WorksheetsEOC Spot Check Road to Disunion Day 01
Total questions: 3
Worksheet time: 9mins
Use the following quotes and image to help you answer the following questions.
"In no trial or hearing under this act shall the testimony of such alleged fugitive be admitted in evidence, and the certificates in this and the first section mentioned, shall be conclusive of the right of the person or persons in whose favor granted, to remove such fugitive to the State or Territory from which he escaped."
Except from the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850
"But we must all consider whether there is not a higher law than the Constitution which regulates our authority over the domain, and devotes it to the same noble purposes."
Senator William H. Seward's speech (1850)
"The Fugitive Slave Law is an insult to the moral sense of the community. It is an outrageous demand upon Northern freemen to become the tools of slaveholders in sustaining a system which they abhor."
Quote from an article in the abolitionist newspaper "The Liberator" (1851)
Based on the quotes, how did many Northern abolitionists respond to the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850?
They believed moral beliefs were more important than obeying unjust laws.
They supported following all laws, even if they protected slavery.
They prioritized economic growth over moral arguments against slavery.
They believed only state laws should be followed, not federal ones like the Fugitive Slave Law.
Use the newspaper article and painting to help you answer the following questions.
How did the Kansas-Nebraska Act’s use of popular sovereignty contribute to the violence shown in the images?
It allowed settlers to decide the status of slavery, leading to violent clashes between pro-slavery and anti-slavery groups.
It required Kansas to allow slavery, which caused conflict with nearby free states.
It forced federal troops to patrol Kansas, increasing armed resistance.
It banned slavery in Kansas, which angered Southern settlers.
Who is the individual shown in the second image, and what was his role in the violence in Kansas?
John Brown, who led anti-slavery raids and attacks against pro-slavery settlers
Stephen Douglas, who passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act and promoted compromise
Jefferson Davis, who encouraged pro-slavery forces to occupy Kansas
Abraham Lincoln, who condemned slavery but avoided direct conflict in Kansas
Please use the excepts from Chief Justice Roger B. Taney's opinion in the Scott v. Sanford decision to help you answer the following questions
Chief Justice Roger B. Taney's Opinion on the status of African Americans (1857):
"The legislation and histories of the times, and the language used in the Declaration of Independence, show, that neither the class of persons who had been imported as slaves, nor their descendants, whether they had become free or not, were then acknowledged as a part of the people, nor intended to be included in the general words used in that memorable instrument."
Chief Justice Roger B. Taney's Opinion on Property Rights (1857)
"And if Congress itself cannot do this — if it is beyond the powers conferred on the Federal Government — it will be admitted, we presume, that it could not authorize a Territorial Government to exercise them. It could confer no power on any local Government, established by its authority, to violate the provisions of the Constitution."
According to Chief Justice Taney’s ruling in Scott v. Sandford, what was the impact of the decision on the legal status of African Americans?
It ruled that African Americans could not be citizens and had no rights under the Constitution.
It granted African Americans the right to vote in federal elections.
It declared that African Americans were free in all states and territories.
It had no significant impact on the status of African Americans.
How did the Dred Scott v. Sandford decision impact Congress’s authority over slavery in the territories?
Congress could not prohibit slavery in the territories because it violated the property rights of slaveholders.
Congress had full authority to abolish slavery in the territories.
It allowed each territory to decide on slavery through popular sovereignty.
It required Congress to pass laws expanding slavery into all U.S. territories.
