1. What was responsible for the violence in "Bleeding Kansas"? Why might it be viewed as a "prelude to Civil War"?

2. What were the implications of the Dred Scott decision for

a. the status of free blacks in the United States?

b. the concept of popular sovereignty? c. the future of slavery in America?

3. Write your definition of national self-determination. Then use this definition to argue that southern secession in 1860—1861 was or was not an act of a people conscious of their own separate nationalism and determined to achieve it for themselves.

4. Make a judgment as to the contribution of each of these individuals to the coming of the Civil War: John Brown, Stephen Douglas, Abraham Lincoln. Who else should be on the list? Why?

5. Compare and contrast the criticism in Stowe’s Uncle Tom ‘s Cabin to Helper’s Impending Crisis of the South. Which had the most dramatic effect on public opinion? Why?

6. Always before—in 1787, 1820, 1833, and 1850—the North and South had been able to compromise their differences. Why not in 1861?

7. Rank the following in terms of their importance to the coming of the Civil War: Kansas-Nebraska Act, Dred Scott decision, John Brown’s raid, Lincoln’s election. Justify your ranking scheme.

8. Explain why Kansas provided "a horrible example of the working of popular sovereignty."

9. Support or refute the text authors’ assertion that "it was probably fortunate for the Union that secession and civil war did not come in 1856, following a Republican victory."

10. The authors argue that despite Lincoln’s election in 1860, the South "was not badly off." What do they mean? Why, in spite of this, did southern states secede?

11. In what way was the election of 1860 "for all practical purposes two separate contests?" What were the issues in each contest?