Unit Five Exam Study Guide

The upcoming exam will focus on the period from 1840-1860, and will be made up of 65 multiple-choice questions and one free-response essay. As always, I encourage you to spend at least two hours studying for the exam, which will be worth, at a minimum, 150 points.

  • Identify and state the historical Significance of the Following people:

H.B. StoweW.L. GarrisonNat TurnerJohn TylerJames K. Polk

David Wilmot Zachary TaylorNicholas TristLewis CassStephen Douglas John C. Calhoun Daniel Webster Harriet Tubman William Seward Henry Clay Millard Fillmore Franklin Pierce Roger Taney John Brown Dred Scott

James Buchanan

  • Understand and be able to identify the characteristics and significance of:

OligarchyAbolitionism“Positive Good”The Liberator“King Cotton”

Popular SovereigntyFree soilersFugitive Slave Law“Fire Eaters”

Underground RailroadCompromise of 1850Kansas-Nebraska Act

Manifest DestinyJoint ResolutionWebster-Ashburton Treaty

Treaty of Guadalupe HidalgoLiberty PartyWilmot Proviso

Self-determinationUncle Tom’s CabinDred Scott v. Sanford

Panic of 1857Lincoln-Douglas debatesHarper’s Ferry“Bleeding Kansas”

Be sure to focus on the following ideas:

  • Why did the Whigs pick Tyler? What was his presidency like?
  • What was the major issue surrounding the 1844 election? How was it different than other elections of the era (1840/1848 for example)?
  • What were the circumstances surrounding the annexation of Texas?
  • How did the Mexican-American War come about? What were the results?
  • How did the land gained during the war lead to increased debate over slavery?
  • What was Southern society like (politically, agriculturally, slavery, plantation life)?
  • What was life like for most white southerners?
  • How did most slaves gain their freedom?
  • How did the political parties deal (or not deal) with the issue of slavery?
  • What were the effects of the gold rush on the Union? Who went west?
  • What role did Daniel Webster play during the 1850 debate over the territories?
  • What were the conditions of the Compromise of 1850? What did North/South get?
  • What happened to the Whigs after 1852? Why?
  • What were the circumstances surrounding the choice of Lincoln as the Republican candidate for president?

In addition, be prepared to answer a free-response essay on one of two subjects:

  • Discuss the events that led to, and the results of, the Mexican-American War. Be sure to discuss Manifest Destiny, the election of 1844, President Polk’s policy toward California, and the terms of the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
  • In what ways did the expansion of the United States lead to increased tensions over slavery? Be sure to discuss the Wilmot Proviso, arguments surrounding the Compromise of 1850, popular sovereignty, and Lincoln-Douglas debates.