Causes of Civil War (25 Questions)

From LearnSocialStudies

The following is a quiz with the Causes of the Civil War based questions.

Take this quiz as often as you would like. You goal for this exam should be 100% in order to receive credit for Part A.

1 Base your answer to the questions on the map below and on your knowledge of social studies.

In the period between 1820 and 1860, Southerners wanted slavery extended to the Western territories so that the South could

continue to elect Southern Presidents
continue to dominate the Supreme Court
keep enough strength in the Senate to protect Southern interests
use slave labor to expand Southern industries

2 Which problem did the Missouri Compromise, the Compromise of 1850, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act attempt to solve?

the extension of slavery into the western territories
the equitable distribution of frontier lands to the owners of small farms
the placement of protective tariffs on foreign imports
the need for internal improvements in transportation

3 One of the ways proposed to avoid conflict regarding new states entering the union was the concept of

nullification
popular sovereignty
Fugitive Slave Act
Alien-Sedition Act

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Base your answer to the questions on the passage below and on your knowledge of social studies.

... As to the policy I "seem to be pursuing" as you say, I have not meant to leave any one in doubt. I would save the Union. I would save it the shortest way under the Constitution. The sooner the national authority can be restored; the nearer the Union will be "the Union as it was." If there be those who would not save the Union, unless they could at the same time save slavery, I do not agree with them. If there be those who would not save the Union unless they could at the same time destroy slavery, I do not agree with them. My paramount object in this struggle is to save the Union, and is not either to save or to destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slave I would do it, and if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it; and if I could save it by freeing some and leaving others alone I would also do that. What I do about slavery, and the colored race, I do because I believe it helps to save the Union; and what I forbear, I forbear because I do not believe it would help to save the Union. I shall do less whenever I shall believe what I am doing hurts the cause, and I shall do more whenever I shall believe doing more will help the cause. I shall try to correct errors when shown to be errors; and I shall adopt new views so fast as they shall appear to be true views .... — President Abraham Lincoln, Letter to Horace Greeley, August 22, 1862

According to the passage, President Abraham Lincoln's primary goal in fighting the Civil War was to

advance the cause of Northern abolitionists
use any means necessary to save the Union
extend the franchise to African Americans in the army
free only those African Americans who were enslaved in Confederate territory

5 Abraham Lincoln's 1858 warning that "a house divided against itself cannot stand" referred to sectional differences over the

treatment of Native American Indians
funding for internal improvements
treaties with European nations
issue of slavery

6 “Since the Southern states never legally left the Union, they should be restored to the Union as soon as possible.” The position expressed in this statement is most closely associated with the beliefs of

Robert E. Lee
Jefferson Davis
Abraham Lincoln
Thaddeus Stevens

7 Which constitutional principle was the main focus of the North–South conflicts that led to the Civil War?

States' rights
due process of law
separation of powers
presidential veto power

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Base your answers to questions on the headlines below and on your knowledge of social studies

"Uncle Tom's Cabin Stirs Controversy"
"Kansas Rocked by Bloody Conflict"
"John Brown's Raid Angers South"

Which statement about the United States in the 1850s is best supported by these headlines?

The nation had grown increasingly divided over the future of slavery.
Americans had lost confidence in the plan for Reconstruction.
Northern and Southern voters were united in support of popular sovereignty.
Support for the abolitionist movement decreased during this period.

9 Which author wrote "Uncle Tom's Cabin"?

Louisa May Alcott
Harriet Tubman
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Frederick Douglass

10 Uncle Tom's Cabin had what effect on people in American society?

It had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in the U.S
It had a minimal effect on attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in the U.S
It has no effect on attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in the U.S
It was not a cause of the U.S. Civil War

11 The effect of "Bloody Kansas" on American society was that?

Americans knew slavery was here to stay
Americans knew that abolitionists would cease their efforts to eliminate slavery
Americans knew that this was a predecessor to a future and broader conflict over slavery
Americans knew that Congress would abolish slavery

