The Story of the Times: 1850-1914

The Story of the Times: 1850-1914

Page 432

1. What year was the Fugitive Slave Act passed? What did this law require?

2. What did the Kansas-Nebraska Act open up?

3. What was the name of Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel, published in 1852, that vividly depicted the cruelty of slavery? How many copies were sold in its first year?

4. (Analyze a Primary Source) Look at the picture at the top of page 432. This broadside announced the news of South Carolina's decision to secede from the Union. How might you have reacted to this poster if you were a citizen of this state? What questions would you have asked? Why?

5. (Support a Hypothesis) What evidence is there to suggest that this Pennsylvania soldier and his family tried to continue normal life even while encamped?

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6. Who led a group of anti-slavery extremists in 1859 against a federal arsenal in an attempt to provoke an armed slave revolt?

7. Who was elected President of the United States in 1860?

8. What was the first state to secede from the Union?

9. In what year were the Confederate States of America established?

10. How many years long was the Civil War?

11. Who was the Confederate general who surrendered to Union general, Ulysses S. Grant, in the spring of 1865?

12. What was the name of the act that promised 160 acres of land to anyone who would farm it for five years?

13. (Compare and Contrast) Look at the picture on the top of page 433. Robert E. Lee (left) and Ulysses S. Grant (right) were the military leaders of the Confederacy and the Union, respectively. What can you infer about their different personalities and backgrounds by comparing and contrasting their posture and dress?

14. (Linking Past to Present) This picture shows a young Confederate soldier, Private Edwin Jennison. Most of the soldiers in both armies were between the ages of 18 and 21. Some were even younger. What problems do you think a 16-year old would face? Could a 16-year old serve in the army today? Explain.

Page 434

22. When was the first Transcontinental Railroad completed?

23. (Respond to a Photograph) Look at the picture on the top of page 434. This 1865 photograph shows the effects of the war on southern cities. What adjectives would you use to describe the destruction?

24. (Analyze a Situation ) Look at the picture on the bottom of 434. For African Americans, the West offered the hope of freedom. Here the Shores family poses in front of their Nebraska sod house. What opportunities might the West offer African Americans that the East did not?

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25. How many people immigrated to the United States between 1865 and 1915? 

26. During the Industrial Revolution, why did child labor become the norm among the poor working class?

27. (Interpret a Pattern) Look at the chart on the top of page 435. Most new immigrants settled in cities. Use these charts to summarize the changing pattern of immigration in the late 1800's. Where did most immigrants come from between 1840 and 1860? Where did most immigrants come from between 1880 and 1900?

28. (Read a Graph) Look at the graph at the bottom of page 435.The ups and downs of the economy were felt more sharply as the nation industrialized and worked for wages. Which years were the most prosperous? In which years did the severe depression strike?

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29. Who was assassinated on April 15, 1865?

30. (Read a Map) Look at the map on the top of page 436. Railroads, mining, and cattle grazing helped open the Great Plains for later settlement as indicated on this map. Which cattle trail ended in Abilene? In Cheyenne? What relationships do you see between railroads and cattle trails? Railroads and mining centers?

31. (Analyze a Primary Source) Look at the picture on the bottom of page 436. Barbed wire fencing was introduced in the 1870's. Barbed wire was used to separate privately owned land. How might Native Americans react to this physical and symbolic addition to the landscape? Explain.

Page 437

31. What is the name for the style of writing that depicts real people and shows characters and events in an honest, factual way?

32. What did Kate Chopin's writing explore?

33. (Interpret an Illustration) Look at the picture on the top of page 437. As people crowded into American cities, architects started building up instead of out. When the Reliance Building in Chicago was built in 1890's, its sixteen stories made it a "skyscraper." According to this illustration, what new technologies of the period made buildings consisting of more than six stories possible?

34. (Draw a Conclusion) Look at the chart on the bottom of page 437. What does the chart suggest about the relationship between new inventions and the growth of the country?