Flashcards on Causes of the American Civil War
Causes of the American Civil War: A Student's Guide
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American Civil War Political Causes
18 cards
Card 1
Question: What immediate political issue began Topic 3 and triggered conflict between North and South?
Answer: The Compromise of 1850, which began over California's request to be admitted as a free state.
Card 2
Question: Why did California’s request for admission as a free state alarm Southern leaders?
Answer: Because adding another free state would make slave-holding interests a minority in Congress.
Card 3
Question: What were the main provisions of the Compromise of 1850?
Answer: California admitted as a free state; Fugitive Slave Law strengthened; popular sovereignty on slavery in Utah and New Mexico; slave trade abolished in
Card 4
Question: How did the slavery debate relate to the issue of states’ rights?
Answer: The debate framed slavery as a states’ rights issue, with Southern leaders arguing state authority over federal power; states’ rights repeatedly re-em
Card 5
Question: Which event in 1859 increased tensions between North and South by demonstrating violent abolitionist action?
Answer: John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry in 1859, an unsuccessful attempt to seize the federal arsenal and spark a slave uprising.
Card 6
Question: How did Abraham Lincoln’s 1860 election contribute to Southern secession?
Answer: Lincoln won despite not appearing on ballots in several slave states; his victory alienated the South and led states to begin seceding.
Card 7
Question: Which state seceded first after Lincoln’s election, and what immediate action did it take?
Answer: South Carolina seceded first; a special convention voted unanimously to leave the Union.
Card 8
Question: Which six Southern states followed South Carolina by February 1861?
Answer: Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas.
Card 9
Question: What political step did the seven seceding states take together?
Answer: Delegates from the seven states met to establish the Confederate States of America and chose Jefferson Davis as president.
Card 10
Question: How did Lincoln respond to Southern secession politically?
Answer: Lincoln refused to recognize the legality of Southern secession.