Chapter 15, Section 2
A Nation Dividing
(pages 441–444)
Setting a Purpose for Reading Think about these questions as you read:
• How did the Fugitive Slave Act and the Kansas-Nebraska Act further
divide the North and South?
• How did popular sovereignty lead to violence?
As you read pages 441–444 in your textbook, complete this graphic organizer by
describing how Southerners and Northerners reacted to the Kansas-Nebraska Act.
Kansas-Nebraska Act
Southern reaction
Northern reaction
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
As you read, put the following events in the correct order by writing the
number 1 through 4 in the space to the left. Use the number 1 for the event
that occurred first, 2 for the next event, and so on.
_____ A. Franklin Pierce becomes president.
_____ B. Fugitive Slave Act is passed.
_____ C. Uncle Tom’s Cabin is published.
_____ D. Elections take place in Kansas.
220
Chapter 15, Section 2
The Fugitive Slave Act
(pages 441–442)
Answer the following questions to describe the Northern
and Southern responses to the Fugitive Slave Act.
1. Once the Act was passed, what did Southerners do?
2. How did Northerners react to those actions?
Define or describe the Fugitive Slave Act.
Fugitive Slave
Act
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
The Kansas-Nebraska Act
(pages 442–443)
As you read the lesson, identify the cause and two effects
of the Kansas-Nebraska Act.
Cause
Effect 1
Effect 2
Chapter 15, Section 2
221
Define or describe the following key terms.
KansasNebraska Act
popular
sovereignty
Conflict in Kansas
(pages 443–444)
Complete an outline of “Bleeding Kansas” you read the
section.
I. “Bleeding Kansas”
A. __________________________________________________________
1. ________________________________________________________
2. ________________________________________________________
B. __________________________________________________________
border
ruffians
civil war
222
Chapter 15, Section 2
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Use each of the following key terms from this lesson in a
sentence.
Now that you have read the section, write the answers to
the questions that were included in Setting a Purpose for
Reading at the beginning of the section.
How did the Fugitive Slave Act and the Kansas-Nebraska Act further divide
the North and South?
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
How did popular sovereignty lead to violence?
Chapter 15, Section 2
223
Name
Date
Class
Section
Guided Reading Activity
Toward Civil War
A Nation Dividing
Always find the main idea of the passage you are reading. Look for a specific
idea and write it down. Do details in the passage support what you think is the main idea?
Filling in the Blanks
DIRECTIONS: Use your textbook to fill in the blanks
using the words in the box. Some words may not be used.
Lawrence
Nebraska
Charles Sumner
slave
Underground Railroad
border ruffians
Fugitive Slave Act
Iowa
civil war
popular sovereignty
free
John Brown
Kansas
Preston Brooks
Missouri Compromise
required citizens to help catch enslaved people who ran away.
The (1)
Many Northerners refused to cooperate and helped runaways through the
.
(2)
(3)
and (4)
(5)
states, Douglas proposed that the settlers in each territory should vote on
. Because they were likely to become
the slavery issue. He called this (6)
repealed the (7)
. Douglas’s plan would have effectively
.
Pro-slavery and antislavery groups rushed into Kansas, including armed groups of
Missourians known as (8)
(9)
. In 1856 slavery supporters attacked the town of
. In retaliation, the abolitionist (10)
led a group in
killing five slavery supporters. The violence in Kansas was seen by many people as a
(11)
because it involved citizens of the same country. Physical conflict
even occurred in Congress when Senator (12)
with a cane.
40
was struck unconscious
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Senator Stephen A. Douglas created a plan to organize the territories of