Slavery Divides Nation Assignment

Slavery Divides the Nation Assignment:

Part A- Short Answer Instructions:  Read the excerpts below taken from the Declaration of Sentiments (1848) at the Seneca Falls Convention dealing with Women’s Rights.  Answer the questions below in complete sentences.

"When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one portion of the family of man to assume among the people of the earth a position different from that which they have hitherto occupied, but one to which the laws of nature and of nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes that impel them to such a course.

We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men and women are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness; that to secure these rights governments are instituted, deriving their powers from the consent of the governed. Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these rights, it is the right of those who suffer from it to refuse allegiance to it, and to insist upon the institution of a new government, laying its foundation on such principles, and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their safety and happiness….

The history of mankind is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations on the part of man toward woman, having in direct object the establishment of an absolute tyranny over her. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world."

Now answer the following questions in complete sentences:

1. What rights are women due, according to this document?

2. According to this document, how have men treated women throughout history? Explain why the document takes this position.

3. Why are women and men equal, according to this document?

Part B: Fill in the Blank- Instructions: Use the word bank to fill in the blanks below with the terms that complete the sentences.

1. _______________ attacked Charles Sumner with a cane for speaking against slavery.
2. __________________ was the anti-slavery capital of Kansas.
3. Popular Sovereignty was the method used in ___________________ to determine whether or not to allow slavery.
4. The _________________ failed in determining whether or not California could be a state.
5. The Compromise of 1850 was a compromise largely reached by the help of _______________.
6. The political party that was mainly against slavery was the _____________party.