Lesson 2J.1.1

2J.1.1 Origins of the American Civil War, c1845–1861 Quiz: AQA History, Unit 20

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 2J.1.1, Origins of the American Civil War, c1845–1861: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA History (7042), Unit 20: 2J America: A Nation Divided, c1845–1877, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. Which 1820 compromise admitted Missouri as a slave state and banned slavery north of latitude 36 30' in the Louisiana Purchase?

    • The Kansas-Nebraska Act
    • The Missouri Compromise
    • The Wilmot Proviso
    • The Compromise of 1850

  2. Which 1832–1833 crisis arose when South Carolina refused to collect federal tariffs?

    • Missouri Crisis
    • Secession Crisis
    • Trent Affair
    • Nullification Crisis

  3. What did the 1846 Wilmot Proviso propose to ban in territory acquired from Mexico?

    • Slavery
    • Direct taxation
    • Federal tariffs
    • Free trade

  4. Which 1850 compromise included the Fugitive Slave Act and the admission of California as a free state?

    • The Compromise of 1877
    • The Kansas-Nebraska Act
    • The Compromise of 1850
    • The Missouri Compromise

  5. Who wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin, the novel published in 1852 that increased opposition to slavery in the North?

    • Stephen Douglas
    • Harriet Beecher Stowe
    • Henry Clay
    • Frederick Douglass

  6. Which principle was used in the 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act to decide the status of slavery?

    • Executive decree
    • Judicial review
    • Popular sovereignty
    • Federal mandate

  7. Which party was formed in 1854 in opposition to the extension of slavery into the territories?

    • The Know-Nothing Party
    • The Republican Party
    • The Populist Party
    • The Whig Party

  8. Which 1857 Supreme Court ruling declared that Black Americans were not citizens?

    • Plessy decision
    • Marbury decision
    • McCulloch decision
    • Dred Scott decision

  9. Which 1858 debates between a Republican and a Democrat in Illinois made the slavery question a national issue?

    • The Webster-Hayne debates
    • The Clay-Calhoun debates
    • The Adams-Jackson debates
    • The Lincoln-Douglas debates

  10. Which abolitionist led an armed raid on the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry in October 1859?

    • John Brown
    • Wendell Phillips
    • Frederick Douglass
    • William Lloyd Garrison

  11. Which state was the first to secede from the Union after Lincoln's election in November 1860?

    • Mississippi
    • South Carolina
    • Georgia
    • Virginia

  12. Which city was the first capital of the Confederate States of America in 1861?

    • Montgomery
    • Atlanta
    • Richmond
    • New Orleans

  13. Which federal fort in Charleston harbour was attacked by Confederate forces in April 1861, starting the Civil War?

    • Fort Henry
    • Fort Pickens
    • Fort Monroe
    • Fort Sumter

  14. Which Democratic senator from Illinois supported popular sovereignty as a way to settle the slavery question in the territories?

    • Henry Clay
    • Jefferson Davis
    • Zachary Taylor
    • Stephen Douglas

  15. What caused the political violence known as 'Bleeding Kansas' between 1854 and 1856?

    • Slavery disputes
    • Tariff disputes
    • Indian wars
    • Gold rushes

  16. Which Republican politician gave the speech in 1858 declaring that a 'house divided against itself cannot stand'?

    • William Seward
    • Abraham Lincoln
    • John Brown
    • Salmon Chase

  17. Which 1850 law enraged Northerners by requiring them to assist in capturing escaped slaves?

    • Fugitive Slave Act
    • Kansas-Nebraska Act
    • Wilmot Proviso
    • Ostend Manifesto

  18. Which belief justified US westward expansion and reopened bitter debates over the expansion of slavery?

    • Popular sovereignty
    • Manifest Destiny
    • Free Soil
    • Nullification

  19. Which 1857 Supreme Court ruling declared that African Americans were not citizens and could not sue?

    • Dred Scott decision
    • Plessy v Ferguson
    • Marbury v Madison
    • McCulloch v Maryland

  20. Which event in November 1860 directly triggered the first wave of Southern state secessions?

    • Kansas-Nebraska Act
    • John Brown's raid
    • Lincoln's election
    • Dred Scott decision

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