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Three Rivers Community College Name: ___Wilfredo Dolores____

Summer 2020 (51171 Hist. K201 RD8)
Early American History – Final Exam

Part I [10] Short Answer 30 Points

1) List one compromise included in the US Constitution in 1793 regarding slavery.

Slave Societies / Plantation States demanded Compromises on Slavery before they would agree to the
Constitution.

2) Name the invention (and inventor) that allowed for quick processing of raw cotton and was a factor
in the rapid expansion of slavery.

Eli Whitney invented the Cotton (Engine) “Gin” to process raw cotton faster than ever. (301)

3) What was the name of the French and British practice of stopping US ships and forcing American
sailors to serve in their Navies? Also, name the war the Americans fought to end this practice?

Naval Impressment – French taking US sailors and pressing them into the French Navy.

Quasi-War w/ France
v US Frigates (warships) constructed to fight the French & protect US shipping. US Navy
grows.
v Fighting stops when (1799-1814 ) Napoleonic Wars begin. Napoleon Bonaparte goes to
war with most of Europe, would rather trade with US.

4) Who won the election of 1824 AND why was it described (by the losers) as the “Corrupt Bargain?”

Jackson won the Popular Vote 43%....but John Q. Adams was chosen President.

Jackson and his supporters called the outcome the “Corrupt Bargain” between Adams & Clay.
n When President Adams (JQA) appointed Henry Clay as Secretary of State in 1825, the
claim of a Corrupt Bargain seemed even more believable.
n JQA denied the appointment was political payback, he claimed he wished to put the best
people in office.
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5) What political party did Andrew Jackson create in 1828 when he ran for President?

Jackson’s supporters break Democrat-Republican party & formed the “Democrat” Party (the
creation of the same Democrat Party that exists today)

6) Briefly describe the concept of “Manifest Destiny.”

God’s will for the US to expand west.

A concept articulating American feelings toward new lands.

7) Name the gathering of women’s rights supporters in New York in 1848.

Seneca Falls Convention

8) What does “Popular Sovereignty” refer to? Give one example of where it was applied.

Let the people of the territory vote whether to allow slavery or ban slavery when they apply for
statehood.
Democrat slaveholders supported it, Democrats in Free States opposed it & alienated many
Northern Democrats
The Missouri Compromise Line was no more.

Buchanan inherited a country politically divided over the expansion of slavery, and fighting in
Kansas.
He supported Popular Sovereignty & Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 along with his fellow
Democrats.
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9) If the “border States” seceded from the Union the war may had been unwinnable for President
Lincoln.

A. What was a “border state?”

Border state were slave states that did not secede from the Union. The US states of Missouri,
Kentucky, Maryland, and Delaware allowed slavery and maintained that right throughout the war.

B. Name one “Border State.”

Maryland

10) What year did Reconstruction end?

1876

Part II [5] Brief Response 30 Points

1) Choose three examples which illustrate the growing sectional divide and explain why.
Each example should date to the different time periods noted below.
Again – one each example for A, B, & C…..three answers total.

A. Early Republic 1783 – 1830:

n Jan 1815 Battle of New Orleans

n General Andrew Jackson leads US troops to victory after peace was declared!

B. Age of Jackson 1830 – 1850:

n Return of the Second (& third) Party System (387-89)

n National Republicans – 1825/1830
n More like Federalists under JQA
n Supported Federal funding & tariffs to encourage economy. Strong in the
Northeast Region.
n Democrats – 1828
n State rights / State funding / Opposed Tariffs.
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n A national party but was strongest in the South and Western regions.
n Whigs – 1834
n A Nationalist party which distrusted immigrants
n Called for Federal support for infrastructure & economy.
n Growing national party, moderately anti-slave.
Strongest in West and Northeast.

C. Antebellum Period 1850 – 1860:

n 1857 Dred Scott Case

n Was enslaved by a US Army surgeon in the Northwest Territory before the area
became Illinois and Wisconsin. Scott sued for freedom arguing he was held in a
“free” territory where slavery was not allowed.
n The case went before the US Supreme Court which decided that Scott could not
sue because he was not legally considered a man, but property.
n The court ruled that African-Americans could not be citizens and that it was
Unconstitutional to ban slavery in the US.

2) The period between 1790 and 1850 was an incredibly profitable time for U.S. markets.
 Describe how industrialization, plantation slavery, and cotton were interrelated at this time.

• 1790: English immigrant, Samuel Slater, brought information with him to the US to build
water-powered cotton mills & machinery.

• Wealthy Rhode Islander, Moses Brown, financed Slater & they built the first water-powered
mill was built at Pawtucket on the Blackstone River , RI.
• First US factory to successfully produce cotton yarn with water-powered machines.
• 1810 – 1815 : Water-powered textile mills were in limited use in the Northeast.
• Steam Power was pioneered by James Watts in England in the 1790’s.
• Adopted by American industry around 1840.
• Mills no longer needed to be built near water power.

