DNL- 1ERE – HISTORY UNIT 2: THE CIVIL WAR,

LESSON 1: THE ORIGINS OF THE CIVIL WAR – TEST

Exercise 1 : Lesson's questions (9,5 pts)

1) What did the Fugitive slave Act consist in? (1 pt)

This one was one of the acts from the Compromise of 1850, it permitted any
African American to be accused of being a runway and captured.

2) Who was Charles Sumner? What happened to him in 1856? (1,5 pts)
Charles Sumner was a northern senator. In 1856, he attacked A. Brooks on a
speech against slavery. After that, he was beaten by Brooks with a cane and
became a martyr figure in the North because he was attacked for defending
his ideas for anti-slavery.

3) When did the Republican start to be organized? What former parties did it
gather? (1,5 pts)
The Republicans start to be organized in 1854. It gathers anti-slavery whigs,
free-soilers and a few democrats.

4) Write one famous quote of your choice of Abraham Lincoln (1 pt)

“A house divided upon itself cannot stand”

5) What would have been John Brown's goal during his 1859's raid? (1 pt)
In 1859, he tried to free and arm enslaved people and to start an insurrection.
For that, he tried to seize federal weaponsin an arsenal in Virginia.

6) How many states seceded at first? What was the very first state to secede?
(1 pt)
Seven states seceded at first, the very first state to secede was South-
Carolina.

7) What name did the seceding states give to their political organization? Who
was chosen as president? (1 pt)
The seceding states named them as The Confederate States of America or
Confederacy and chose Jefferson Davis to be their president.
 8) Write a definition of martial law. In what state was it applied in 1861? Why?
(1,5 pt)
A martial law is a law administrated by military forces that is invoked by a
government in an emergency. A martial law was applied in Maryland in 1861
because was about to fall under the hand of the Confederates.

Exercise 2: Summary (4 pts)

In a few lines (5-8 lines), explain what happened in Fort Sumter in 1861 and why it is
considered as the event which triggered the Civil War.

In 1861 a battle took place in Fort Sumter in South-Carolina, it opposed the

Confederacy and the rest of the USA. It started after Abraham Lincoln took the
decision to resupply the fort, the Confederate General decided to bombard the fort
and it led to a battle that lasted 34 hours and was won by the confederacy. It is
considered as the event that triggered the Civil War because after that, Lincoln
tried to stop the rebellion and the fights became more and more violents.

Exercise 3 : Document analyzis (6,5 pts)

Fellow Citizens, the signers of the Declaration of Independence were brave men.
They were great men, too[..] They were statesmen, patriots and heroes, and for the
good they did, and the principles they contended for, I will unite with you to honor
their memory... ... What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national
independence? Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice,
embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us? [..] I am not included
within the pale of glorious anniversary! . . . The blessings in which you, this day,
rejoice, are not enjoyed in common. The rich inheritance of justice, liberty,
prosperity and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by
me. The sunlight that brought light and healing to you, has brought stripes and death
to me. This Fourth July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn. . .

It is enough to affirm the equal manhood of the Negro race. Is it not astonishing
that, while we are ploughing, planting, and reaping, using all kinds of mechanical tools,
erecting houses, constructing bridges, building ships . . . ; that, while we are reading,
writing and . . . acting as clerks, merchants and secretaries, having among us lawyers,
doctors, ministers, poets, authors, editors, orators and teachers; that, while we are
engaged in all manner of enterprises common to other men, . . . living, moving, acting,
thinking, planning, living in families as husbands, wives and children, we are called upon
to prove that we are men!
What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer; a day that reveals to him,
more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is
the constant victim.

Allow me to say . . . notwithstanding the dark picture I have this day presented, of
the state of the nation, I do not despair of this country. There are forces in
operation which must inevitably work the downfall of slavery. ". . . AMEN.

What, to the American Slave, is your 4 th of July? (abridged)

Delivered by Frederick Douglass on July 5, 1852

1) Introduce the document. (1,5 pt)

This document is a speech delivered by Frederick Douglass on the 5 th of July
1852. It talks about the inequalities that are lived by slaves and is against
slavery.

2) How does Douglass consider the founding fathers of the USA ? Quote the
text. (1 pt)
He consider the founding fathers as brave men that did great thins for
American people but he considered that they were regardless of the black
people condition so he doesn’t feel concerned by their actions. This quote
illustrate his point of view: “The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity
and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me”

3) What is the 4th of July to the Americans ? (1 pt)

The 4th of July is the Independence Day for Americans since they were no
more controlled by British.

4) What is the matter Douglass highlights about the 4 th of July ? (1 pt)

He highlights the fact that the 4th of July is supposed to be the Independence
Day but in reality it was only for white people. The slaves’ condition didn’t
change, they stayed slaves, there was no independence for them.

5) How does Douglass highlight the fact that unequal treatment for black people
is unfair ? (1 pt)
He highlight the fact that unequal treatment for black people is unfair by
showing that they are equal to white people, they are able to do the same
things and more.

6) Explain the underlined sentence (1 pt)

The sunlight that brought light and healing to you, has brought stripes and
death to me: In this sentence, the author explain that the independence is not
lived in the same way by Americans and African Americans. For the Americans,
it brings liberty, it made them freer and happier, but it was not the case for
black people. They still be slaved and persecuted so after that, their condition
didn’t get better contrary to Americans, it even get worse.