Election of 1860 and Secession Practice Test

Secondary source excerpt: The election of 1860 demonstrated that slavery had become the central organizing issue of national politics. Debates over the territories, the authority of Congress, and the rights of slaveholders fractured parties and hardened sectional identities. After Lincoln’s victory, secessionists argued that compromise had failed and that separation was the only remaining safeguard.

Which Supreme Court decision most directly intensified sectional conflict by declaring that Congress lacked power to ban slavery in the territories?

Secondary source excerpt: The secession winter of 1860–1861 unfolded through state conventions rather than popular referenda in many places, reflecting elite leadership and long-standing constitutional arguments about state sovereignty. Secessionists insisted the Union was a compact among states that could be dissolved when one section threatened another’s rights. Critics replied that the Constitution created a perpetual national government and that secession was rebellion.

Which earlier controversy most directly foreshadowed the constitutional arguments used by secessionists?