AP Success - AP US History: Election of 1860 and Secession
The Republican Party's 1860 platform attempted to satisfy both pro- and anti-slavery Americans.
Resolved, That we, the delegated representatives of the Republican electors of the United States in Convention assembled, in discharge of the duty we owe to our constituents and our country, unite in the following declarations…
That the maintenance inviolate of the rights of the states, and especially the right of each state to order and control its own domestic institutions according to its own judgment exclusively, is essential to that balance of powers on which the perfection and endurance of our political fabric depends…
That the normal condition of all the territory of the United States is that of freedom: That, as our Republican fathers, when they had abolished slavery in all our national territory, ordained that “no persons should be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of law,” it becomes our duty, by legislation, whenever such legislation is necessary, to maintain this provision of the Constitution against all attempts to violate it; and we deny the authority of Congress, of a territorial legislature, or of any individuals, to give legal existence to slavery in any territory of the United States.
1860 Republican Party Platform. The American Yawp Reader.
Question 1
Briefly identify one perspective about slavery described in the excerpt.
Question 2
Briefly identify one political trend that influenced the writing of the excerpt.
Question 3
Briefly explain one way that the ideas described in the excerpt influenced President Abraham Lincoln's leadership during the Civil War.
Teach with AI superpowers
Why teachers love Class Companion
Import assignments to get started in no time.
Create your own rubric to customize the AI feedback to your liking.
Overrule the AI feedback if a student disputes.