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Quiz about American History by Decade The 1850s

American History by Decade: The 1850s Quiz

America was coming apart at the seams over the slavery issue in the 1850s. What do you know about this decade in American history?

A multiple-choice quiz by LIBGOV. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
LIBGOV

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
400,218

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
8 / 10

Plays
358

Awards
Top 35% Quiz

Last 3 plays: srandall (8/10), Guest 81 (10/10), Guest 24 (10/10).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. This man from Buffalo was the last Whig president and succeeded to the office in 1850 after the death of Zachary Taylor. Hint

Franklin Pierce

Millard Fillmore

O. J. Simpson

John Tyler

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Question 2 of 10

2. The Compromise of 1850 dealt with the issue of how slavery was to be handled in the territories acquired during the Mexican War. The Compromise of 1850 created the territories of New Mexico and Utah which were allowed to vote on the issue of whether slavery would be permitted. What new free state entered the Union as part of the Compromise of 1850? Hint

Iowa

Wisconsin

Minnesota

California

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Question 3 of 10

3. Master showman P.T. Barnum promoted a concert series in the early 1850s by what opera singer known as the Swedish Nightingale? Hint

Jenny Lind

Lady Gaga

Nellie Melba

Birgit Nillson

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Question 4 of 10

4. This book written in 1852 became the best selling novel of the 19th century. Hint

Ben Hur

Uncle Tom's Cabin

Valley of the Dolls

David Copperfield

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Question 5 of 10

5. In the presidential election of 1852, the Whig candidate, Mexican War hero Winfield Scott, was defeated by this man, the Democratic nominee, a lawyer, and Mexican War soldier from New Hampshire. Hint

James K Polk

James Buchanan

Franklin Pierce

John Tyler

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Question 6 of 10

6. The passage of the Kansas Nebraska act in 1854 allowed the two states to enter the Union and vote on whether to allow slavery. The result was "Bleeding Kansas" during which pro- and anti-slavery forces in the state engaged in armed conflict. What were the names of the pro- and anti-slavery forces that fought for control of Kansas in the 1850s? Hint

Wildcats were pro-slavery, Exodusters were anti-slavery

Boomers were pro-slavery, Sooners were anti-slavery

Jets were pro-slavery, Sharks were anti-slavery

Border Ruffians were pro-slavery, Jayhawkers were anti-slavery

NEXT>

Question 7 of 10

7. The Republican Party was formed in Ripon, Wisconsin in 1854 from former members of the Whigs and the short lived Free Soil Party. What was the primary issue around which the Republican Party was organized? Hint

The primacy of congress over the presidency

Complete abolition of slavery

Opposition to the expansion of slavery

Tax cuts for the rich

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. James Buchanan won the Democratic nomination in the presidential election of 1856 over incumbent president Franklin Pierce. Who was the first presidential nominee of the newly created Republican Party that was defeated by Buchanan in the general election? Hint

John C. Fr�mont

Barry Goldwater

Abraham Lincoln

John C. Breckinridge

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Question 9 of 10

9. The 1857 Supreme Court case Dred Scott vs. Sandford concerned a slave who claimed that, because he had been taken by his master into free territory, he should be considered free. The Court ruled that slaves were not citizens and thus Scott was not entitled to file suit. This court ruling also nullified what previous, important piece of legislation? Hint

The Alien and Sedition Acts

NAFTA

The Ostend Manifesto

The Missouri Compromise

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. In October 1859, John Brown raided a federal armory in the hopes of starting a slave rebellion. Where was this armory located? Hint

Cold Spring Harbor, New York

South Beach, Miami

Appomattox Courthouse, Virginia

Harper's Ferry, Virginia

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. This man from Buffalo was the last Whig president and succeeded to the office in 1850 after the death of Zachary Taylor.

Answer: Millard Fillmore

Fillmore helped pass the Compromise of 1850 and also ordered Admiral Matthew Perry to Japan to demand that they sign a trade agreement. Fillmore would later serve as the presidential candidate of the Know Nothing Party in 1856.

Answer: California

The population of California was booming as a result of the 1849 gold rush. Henry Clay brokered the Compromise of 1850 through Congress. Allowing the new territories to vote on the question of slavery may well have delayed a civil war.

3. Master showman P.T. Barnum promoted a concert series in the early 1850s by what opera singer known as the Swedish Nightingale?

Answer: Jenny Lind

Lind toured America from 1850 to 1852 and was paid $1000 a performance. Barnum earned half a million dollars himself from the tour, but Lind gave all of her salary to charity.

4. This book written in 1852 became the best selling novel of the 19th century.

Answer: Uncle Tom's Cabin

Harriet Beecher Stowe's anti-slavery novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin" fueled the abolitionist movement in the northern states, and caused outrage among Southerners because they felt it exaggerated the cruelties of slavery. The novel was a stepping stone on the way to Civil War.

Answer: Franklin Pierce

Pierce blamed the abolitionist movement for the tensions between north and south. Pierce was instrumental in passing the Kansas Nebraska act and caused outrage when he supported the election of a pro-slavery government in Kansas despite irregularities in the election. Pierce was also responsible for the Gadsden Purchase from Mexico in 1854 which acquired southern Arizona and parts of New Mexico for the United States.

Answer: Border Ruffians were pro-slavery, Jayhawkers were anti-slavery

Both pro- and anti-slavery immigrants poured into Kansas after the passage of the Kansas Nebraska act in order to vote on the slavery question and started many of the cities in eastern Kansas. John Brown was to begin his career as a violent abolitionist slaughtering pro-slavers in "Bleeding Kansas."

Answer: Opposition to the expansion of slavery

The Republicans did not want to abolish slavery in the southern states, but they were adamantly opposed to allowing slavery in the territories acquired during the Mexican War. They also opposed the Kansas Nebraska Act because they wanted no additional expansion of slavery in United States territory.

Answer: John C. Fr�mont

Fremont was an explorer, Senator, and Mexican War veteran who ran on the catchy slogan "Free Soil, Free Men, and Fr�mont". Buchanan's presidency was a disaster as he sided with pro-slavery forces in Kansas after what appeared to be an illegal election, presided over the Panic of 1857, and sent in the army to remove Brigham Young as head of the Mormons in Utah.

Answer: The Missouri Compromise

The Missouri Compromise abolished slavery above the 36�N 36' latitude in United States territories. The Dred Scott decision nullified this provision of the Missouri Compromise because it said that the United States had no legal right under the Constitution to deprive a slave owner of his property in the territories. Abolitionists in the north were horrified as the decision appeared to allow the spread of slavery across most of the western United States.

10. In October 1859, John Brown raided a federal armory in the hopes of starting a slave rebellion. Where was this armory located?

Answer: Harper's Ferry, Virginia

John Brown is one of the more polarizing figures in American History. Madman or martyr, he decided the only way to settle the slavery issue in America was through violence. He was hanged for treason after the Harper's Ferry Raid.

Source: Author LIBGOV

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