Lesson Plans

The American Journey: A History of the United States ©2000

by David Goldfield, Carl Abbott, Virginia DeJohn Anderson, Jo Ann E. Argersinger, Peter H. Argersinger, William L. Barney, Robert M. Weir

Focus Lesson 12

Chapter 15: "The Politics of Sectionalism, 1846–1861"

AP* Course Description

• The 1850s: Decade of Crisis
  • Compromise of 1850
  • Fugitive Slave Act and Uncle Tom's Cabin
  • Kansas-Nebraska Act and realignment of parties
    • Demise of the Whig Party
    • Emergence of the Republican Party
  • Dred Scott decision and Lecompton Crisis
  • Lincoln-Douglas debates, 1858
  • John Brown's raid
  • The election of 1860; Abraham Lincoln
  • The secession crisis

Key Components

• Instructor's Manual: pp. 99–105
• Study Guide, Vol. I to 1877: pp. 113–121
• Test Item File: pp. 176–187

Key Web Sites

• The Democratic National Committee
• The Republican National Committee
• Fort Sumter
• Furman: Secession Era Editorials Project
• John Brown Case
• University of Kansas: Bleeding Kansas

Key Words and Terms

Suggested Pacing

Test Strategy

Key Concepts

• Free states and slave states
  It would be useful for students to list the free states and free territories and slave states and slave territories in 1858. It will help them to understand the position of the border states once the Civil War began. Students should also be aware of how the Kansas-Nebraska Act reopened the issue of slavery in the territories.
  
  
• Party politics
  The political realignment of the electorate and thus the political parties in the 1850s is an important idea that continues the earlier discussion of the place of third parties in U.S. history. Students should note that in the case of the Republican Party, it became a predominant party and supplanted the Whigs. In many ways, the Whig Party had been the party of personalities. When Daniel Webster and Henry Clay died, the party could not hold together.

Summing Up Student Understanding

• To review the important issues of the election of 1860, divide the class into four groups and have each group represent one of the presidential candidates. To prepare, have students examine map 15–4, "The Election of 1860," p. 450, and read "The Election of 1860," pp. 448–450. Have each group design a bumper sticker for its candidate to represent the candidate's view on the issues in the election. Each group must present its bumper sticker and what it signifies.
  
  
• Because document analysis is an essential skill that students must have in order to do well on the AP* exam, provide the following practice activity. Have students read "American Views: Lincoln on Slavery," p. 453. Ask them the following questions:
  • What is the source of the document?
  • Is it a reliable source?
  • What is Lincoln's opinion about the spread of slavery?
  • Is his tone different in the two letters?
  • To whom were the letters addressed?
  • Could the different recipients of each letter account for any differences in Lincoln's tone? Why?

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

• American Issues: Vol. I to 1877, edited by Unger and Tomes—Chapter 15
• The Power of Words: Vol. I to 1877, edited by Breen—Chapter 13
• Constructing the American Past, Vol. I, edited by Gorn, Roberts, and Bilhartz—Chapter 11
• American Experiences: Vol. I to 1877, edited by Roberts and Olson (secondary source readings)—Part Six