12

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Base your answers to questions on the events below and on your knowledge of social studies

  • Publication of The Liberator
  • Kansas-Nebraska Act
  • Dred Scott decision
  • The Election of 1860

The events listed above all contributed to the

outbreak of the Civil War
formation of the policy of Manifest Destiny
passage of the Missouri Compromise
annexation of Texas

13 Which event led directly to the secession of several Southern states from the Union?

violence in Kansas over the spread of slavery
election of Abraham Lincoln as president
publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin
raid by John Brown at Harpers Ferry

14 The Kansas-Nebraska Act led to

conflict among settlers over slavery in Kansas
emancipation of slaves in Kansas
the Nullification Crisis
the War of 1812

15 Which is the correct order of congressional acts/laws that attempted to correct imbalances of free or slave states?

Compromise of 1850, Missouri Compromise, Kansas Nebraska Act
Missouri Compromise, Kansas Nebraska Act, Compromise of 1850
Kansas Nebraska Act, Compromise of 1850, Missouri Compromise
Missouri Compromise, Compromise of 1850, Kansas Nebraska Act

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Base your answers to questions on the statements below and on your knowledge of social studies

Speaker A: The right way to settle the question of slavery in the territories is to let the people who live there determine if their state is to be slave or free.

Speaker B: The Supreme Court’s decision in Dred Scott v. Sanford is exactly what this country needs. Perhaps now the abolitionists will stop their meddling.

Speaker C: Secession is unlawful and treasonous. Everything possible must be done to preserve the Union.

Speaker D: The rights of the states must be protected. The federal government is exceeding its authority

What was a major result of the United States Supreme Court decision in Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857)?

it caused the immediate outbreak of the Civil War
it ended the importation of slaves into the United States
it strengthened the determination of abolitionists to achieve their goals
it increased the power of Congress to exclude slavery from the territories

17 Which speaker most accurately represents the opinions of President Abraham Lincoln?

A
B
C
D

18 The solution proposed by Speaker A is known as

nullification
popular sovereignty
the spoils system
federal supremacy

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Base your answers to questions on the statements below and on your knowledge of social studies.

Speaker A: The political union created by the constitution of the United States is not a temporary compact of the states but rather an unbreakable bond created by the people of the nation.

Speaker B: The reserved powers are clearly indicated and protected in both the original Constitution and in the 10th amendment of the Bill of Rights.

Speaker C: Liberty is best preserved in the hands of the government closest to the people. Union is desirable only if it preserves our liberty.

Speaker D: Nullification! Secession! What miserable words—words that threaten the continuance of both our liberty and our Union

The political opinions expressed in these statements relate most directly to the start of which war?

Revolutionary War
War of 1812
Mexican-American War
Civil War

20 Which two speakers express the greatest support for the concept of State's rights?

A and B
A and D
B and C
C and D

21 The constitutional controversy that led directly to the start of the Civil War concerned the right of states to

control tariff rates
sign treaties with foreign nations
redraw congressional districts
secede from the Union

22

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Base your answers to questions on the comic strip below and on your knowledge of social studies.

One reason the decision in Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857) was so controversial is that it

strengthened the idea of popular sovereignty
gave enslaved persons full citizenship
ruled that Congress had no power to limit slavery in the territories
supported Harriet Beecher Stowe's point of view in Uncle Tom's Cabin

23 The Supreme Court decision in Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857) was significant because it

allowed slavery in California
outlawed slavery in the Southern States
upheld the actions of the Underground Railroad
ruled that Congress could not ban slavery in the territories

24 The Supreme Court decision in Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857) was problematic because it

never settled the issue of slavery but rather said Dred Scott didn't have the right to sue
settled the issue of slavery as allowed everywhere in the United States
settled the idea that congress had no power to make any law about slavery
made abolitionist give up their cause of the elimination of slavery

25 The Supreme Court decision in Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857) fueled the flames against slavery by this group

southerners
abolitionists
western settlers
Forty-niners

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