Download On the Eve of the Civil War

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Virginia Studies: Study Guide 16
Everything You Will Need to Know About…
On the Eve of the Civil War:
Differences Between Northern & Southern States and
Events Leading to Secession & War
Directions: Please answer using complete sentences where possible.
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN STATES
Paragraph 1
1. Why will the North and South go to war?
The North and South disagree over some issues, and these disagreements will
lead to war.
2. The North and South are part of the same country. What country is that?
The United States of America
3. How were the North and South different?
They thought differently about certain issues.
4. What war will be fought between the North and the South? How do you know?
The Civil War
I know because the title says this is about the time right before the Civil War.
Paragraph 2
5. What was one difference between the North and the South?
One difference was in the area of economy.
6. Whose economy was based on industry?
The North’s economy was based on industry.
7. What did the people of the North do for a living?
People in the North built factories and manufactured goods to sell. Some owned
their own businesses.
8. Why didn’t the people in the North farm?
There weren’t many farmers in the North because the soil was rocky and the
climate was colder.
9. Why didn’t the North have slave labor?
There wasn’t as much of a need for slave labor in the North because people in
the North didn’t have large plantations.
Paragraph 3
10. What was the economy based on in the South?
The economy was based on agriculture.
11. What type of crops were grown in the South?
In the South, they grew tobacco, cotton, rice, and corn.
12. Why did the South have slave labor?
The large plantations required thousands of workers.
13. What is agriculture?
Agriculture is another word for farming.
14. What could be a reason the South wanted slave labor instead of hiring people to work
in their fields?
Slave labor was less expensive than paying hired workers.
Paragraph 4
15. What was another difference between the North and the South?
Another difference between the North and the South had to do with the new
states forming in the western territories.
16. What did the North want the new states to be?
The North wanted the new states to be “free states.”
17. What did the South want the new states to be?
The South wanted the new states to be “slave slates.”
18. Why did the Southern farmers want to move west?
The southern farmers wanted to move west because the eastern soil was
becoming worn out.
19. Who did the Southern farmers want to take with them when they moved west?
The southern farmers wanted to take their slaves with them when they moved
west.
20. What are “free states?”
“Free states” are states where slavery has been outlawed.
21. Why would the South want the new states to deemed as “slave sates?”
The South wanted the new states to be “slave states” so they could continue
using slaves on their new plantations.
Paragraph 5
22. What differences divided the North and the South?
The differences that divided the North and the South were over economy,
slavery, and what the new states should be.
23. Why was Virginia divided?
Virginia was divided because people in the western counties were against slavery,
while people in the eastern counties depended on slavery.
24. Were the people in the western counties of Virginia for or against slavery?
People in western Virginia were against slavery.
25. Because the western counties were against slavery, who did they side with, the North
or the South?
People in the western counties sided with the North.
26. What state would be formed because of this disagreement?
West Virginia is formed because of the argument over slavery.
27. Why would people in the eastern counties of the state depend on slavery?
People in the eastern counties depended on slavery because they were farmers.
28. Why didn’t people in the western counties of the state depend on slavery?
The people in the west were not farmers.
29. Has the war begun yet? How do you know?
No, the war has not begun. I now this because in paragraph 5, it says the war is
coming.
Summarizing the text: The North and the South were in conflict due to economic
differences. The North was more industrialized and didn’t need slave labor, but the
South was agricultural and relied on slave labor.
EVENTS LEADING TO SECESSION AND WAR
Paragraph 1
30. How many events led to the South leaving the Union?
There were five events that led to the South leaving the Union.
Paragraph 2
31. What was one issue that divided Virginians?
One issue that Virginians were divided over was slavery.
32. Who relied on slave labor?
Virginians that lived in the eastern parts of the state depended on slave labor.
33. Why didn’t the western counties need slaves?
The people living in the western parts of Virginia did not need slaves because
they had smaller farms and many of them thought slavery was cruel.
34. Who wanted slavery abolished?
Many Virginians living in the western counties and even some living in the east
wanted slavery abolished.
35. Why did some people want slaver abolished?
They wanted it abolished because they felt it was cruel.
36. Who was Nat Turner?
Nat Turner was a slave in Virginia.
37. What did he do?
In 1831, Nat Turner led a slave revolt against plantation owners in Virginia.
38. What happened to Nat Turner?
Nat Turner was captured and put to death.
39. Why would Nat Turner lead a revolt against plantation owners?
He probably led a revolt against them because he thought that slavery was wrong
and this was his way of sending his message. Maybe he wanted to scare the
plantation owners so they would give up their slaves.
Paragraph 3
40. What are abolitionists?
Abolitionists are people who believed that people who owned slave were criminals.
They thought that slavery should be abolished (gotten rid of).
41. Who was a famous abolitionist?
One famous abolitionist was Harriet Tubman.
42. Who was Harriett Tubman?
Harriet Tubman was a runaway slave from Maryland. She helped to establish a
series of underground escape routes for slaves known as the “Underground Railroad.”
43. Was Nat Turner successful in getting people to want to end slavery? How do you
know?
He was not successful because we know that slavery still existed in Virginia and
other places after his revolt.
44. Could slaves be abolitionists? How do you know?
Slaves could be abolitionists because any one who campaigned to end slavery was
considered an abolitionist.
Paragraph 4
45. What was the Underground Railroad?
The “Underground Railroad” was a series of secret underground escape routes for
slaves.
46. Who established the Underground Railroad?
The “Underground Railroad” was established by Harriet Tubman.
47. How many years did she operate the “railroad?”
Harriet Tubman operated the “railroad” for 10 years.
48. Why would enslaved Africans travel north to freedom? How do you know?
The slaves wanted their freedom, and the northern states as well as Canada
offered it to many of them.
Paragraph 5
49. Who was another well-known abolitionist?
Another well-known abolitionist was John Brown.
50. What did he do to try to end slavery?
He tried to start a slave rebellion by capturing the United States Arsenal at
Harper’s Ferry.
51. Who fought against John Brown and his followers?
Colonel Robert E. Lee and the U.S. Marines fought against John Brown and his
men.
52. What happened to John Brown?
John was seriously wounded and two of his sons were killed. He was later tried,
convicted of treason, and hanged.
53. Was Ohio for or against slavery? How do you know?
Ohio was against slavery because it was a “free state.”
Paragraph 6
54. What kind of president did the South want to elect in 1860?
In 1860, the South wanted to elect a president that would favor slavery.
55. Who was the new president?
The new president, elected in 1860 was Abraham Lincoln.
56. What happened shortly after the election of Abraham Lincoln?
Within two months of his election, seven southern states seceded from the
Union.
57. What did Virginia and the other states form after they seceded from the Union?
Virginia and the other states that left the Union formed the “Confederate
States of America.”
58. Why would the death of John Brown (versus Nat Turner) create more tension or hard
feelings between the North and the South?
John Brown’s death probably caused more tension between the North and the
South because he had been a free man, not a slave.
59. Where does the paragraph say Abraham Lincoln was against slavery?
Paragraph 5 says that Lincoln was against slavery in the fourth sentence when it
states that because of his election, the South feared slavery would be abolished.
60. Was Virginia one of the first states to secede from the Union? How do you know?
Virginia was one of the first to secede because it says that Virginia soon
followed and was a part of “the South” when they formed the “Confederate
States of America.”
61. What did the southern states hope to accomplish by seceding from the Union?
The southern states hoped that they could start their own country that allowed
slavery.
Summarizing the text: People like Nat Turner, Harriet Tubman, John Brown, and
Abraham Lincoln wanted to abolish slavery. Many southern states, including Virginia
seceded from the Union because they wanted slavery.