Task
6.1
Name ___________________________
Course: US History/Ms. Brown
Date: ___________________
Homeroom:
7th Grade US History
Standard # – Do Now – Day #122
Aims: SWBAT explain how Manifest Destiny increased tension between the North and South (as
evidenced by the Kansas-Nebraska Act)
DO NOW
Directions: Answer the following questions in complete and historically accurate sentences. You
must attempt each question, there should be absolutely no blank spaces. Be sure to provide
examples and evidence to support your answers.
1. What is your personal goal for US History for the remainder of the school year?
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2. How do you plan on achieving that goal?
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3. What is one thing you hope to learn about (or more about) in history before moving on to the
eighth grade?
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US History, Ms. Brown
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1
Task
6.1
Name ___________________________
I.
Date: ___________________
Homeroom: __________________
Vocabulary
Popular Sovereignty: __________________________________________________________________
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Border Ruffian: _______________________________________________________________________
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II.
The Kansas-Nebraska Act: Historical Context
The slavery debate culminated with the proposal of the Kansas-Nebraska Act in late May
of 1854, although slavery was not necessarily the only issue at hand. Proposed by
Stephen Douglas, the Kansas-Nebraska Act centered on a notion proposed by Douglas,
that of “popular sovereignty.” The Kansas-Nebraska Act concerned the land which had
previously been decided upon by the Missouri Compromise of 1820. The act succeeded
in dividing the region into two territories, the Kansas Territory (south of the 40th parallel)
and the Nebraska Territory (North of the 40th parallel). Slavery was to be decided by the
people of the Kansas Territory, hence the notion of popular sovereignty. Slavery was to
be prohibited in the Nebraska Territory. Such an act clearly abolished the Missouri
Compromise, which called for a complete prohibition of slavery north of the 36 30
latitude line.
Douglas’ role in the passing of the Kansas-Nebraska Act can be seen as an example of
his keen compromising skills. The Act was a result of a compromise with southern
senators concerning the ever-growing railroad industry. Douglas, senator from Illinois,
desired a railroad line to pass through Chicago on its journey to the Pacific Coast.
Southern senators, on the other hand, wished the railroad line to begin in New Orleans
and continue on to southern California. As a result, Douglas proposed the KansasNebraska Act in exchange for the agreement of the southern Senators to a railroad
through Chicago.
1. How did the Kansas-Nebraska Act abolish the Missouri Compromise of 1820?
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2. What implications would the abolition of the Missouri Compromise have on westward
expansion?
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US History, Ms. Brown
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2
Task
6.1
Name ___________________________
III.
Date: ___________________
Homeroom: __________________
Cause and Effect
Americans believed in Manifest
Destiny. Therefore, they wanted to
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________
The USA acquires more land from
__________________. The
__________________ and
____________________ disagree over
whether this new territory will be
_________________________________
or
_________________________________
.
The USA buys the
_________________________________
________________________
The Compromise of 1850 is made:
a. ______________________________
enters as a free state.
b. New Mexico and Utah
territories will get to ____________
on whether they will be slave or
free
c. The
_________________________________
_________ Law is enforced
The
______________________________
Act undoes the
________________________
Compromise. People are upset in
both the North and South
because they worry other
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might be undone
US History, Ms. Brown
3
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Stephen Douglas proposed the
_______________ Act. This Act said
that the people of Kansas and
Nebraska would get to ___ on
whether their states would be
slave or free
Task
6.1
Name ___________________________
IV.
Date: ___________________
Homeroom: _____________
Bleeding Kansas
Kansas now became a testing ground for popular sovereignty. Stephen Douglas hoped that
settlers would decide the slavery issue peacefully on Election Day. Instead, pro-slavery and
anti-slavery forces sent settlers to Kansas to fight for control of the territory.
Settlers began rushing to Kansas. Most of the new arrivals were farmers from neighboring
states. Their main interest in moving to Kansas was cheap land Few of these settlers owned
slaves. At the same time, abolitionists brought in more than 1,000 settlers from New
England. Pro-slavery settlers moved into Kansas as well. They wanted to make sure that
anti-slavery forces did not overrun the territory. Pro-slavery bands from Missouri often rose
across the border. These Border Ruffians battled the anti-slavery forces in Kansas.
In 1855, Kansas held elections to choose lawmakers. Hundreds of Border Ruffians crossed
into Kansas and voted illegally. They helped elect a pro-slavery legislature. The new
legislature quickly passed laws to support slavery. One law said that people could be put to
death for helping slaves escape. Another made speaking out against slavery a crime
punishable by two years of hard labor.
