American History Homework Five Answers - Student Thirteen

American History Homework Five-SarahW

1. All of the answers would have been true except for answer b: “He welcomed immigrants into the United States”, because the Know Nothing Party was founded as an anti-immigration party.

Correct!

2. Two key positions of the Whig Party were they were, for the most part, against slavery, and they were against the Mexican War.

Excellent, particularly how you said that the Whig Party was "for the most part" against slavery.

3. The Mexican War was caused by a disagreement of where the Texas/Mexico border was. The War was ended by the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo, which determined where the border between Texas and Mexico would be.

Good, but provide more details about the Treaty and how President Polk wanted to start the war to acquire more territory. (Minus 2).

4. I think that one of the most important people of the 1840-1860’s was Harriet Beecher Stowe. Her book, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, showed people what was really happening to the slaves in the south, and it wasn’t pleasant. Abraham Lincoln actually described her as “the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war!”, which just goes to show how much impact her book had on people.

Excellent.

5. “Bleeding Kansas” is the name for a violent conflict in Kansas in the 1850’s. After the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854, Kansas broke into a civil war between pro-slavery and anti-slavery colonists. The “Free State Hotel” was burned down, John Brown killed five pro-slavery colonists, and Senator Charles Sumner was beaten senseless with a cane during the civil war.

Excellent. Will use as model answer!

6. In the cartoon, the woman is spanking Stephen Douglas because he pushed through Senate the Kansas-Nebraska Act. The Cartoonist was probably a Republican, which was formed to repeal the Kansas-Nebraska Act.

Superb analysis.

7. I do not think that the Civil War could have been avoided. By the 1800’s, there were so many issues between the north and the south, that if they didn’t resolve it then, it would’ve just gotten worse. The south probably would have seceded from the union and then we would just have two fighting countries. Because of the civil war, these disputes were resolved and we are still the United States.

Good.

H2. The Compromise of 1850 was one of the most important pieces legislation in the 1800’s. Passed under Millard Fillmore, the Compromise of 1850 admitted California as a free state, established the right for southerners to bring slaves into Southwest territory, abolished slave trade in D.C. (but not slavery itself), made stricter laws for fugitive slaves, and gave Texas ten million dollars in return for relinquishing the territory that is now New Mexico.

Excellent!

H3. Stephen Douglas lost the election of 1860 to Abraham Lincoln primarily because of his “Freeport Doctrine”. Freeport Doctrine is the term for Douglas’ stand on slavery, coined during the Lincoln-Douglas debate in Freeport, Illinois. Douglas stated that a territory could prohibit slavery by passing laws that wouldn’t allow it. This was a middle ground opinion, between the principle of popular sovereignty (where each state chooses whether or not they want slavery, based on popular vote) and the United States Supreme Court case of Dred Scott v. Sandford (which stated that a territory could not legally abolish slavery). He lost the support of the south, who for the most part liked strict adherence to the Dred Scott decision.

Superb analysis.

H4. I don’t think that John Brown’s violent actions helped his cause against slavery. Taking action on what you believe in is good, but violence is never the answer. His protests in Pottawatomie, Kansas, and at Harper’s Ferry just made people mad, and ended with his execution.

Right. Well stated.

Excellent work! Score: 98/100.--Aschlafly 21:58, 17 October 2008 (EDT)