory

5.

The term "popular sovereignty" is BEST defined as...

a)

the residents, or people, of a region or nation decide an issue by voting

b)

the House of Representatives vote to decide an issue

c)

the Senate votes to decide an issue

d)

the President of the United States decides an issue through executive order

6.

What political leader partially responsible for the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854?

a)

Thomas Jefferson

b)

John C. Calhoun

c)

Henry Clay

d)

Stephen Douglas

7.

Read the section "The Kansas-Nebraska Act, 1854". What is the MOST likely reason for including information about fighting in Kansas and Nebraska?

a)

to highlight that tensions over slavery were leading to violent altercations

b)

to show how the Kansas-Nebraska Act prevented fighting in the United States

c)

to explain why Henry Clay worked to protect slavery in any territories that joined the United States

d)

to describe why free states were required to help slave owners recover runaway slaves

8.

What information will the reader find in the section "The Kansas-Nebraska Act, 1854"?

a)

how quickly the population of western territories grew

b)

whether Missouri was a slave state

c)

how territories above the Missouri Compromise decided about slavery

d)

whether harsh laws would pass to catch runaway slaves

9.
Balancing slave and free states by admitting Missouri as slave and Maine as free was know as the...
a)
Compromise of 1850
b)
Kansas-Nebraska Act
c)
popular sovereignty
d)
Missouri Compromise of 1820
10.

When was the Kansas-Nebraska Act passed?

a)

1820

b)

1850

c)

1854

d)

1861