The sectional crisis and the Civil War
Grade 11 Social Studies Worksheet
Circle the best answer.
Read this first
South Carolina's declaration of causes
Who made it: the South Carolina secession convention. When: December 24, 1860. Where: Charleston, South Carolina. For whom: the other states and the public. Why: to explain and justify leaving the Union. Excerpt (Declaration of the Immediate Causes (South Carolina, 1860); the 1860 Charleston pamphlet, p. 9): "A geographical line has been drawn across the Union, and all the States north of that line have united in the election of a man to the high office of President of the United States whose opinions and purposes are hostile to slavery. He is to be entrusted with the administration of the Common Government, because he has declared that that "Government cannot endure permanently half slave, half free," and that the public mind must rest in the belief that Slavery is in the course of ultimate extinction." Source card "The election of 1860, in brief". Who made it: historians and textbooks writing today. When: today. Where: the United States. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: On November 6, 1860, voters elected Abraham Lincoln the 16th president. He was the first president from the Republican Party, which was against letting slavery spread into new territories. The Electoral College gave Lincoln 180 of the 303 electoral votes, and 152 were needed to win.
Jun reads South Carolina's declaration beside the card on the 1860 election. What does the pair show about why the state left?
- It left over what Lincoln was expected to do; the declaration cites his opinions
- It left because the electoral vote was close enough that the result could be disputed
- It left because Lincoln had already acted against slavery as President in the new year
- It left because Lincoln had promised to end slavery in the states where it existed
South Carolina on the return of people who escaped slavery
Who made it: the South Carolina secession convention. When: December 24, 1860. Where: Charleston, South Carolina. For whom: the other states and the public. Why: to explain and justify leaving the Union. Excerpt (Declaration of the Immediate Causes (South Carolina, 1860); the 1860 Charleston pamphlet, pp. 7-8): "The Constitution of the United States, in its 4th Article, provides as follows: "No person held to service or labor [slavery] in one State, under the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall … be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered up, on claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be due." … Thus the constitutional compact has been deliberately broken and disregarded by the non-slaveholding States, and the consequence follows that South Carolina is released from her obligation." Source card "Mississippi's declaration, 1861, in our words". Who made it: the Mississippi secession convention. When: January 1861. Where: Mississippi. For whom: the other states and the public. Why: to explain and justify leaving the Union. Summary in our words, not a quotation: When Mississippi left the Union in January 1861, its convention issued a declaration of its reasons. It begins by saying that the state's position was thoroughly tied to slavery, which it called a great material interest of the world. It then lists what it saw as attacks on slavery: the ban on slavery in the northern Louisiana Territory in 1820, laws in free states that blocked the Fugitive Slave Law, and the refusal to admit new slave states. It was written by the convention of Mississippi's leaders.
Pia sets South Carolina's complaint about escaping people beside Mississippi's list of grievances. What do the two show?
- Mississippi mentions the return of people who escaped slavery; South Carolina leaves it out
- Both name Northern resistance to returning people who escaped slavery
- South Carolina's complaint is about tariffs, and Mississippi's is about slavery alone
- Both treat the clause as proof that the Constitution gave each state a right to leave
Lincoln's order of freedom
Who made it: President Abraham Lincoln, as Commander-in-Chief. When: January 1, 1863. Where: Washington. For whom: the nation, the armed forces and the states in rebellion. Why: to free, as a war measure, people held as slaves in the states in rebellion. Excerpt (Emancipation Proclamation; the Statutes at Large, vol. 12, pp. 1268-1269): "… all persons held as slaves within said designated states and parts of states are, and henceforward shall be, free; and that the Executive Government of the United States, including the military and naval authorities thereof, will recognize and maintain the freedom of said persons." Source card "The Emancipation Proclamation: its limits". Who made it: historians and textbooks writing today. When: today. Where: the United States. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: Lincoln issued the proclamation as a military measure. It covered the states in rebellion, and slavery in the loyal border states of Maryland, Kentucky and Missouri was left as it was. Parts of the Confederacy that Union forces already held were also left out. The promised freedom depended on a Union victory. The proclamation did not end slavery across the nation, but from January 1, 1863, each Union advance widened the area of freedom. It also announced that Black men would be accepted into the Union Army and Navy.
A student says the Proclamation freed every enslaved person in 1863. Bo checks both cards. Which answer is best?
