EXAMPLES OF ESSAY QUESTIONS-Unit 8

1. Explain the widespread popularity of the concept of popular sovereignty as a way to resolve the issue of slavery in the territories. Then explain why it ultimately failed. 2. What was responsible for the violence in “Bleeding Kansas”? Why might the violence be viewed as a “prelude to Civil War”? 3. What were the implications of the Dred Scott decision for a. the status of free blacks in the United States? b. the concept of popular sovereignty? c. the future of slavery in America? 4. To what extend did each of these individuals contribute to the coming of the Civil War: John Brown, Stephen Douglas, Abraham Lincoln. 5. Rank the following in order of their importance to the coming of the Civil War: Kansas-Nebraska Act, Dred Scott decision, John Brown’s raid, Lincoln’s election. Justify your ranking. 6. The authors argue that despite Lincoln’s election in 1860, the South “was not badly off.” What do they mean? Why, in spite of this, did southern states secede? 7. To what extent was President Lincoln justified in his violations of ordinary civil liberties during the Civil War? Why or why not? 8. Assess the validity of the following statement, “the South’s devotion to states’ rights was a major reason for its failure to win the Civil War.” 9. At the outset of the Civil War, the South confidently anticipated that King Cotton would guarantee it European intervention. Why didn’t this intervention materialize? 10. Identify the significance of the Border States to both the North and the South. How did they influence the shaping of Union strategy? 11. Which of the following do you think was the most significant battle of the Civil War: Antietam, Gettysburg, Vicksburg? Why? 12. Historians usually rank the “Great Emancipator,” Abraham Lincoln, as the “greatest” of American presidents. Do you agree? Why or why not? 13. Explain why General Sherman conducted the devastating “march to the sea.” Explain in what ways this was like conducting modern “total war.” 14. List the three most significant immediate consequences of the Civil War. Justify your selection and indicate which one consequence you think was the most important and why.