According to Eric Foner’s textbook, Give Me Liberty!, why was the era following the Mexican American War (1846-48) marked by growing political polarization in the United States?

File format: a single .doc, .docx, .rtf or .pdf file containing all your answers to the questions
below

Assignment prompt: Complete all parts of the assignment described below. Incomplete
responses will result in significant grade deductions.

PART 1: Political Polarization (20%)
Answer the following question: According to Eric Foner’s textbook, Give Me Liberty!, why was
the era following the Mexican American War (1846-48) marked by growing political polarization
in the United States? To support your answer, summarize Foner’s explanation of the role of two
of the following four topics in increasing political polarization between 1848 and 1860: The
Fugitive Slave Act, the Kansas Nebraska Act, the Dred Scott v Stanford Supreme Court decision,
or the raid on Harper’s Ferry.

Your answer should include one paragraph to answer the first question, and one paragraph per
topic, for a total of three (3) paragraphs. Because you are summarizing the Foner text, you
should not draw from any outside sources as part of answering this question.

PART 2: Civil War (30%)
Why, in Abraham Lincoln’s 1861 inaugural address, does he argue that “the central idea of
secession, is the essence of anarchy”? Why, according to Abraham Lincoln’s July 4, 1861 speech
to Congress, does he describe southern states as being in rebellion, rather than having seceded
from the United States? Answer each of these two questions with at least one substantial
paragraph. Include and analyze a quote from the text as part of your answer.

PART 3: Emancipation (50%)
Write a short essay that answers this question: how did African Americans contribute to the
end of slavery in the United States, and to the Union winning the Civil War?

Your essay should have an introductory paragraph summarizing your answer to both parts of
the question (the end of slavery and the end of the Civil War). The first body paragraph should
answer the first part of the question and the second body paragraph should answer the second
part of the question. Each paragraph should draw information from and explain at least one
quote from at least one document in assigned reading for August 22.