POW History Book Questions

• Chapter 15!
• What was the purpose of the Missouri Compromise?
• To settle arguments about slavery
• List the five parts of the Compromise of 1850.
• Fugitive Slave Act
• Provided federal jurisdiction to assist slave owners in the recovery of escaped slaves
• California was admitted as a free state
• New Mexico and Utah were organized without restrictions on slavery
• Texas, also unrestricted as to slavery, had its boundaries set and received $10 million for the land that came to be New Mexico
• The slave trade (but not slavery itself) was abolished in the District of Columbia
• What was Stephen Douglas's solution to the slavery issue in the Kansas and Nebraska territories?
• He proposed abandoning the Missouri Compromise and letting the settlers choose whether or not to allow slavery
• How did Abraham Lincoln become a national figure in politics?
• Lincoln was one of the first politicians to stick up for slaves. He thought that if a man worked for what he earned that he was an equal. 
• What was the Dred Scott decision? What did it mean for those opposed to slavery?
• Dred Scott was a slave whose master joined the army as a surgeon and Scott followed him. When Scott's master, Dr. Emerson, died, Dred Scott sued for his freedom, because he had lived in places where slavery was illegal, he was technically free. The case went to the Missouri Supreme Court, and Scott and his family were denied their freedom. 
• The court decided that because Scott was a slave, slaves were considered property, that under the fifth amendment, Congress could not take away property without "due process of law".
• The Republicans and other antislavery groups were outraged and thought the decision was "the greatest crime" and "a wicked and false judgment".
• Why were there four parties and candidates in the president election of 1860?
• The Democratic party split over the slavery issue and nominated two candidates in separate conventions. The Republicans were a new party made up of northern Whigs and others. They were against expansion of slavery and opposed Buchanan. The long existing Whig party died. 
• How did Lincoln plan to prevent secession?
• He said that secession would not be permitted, vowing to hold federal property in the South and to enforce the laws of the US.
• Chapter 16!
• From 1861 to 1865
• They had a strong support from their white, Southern population. They were defending their territory. They had a stronger military leadership. 
• Abraham Lincoln (Union) and Jefferson Davis (Confederacy)
• Nine days after the start of the war, a train of Union soldiers was mobbed by Confederates in baltimore. When medical got to DC Barton tended to wounded soldiers. Then after the First Battle of Bull Run, Barton was given a pass by General William Hammond to ride in army ambulances to provide comfort to the soldiers, at first without success. Finally, on August 3, she obtained permission to travel to the front lines, eventually reaching some of the grimmest battlefields of the war and serving during the Siege of Petersburg and Richmond, Virginia. She delivered supplies and aided the union. She helped surgeons with supplies and helped in the operations for the entire war.
• It would keep the south from exporting cotton and importing supplies for the war. 
• This was a battle where the Confederates outnumbered the Union but the Union won because of their suprise attack. The Confederate Army lost 7,000+ men. 
• All slaves in the Confederate Southern states were free forever!!!
• The Union yet the African Americans fight which aided them because they knew the lay of the land.
• When most of their slaves ran away it left their farmlands in ruin. Their cotton production went way down and trade was cut by as much as 2/3.
• Lee's soldiers had to lay down their arms, but then were free to go home, keep their horses and got enough food for three days. 
• They were not happy. Most of them moved because they did not want to secede from the Union. 
• Who ever had control of the rivers had control of all the trade routs and the river also acted as a barrier for the North after they gained control of it. 
• Both sides of the War needed soldiers and both sides didn't have them so most of the African American were happy to fight for them because it was for their freedom. 
• He had professional military training as well as experience, and was minded and bold. 

Apocalypse Then: To the Civil War & Reconstruction

1.     How had the U.S. changed in the 72 years from Washington to Lincoln?

a.     It had become a pulsing, burgeoning world economic power whose lands stretched over the entire continent.

2.     Who invented the cotton gin? How did the cotton gin change the country?

a.     Eli Whitney

b.     It started the Industrial Revolution in the North, while the South remained an Agrarian/slave-based economy.

3.     Discuss the differences between the North and South by 1860. Why was it two cultures with two ideologies?

a.     North:

                                               i.     1/8 of the population was foreign-born. Europeans started migrating over to escape the famines and political turmoil. They came to America because they were drawn to the myth of unlimited wealth and endless possibility.

b.     South:

                                               i.     The South wasn’t advancing like the North was so their overall population was growing as fast. The slave population however increased immensely from about 700,000 slaves in 1790 to 3.5 million slaves in 1860.

4.     What did future President Grant have to say about the Mexican-American War?

a.     It was “one of the most unjust ever waged by a stronger against a weaker nation”.