- It freed the border states first, since they were loyal, and the Confederacy later
- It freed people where Union armies already stood, so it changed little on the day
- It covered areas in rebellion and left border states and Union-held areas alone
- It covered the whole country but could not be enforced in the South until Union victory
South Carolina's declaration of causes
Who made it: the South Carolina secession convention. When: December 24, 1860. Where: Charleston, South Carolina. For whom: the other states and the public. Why: to explain and justify leaving the Union. Excerpt (Declaration of the Immediate Causes (South Carolina, 1860); the 1860 Charleston pamphlet, p. 9): "A geographical line has been drawn across the Union, and all the States north of that line have united in the election of a man to the high office of President of the United States whose opinions and purposes are hostile to slavery. He is to be entrusted with the administration of the Common Government, because he has declared that that "Government cannot endure permanently half slave, half free," and that the public mind must rest in the belief that Slavery is in the course of ultimate extinction." Source card "Mississippi's declaration, 1861, in our words". Who made it: the Mississippi secession convention. When: January 1861. Where: Mississippi. For whom: the other states and the public. Why: to explain and justify leaving the Union. Summary in our words, not a quotation: When Mississippi left the Union in January 1861, its convention issued a declaration of its reasons. It begins by saying that the state's position was thoroughly tied to slavery, which it called a great material interest of the world. It then lists what it saw as attacks on slavery: the ban on slavery in the northern Louisiana Territory in 1820, laws in free states that blocked the Fugitive Slave Law, and the refusal to admit new slave states. It was written by the convention of Mississippi's leaders. Source card "Two accounts of why the South seceded, in brief". Who made it: historians and textbooks writing today. When: today. Where: the United States. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: After the war, many Southern writers argued that the Confederacy had fought for states' rights and not for slavery. Historians today generally point to the secession conventions' own declarations of 1860 and 1861, which name slavery as the cause.
A student argues secession was about tariffs and states' rights, not slavery. Milo checks the cards. Which evidence answers that?
- The postwar writers knew the South closely, so their view outweighs the conventions' own
- The count of eleven states shows the states agreed, so the cause was the same for each
- Both conventions' own declarations of 1860 and 1861 name slavery, before the postwar argument
- The constitutional language in South Carolina's declaration shows states' rights was the real cause
The Compromise of 1850, in brief
Who made it: historians and textbooks writing today. When: today. Where: the United States. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: In 1850 Congress passed five laws about slavery. California joined the Union as a free state. Utah and New Mexico became territories where settlers would decide the question of slavery, an idea called popular sovereignty. A boundary was set between Texas and the rest of the country, and the buying and selling of people was ended in Washington, DC. A stricter Fugitive Slave Act required officials in every state, free or slave, to help arrest people suspected of escaping slavery, and anyone who helped an enslaved person escape faced prison and a fine. Who gained: California, which joined as a free state, and slaveholders, who got the stricter act. Who lost: people who had escaped slavery, who could be arrested in any state. Source card "The Kansas-Nebraska Act, 1854, in brief". Who made it: historians and textbooks writing today. When: today. Where: the United States. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: In 1854 Congress created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska. The act repealed the Missouri Compromise ban on slavery north of 36 degrees 30 minutes. It said the settlers of each territory would decide by popular sovereignty whether slavery would be legal there. Settlers who supported slavery and settlers who opposed it rushed to Kansas, and the conflict turned violent. Opponents of the act helped found the Republican Party. Who gained: people who wanted slavery to spread into the territories. Who lost: people who wanted slavery kept out, because the ban of 1820 was repealed.
A student says the Kansas-Nebraska Act first introduced popular sovereignty. Kira checks the cards. What is the best correction?
- The 1850 compromise already applied it to Utah and New Mexico; 1854 extended it
- It was used in 1850 for California, which entered as a slave state by the settlers' vote
- It was new in 1854, though 1850 had used a version that gave the decision to Congress
- It first appeared in 1820, when Missouri and Maine were admitted together as a pair
Civil War deaths: two estimates
Who made it: historians and textbooks writing today. When: today. Where: the United States. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: For about a century the usual estimate was about 620,000 men who lost their lives in the war. Neither army kept standard records, and the usual figure for Confederate deaths, about 258,000, rested on incomplete battle reports and a rough guess about disease. In 2011 historian J. David Hacker used census records to estimate about 750,000, with a range of 650,000 to 850,000. James McPherson, a historian of the war, called the higher figure plausible. Hacker says roughly two out of three of the men who lost their lives in the war lost them to disease.
Luz reads two estimates of Civil War deaths: about 620,000 and about 750,000. Which judgment is sound?
- The newer estimate rests on census records, so it is better supported, though a range
- The estimates are equal guesses, so neither one can be used in an account of the war
- The older estimate is better, since it was made closer to the war and has stood a century
- The newer estimate is certain, since census records count the people in each household
Mississippi's declaration, 1861, in our words
Who made it: the Mississippi secession convention. When: January 1861. Where: Mississippi. For whom: the other states and the public. Why: to explain and justify leaving the Union. Summary in our words, not a quotation: When Mississippi left the Union in January 1861, its convention issued a declaration of its reasons. It begins by saying that the state's position was thoroughly tied to slavery, which it called a great material interest of the world. It then lists what it saw as attacks on slavery: the ban on slavery in the northern Louisiana Territory in 1820, laws in free states that blocked the Fugitive Slave Law, and the refusal to admit new slave states. It was written by the convention of Mississippi's leaders. Source card "South Carolina on the return of people who escaped slavery". Who made it: the South Carolina secession convention. When: December 24, 1860. Where: Charleston, South Carolina. For whom: the other states and the public. Why: to explain and justify leaving the Union. Excerpt (Declaration of the Immediate Causes (South Carolina, 1860); the 1860 Charleston pamphlet, pp. 7-8): "The Constitution of the United States, in its 4th Article, provides as follows: "No person held to service or labor [slavery] in one State, under the laws thereof, escaping into another, shall … be discharged from such service or labor, but shall be delivered up, on claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be due." … Thus the constitutional compact has been deliberately broken and disregarded by the non-slaveholding States, and the consequence follows that South Carolina is released from her obligation."
