Educator Resource
Chapter 7: 1844-1860 Inquiry Organizer
Was the Civil War inevitable?
In this organizer
- Lesson4
- Narrative12
- Primary Source16
- Point-Counterpoint1
- Decision Point4
Compelling question
Was the Civil War inevitable?
Chapter objectives
- Students will be able to explain how the acquisition of new territories changed the social, cultural, and economic landscape of the United States
- Students will be able to analyze the causes of sectional tensions including slavery, westward expansion, economics, and cultural differences.
- Students will be able to analyze the causes of the Civil War and whether that war could have been avoided.
Supporting questions and resources
The filter narrows the resources under every question. Each card opens the resource.
Supporting question 1
How did western expansion contribute to sectionalism?
- NarrativeThe 49ers
- Primary SourceJohn O’Sullivan, “Annexation,” 1845
- Decision PointThe Oregon Question: 50-40 or Fight?
- Decision PointTo Go to War with Mexico?
- Primary SourceDebating the Mexican-American War, May 1846
- NarrativeThe American Southwest: Tucson in Transition
- Decision PointMigration West
- Point-CounterpointTo What Extent Were Manifest Destiny and Westward Expansion Justified?
- Primary SourceArt Analysis: American Progress by John Gast, 1872
Supporting question 2
What continuities and changes can be seen in the debate over rights and citizenship for various groups within the United States?
Supporting question 3
How did ideological and economic differences over slavery affect the relationships among the states?
- NarrativeThe Free Soil Party
- LessonDred Scott v. Sandford DBQ
- NarrativeThomas Sims and the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850
- Primary SourceFugitive Slave Act, 1850
- NarrativeHarriett Beecher Stowe and Uncle Tom’s Cabin
- NarrativeHarriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad
- NarrativeJohn Brown and Harpers Ferry
- Primary SourceSojourner Truth, “Ain’t I a Woman?” 1851
- LessonJohn Brown: Hero or Villain? DBQ
- Primary SourceWilliam Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass on Abolition, 1845-1852
- Primary SourceFrederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, 1845
- Primary SourceNegro Spirituals
Supporting question 4
How did North and South attempt to compromise in the years leading up to the Civil War?
- Decision PointThe Compromise of 1850
- Primary SourceDaniel Webster, “7th of March,” 1850
- Primary SourceLincoln-Douglas Debates, 1858
- NarrativeKansas-Nebraska Act and Bleeding Kansas
- NarrativeCharles Sumner and Preston Brooks
- NarrativeThe Election of 1860
- LessonThe Election of Lincoln and the Secession of Southern States DBQ
- Primary SourceSouth Carolina Secession Debate, 1860
- Chapter 7 Introductory Essay: 1844-1860
- NarrativeCommodore Perry and the Opening of Japan
- Primary SourceWalt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, 1855
- Primary SourceHenry David Thoreau, “Slavery in Massachusetts,” 1854
- LessonIrish and German Immigration DBQ
- Primary SourceArt Analysis: Hudson River School Landscape Paintings, 1836-1868
- BRI Homework Help video: Immigration to America
Standards
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Introduce students to the push and pull factors that led to high levels of immigration from Germany and Ireland from 1830 to 1860. Facilitation Notes: This activity is designed for groups of five students. The activity works best if each student only sees their printed primary source. The students should have some background knowledge on the European industrial revolution and its impact on urban growth and immigration in the United States.This lesson targets the foundational skills of analyzing documents, grouping documents, and constructing a thesis as required of the DBQ essay on the AP exam.
Use this Lesson alongside theJohn Brown and Harpers Ferry Narrative to allow students to fully evaluate John Brown's approach to abolitionism. Facilitation Notes: Use available classroom technology to display a United States map so that they are within view throughout the lesson. Also, write theKey Questionon the board so that it is in view throughout the lesson.
Use this Lesson with The Election of 1860 Narrative and the South Carolina Secession Debate, 1860 Primary Source to allow students to analyze the motivations of South Carolina to secede from the United States.