5.     How did the U.S. start the Mexican-American War? What did Zachary Taylor do to start the War?

a.     President Polk sent General Zachary Taylor into territory that both the Mexicans and Americans thought was theirs. After months of negotiating to purchase Texas, Polk sent Taylor further into the undisputed territory to the banks of the Rio Grande.

b.     Polk had Taylor cross the river and when a US soldier was found dead and some Mexicans attacked a US patrol, Polk told Congress that a war had been started.

6.     What did Henry David Thoreau do to protest the Mexican-American War? How did this protest change the world?

a.     He refused to pay poll taxes because they were used to finance the war. He then spent a night and jail.

b.     After the war he wrote an essay/lecture that would later be known as ‘Civil Disobedience’.

                                               i.     This essay/lecture would go on to influence Mahatma Gandhi and Gandhi’s interpretation went on to inspire Martin Luther King.

7.     Who was Frederick Douglas? Why was he important?

a.     He was an escaped slave that bashed on the war through his own newspaper. He was able to escape because of the Underground Railroad, which was purposely vague in his autobiography because he didn’t want to danger those who aided his journey.

b.     During the Civil War, he became an advisor for Lincoln. He recruited soldiers for the Union cause and lobbied for their equal pay. After the war, he accepted numerous government appointments and eventually became the ambassador to Haiti.

8.     What was the Underground Railroad? Where did it run?

a.     The Underground Railroad was a loose network of persons who thought that every freed slave marked a victory in the war against slavery. The railroad ran from the South northward through Philadelphia and New York towards freedom in Canada and the Northeast.

9.     Who was Harriet Tubman? Why is she important?

a.     She was born a Maryland slave who made her way to freedom in 1849 only to immediately return to the South to help other slaves escape. She made some 19 trips herself and helped at least 300 slaves to freedom.

b.     During the Civil War she served with Union troops as a cook and as a spy behind Confederate lines.

10.  What was the Compromise of 1850? What bills came out of it?

a.     It was a compromise that would hopefully settle the dispute between the new territories and the economy change of the California Gold Rush

b.     Bills

                                               i.     Fugitive Slave Act

1.     Provided federal jurisdiction to assist slave owners in the recovery of escaped slaves

                                             ii.     California was admitted as a free state

                                            iii.     New Mexico and Utah were organized without restrictions on slavery

                                            iv.     Texas, also unrestricted as to slavery, had its boundaries set and received $10 million for the land that came to be New Mexico

                                              v.     The slave trade (but not slavery itself) was abolished in the District of Columbia

11.  Why was Uncle Tom’s Cabin important?

a.     It showed that slaves had feelings and were mothers, fathers, son, daughters, sisters, and brothers too; there were actual people too. 

b.     Made the Americans realize the injustices that slaves had to go through

12.  What were Lincoln’s words to Stowe about the book?

a.     Lincoln gave Stowe credit for writing the book that started the war.

b.     “So you’re the little woman that wrote the book that made this Great War.”

13.  What was the Kansas-Nebraska Act?

a.     The compromise was that they had popular soverenty but that makes people go to state to vote for what they want

14.  Why was Kansas bloody?

a.     Kansas was where the first battlefield for the civil war was

                                               i.     When pro-slaves fighters attacked the town of Lawrence

15.  What did John Brown do in Kansas?

a.     He attacked a pro-slavery town on Pottawatomie Creek, slaughtering five settlers.

16.  What was the Dred Scott case? What was the outcome?

a.     Dred Scott was a slave whose master joined the army as a surgeon and Scott followed him. When Scott’s master, Dr. Emerson, died, Dred Scott sued for his freedom, because he had lived in places where slavery was illegal, he was technically free. The case went to the Missouri Supreme Court, and Scott and his family were denied their freedom.

17.  How did John Brown have a sense of humor?

a.     When President Buchanan put a $250 bounty on Brown’s head, John put a $2.50 bounty on Buchanan’s head.

18.  What was John Brown’s plan when he attacked Harper’s Ferry?

a.     He was going to take over the arsenal, he had hoped that other slaves would come and fight with him and they would free slaves as they went south. No one showed up and is captured by the Captain.

Chapter 12 Questions

1) What was Manifest Destiny? 
The American's idea that they had a  right/destiny to extend its boundaries across the entire North American continent.


2) The Oregon Territory consisted of what area? Who claimed it?
It lay between the Pacific Ocean, Rocky Mountains and north of California; what is now Oregon, Washington, Idaho, parts of Montana and Wyoming, also including about half of British Canada. The United States claimed land based on Gray's discovery on the Columbia River and Lewis & Clark's discovery. Great Britain's claimed land was based on British explorations of the Columbia River. Spain claimed California, and Russia was in control of land that stretched south from AK into Oregon.


