Slavery in America: Constitution to Reconstruction
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Last updated over 5 years ago
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Learn about slavery's historical impact in the United States from the framing of the Constitution to our "Second Founding" in the post-Civil War Reconstrution era. Watch the first half of the video (up to 23:45)!
Question 1
1.
Question 2
2.
According to James Madison’s notes on the Constitution, why could the document NOT explicitly acknowledge or condone slavery?
Question 3
3.
Question 4
4.
Question 5
5.
What are TWO instances in which Northern opinions on slavery were changed by “galvanizing events”?
Note: To galvanize means to shock or excite (someone) into taking action.
Question 6
6.
Question 7
7.
Why did John C. Calhoun believe the Constitution was a pro-slavery document and what did he believe about bans on slavery? Include TWO provisions of the Constitution in your explanation.
Question 8
8.
1. The Abolition Movement was divided between those who believed the Constitution was a pro-slavery document and those who believed it was anti-slavery. Name and describe the perspectives of ONE abolitionist/abolitionist group on each side of this debate.
2. What did Chief Justice Chase (and the Political Abolitionist) mean by “freedom: national; slavery: local”?
Question 9
9.
Question 10
10.
Question 11
11.
Question 12
12.
Question 13
13.
Describe TWO ways African Americans were restricted and oppressed in response to the ratification of the 13th Amendment.
Question 14
14.
What did the Reconstruction Amendments do? Explain how each amendment contributed to the “Second Founding” of the United States.
Question 15
15.
After engaging with the materials above, share your thoughts on the culminating questions below and review key terms!
Question 16
16.
What do you think was the Civil War "about"? Describe at least TWO core issues at the center of this conflict.
Question 17
17.
Question 18
18.
What percent of Constitutional Convention delegates were slaveowners?
20%
65%
80%
45%
Which of the following Convention delegates is incorrectly paired with his role in the Three-Fifths Clause debate?
James Wilson - Borrowed the idea to count slaves as "three-fifths" people from a 1774 Amendment to the Articles of Confederation
None. All roles are correctly matched.
Roger Sherman - Secured votes for the Three-Fifths Compromise in the Constitutional Convention
Elbridge Gerry - Opposed the Three-Fifths Compromise because he believed that if African Americans were property in the South, they should be counted as nothing more than property in the North
Though delegates of the Convention unanimously approved of the Fugitive Slave Clause language taken from the Articles of Confederation and Northwest Ordinance, some judges were opposed to enforcing the Fugitive Slave Act upheld by the Supreme Court.
According to Robert Cover’s “Justice Accused: Anti-Slavery and the Judicial Process”, which three options did these troubled judges have in cases about fugitive slaves? (Select multiple)
Resign from the bench
Refuse to enforce the Fugitive Slave Act (commit civil disobedience)
Require enslaved people to be returned
Reject and dismiss the case from court
The Slave Clause in Article I of the Constitution allows Congress to limit the import of slaves through the international slave trade in ______.
1708
1865
1826
1808
1850
Which of the political stances on slavery agreed with that of the newly founded Republican Party?
Stephen A. Douglass and Some Southern Democrats: Each state and territory has the right to determine whether it will be free or a slave state
John C. Calhoun and Some Southern Democrats: Congress has no power to ban slavery, even in territories because due process protects property rights across the country
None of the options are correct
Radical Abolitionists: Slavery violates natural law and the due process clause
Which of the following is FALSE regarding Chief Justice Roger B. Taney's ruling in the Dred Scott decision?
Deemed the Missouri Compromise's ban on slavery north of the 39th parallel unconstitutional because it deprived slave owners of property rights in due process.
Claimed that African Americans had "few rights that the white man was bound to respect"
Expressed "judicial activism" by going further than expected in his wide-sweeping ruling instead of narrowly supporting or denying Dred Scott's claim to freedom in a free territory.
Ruled in a way that does not align with constitutional law because it cannot be reconciled with the text
The Dred Scott case, the most overturned case in history, took ____ years to reach the Supreme Court.
7
9
10
11
15
President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation under the belief that he had the power to free slaves in which TWO areas of the United States? (Select multiple)
Federal territories
Non-rebelling Southern states
Militarily controlled areas
Northern slave areas, like Washington D.C.
None of the above.
According to Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer, the 13th Amendment protects against discriminatory _______ choices as well as slavery.
public
private
moral
legal
Which key term is matched with an INCORRECT definition?
Substantive Due Process - Idea that some rights are so fundamental that they cannot be deprived, even with due process. According to Chief Justice Taney's ruling, the right to property (i.e. slaves) falls under this idea.
Due Process (as in the 5th Amendment, "Congress shall make no law depriving anyone of life, liberty, or property without due process") - Fair treatment through the normal judicial system, especially as a citizen's entitlement.
Judicial Activism - The (typically undesirable) exercise of the power of judicial review to set aside government acts.
Fugitive Slave Clause (Article IV, Section II, Clause III) - Taken from Articles and 1787 Northwest Ordinance; allowed slaveholders to recapture escaped slaves from territories and said that slaves must be returned back to masters from Northerners.
Slave Trade Clause (Article I, Sect. IX, Clause I) - Congress cannot limit the import of slaves until 2020 except by taxes and duties on the import. This led to Congress abolishing the international slave trade in 2020.
Three-Fifths Clause (Article I, Section II, Clause III) - Slaves will be counted as 3/5 of a person for the purpose of representation in the House of Representatives.
"Second Founding" - The idea that equal protections, privileges, and immunities ensured by the Reconstruction Amendments (13th, 14th, and 15th) signify a more equal rebirth of the United States
Garrisonians - Group of abolitionists (led by extreme abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison) who believed the Constitution was a pro-slavery document as "a covenant with death and agreement with Hell".
Fugitive Slave Act - Congress created this to enforce the Fugitive Slave Clause. It required Northerners to return escaped slaves.
Political Abolitionists - Willing to engage in electoral politics to limit the spread of slavery in the hope that it eventually dies out without war. This soon became platform of the Liberty Party, Free Soil Party, and Republican Party.
After the Civil War and Reconstruction, life for African Americans in the United States was great! There was unified progress across the country and Black Americans began to live much better lives immediately.