Noah has a summary of Mississippi's declaration and an excerpt of South Carolina's. What may Noah claim?
- Exact wording from both, since both cards report what the conventions said in 1860 and 1861
- What each says in substance; exact wording can be quoted from South Carolina's excerpt
- Mississippi's tone, since the summary was written by Mississippi's own convention
- Nothing about Mississippi, since a summary is not usable as evidence of the content
Use this
Source card "Five dated turning points, in brief". Who made it: historians and textbooks writing today. When: today. Where: the United States. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: April 12, 1861: Confederate forces fire on Fort Sumter in South Carolina, and the war formally begins. September 17, 1862: the Battle of Antietam, the day of the war with the most casualties, turns back General Lee's first attempt to invade the North. September 22, 1862: Lincoln issues the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. January 1, 1863: the Emancipation Proclamation takes effect. July 1 to 3, 1863: General Lee's invasion of the North fails at Gettysburg, and his army begins to retreat on July 4. April 9, 1865: General Lee signs the surrender of his army at Appomattox Court House, Virginia.
Tala reads the strip. The preliminary proclamation came five days after Antietam. What can Tala conclude?
- It was a reaction to Gettysburg, which turned back Lee's second invasion of the North
- It was issued before Antietam and was meant to prompt a Union success in that battle
- It took effect on September 22, which is why Antietam marks the start of freedom
- It followed a Union success, but the cards do not state his reason
The Emancipation Proclamation: its limits
Who made it: historians and textbooks writing today. When: today. Where: the United States. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: Lincoln issued the proclamation as a military measure. It covered the states in rebellion, and slavery in the loyal border states of Maryland, Kentucky and Missouri was left as it was. Parts of the Confederacy that Union forces already held were also left out. The promised freedom depended on a Union victory. The proclamation did not end slavery across the nation, but from January 1, 1863, each Union advance widened the area of freedom. It also announced that Black men would be accepted into the Union Army and Navy. Source card "Dred Scott: the ruling and what came after". Who made it: historians and textbooks writing today. When: today. Where: the United States. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: The Supreme Court ruled in 1857 that people of African descent whose ancestors were brought to the country and sold as slaves could not be citizens, and that Congress could not ban slavery in a federal territory. Many legal scholars regard it as one of the worst decisions the Court has made. The 13th Amendment, which abolished slavery, and the 14th Amendment, which made people born in the country citizens, overturned the decision.
A student says the Emancipation Proclamation ended slavery in the United States. Esme reads both cards. What is the best reply?
- The Proclamation ended slavery nationwide, and the 13th Amendment confirmed it afterward
- The 13th Amendment abolished slavery; the Proclamation freed people in rebelling areas
- The Proclamation ended it in the loyal states, and the 13th Amendment ended it in the South
- The 13th Amendment overturned the Proclamation, which the Dred Scott ruling had made void
Black soldiers in the Union forces, in brief
Who made it: historians and textbooks writing today. When: today. Where: the United States. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: About 179,000 Black men served in the Union Army and about 19,000 in the Navy; the National Archives says almost 200,000 Black soldiers and sailors in all. The War Department set up the United States Colored Troops on May 22, 1863. Black soldiers were first paid 10 dollars a month with 3 dollars taken out for clothing, a net of 7 dollars, while white soldiers received 13 dollars with no clothing deduction. In June 1864 Congress granted equal pay and made it retroactive. Nearly 40,000 Black soldiers lost their lives in the war, about 30,000 of them from infection or disease. Source card "Civil War deaths: two estimates". Who made it: historians and textbooks writing today. When: today. Where: the United States. For whom: readers today. Why: to sum up what is known. Summary in our words, not a quotation: For about a century the usual estimate was about 620,000 men who lost their lives in the war. Neither army kept standard records, and the usual figure for Confederate deaths, about 258,000, rested on incomplete battle reports and a rough guess about disease. In 2011 historian J. David Hacker used census records to estimate about 750,000, with a range of 650,000 to 850,000. James McPherson, a historian of the war, called the higher figure plausible. Hacker says roughly two out of three of the men who lost their lives in the war lost them to disease.
Nearly 40,000 Black soldiers lost their lives, about 30,000 to disease; Hacker says two in three war deaths were disease. Ari asks what is fair.
- Disease was rare among Black soldiers, since 30,000 is a small part of 200,000 who served
- The shares cannot be compared, since the war-wide estimate is a different kind of number
- The shares match closely, since both are the same two in three of the casualties
- Disease took a higher share of Black soldiers' deaths, about three in four