3) Who were the Mountain Men?
Merchants that traded for furs that the Native Americans supplied. They spent most of their time in the Rocky Mountains.


4) Why was the Oregon Trail important?
Oregon fever swept the Mississippi in the early 1840s. The Panic of 1837  hit the region hard and they formed groups to gather information on Oregon and how to get there. The pioneers then gathered all their supplies and moved west in their prairie schooners.


5) Discuss the meaning behind the slogan "Fifty-Four Forty or Fight"?
The slogan for the Democrat party referred to the line of latitude that they believed should be the nation's northern border in Oregon, if it wasn't this way they were going to war!


6) James Polk made what promises to the American public during the election of 1844 (list four - you might need to look up on the internet).
To acquire California from Mexico
To settle the Oregon dispute
To lower the tariff
To establish a sub-treasury
To retire from office after only 4 years (1 term)


7) Discuss how Texas became independent.
Four days before the fall of the Alamo, American settlers and Tejanos declared independence from Mexico and established the Republic of Texas. Texas didn't become a state until 1845 under President Polk.


8) Discuss the battles of The Alamo and San Jacinto.
Alamo:
The Texans, lead by Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, and William B. Travis, fought off Santa Anna's army with rifle fire. On March 6, 1836, Mexican cannon fire broke down the walls of the Alamo. The defenders killed many Mexicans as they crossed open land and tried to climb the walls. There were to many Mexicans to fend off! They entered the fortress and killed Travis, Crockett, Bowie and all other defenders. 


San Jacinto: 
One April 21th, the Texans launched a surprise attack on the Mexicans. They were yelling , "Remember the Alamo! Remember Goliad!" They killed over 600 soldiers and took about 700 captives. On May 14, 1836, Santa Anna signed a treaty that recognizes the independence of Texas.


9) How long did it take the U.S. to annex Texas? Why?
Houston asked Jackson to annex Texas in September 1836. It officially became a state on December 29, 1845. It took about eight years because Jackson and others thought that the addition of another slave state would upset the ratio of free states to slave states. 


10) How did the Mexican-American War start? Why did it start? Was it a "Just War"?
President Polk provoked Mexico. Mexico wasn't paying America for the losses in the Texan War for independence because of border disputes. The Mexicans rejected many of the state's offers to purchase California and New Mexico territory for $30 million. James Polk approached Congress and his cabinet and they decided to send an army to get the money. The Americans set up a fort above the Rio Grande.


The War started because America wanted control of California and the New Mexico Territory (modern day New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and parts of Colorado and Utah.)


The 'Just War' term was used to describe the Mexican-American War because Mexico invaded territories that had been claimed by the U.S., though the American's were too stubborn and absent-minded to recognize that Mexico had also placed claims on the land.


11) What was the American response to the war? 
Some supported and some opposed the war. Some called the war unfounded while others thought it was Manifest Destiny at work. 


12) List the major battles of the war.
Battle of Monterrey
Battle of Mexico City
Battle of Buena Vista


13) What was the cost of the war?

$125 million
1721 Americans dead in war
11,000+ lost to disease


14) Why was the California Gold Rush important?
The Gold Rush boosted economy and population while also making California more prosperous. Also lead some Mormons to Utah in search of religious freedom.


15) Answer the following questions on page 380 - 
#6  
The countries compromised and decided to set the boundary at 49 degrees North.


#7
The addition of another slave state would upset the ratio of non-slave states to slave states.


#8
It would create an ocean borders between America and other nations instead of having a foreign power as the border. By making the ocean the border is safer.


#9
Mexico refused to sell California and New Mexico to the Americans. 
The United States annexed Texas, which the Mexicans thought was illegal.


#10
The gold miners had no other place to purchase their supplies such as food, so the merchants could charge them what ever price they wanted. 


#13
The States almost doubled the size of America by adding California, Texas and the New Mexico Territory. The new border was modified to be cut off at the Rio Grande and to be the ocean.


#14
They were extremely upset and though it was ridiculous.  >=(


#15
The British and the Americans were unable to come to a compromise. Although, in the Mexican-American War case, the Americans were interested in taking all of the land rather than just expanding North. When a compromise was not reached, the war began.

Manifest Destiny

The angel in the painting represents America paving the way across the Plains for the settlers. The artist uses the Native Americans and wildlife to represent a darkness that America is 'getting rid of'. Americans in the East were getting crowded and because of the white man's idea that they have always had the God-Given right to conquer all of America, they decided to move West. The woman is carrying a book (perhaps the Bible or a book of laws?) and a line of telephone wire, symbolizing the 'light' in which she is dispersing across the Western USA. The settlers are following her at a steady pace (covered wagons, ships, trains, etc.), which shows how quickly the idea of westward expansion spread throughout the colonies.