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Causes of the Civil War

Total questions: 34

Worksheet time: 17mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

Why would southerners rather secede than accept Abraham Lincoln as president?

a)

Lincoln did not receive a majority of popular votes.

b)

Lincoln wanted to stop the expansion of slavery.

c)

Lincoln said he would emancipate all slaves if elected.

d)

Lincoln wanted settlers in territories to vote on slavery.

2.

Which is a correct statement about the Supreme Court's Dred Scott decision of 1857?

a)

The decision pleased both the North and South.

b)

Abolitionists considered the decision a great victory.

c)

Slaves were classified as property without human rights.

d)

Expansion of slavery into new territories was declared illegal.

3.

People who opposed slavery were known as:

a)

Confederates

b)

Sharecroppers

c)

Secessionists

d)

Abolitionists

4.

What compromise created the State of Maine and maintained a balance between free and slave states in the U.S. Senate?

a)

Compromise of 1850

b)

Missouri Compromise

c)

Great Compromise

d)

3/5 Compromise

5.

Who negotiated the Compromise of 1850?

a)

Stephen Douglas

b)

Henry Clay

c)

Barack Obama

d)

Warren G. Harding

6.

During the 1850s, whose freedom was addressed by the U.S. Supreme Court in a landmark case that denied rights to African Americans?

a)

Harriet Tubman

b)

Henry McNeal Turner

c)

Dred Scott

d)

Homer Plessy

7.

Which presidential candidate won the Election of 1860 despite not winning delegates from the slave states?

a)

Andrew Johnson

b)

Andrew Jackson

c)

Abraham Lincoln

d)

U.S. Grant

8.

A deal where California was admitted to the Union as a free state, and the Fugitive Slave Law was passed to help return runaway slaves to their owners regardless of where the slaves were living in the United States.

a)

Missouri Compromise

b)

Compromise of 1850

c)

Kansas- Nebraska Act

d)

Great Compromise

9.

This was a compromise between the North and South that allowed California to enter the union in exchange for the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act.

a)

Compromise of 1850

b)

Missouri Compromise

10.

Supreme Court ruling that declared that African-Americans were not citizens of the United States.

a)

Dred Scott Case

b)

Worcester vs Georgia

11.

The election where Abraham Lincoln defeated three opponents to win the presidency; upon Lincoln’s election Southern states seceded from the Union.

a)

Election of 1776

b)

Election of 1860

c)

Election of 2020

12.

It is the withdrawal of a group from a larger body, especially a political body or nation, but also any organization, union or military alliance.

a)

Nullification

b)

States' Rights

c)

Secession

13.

An act that required runaway enslaved people to be returned to their enslavers if caught anywhere in the United States.

a)

Missouri Compromise

b)

Fugitive Slave Act

c)

Compromise of 1850

d)

All are correct

14.

Why did Northerners and Southerners fight to keep a balance of free and slave states?

a)

to make sure slaves could not rebel against the government

b)

to ensure that one side would not control all of the power in Congress

c)

to make sure the Missouri Compromise does not pass

d)

to make sure land was divided equally between the North and South

15.

What does the term, "popular sovereignty," mean?

a)

that the people do not get to choose the status of the state

b)

that a king will choose for the people

c)

that the people get to vote on whether their state is a free state or slave state

16.

Under the Compromise of 1850, what two factors were included to make the North happy?

a)

California entered the Union as a free state

b)

New Mexico and Utah Territories were granted popular sovereignty

c)

The Fugitive Slave Law was strengthened

d)

The slave trade ended in Washington, D.C.

17.

Under the Compromise of 1850, what two factors were negotiated to make the slave states happy?

a)

California entered the Union as a free state

b)

New Mexico and Utah Territories were granted popular sovereignty

c)

The Fugitive Slave Law was strengthened

d)

The slave trade ended in Washington, D.C.

18.

