Essential US History Facts

Declaration of Sentiments Excerpt

1. The following is an excerpt from what document? Having deprived her of this first right of a citizen, the elective franchise, thereby leaving her without representation in the halls of legislation, he has oppressed her on all sides. He has made her, if married, in the eye of the law, civilly dead.⁴ He has taken from her all right in property, even to the wages she earns.⁵

Answer: Declaration of Sentiments

Industrial Revolution Changes

2. Name two things that got worse during the Industrial Revolution. Name something that improved.

Answer: Crowded urban areas and an increase in child labor.

Andrew Carnegie on Wealth and Poverty

3. What was Carnegie’s attitude toward the concentration of wealth in the hands of the rich? According to the following excerpt, how does Carnegie believe that poverty can be solved?

Answer: Carnegie's attitude towards the concentration of wealth was that the rich controlling the money was essential for future progress. Poverty can be solved if the millionaires became trustees for the poor. Otherwise, the poor would just waste money.

Coal Miner Conditions (Stephen Crane)

4. According to Stephen Crane, what working conditions did miners suffer in the coal mines? What dangers did they risk?

Answer: The miners worked in dangerous conditions that could kill them. They had to be cautious of:

• Gas
• Drowning
• Getting crushed
• The cars
• Being trapped in the mines
• Developing asthma

Defining Manifest Destiny

5. Define Manifest Destiny.

Answer: Manifest Destiny is a belief in the 1800s that America had an obvious fate to spread over the continent to the Pacific Ocean to spread democracy.

Last US Territory Added

6. What section of land was the last territory added to the United States?

Answer: The Gadsden Purchase was the last territory added to the United States.

Territory Doubling US Size

7. The addition of what territory doubled the size of the United States?

Answer: The Louisiana Purchase doubled the size of the United States.

Territory Increasing US Size by 25%

8. What addition of territory increased the United States by 25%?

Answer: The Mexican Cession increased the size of the United States by 25%.

Donner Party vs. Jamestown Comparison

9. In what way was the Donner Party of settlers headed to California like Jamestown?

Answer: Starvation and cannibalism.

California Gold Rush 1849 Arrivals

10. How many people came to California seeking gold in the year 1849?

Answer: 80,000

Economic Arguments for Slavery

11. What economic arguments did Southerners make in support of slavery?

Answer:

• They argued that ending slavery would have a devastating impact on the economy.
• They claimed that reliance on slavery was the foundation of the economy, stating the cotton industry would collapse, tobacco would dry up, and rice would no longer be profitable.

Religious Arguments for Slavery

12. What religious arguments did they make in support of slavery?

Answer: They referred to the Ten Commandments in the Bible and said that Jesus never spoke against it.

Legal Arguments for Slavery

13. What legal arguments did they make in support of slavery?

Answer: The Dred Scott decision (stating blacks had no legal standing) and the Constitution.

Humanitarian Arguments for Slavery

14. What humanitarian argument did Southerners make in support of slavery?

Answer: They argued that slaves were being better cared for than the poor in Europe or the workers in Northern states. They said owners would protect the sick and the aged.