 The Industrial Revolution was based on Textile Manufacturing.

• Textiles required fibrous raw materials.
• Sheep’s Wool, Hemp/Flax/Tow, and/or Cotton.

 1793: Eli Whitney (New Haven, CT) while living on a Georgia plantation invents the
Cotton Engine (Cotton Gin) to quickly process raw cotton.
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 More finished cotton could be produced than ever before. Northern mills & Europe
demanded more cotton for textile production.

 The best cotton producing lands were in the Deep South. Slavery was used to grow the
crop.

 The demand for cotton increased the demand for slaves.

3) John Brown’s actions at US Arsenal Harper’s Ferry, VA was a catalyst leading to the Civil War.
 What did Brown do and why did his actions enrage southern fire-eaters and strike fear in others?

 In 1858 he planned an armed slave insurrection in the south. Chose the US Arsenal at Harpers
Ferry, VA.

o The plot was armed & financed by northern abolitionists.

o Plan was to seize US Arsenal Harpers Ferry & use the weapons to start an slave
insurrection.

 October 1859 – Brown’s attack on Harper’s Ferry failed, the rebels were killed or captured.
Brown was tried and executed.
 Brown’s raid (financed, armed, & planned in the north) embodied the fears of slaveholders, a
northern abolitionist inspired slave revolt. It further polarized pro and anti-slave opinions.

4) What event started the Civil War (1861-1865)?

When Lincolns order resupply of Fort Sumter rebel gun batteries around Charleston (SC) Harbor
opened fire on the fort starting the war on April 12, 1861.

Once it began what was the general strategic plan of Union commanders?
The initial focus of the war was to “Preserve the Union”….not to Free the Slaves.
Save the United States & Constitutional Government.
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Most Union recruits would not have risked their lives to free slaves

Why did 1863 prove to be a turning point in the war?

The Emancipation took permanent effect January 1, 1863

v The proclamation put slavery on the path to ending. Emancipation was a new aspect of the
war, a goal of the war, in addition to Saving the Union.
v Europeans supported the measure, all of which had outlawed slavery.
v This measure helped keep England from officially recognizing the CSA because US
victory would mean the end of slavery.

5) Detail the 13th, 14th, & 15th Amendments.

 Explain each and what was each meant to address?

n In December 1865 the 13th Amendment passed making Slavery Illegal in the United States.
It was championed by Lincoln before he died.

n Congressed passed the 14th Amendment 1866(April) to try too protect Africa American
voting rights.
n Citizenship for anyone born in US
n Loss of congressional representation to any state that denied Black suffrage.

n 15th Amendment 1869 – Prohibited the denial of suffrage (voting) based on race, color,
previous servitude.
n Congress understood this was necessary to ensure that all US States would allow
African American men to vote.
n Women were still excluded as were Native Americans.
n If state still kept African American men from voting….they would lose
representatives in Congress.
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Part III [1] Essay Section 40 Points

Address one of the following essay topics and compose a well-thought out discussion of the topic.
Hint: Brainstorm ideas and try drawing an outline of your essay before you write it…

Choose ONE of the following essay topics:

1) From 1810 to 1860 the United States experienced tremendous industrial growth and urbanization.
 How did the Industrial Revolution take root in the US and why did it start where it did?
 What fueled the Industrial Revolution and what factors helped with the growth of urbanization
throughout the country?
 Finally, what groups did mill owners turn to in order to fulfill their needs? How did the Mill
Town help achieve the reliable workforce they desired?

2) Detail the many issues, acts, compromises, etc….which contributed to the growing sectional divide
in the United States beginning with the adoption of the US constitution to the outbreak of the
American Civil War. Describe the evolution by considering various acts, compromises, conflict,
and court cases.

3) Who were the Abolitionists?

 What were the various abolitionist philosophies and how did these various abolition groups
seek to end slavery.
 Describe specific individuals and their contribution to the abolitionist struggle.
 Finally, the so-called “Fire Eaters” could be considered the opposite of the
abolitionists….who were they and what were some of their pro-slavery arguments?

4) The Emancipation Proclamation has come to stand for many things to many people over the
years. Discuss the Emancipation Proclamation as a political tool; as a war measure; as a referendum on
the issue of slavery in the United States.
 Why did Lincoln issue the proclamation when he did [September 22, 1862 / January 1, 1863]?
 How did it impact the institution of slavery in the United States and address Lincoln’s political and
military concerns?
 In what ways did the American public react to the proclamation?

5) How did southern reconstruction policy progress following Lincoln’s assassination?

 Why did Congress ultimately take control of reconstruction by 1867?
 Describe both the failures and success of the reconstruction era and explain how it came
to an end.
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Essay # ___1___