Download Chapter 15 Section 1: Texas Secession

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Chapter 15 Section 1: Texas Secession
1. Before the Civil War, what were 3 issues that divided the nation? What was considered the
biggest issue?
Tariffs, distribution of public lands, states’ rights, and slavery; slavery was biggest issue
2. What new political party united Americans who were against slavery? Who did they believe
caused the economic depression of the 1850s?
Republican Party; Southern Democrats
3. What were 3 proposals that this new party recommended to bring prosperity back to the U.S.?
Why were Southern Democrats against these proposals?
High tariffs, the Homestead Act, and internal improvements (roads, canals, railroad); they thought
these proposals would only benefit the North
4. Before the election of 1860, Southern states argued that sovereignty rested where? What did
they believe sovereign states had the right to do?
In the states; leave the Union voluntarily
5. What happened in December 1860 and January 1861?
6 states seceded from the Union (SC, MS, FL, AL, GA, LA)
6. What was Sam Houston’s view on secession? What were 2 reasons for his view?
Against it; Texas could better protect its interests by staying in the Union, and he did not believe the
South could win the war
7. What was Governor Houston hoping for when he called a special session of the legislature?
What did the legislature do instead?
He hoped the Texas legislature would declare the secession convention illegal; the legislature
supported the convention
8. What did the Ordinance of Secession accuse the U.S. government of doing?
Abused its power in order to “strike down the interest and the prosperity of the people of Texas”
9. What happened on February 23, 1861? What number was Texas in the order of secession?
The people of Texas voted for secession by a vote of 46, 153 to 14, 747; 7th state
10. What happened of February 4, 1861?
The seceded states met to form a new nation at the Montgomery (Alabama) Convention; created a
constitution and elected officials
11. What were 3 differences between the U.S. Constitution and the Confederate Constitution that
was written at the Montgomery convention?
More power to the states; less power to the federal government; the guaranteed protection of slavery
12. Who was elected as Confederate president and vice president at the Montgomery convention?
P: Jefferson Davis; VP: John H. Stephens
13. The Texas Secession Convention ordered all state officials to do what? After Houston refused to
take the oath, what happened? How did Houston react when President Lincoln offered to send
U.S. troops to Texas?
Take an oath of allegiance to the Confederacy; Houston was removed from office and the governor’s
office was declared vacant; Houston refused Lincoln’s offer
14. Who replaced Houston as governor? What happened to Houston?
Lieutenant Governor Edward Clark; Houston retired to his home in Huntsville and died in 1863
15. What was President Lincoln’s response when southern states claimed they had the right to
secede?
Lincoln stated that the Union was a perpetual thing and Southern states did not have the right to
leave it; also said he would preserve the Union at all costs
16. What happened in early 1861? What happened on April 12, 1861?
Confederate states seized Union arsenals, forts, and navy yards within their borders; Confederate
forces opened fire on Union troops who had refused to evacuate Fort Sumter; this marked the
beginning of the Civil War