Document-Based Activities on Sectionalism,
1820–1860
Using Primary Sources and the Internet
Michael Hutchison, Writer
Kerry Gordonson, Editor
Bill Williams, Editor
Dr. Aaron Willis, Project Coordinator
Jonathan English, Editorial Assistant
Social Studies School Service
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All the Web addresses in this book can be found on our Web site:
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Updated 2005
© 2004 Social Studies School Service
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Permission is granted to reproduce individual worksheets for classroom use only.
Printed in the United States of America.
ISBN: 1-56004-133-1
Product Code: ZP202
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Teacher Introduction ................................................................................................ v
Overview: Sectionalism ............................................................................................. vii
LESSONS:
1. The Missouri Compromise of 1820
Teacher Page ...................................................................................................... 1
Student Worksheet ............................................................................................... 3
2. The Compromise of 1850
Teacher Page ...................................................................................................... 7
Student Worksheet................................................................................................ 9
3. The Kansas-Nebraska Act
Teacher Page ...................................................................................................... 13
Student Worksheet ............................................................................................... 15
4. The Dred Scott Decision
Teacher Page ....................................................................................................... 19
Student Worksheet ............................................................................................... 21
5. John Brown
Teacher Page ...................................................................................................... 25
Student Worksheet ............................................................................................... 27
Culminating Activities ............................................................................................ 31
Appendix
Answer Key ......................................................................................................... 35
Rubrics ................................................................................................................ 41
Related Web Sites ................................................................................................ 47
Suggested Curriculum Materials ........................................................................ 49
1
The Missouri Compromise of 1820
Teacher Page
Overview:
After the Constitutional Convention, Congress continually sought to maintain some sort
of balance between Northern and Southern states. The population of the North was
greater than that of the South, giving the North a majority in the House of
Representatives. In the Senate, however, each state was allotted two seats; since there
were an equal number of slave and free states, the chamber was thus evenly divided. The
admission of Missouri as a slave state, as well as the disposition of other territory
acquired in the Louisiana Purchase, threatened the balance.
The Missouri Compromise seemed to solve the problem by admitting Missouri as a slave
state and Maine as a free state, as well as dividing the rest of the Louisiana Purchase into
slave and free territory. However, some were critical of the compromise.
Objectives:
Students will:
•
•
•
read and analyze both the Missouri Compromise and a letter from Thomas
Jefferson about the compromise
develop hypotheses regarding Jefferson’s motives and interests
make conclusions as to the impact of the compromise and its effect on later
sectional issues
Web Sites Used in this Lesson:
Students will utilize two sources in the lesson.
• A transcript of the legislation which allowed for the creation of the state of Missouri,
as well as setting up the dividing line between slave and free territory in the
remaining Louisiana Purchase. It can be found at
http://www.socialstudies.com/article.html?article@missouri_compromise1820.
(Note: Students will focus on Section 8 of the compromise legislation.)
• A letter written by Thomas Jefferson about the passage of the compromise bill,
located on the Library of Congress site at
http://www.socialstudies.com/article.html?article@jefferson_holmes.
Strategies:
Introduce the lesson discussing the definition of the term “compromise” and why
compromises are necessary in life as well as legislation. You should also discuss the
balance between slave and free states in Congress, and how the admission of Missouri
threatened that balance.
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Using the textbook or map, review the basic components of the compromise, which
included the admission of Missouri as a slave state, the admission of Maine as a free
state, and the drawing of the 36o30' line which separated slave and free territory in the
remainder of the Louisiana Territory. (A map of the compromise can be found at
http://www.wfu.edu/%7Ezulick/340/maps/map3.html).
Have students complete the worksheets.
Student answers for each question should range from two or three sentences to as much
as a single paragraph or a page, depending on the time available and the depth of answer
desired.
Wrap-Up:
Discuss Jefferson’s general views on slavery: You can either have students refer to
textbook material or you can have them read excerpts from Jefferson’s writings (one
good source is at http://www.socialstudies.com/article.html?article@jefferson_
onslavery). What did Jefferson see as the main obstacles to emancipation?
Extension Activity:
Have students assume the roles of newspaper editors in the 1820s and write editorials
either supporting the compromise or opposing it, using evidence from the resources in the
lesson and from their textbook to support their arguments.
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The Missouri Compromise of 1820
Student Worksheet
Introduction:
Frequently, disputes or arguments between people are best solved through compromise:
each side gets part of what it wants, but has to give a little to the opposition as well. This
was true in 1820 with the admission of Missouri to the Union. Northern states and
Southern states sought to protect their interests while at the same time ensuring the
expansion of the United States.
While many hailed the compromise for meeting the concerns of both regions, others saw
trouble in its provisions.
All Web links for this lesson can be found at:
http://www.socialstudies.com/uslinks.html
Directions:
Transcript of the Missouri Compromise
http://www.socialstudies.com/article.html?article@missouri_compromise1820
Read the document, then answer the following questions:
1. Look at “SEC. 8” of this document. According to this section, how was the
Louisiana Purchase to be divided into slave and free territory? Regarding slavery,
what does the document say about the status of Missouri?
2. What does this section of the document state about fugitive or “runaway” slaves?
Why do you think the document didn’t include the word “slave” here even though
it obviously was referring to slaves?
Thomas Jefferson to John Holmes, April 22, 1820
http://www.socialstudies.com/article.html?article@jefferson_holmes
Read the source, then answer the following questions:
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3. Describe what this source is.
4. What phrase did Jefferson use to describe his reaction to the announcement of the
Missouri Compromise? What do you think he meant by this phrase?
5. Jefferson also noted that he considered this the “knell of the Union,” adding, “this
is a reprieve only, not a final sentence.” What do you believe Jefferson meant by
this remark?
6. To what is Jefferson referring here: “A geographical line, coinciding with a
marked principle, moral and political, once conceived and held up to the angry
passions of men, will never be obliterated; and every new irritation will mark it
deeper and deeper”? What do you think he meant by this sentence?
7. Jefferson next notes that “we have the wolf by the ears, and we can neither hold
him, nor safely let him go.” What do you think he meant by this statement?
8. Further on in the letter, why does Jefferson claim that the “sacrifice” of the
“generation of 1776” was being “thrown away by the unwise and unworthy
passions of their sons”? Why does he portray the compromise as an “act of
suicide”?
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