The Road to the Civil War Trivia Quiz

Answer: Zachary Taylor

Martin Van Buren, the eighth President, ran on the Free Soil ticket, while Lewis Cass was the Democratic candidate. Henry Clay, a venerable Whig congressional leader, was passed over for his party's nomination in favor of Zachary Taylor

Answer: Appealed to the American democratic belief in self-government

Popular sovereignty, the idea that the allowance or prohibition of slavery in each state should be determined by the people of that state, was a quintessentially American idea and later became the basis of Stephen Douglas's Kansas-Nebraska Act.

Answer: Allowed popular sovereignty in the Utah and New Mexico Territories

Under the Compromise, California was admitted as a free state, causing a 16-15 imbalance between free and slave states. The slave trade in the District of Columbia was prohibited, but existing slavery was permitted to continue. The Compromise did not end, but enact, the Fugivite Slave Act, hateful to northerners.

Answer: He wanted to ensure that the eastern terminus of the transcontinental railroad would be in a city in his home state

The famous Illinoisan senator wanted to ensure that the eastern end of the transcontinental railroad would be in Chicago rather than in St. Louis, and so make Illinois more prosperous and himself more popular. He was certain that when the people of the states formed from the Nebraska Territory voted on slavery, they would choose to be free states, thus ensuring Douglas the votes he needed to accomplish his political objectives without getting more slave states.

This, of course, did not happen, and much bloodshed occurred as pro- and anti- slave activists flocked to the Kansas Territory to push the vote one way or the other.

The destruction of the Whig Party was one consequence of the Act, but as far as I know there is little evidence that Douglas foresaw this or that it was a major reason behind his proposal. To my knowledge, Douglas never referred to the Missouri Compromise divider as a "meaningless line".

Answer: The continuing idea of the "national mission" of the United States

This fellow, a man of dubious sanity, did much to expand American territory during the 1850's. After his proclamation of the Republic of Sonora (with himself as President) in Baja California, he made three attempts to take over Nicaragua. One of those attempts was actually successful for a time! When he tried to invade Honduras in 1860, he was captured and shot by firing squad.

Answer: A Whig from Boston

The short-lived Free Soil party was primarily made up of Whigs from Massachusetts and Democrats from New York (Van Buren's home state). Obviously, slave owners would have had nothing to do with this party. By 1848, free blacks had few, if any, voting rights, even in northern states.

There may have been some working-class Free Soilers from Ohio, but the fact that the party's power base was almost entirely located in New England makes "A Whig from Boston" a much better answer.

Answer: True

Many politicians thought, or at least hoped, that the Compromise of 1850 would ameliorate the polarized political situation of the time. However, the Fugitive Slave Act, which was part of the Compromise, outraged many northerners. Many northern states passed laws forbidding the use of state money or officials to track down escaped slaves. Frederick Douglass suggested that escaped slaves had the right to forceably resist those who would capture them. Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin", which provided a harsh description of slave life, outraged southerners in a similar manner.

They denounced the book as utterly false. When President Lincoln met Stowe in 1863, he said to her, "So you're the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war!"

Answer: South Carolina

South Carolina seceded on December 20th, 1860. Georgia, Virginia, and North Carolina left the Union on January 19th, April 17th, and May 20th, 1861, respectively.

Answer: Congress waited for Lincoln to take office

Congress did little to reach a peaceful solution to the impasse, and James Buchanan did even less. The nation waited for Lincoln, who took office on March 4th, 1861.

Answer: South Carolina nullification crisis, Dred Scott decision, John Brown's raid, Abraham Lincoln elected President

The South Carolina nullification crisis occurred in 1832 over a high tariff. Andrew Jackson in effect stared down Vice President John Calhoun, perhaps preventing a civil war. The decision in Dred Scott v. Sanford came in 1857. John Brown made his famous raid on October 16th, 1859. Abraham Lincoln was elected President in November, 1860.