ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS….. 1. Given that most northern states had abolished slavery by the 1830s, how can we still think of slavery as a national – rather than regional – economic and political system? 2. Although some poor southern whites resented the dominance of the “slavocracy,” most supported the institution and accepted the power of the planter class. Why did the “plain folk” continue to support slavery? 3. How did the planters’ paternalism serve to justify the system of slavery? How did it hide the reality of life for slaves? 4. Identify the basic elements of the proslavery defense and those points aimed specifically at non-southern audiences. 5. Identify the different types of resistance to slavery. Which ones were the most common, the most effective, and the most demonstrative? 6. Describe the difference between gang labor and task labor for slaves, and explain how slaves’ tasks varied by region across the Old South. 7. Explain the justifications for the doctrine of manifest destiny, including material and idealistic motivations 8. Why did many Americans criticize the Mexican War? How did they see expansion as a threat to American liberties? 9. How did western expansion affect the sectional tensions between the North and South? 10. How did the market revolution contribute to the rise of the Republican Party? How did those economic and political factors serve to unite groups in the Northeast and in the Northwest, and why was that unity significant? 11. How did the Dred Scott decision spark new debates over citizenship for African-Americans? 12. Based on the Lincoln-Douglas debates, how did the two differ on the expansion of slavery, equal rights, and the role of the national government? Use examples of their words to illustrate your points. 13. Why did Stephen Douglas, among others, believe that “popular sovereignty” could resolve sectional divisions of the 1850s? Why did the idea not work out?
