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Questions and Answers
What primary motivation drove the implementation of the Homestead Act of 1862?
What primary motivation drove the implementation of the Homestead Act of 1862?
Which of the following events was directly associated with the concept of Manifest Destiny?
Which of the following events was directly associated with the concept of Manifest Destiny?
What was a significant outcome of the Missouri Compromise of 1820?
What was a significant outcome of the Missouri Compromise of 1820?
Which legislative act allowed settlers the right to decide on the legality of slavery in new territories?
Which legislative act allowed settlers the right to decide on the legality of slavery in new territories?
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What was one of the major reasons abolitionists opposed the annexation of new western territories during the 1840s?
What was one of the major reasons abolitionists opposed the annexation of new western territories during the 1840s?
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What contributed to the widespread growth of slavery in the south compared to the north?
What contributed to the widespread growth of slavery in the south compared to the north?
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What was the significance of 'Bleeding Kansas' in the context of slavery?
What was the significance of 'Bleeding Kansas' in the context of slavery?
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Which of the following statements accurately reflects the purpose of the Underground Railroad?
Which of the following statements accurately reflects the purpose of the Underground Railroad?
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What was one primary objective of the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and the Compromise of 1850?
What was one primary objective of the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and the Compromise of 1850?
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Which action did the Homestead Act of 1862 primarily encourage?
Which action did the Homestead Act of 1862 primarily encourage?
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Study Notes
Westward Expansion
- Gold Rush (1849) spurred westward migration, boosting California and western territory populations.
- Homestead Act (1862) offered free land to settlers, primarily in the Great Plains, promoting western settlement.
- Pacific (Transcontinental) Railway Act (1862) encouraged railroad construction with land grants, facilitating transcontinental travel.
- Manifest Destiny was the belief that the US should expand across the continent, used to justify westward expansion and acquiring territories from other nations. This led to events like the annexation of Texas and the Mexican-American War.
- Abolitionists opposed westward expansion in the 1840s, worried about adding new slave states.
- Major abolitionists included William Lloyd Garrison, Harriet Tubman, and Harriet Beecher Stowe.
- Territorial expansion sparked heightened tensions over the issue of slavery in new territories.
Compromises related to Slavery
- Missouri Compromise (1820) admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state, maintaining a balance in Congress. Gold rush migration was a factor in the compromise.
- Compromise of 1850 was a series of five laws that attempted to resolve the issue of slavery in newly acquired territories after the Mexican-American War.
- Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854) allowed residents of these territories to decide on the issue of slavery by popular sovereignty (allowing settlers to decide if they wanted slavery in the territories.)
Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857)
- Supreme Court ruling that Congress could not ban slavery in territories. This greatly complicated the issue and furthered sectional conflict.
Plantations and Slavery
- Plantations used significant amounts of slave labor.
- Geographic factors (e.g., suitability to farming cotton) contributed to the expansion of slavery in the South.
- Inventions like the cotton gin increased cotton production, boosting the demand for enslaved labor.
Bleeding Kansas
- Clashes between pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions in Kansas reflected the widening sectional conflict over slavery.
Uncle Tom's Cabin
- Book by Harriet Beecher Stowe depicting the horrors of slavery, which galvanized anti-slavery sentiment.
Underground Railroad
- Secret network that aided escaped enslaved people to freedom in the North, led by figures like Harriet Tubman.
Homestead Act (1862)
- Key goal was to encourage western settlement.
- Provided land to settlers.
- Had the effect of promoting westward movement.
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Description
Explore the dynamics of westward expansion in the United States, focusing on key events such as the Gold Rush, the Homestead Act, and the implications of Manifest Destiny. In addition, examine how territorial growth heightened tensions regarding slavery and the pivotal compromises that followed. This quiz delves into the historical context and major figures involved in these transformative years.
