History 10, Unit 6 The Conflict Over Slavery and the West
Lawrence, Kansas - Freesoil base and target of proslavery vigilante groups

Unit Main Themes

1. Why did a women's rights movement develop, and why was it so controversial?

2. Why was the Mexican Cession an "ironic triumph" for Manifest Destiny?

3. How was the free soil position a different anti-slavery position than that of radical abolitionists, and to what extent did each have an impact on the sectional crisis?

4. Why did political compromise over the spread of slavery fail and the Union break apart?

First homework is lesson one in Nation of Nations (NON), but you will need Retrieving the American Past (RTAP) for future lessons.

Lesson One: Why did "separate spheres" for men and women become more pronounced with the rise of the market economy?
NON: Read 326-331

1) Note which class of women is being discussed
2) What was the ideal of domesticity? How does this confirm what we did in class? (handouts from first day)
3) American Romanticism & Transcendentalism
Documents handed out in class.

Lesson two: Abolitionism
Retrieving the American Past
Take notes on the following sections
1. Two-page italicized introduction by Merton Dillon, 88-89
2. C. Peter Ripley's "Aspects of the Movement for Abolition," the section called "The African American Contribution," 90-93
3. After reading the article in RTAP, turn to p. 337 of Nation of Nations, which abolitionists are mentioned first?

Discussion Question: When considering the abolitionists, why is striving for a more "moral" society important for Americans?

Lesson three: Women's Rights
Retrieving the American Past

Take notes on the following:
1. Two-page italicized introduction by Susan Hartmann, 2-3
2. Article by Ellen Dubois, "Abolitionism and the Early Years of Feminist Activism," 4-stop at "Obstacles to Growth"
a. Why does the women's rights movement develop before the Civil War and not earlier?

b. Note the significance of Seneca Falls.

c. How did the movement sustain itself in the face of widespread opposition among men and women?

d What philosophy did Garrisonian abolitionism provide the women's movement?

In class "Declaration of Sentiments" in RTAP

[Please note you will have a closed-note quiz on the first three lessons.]

Lesson 4: Mexican War and Manifest Destiny, p. 378-379, 387-388, 391-392 to New Societies
1. Define Manifest Destiny
2. Who provoked the war with Mexico?
3. Wilmot Proviso
5. New Lands; New Tensions

Discussion Question: Why did one historian call the Mexican Cession an “ironic triumph” for Manifest Destiny?

Map: Monterey(Mexico), Disputed Area between Texas and Mexico, Rio Grande, Nueces River, Santa Fe,

Lesson 5. Crisis and Compromise
NON: Read 398-402
Take notes on the following headings in the book:
1. Escape from Crisis
2. A Two-Faced Campaign
3. The Compromise of 1850
4. Away from the Brink

Discussion Question: Why is compromise possible in 1850? Begin considering why compromise becomes impossible by 1860.

Map: New Mexico Territory, California, Oregon Territory, Texas, Slave states and territory vs free states and territories.

Note: For the remaining lessons, take notes on all the subject headings in the textbook for the pages assigned. Identifications in margins are usually important

Lesson 6: Kansas-Nebraska Act
NON:Read and take notes 407-408, 414-418, stop at The Election of 1856

Lesson 7: The Worsening Crisis
NON: Read and take notes 418-423

Lesson 8: The Road to War
NON:Read and take notes pp. 423-429

Lesson 9: Primary source material: Mississippi Secession Document and Republican Platform of 1860

Lesson 10: The Outbreak of War. 434-top of 437