American History

1A. The Kansas-Nebraska Act has been called the most significant law ever enacted by the US Congress because it subjected slavery to popular sovereignty. Senator Stephen Douglas wanted to allow settlers to decide whether to allow slavery in the newly established territories of Kansas and Nebraska.

1B. The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska (hence from the name of the law), repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820, and allow settlers to determine decide the future of slavery in the new territories.

1C. The law was initially designed to create opportunities for Mideastern Transcontinental Railroad. However, there was always the problem with popular sovereignty. So, to resolve this issue additional features were added to the proposed law. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 would have to be repealed, and settlers would be allowed to decide the future of slavery in those territories. Sen. Douglas hoped that this new law would ease the tensions between the North and the South.

1D. Opponents denounced the law as a concession to slave power of the South. The Republican Party launched a furious campaign aimed to stop the expansion of slavery. In the long-run, the law divided the nation and engulfed it in a future civil war. The act itself repealed the Compromise of 1850. The turmoil over the act split both the Democratic and Know Nothing parties and gave rise to the Republican Party.

2A. The major goal of the Union was to end the rebellion in a matter of 90 days. The Confederate capital, Richmond, would be captured in a lightning campaign. The major goal of the Confederate was to force the Union to negotiate for peace terms. The peace terms would recognize the Confederacy as an independent state.

2B. The war had three major theaters eastern theater (1861-1863), western theater (1861-1863), and the trans-Mississippi theater 1861-1865.

2C. In a strategic sense, despite being a tactical draw, Antietam maybe considered a turning point of the war because it ended Lees strategic initiative and allowed Lincoln to issue the Emancipation Proclamation.

2D. The battle forced Lee to adopt a defensive stance in his campaigns against the North. It enabled Union forces to consolidate both manpower and resources for a final campaign against the South.

2E. The battle of Gettysburg ended Lee attempts to invade the North. It also weakened his numerically inferior forces. The battle of Vicksburg had an important logistic outcome. Control of the Vicksburg area would give logistic control over the Mississippi region. The Confederates lost the battle, and hence the battle for the Mississippi region.

2F. Former Union General McClellan was running against President Lincoln on a platform of peace in the 1864 election. Part of the Democratic platform called for a peace agreement with the South. The capture of Atlanta and Hoods burning of military facilities were covered by Northern press. This significantly boosted Northern morale. In effect, Lincoln won by a large margin.

3A. Dred Scott was born a slave in Virginia between 1795 and 1800. In 1830, his owners took him to Missouri. Two years later, Major John Emerson of the US Army purchased Scott. After some years, Emerson died. His wife took possession of Scott. Scott wanted to purchase his freedom but Emersons wife refused. A series of lawsuits were filed in the court the first being against Emersons wife and the second against John Sanford, the executor of John Emersons estate.

3B. The Court ruled that people of African descent imported into the country and held as slaves, or their descendants (whether slaves or not), were not protected by the Constitution and could never be citizens of the United States. It also ruled that the US Congress had no authority to prohibit slavery in federal territories. The broadness of the decision was a response to growing cynicism over the issue of slavery. The court apparently was afraid of a major political storm should the decision be specific.

3C. The decision sent shockwaves throughout the nation. Opponents of slavery argued that the courts decision was a Southern propaganda  that the court gave in to pressures from slaveholders. Some argued that the court simply became a propagandist of human slavery. The decision severely divided the nation  an event which led to the Civil War.