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and half free ... I do not expect the Union to be dissolved - I do not expect the house to fall; but I do expect it
will cease to be divided." - Abraham Lincoln’s December 1857 notes for what would become the "House
1. Read Abraham Lincoln’s notes to his “house divided” speech above. What is Lincoln talking about when he
mentions…
North and South were not hostile. Legal slavery existed only in the Southern states, but whites in both the
North and South shared beliefs of white supremacy. They also shared a reluctance to discuss the slavery
question. There were bitter conflicts over business, political parties and religion. But these conflicts divided
Americans along religious, ethnic and social lines, not strictly between North and South.
2. What does it mean to say that the antebellum period between the north and the south was not hostile? The
3. Where was slavery legal in the United States during the antebellum period? Southern states.
4. Were whites in the North and South more similar or different? Explain using evidence from the text? They
were both pretty similar in terms of that they “...shared beliefs of white supremacy”
5. What does the word “reluctance” mean when it came to discuss the slavery question in both the North and
the South? Whenever the slavery question comes up, things get heated.
This period of U.S. history has often been told as the South always advocating for state's rights, and the North
fighting for a stronger federal government. This was not always the case, however. People in Wisconsin and
Vermont fought for state power, while Mississippians demanded a stronger federal government. Members of
the Democratic Party from Maine to Louisiana railed against economic measures like a National Bank.
Meanwhile, members of the Whig Party protested the actions leading to the Mexican-American War.
Methodists in Georgia felt closer to Methodists in New York than to their Roman-Catholic neighbors. Yet when
war came in 1861, it pitted the North against the South. The chief difference between these two sections of the
country was slavery. How did slavery, of all the points of conflict, become the issue that would split the nation
in two?
generations, the number of slaves exploded from 800,000 to 4,000,000. Most worked on farms, but slaves
were also employed in factories and mines. The enormous wealth of the Southern states depended on slave
labor. In the North, many people benefited from crops and goods produced by slaves. As a result, white
Americans across the country were too dependent on slavery to want to talk about it.
6. What were some of the tasks slaves were forced to do? Work on the farms, mines, and factories.
7. At the end of the paragraph, it says “white Americans across the country were too dependent on slavery to
want to talk about it.” Explain what this means and how it shows the attitude of the country about slavery.
This means that even though they are fighting against slavery, they sometimes need it in terms
This changed as the United States began to expand to the west. Settlers moved into new land west of the
Appalachian Mountains, which became part of the United States. People were forced to debate whether slavery
should be allowed in the new territories. As the 1850s progressed, white Northerners and Southerners came to
great disagreement over the issue. However, pro-slavery forces seemed to be gaining the upper hand. The
8. At which point (like after what events) did the North and South really start to disagree about slavery? After
new states came into the United States, they were diagreeing if they should be a free state or a
slave state
popular by warning of the dangers of a "Slave Power" South. Republicans argued that Southerners were trying
to take over the federal government and spread slavery. Illinois Whig Abraham Lincoln was attracted to the
Republican Party because it reflected his own desire to see slavery end. He eventually became a leading
Meanwhile, white Southerners demanded greater federal protection for slavery. Their demands split the
Democratic Party just in time for the 1860 presidential election. Southern Democrats insisted that the
government allow slavery in all new United States territories. But Northern Democrats supported popular
sovereignty, which would let people living in each territory decide whether or not to allow slavery. The party
split. This virtually assured that Abraham Lincoln, the Republican candidate for president, would win.
9. Which party was the supporter of slavery and which party was against slavery?
10. The Republicans stance on slavery is a united one (meaning they are all on the same page) but the
Democrats were in different situation. Explain their situation in your own words (not copying and pasting).
11. Explain why was Lincoln guaranteed to win the election against any of his opponents?
Lincoln won they would leave the Union. When Lincoln won the election of 1860, seven states from the Deep
The slave-holding states of the Upper South, which were Virginia, North Carolina, Arkansas and Tennessee,
chose not to leave the Union. Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky and Missouri also chose to remain. However, the
Upper South promised to side with the Confederacy if the federal government coerced the slave-holding states.
Abraham Lincoln took office right during a stand-off between North and South.
14. There were many “upper southern states” that chose to remain as part of the Union. Then the paragraph
says that “the Upper South promised to side with the Confederacy if the federal government coerced the
slave-holding states.” Explain what the Upper Southern states are trying to tell the Union.