Chapter11

= Antebellum America: A House Divided = Even before the American Revolution, the issue of slavery in the Americas was a touchy subject. Many believed that all men should be free to labor across the land, while others felt they had the right to own slaves. After independence from Great Britain, a few compromises were agreed upon in the Constitution, including one to count slaves as part of a state's population, in order to make sure the southern states ratified. These settlements continued for the next 60 years and only slightly bandaged a wound that was growing larger every day. || media type="custom" key="6968597" || With the Missouri Compromise in 1820, the North and the South resolved a serious clash over slavery. But many Americans realized that a showdown had been merely postponed. By the 1840s, northern and southern members of Congress were in conflict over the admission of Texas and California to the Union. Arguments also erupted over the extension of slavery into the western land acquired as a result of the Mexican War. As the conflict over slavery intensified, Congress found forging a compromise more difficult.
 * === From the Beginning ===
 * === 1. An Uneasy Balance ===


 * People:** Stephen A. Douglas, Lewis Cass, Zachary Taylor, Daniel Webster

==**Text:** The Political Crisis of the 1840s, Compromise of 1850==

**ASSIGNMENT**: 11.1
|| || The relative calm produced by the Compromise of 1850 was brief. Controversy over the fugitive slave issue continued in the North, and western settlement soon renewed the national debate over the expansion of slavery. On the frontier, fierce competition for control of the new territorial government of Kansas erupted in violent conflict. Chances for compromise seemed to be fading. **People:** Franklin Pierce, Winfield Scott, Harriet Beecher Stowe, John Brown, Charles Sumner, John C. Frémont, James Buchanan
 * === 2. Compromise Comes to an End ===

**ASSIGNMENT**: 11.2
|| || From 1857 to 1861, the slavery issue pushed the U.S. further toward disunion. On March 6, 1857, two days after President James Buchanan took office, the Supreme Court issued the Dred Scott decision, which intensified the slavery controversy. The following year Democrat Stephen Douglas and Republican Abraham Lincoln of Illinois debated the issue as they campaigned for the U.S. Senate. Douglas was elected, but two years later Lincoln defeated Douglas in the presidential election. Faced with a Republican president, the Deep South made good on its threat to secede. **People:** Abraham Lincoln, John Bell, John Breckinridge, Jefferson Davis **Links:** 1860 Election
 * === 3. On the Brink of War ===

**ASSIGNMENT**: 11.3
|| media type="custom" key="6638469" ||
 * = PROJECT  =

Before beginning this project, **you must create a __new__ wikispaces account**. It is free and you only need an email address. You wikispaces account name should be //your first name//, //your last name//, and //your period number without any spaces//. For example: **danstell6**. If your name does not appear in this manner as your wikispaces account name, //**you will not receive any credit**//.

On the online discussion board at the top of this page, answer one of the questions at the bottom. Create **1 FULL** persuasive paragraph (//intro sentence, 5 detail sentences, concluding sentence//) __//**IN YOUR OWN WORDS**//__, using facts to support your opinion. In the subject line, give a brief, accurate description of your post. Then, respond to a classmates' post either agreeing or respectfully disagreeing with their thoughts by adding more information or posing more questions, in **AT LEAST 3** sentences. **20 points** for original post. **10 points** for response to a classmate. __**30 POINTS TOTAL**__.

QUESTIONS: 1. What Civil War cause was the most important/influential? Why? Could the War have been avoided if not for this event? 2. Were the southern states justified in their secession, or did northerners have a stronger argument argument against it? Why? 3. Was John Brown a terrorist or a martyr? Why?

*REMINDER - Type your post out in MS Word to check for spelling or grammatical errors, and then copy and paste it to the discussion board. You will lose 1 point for each error. Also, save you work in the document to keep a copy on file for future reference. || = TEST 11 =

Study Guide Test Page ||