Directions: Please read President Abraham Lincoln’s speech, “A House Divided” independently.
Purpose: The purpose of this activity is to 1) practice our close reading skills to prepare for the SAT Reading exam, and 2) focus on an important historical document that will show up again on our unit exam.
If you would like to highlight and annotate, there is a hard copy of the text in your U.S. History Q3 Reading Packet.
Drawing Connections: Remember when we took SAT Practice Passage 4? The speech you are about to read was given right before the Lincoln-Douglas Debates!
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Afallacy is a mistaken idea. For example, it is a fallacy to believe that the Earth is flat.
Question 2
2.
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Question 4
4.
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Question 7
7.
Next, Mr. Lincoln will refer to a famous Supreme Court case about a man named Dred Scott who was briefly mentioned in the EdPuzzle.
Here are quick notes or a video if you need a refresher:
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Question 9
9.
Question 10
10.
Do NOT move further. The rest of this activity will be completed in-class.
Question 11
11.
According to "A House Divided," what does President Lincoln believe will happen to the nation if the United States continues to be divided by slave states and free states?
Your response should be in at least 3 complete, college-ready sentences.
1) Your claim should repeat the question back in your own words.
SENTENCE STARTER: If the United States continues to be divided by slave states and free states, President Lincoln believes...
2) In a separate sentence from the claim, you should introduce at least one specific piece of evidence from the primary source reading in your own words with proper citation.
SENTENCE STARTER: According to his speech on A House Divided, “relevant sentence or phrase goes here” (Lincoln, 1858).
3) Your reasoning should elaborate on the evidence in your own words and reference specific key details and facts from the historical context of this topic.
SENTENCE STARTER: This excerpt suggests...which connects to [HISTORICAL EVENT] because…
Question 12
12.
I certify that I have reviewed the CER rubric and the checklist above.
I also attest that all of the writing in this CER response is mine.
Question 1
1.
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Corresponding Item
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According to the historical context above, the main purpose of this speech is to
eliminate slavery entirely from the United States borders.
rally Republican supporters around a key campaign issue.
embarrass Stephen Douglas for seeking re-election.
condemn legal arguments that informed the Dred Scott decision.
Question 3
3.
As used in line 1 in the paragraph below, "tending" most nearly means
going
farming
working
neglecting
Question 5
5.
Question 6
6.
The analogy of "A house divided against itself" (line 5-7) is used most like to suggest that the
U.S. government is like a house of cards, bound to collapse with such an unstable foundation.
Republican party is in jeopardy of losing the White House to the Democratic party.
United States needs to get its own affairs in order before it criticizes other countries.
United States will stay together like a family, able to overcome the most heated of arguments.
Question 8
8.
According to the passage, Lincoln believes that the Dred Scott decision
was an unpopular, but necessary decision by the Supreme Court.
is separate from the "machinery" of U.S. policy.
makes it impossible for any state to truly be a "free state."
is contradictory to Senator Douglas's stance on slavery.
Lincoln's attitude towards the Dred Scott decision can best be described as
angry but accepting.
confused and anxious.
resentful and defeated.
disappointed but resolute.
Quick Review: Take the time to match the Illinois Senate candidate to their claim.
Abraham Lincoln
The United States can remain divided over the issue of slavery and be successful.
Stephen Douglas
As a nation, we cannot reconcile the issue of slavery so long as a nation we keep gaining new land.
Information in the map about the U.S. Slavery in 1860 most strongly supports which of the following statements?
The admission of new states into the Union jeopardized the balance of free states and slave states.
Mexico was actively resisting U.S. efforts to forcefully acquire key territories such as Texas and California.
There was widespread consensus on the terms of admission for territories that wanted to join the Union.
The United States had yet to fully expand from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the West.
The author indicates which of the following about the state of the Union?
The United States will be able to remain a permanently divided country.
Domestic conflict over slavery leaves the United States vulnerable to foreign attacks.
The United States will be destroyed unless slavery is eliminated in its entirety.
The country cannot remain divided over slavery and a final decision will be reached.
Which choice provides the best evidence for the answer to the previous question?
Line 10-12 ("its advocates... as South")
Line 3-4 ("Under the... constantly augmented")
Line 1-2 ("If we... do it")
Line 6-8 ("I believe... be divided")
As used in line 2 and 3 of this section, "machinery" most nearly refers to the
