Activity 2 – Voices of Freedom – The Second American Revolution[1]

 

1        The Supreme Court ruling in Dred Scott v. Sanford

A      declared that only white persons could be citizens of the United States.

B       ruled that Congress possessed no power under the Constitution to bar slavery from a territory.

C       in effect declared unconstitutional the Republican platform of restricting slavery’s expansion.

D      ruled that temporary residence in a free state did not automatically free a slave.

E       All the above

2        Abraham Lincoln’s views of slavery

A      Included support for returning fugitive slaves to their owners.

B       Were the same as those of the abolitionists

C       Were the same as those of Stephen Douglas

D      Meant that he was a racist as the average American

E       Led him to argue that the civil war was imminent and inevitable

3        Stephen Douglas said during the Lincoln-Douglas debates, “A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free

A      True

B       False

4        As a result of the fine oratorical performance that he gave during the debates to Stephan Douglas, Abraham Lincoln defeated him in the senate race

A      True

B       False

 

5        Which is not true about the concept of popular sovereignty?

A      This concept was promoted by Stephen Douglas

B       This concept was promoted by Abraham Lincoln

C       Status of slavery in a territory and future state would be determined by the votes of local settlers.

D      It was a principle that all parties of the democratic party could unite.

6        Lincoln stated that “A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free.”  Which of the following was Lincoln’s point?

A      All voting citizens should join the Republican party

B       A civil war between the north and south was about to happen

C      Americans must choose between favoring and opposing slavery. There was no middle ground.

D      The concept of popular sovereignty could be used to solve the conflict between the northern and southern states over the issue of expanding slavery in the western territories.


 

7        Lincoln’s views on slavery and race at the time he took office of the president were:

A      He was not an abolitionist

B       He hated slavery

C       Westward expansion of slavery was the key issue and he was against this expansion

D      He was willing to compromise with the south by allowing slavery to remain where it already existed.

E       All the above

8        Which of the following best reflects the differences between Lincoln and Douglas on what rights black Americans are entitled to enjoy?

A      Douglas advocates popular sovereignty and Lincoln advocates the end of slavery in all states and no expansion of slavery in the territories.

B       Lincoln believes that Negros should be granted the same political and social equality as whites and Douglas states that he is opposed to negro citizenship because they are inherently less equal and incapable of self-government

C      Lincoln believes that the founding fathers (the “founders”) agreed that slavery should not spread into new territories and Douglas believed that the founding fathers (“signers of the Declaration of Independence) agreed that “all men were created equal” included white men of European birth and descent.

9        Lincoln states that the black race is not equal to the white race, but they, like whites, are entitled to their natural rights – life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

A      True

B       False

 

10    Lincoln’s vision during the Civil War

A      was to build a nation-state similar to what Otto von Bismarck was building in Germany and Guiseppe Mazzini in Italy.

B       was that the American nation embodied a set of universal ideals rooted in political democracy and human freedom.

C       was essentially that of the Whig Party: an activist federal government building up American industry.

D      allowed for African-Americans to achieve freedom because they already lived in the United States, but did not extend to non-native-born Americans.

E       was best expressed in his words, “As He died to make men holy, let us die to make men free.”

11    In the first years of the Civil War both the Union (the North) and the Confederacy (the South) fought for their freedom. But each side defined “freedom” and/or “liberty” differently.  Which of the following best describes the concepts of freedom / liberty of the Union and the Confederacy?

A      North : the end of slavery; Confederacy: continue slavery

B       Union: no slavery in the western territories; Confederacy: use of popular sovereignty to determine existence of slavery in the western territories.

C      Union: political liberty --- self-government, democracy; Confederacy: the right to rebel and form an independent nation.

D      Union: End of slavery and total equality of all blacks; South: sustain slavery because it is a positive good.


 

 

12    In his speech, Alexander Stephen relies on the proslavery argument to make his case.  Which of the following categories does he use:

A      References to slavery in the Bible

B       The existence of slavery throughout history

C       Inclusion of slavery in the United States Constitution

D      Blacks are inherently less equal that whites

13    Lincoln makes the following observation about the difference between northern and southern definitions of freedom:

A      Northern freedom = strong federal government; Southern = states rights, e.g. power resides in the states

B       Northern freedom = each man to do as he please with himself and the product of his labor; South = some men to do as they please with other men, and the product of other men’s labor.

C       Northern freedom = integration of blacks and native Americans into the mainstream society; Southern = expand the slave trade by importing more blacks from Africa

D      Northern freedom = tyranny; Southern freedom = liberty.

 

14    In making his argument Alexander Stephens states

A      That the leading statesmen who wrote the US Constitution were wrong to assume that enslavement of the African was a violation of the laws of nature.

B       The negro is not equal to the white man, therefore, slavery, subordination to the superior race, is his natural and moral condition.

C       The negro is fitted for slavery because he/she cannot fully function as a free individual in American society.

D      All the above

E       B & C

15    ___________ stated “The substratum of our society is made of the material fitted by nature for it, and by experience we know that it is the best, not only for the superior but for the inferior race”

A      .Stephan Douglas

B       Abraham Lincoln

C       Alexander H. Stephens

D      Eric Foner

16    _____________ stated “For one, I am opposed to negro citizenship in any and every form. I believe this Govenrment was made on the white basis. I believe it was made by white men, for the benefit of white men and their posterity forever … I do not believe that the Almighty made the negro capable of self-government.”

A      .Stephan Douglas

B       Abraham Lincoln

C       Alexander H. Stephens

D      Eric Foner


 

 

17    ____________ stated that “I have no purpose to introduce political and social equality between the white and the black races. There is a physical difference between the two, which in my judgment will probably forever forbid their living together upon the footing of perfect equality ….”

A      .Stephan Douglas

B       Abraham Lincoln

C       Alexander H. Stephens

D      Eric Foner

18    ___________ stated I tell you why I will not do it …. I hold that the people of the slaveholding states are civilized men as well as ourselves, that they bear consciences as well as we, and that they are accountable to God and their posterity and not to us.  It is for them to decide therefore the moral and religious right of the slavery question for themselves within their own limits …”

A      .Stephan Douglas

B       Abraham Lincoln

C       Alexander H. Stephens

D      Eric Foner

19    ___________ stated that “the shepherd drives the wolf from the sheep’s throat, for which the sheep thanks the shepherd as a liberator, while the wolf denounces him for the same act as the destroyer of liberty, especially as the sheep was a black one …”

A      Stephan Douglas

B       Abraham Lincoln

C       Alexander H. Stephens

D      Eric Foner

20    __________ writes “Southerners insisted they were fighting for freedom, self-determination, and the same right that led the American revolutionists to sever their ties with Britain and create their own independent nation …. If the colonies could secede from Britain, why can’t we secede and crate our own independent nation?”

 

A      Stephan Douglas

B       Abraham Lincoln

C       Alexander H. Stephens

D      Eric Foner

 



[1] Created: 10/04/09; updated: 10/9/2009