Name____________________, _________________
______________ U.S. History 1 —Period ______
Date in Full: _________________ _____, 20_____
What Caused the Civil War DBQ
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Close Reading Work—The Background Essay
Essay continued on the next page….
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1. Underline possible reasons for the Civil War given in the background essay.
2. Circle details for those reasons.
3. What is the analytical question for the DBQ? _______________________________________________
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4. What two terms must be defined in the question? Define or expalin each
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5. Restate the analytical question in your own words. _____________________________________________
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6. Label the buckets below with three causes suggested in the background essay.
Causes of the Civil War DBQ Packet
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Document A
Document A
7. In what section of the US were most rail lines concentrated? ___________________
8. What does this say about that section as compared to the others? __________________________
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9. In what section of the US were most slaves and cotton plantations? __________________
10. What does this say about sectional differences? ________________________________________
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11. Which two causes do the maps imply as possible sparks of the Civil War?
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a. _____________________________________________________________________
b. _____________________________________________________________________
Document B
12. How does the population, free and enslaved, compare in the North to the South? _______________
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13. What do the pie charts indicate about the differences in the economies between the North and the South?
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14. Give specific details about economic differences from question #13 based on the charts. _______________
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15. Which cause(s) would be supported by Document B? _____________________________________
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Document C
16. What do Helper (Doc C) and Hammond (Doc D) have in common? ____________________________
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17. How are Helper and Hammond different from each other? ________________________________
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18. What is the value of the documents in writing an essay on the causes of the Civil War? _______________
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19. What is the Point-of-View of Helper (Doc C) and his concern for the South? ______________________
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20. What is the purpose of Hammond’s (Doc D) writing? ____________________________________
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Document E
21. What is the claim of Senator Calhoun in Document E? ______________________________
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22. How does President Lincoln counter Calhoun’s claim in Document F? ____________________
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23. Why might Calhoun take this stance in light of Documents C and D? ____________________________
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24. Why would Lincoln give this counter-claim in Document F when he did? __________________________
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Document G
25. What cause(s) do Documents G and H speak to in regard to the Civil War? ______________________
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26. Considering the sources of Documents G and H, what value does each have in analyzing the source in answering
the question, i.e., how valid are the two sources? _____________________________________
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27. How do the “notes” help you to evaluate the validity of Documents G and H? ____________________
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28. Douglass (Doc G) points to the irony of the Fourth of July. Summarize the contradictions he gives. _______
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29. In synthesizing these documents in an essay, how might you see Fitzhugh as an answer to Douglass? ______
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Document I
30. What kind of source is this (Doc I)? Does the type of source make it more or less or equal to a primary source?
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__________________
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32. Which cause of the Civil War does Document I address? __________________________________
33. What other documents might you use for synthesis of Document I in an essay? ___________________
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31. What is the main idea of this passage (Doc I) from the textbook, THE AMERICANS?
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Document J
34. Which cause(s) can be detailed or backed by Document J? _______________________________
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35. Go back to the Background Essay and define Popular Sovereignty here: _______________________
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36. At the time, Stephen Douglas’ popular sovereignty seemed like a good compromise. Why might we now
consider it short-sighted? ___________________________________________________
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Document K
37. Who are the two men depicted in this cartoon? ____________________________________
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38. What are the issues (causes of the Civil War) of Document K? ____________________________
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39. What is the POV of Document K and how can you tell? ________________________________
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Document L
40. What is the main idea in Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Taney’s majority opinion (Doc L) in the Dred Scott
(1857) case? _____________________________________________________________
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41. How does Abraham Lincoln use Taney’s decision (Doc L) in his “House Divided” speech (Doc M) of 1858?
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42. What cause do both Documents L and M address? Which other documents might you use synthesize
Documents L and M? ________________________________________________________
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Document N
43. There were 303 Electoral College votes cast. Look at the percentage of popular votes. Did Lincoln win or was
the election thrown to the House as Representatives according to the rules of the Constitution? Explain.
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44. Where (region) did each of the four candidates have the most support according to Document N?
_______________________
b. Breckenridge:
_______________________
c. Douglas:
_______________________
d. Bell:
_______________________
45. What cause can be backed by Document N? __________________________________________
a. Lincoln:
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