After the Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed, why did so many people rapidly move to settle in Kansas?

a)

People wanted Kansas to reach 60,000 people

b)

There was a lot of free land for the farmers to grow crops

c)

Many people were chased out of Texas during the Mexican-American War

d)

Abolitionists and pro-slavery individuals wanted to vote in the Kansas election to determine the state's status

19.

What was referred to as "Bleeding Kansas"?

a)

A drought season in Kansas where crops were "bleeding" dry

b)

A civil war that broke out in Kansas between abolitionists and pro-slavery supporters

c)

A period in Kansas where slaves threw multiple rebellions

20.

One of President Lincoln's first major goals was to...

a)

create the Emancipation Proclamation

b)

keep the United States together

c)

End ALL slavery in the country

d)

Keep sectionalism going strong

21.

Missouri Compromise of 1820, Compromise of 1850, and Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 all allowed

a)

The end of slavery to be legally in the United States

b)

the possible extension of slavery to the west

c)

universal public education for all new states

d)

new states in the west to not follow the constitution

22.

To remove or break away as the Southern states did from the Union.

a)

Sectionalism

b)

Elected

c)

Fugitive

d)

Secede

23.

Which of the following BEST aligns with who John Brown was

a)

a violent martyr who was extremely against the institution of slavery

b)

a violent martyr who was extremely for the institution of slavery

c)

a passive aggressive dude who used his words against slavery

d)

a passive aggressive dude who used his words for slavery

24.

This event is seen as the beginning of the Civil War, though not the first battle

a)

South Carolina seceding

b)

Attack on Fort Sumter

c)

Election of Lincoln

d)

Election of Davis

25.

All of the "causes" of the Civil War could be BEST explained by saying..

a)

The country as a whole was confused on if slavery should be in all states

b)

The South was successful in expanding slavery throughout the nation

c)

The United States government created compromises and acts that avoided the real issue of slavery

d)

The United States government created many compromises and acts to fix the issue of slavery

26.

Which of the following gives the BEST reason for the favoritism to the slave owners in the Fugitive Slave Law

a)

Northerners did not like the laws and would try to avoid falling at all costs

b)

Judges would receive higher pay if they ruled to return the slaves to owners

c)

It stretched slavery into the North, expanding the idea of slavery

d)

It created a divide between many abolitionists and slave owners

27.
Who favored city life and manufactured most of the nations products?
a)
North
b)
South
28.
Who was more agricultural and used plantations to grow products?
a)
North
b)
South
29.
In the Dred Scott decision, it was decided that:
a)
African Americans can not be citizens
b)
There cannot be slaves in free states
c)
Slavery is illegal
d)
Maine would be free, Missouri would be slave state
30.
What was the negative effect of the Fugitive Slave act?
a)
Free African Americans were being captured and taken to the South.
b)
Only runaway slaves were being caught and brought back to the South.
c)
It increased slavery in the North.
d)
It decreased slavery in the South.
31.
What state immediately secedes after President Lincoln is elected President?
a)
Texas
b)
Georgia
c)
Virginia
d)
South Carolina
32.
Which event was the immediate cause of the secession of several Southern states from the Union in 1860?
a)
The Dred Scott decision by the U.S. Supreme Court
b)
The election of President Abraham LIncoln
c)
The enactment of the Missouri Compromise
d)
The raid on the arsenal at Harpers Ferry by John Brown
33.

Which of the following was NOT a part of the Compromise of 1850?

a)

California was admitted as a free state

b)

The slave trade was abolished in Washington D.C.

c)

The Fugitive Slave Act was strengthened

d)

Slavery was abolished in the New Mexico and Utah territories

34.

What was the primary economic difference between the North and the South that contributed to the Civil War?

a)

The North relied more on manufacturing, while the South relied more on agriculture.

b)

The South had a more diverse economy than the North.

c)

The North invested heavily in overseas trade, while the South did not.

d)

The South focused on industrial growth, while the North focused on farming.