Anti-slavery settlers refused to accept these laws. They elected their own governor and
legislature. With two rival governments, Kansas was in chaos. In 1856, a band of proslavery men raided the town of Lawrence, an anti-slavery stronghold. The attackers
destroyed homes and smashed the press of an abolitionist newspaper.
John Brown an abolitionist, decided to strike back. Brown had moved to Kansas to help
make it a free state. He claimed that God sent him to punish the supporters of slavery.
Brown rode with his four sons and two other men to the town of Pottawatomic (Pott – ah –
wah – toe – mick) Creek. In the middle of the night, they dragged five pro-slavery settlers
from their beds and murdered them.
The killings at Pottawatomic Creek sparked more violence. Both sides fought fiercely. By
later 1856, more than 200 people had been killed. Newspapers called the territory Bleeding
Kansas.
1. How did the Kansas Nebraska Act increase sectional polarization?
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US History, Ms. Brown
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Task
6.1
Name ___________________________
Date: ___________________
Homeroom: __________________
2. How do you think northerners interpreted the situation in Kansas?
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3. How do you think southerners interpreted the situation in Kansas?
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US History, Ms. Brown
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Task
6.1
US History, Ms. Brown
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6
Task
6.1
Name ___________________________
Date: ___________________
Homeroom: __________________
HOMEWORK
_____/10 Mastered/Passing/Not Mastered
Confronting the Issue of Slavery: When Missouri applied for statehood, Congress had to confront the
problem of the spread of slavery into the territories.
Issue 1: Missouri applied for statehood as a slave state
Northerners favored/opposed (circle one) this
Southerners favored/opposed (circle one) this
because
because
The Missouri Compromise Unravels: The issue of slavery continued to divide the nation
Issue 2: Some northerners assisted fugitive slaves
Northerners tolerated/condemned (circle one)
Southerners tolerated/condemned (circle one)
this practice because
this practice because
Issue 3: California applied for admission as a free state
Northerners favored/opposed (circle one)
Southerners favored/opposed (circle one)
admitting California as a free state because
admitting California as a free state because
The Compromise satisfies no one: In spite of the Compromise of 1850, the dispute over slavery
became increasingly bitter
Issue 4: The Kansas-Nebraska Act stated that the issue of slavery in those territories
would be decided by popular sovereignty. Both pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces rushed
to the territories to vote
Northerners were pleased/unhappy (circle one) Southerners were pleased/unhappy (circle one)
about the act because
about this act because
US History, Ms. Brown
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Task
6.1
US History, Ms. Brown
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Task
6.1
Name ___________________________
Date: ___________________
Homeroom: __________________
EXIT TICKET
_____/5 Mastered/Passing/Not Mastered
1. “Compromise Enables Maine and Missouri to Enter Union” (1820)
“California Admitted to Union as Free State” (1850)
“Kansas-Nebraska Act Sets Up Popular Sovereignty” (1854)
Which issue is reflected in these headlines?
a. enactment of protective tariffs
b. extension of slavery
c. voting rights for minorities
d. universal publication
2. In the
a.
b.
c.
d.
1850s, the phrase “Bleeding Kansas” was used to describe clashes between
Pro-slavery and anti-slavery groups
Spanish landowners and new American settlers
Chinese and Irish railroad workers
Native American Indians and white settlers
3. The Kansas-Nebraska Act decided to decide the slavery question in Nebraska and Kansas by
a. Allowing slavery in Kansas and not Nebraska
b. Allowing slavery in Nebraska and not Kansas
c. Banning slavery in both Kansas and Nebraska
d. Allowing people in Kansas and Nebraska to vote whether they wanted slavery
4. The vote for or against slavery in Kansas sparked violence because
a. Canadians living in Kansas did not want slavery and they attacked the Kansan
government
b. Free African Americans in the territory revolted when white Americans tried to enslave
them
c. The Senate made Kansas pro-slavery without asking people from Kansas what they
wanted
d. Many Missourians voted, which was illegal and unfair
5. What was the affect of the Kansas-Nebraska Act on the Missouri Compromise?
a. The Kansas-Nebraska Act reversed the fugitive slave law, which made the Missouri
Compromise less balanced and fair toward the south
b. The Kansas-Nebraska Act allowed slavery in land won in the Mexican American war,
which helped keep compromises made in the Missouri Compromise fair
c. The Kansas-Nebraska Act would upset the balance between free and Slave states and
brought slavery to an area not allowed in the Missouri Compromise
d. The Kansas Nebraska Act had no effect on the Missouri Compromise
US History, Ms. Brown
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9