U. S. History

Study Guide for Test Monday December 15^th; Day 3.

You are responsible for material in the following sections of your book, focusing on the homework questions you did and the relevant bold print words:

• Chapter 10 (Sections 1-4)
• Chapter 11 (Sections 1&2)
• Summary Guide (packet) on Ch. 11, Sections 3, 4, & 5

Study skills, as I am sure you know, are extremely important and valuable, not just in this class but in all of life. Too often, students think studying can be done passively with a quick skim of the chapter. Very rarely is this actually successful. Instead, it is crucial that you study actively, with pen in hand, writing out study notes for yourself and/or putting key items on flash cards. Sometimes people find it useful to speak and tape record information in order to learn it. Other students find it most helpful to draw charts or diagrams. Do what works best for you, but expect it to take work, and please (!) set aside time to study appropriately. Use the following tasks to study for the upcoming test.

1. After reading the text carefully and thoroughly, formulate key ideas that you need to note. Be sure to ask me if you have any questions.

2. Identify and explain the significance of key terms. Be sure to note NOT ONLY those that appear in bold-face type in your book BUT ALSO key people, places and events in the chapters, which we have discussed either in a PowerPoint presentation, through primary documents, or in your homework questions (MIQs).

3. Answer thoroughly and then learn the answers to questions such as these:
1. How did the Compromise of 1850 resolve various debates in the Senate? Who designed it and who got it passed through Congress?
2. What was the Kansas-Nebraska Act designed to accomplish? What were some of the intended and unintended results of its passage?
3. Discuss John Brown’s role in the Pottawatomie Massacre and the incident at Harpers Ferry. Did his actions help or hinder the abolitionist cause?
4. Stephen Douglas was an important political figure in the mid-1800s. Discuss his greatest achievements and greatest mistakes as a politician. Be specific about the impact of his decisions on the nation.
5. What effect did the publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin have on the North and the South? What was the message of the book?
6. How and why did the Republican Party emerge when it did? What did the 1856 presidential election reveal about this party?
7. Why were the Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858 held? What positions did each candidate take? Explain.
8. What were the strengths and weaknesses of the Union and Confederate armies?
9. Discuss the roles of McClellan, Lee, and Grant in the US Civil War.

4. Read, study, and highlight your notes from class, including hand-outs, making sure you understand them.

5. Make a time-line of moments (events, legislation, conflicts, etc.) that led to the Civil War. Begin with the Missouri Compromise. End with the secession of South Carolina. For each moment / event be sure you can explain its significance in terms of how it escalated the conflict and brought on the impending crisis.

6. Make a time-line of moments (events, speeches, documents, etc.) that occurred during the Civil War.

7. Do the sample QUIZ QUESTIONS that I have photocopied for you. Some of your questions on the test will come directly from these.