American History Homework Five Answers - Student 28

Amanda S.

1\. Imagine that someone by the name of Joe Biden lived in 1858. Imagine also that he belonged to the "Know Nothing Party." The following would be true about Mr. Biden EXCEPT:

(a) He knew nothing about airplanes and automobiles. (b) He welcomed immigrants into the United States. (c) He belonged to a relatively new political party. (d) He was probably not a member of the Republican Party. (e) He could have lived in the State of California.

The correct answer is (b). The “Know Nothing Party” was completely against welcoming immigrants into the United States.

Correct.

2\. Identify at least two key positions of the Whig Party: The Whig Party was in favor of keeping the north and south together as apart of the United States, therefore they wanted to annex Texas. The Whig Party was also for National banks, which Jackson did not like.

Nope, the Whig Party opposed annexing Texas. (Democrats and Jackson favored it.) The rest of your answer is good. (Minus 1).

3\. What caused and what ended the Mexican War?: The war between the United States and Mexico began when Mexico attacked the American troops in 1846. The cause of the war was over the annexation of Texas, which Mexico continued to want to claim even though Texas had won its independence 10 years before. The fighting ended when U.S. Gen. Winfield Scott occupied Mexico City in 1847. A peace treaty was signed a few months later at Guadalupe Hidalgo. The treaty confirmed the annexation of Texas.

Good, except the war was about more than the annexation of Texas. It was about the U.S. gaining more property. (Minus 1).

4\. Who do you think was the most important person in the period 1840-1860, and why?: There were many important people during that time period, but the one who stood out most to me would be James K. Polk. Polk was the one to start the war between the United States and Mexico, and was also the one to end it. James Polk really inspired me because he always followed through with what he said he would do. He also accepted every visitor that came into the White House and never turned anyone away.

Excellent!

5\. Explain what "Bleeding Kansas" was: Bleeding Kansas was a series of violent events that took place in the Kansas territory and throughout the state of Missouri over the issue of slavery. It determined whether or not Kansas would become a slave free state or not. The reason it is called Bleeding Kansas is because of the violence that took place at the time.

Superb.

6\. Explain the cartoon, and what you think the cartoonist's view was. The woman's quote begins, "You have been a bad boy, Steve, ever since you had anything to do with that Nebraska Bill ....":

The cartoon shows a boy being punished by Columbia for supporting the Nebraska-Kansas Act. The boy is representing Stephen Douglas, and Columbia and Uncle Sam are the representations for America. After Stephen Douglas passed the Nebraska-Kansas act he was looked down on and disliked by many. Therefore the cartoon shows America punishing him for his actions.

The artist was most likely a republican who like many disagreed with Douglas.

Excellent!

7\. Do you think it was possible to avoid the Civil War? Explain: No, I think it was completely impossible to avoid the Civil War. Slavery was a major issue for the United States. The North was completely against it, and believed no human should be owned and forced to work. While the South was all for it, and did not see the need for change. This disagreement between the North and South was a huge deal and started tearing apart the United States, and the only way to fix that was a war. Therefore I believe that the Civil War was absolutely necessary and there was no way to avoid it.

Good answer, but please keep in mind that the North was not "completely" against slavery. Only some in the North were.

Good work! Score: 68/70.--Aschlafly 20:14, 18 October 2008 (EDT)