Download Slavery in the West

Slavery in the West
Background: In the 1800s, the North and South were divided over differences in
population, economy, government and beliefs about slavery. By the 1820s a new issue
emerged in the federal government; what should the country do about slavery in the West?
Complete the map activity below to discover how Western expansion helped push the United
States into Civil War. Use your textbook to complete the map and answer the questions.
Part 1. The Missouri Compromise
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Identify the slave states in the United States as of 1819. Then, label them on your
map and color them GRAY.
Identify the free states in the United States as of 1819, then label them on your
map and color them BLUE:
How many slave states were there in 1819? _________ Free states? _________
Calculate the total number of U.S. senators from the
slave states___________
free states ___________
How did you arrive at this number?
6. Label the line 36’30 from the Compromise.
7. How would the admission of Missouri as a slave state affect the number of slave and
free states?
8. Give one reason why this issue mattered so deeply to residents of South and North.
9. Now find information about the Missouri Compromise and describe the actual
solution to this problem. How did the U.S. solve this issue?
10. Do you think this will be a lasting solution to the problem of slavery? Why or why
not?
Part 2: The Compromise of 1850: The Missouri Compromise of 1821 resolved the issue of
slavery in the West for about 30 years. But in 1850, events heated up again in the West.
1.
Using your textbook, identify all the slave states that joined the Union between
1821 and 1849. Label them on your map and color them GRAY:
2. Identify all the free states that joined the Union between 1821 and 1849. Label
them on your map and color them BLUE:
3. Count the total number of slave states in 1849 ________
Free states ________
4. How many “slave state” senators will there be? _______ Free states _______
5. What would happen to these numbers if California petitioned to formally enter the
U.S. as a free state in 1850? Be specific.
6. So, how would you solve this one? Can you use the same solution that was used during
the Missouri Compromise? Explain.
7. List the 4 parts of the Compromise of 1850, the solution to this problem. For each
part of the compromise, mark (A) if it would address abolitionist concerns about
slavery in the frontier, (S) if it would address slavery interests or (B) if it would
address both.
a. ____ b. ____ c.
____ -
d. ____ 8. Label the states and territories added to the Union under the Compromise of 1850.
Color the free state(s) BLUE and the territories that will decide by vote (popular
sovereignty) RED.
Part 3: The Kansas-Nebraska Act : The Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of
1850 attempted to resolve the slavery issue. However, by 1854 the issue was again being
considered by Congress, this time because of the vast territory of Kansas and Nebraska.
1.
Label the remaining territories on your U.S. map.
2.
Why was there a controversy over the territories of Kansas and Nebraska?
3.
What was the solution reached by Stephen Douglas?
4.
Color the territories that will decide by vote (popular sovereignty) under the
Kansas-Nebraska Act, 1854 YELLOW. Create a Key for your map.
Which previous compromise is the Kansas-Nebraska Act violating? Which side will
be angry about this question? Explain.
5.
6.
These three compromises: Missouri Compromise, Compromise of 1850 and the
Kansas Nebraska Act, failed to prevent the Civil War. Why do you think these
compromises failed?