ShmoopTube

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[ musical flourish ]

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And here's your Shmoop du jour, brought to you by Free Soilers,

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the cheapest gardening material on the market.

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All right, which piece of legislation was the image created in response to?

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This image right here. Big mouth.

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And here are your potential answers.

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[ mumbles ]

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All right, well, let's take a closer look at this hair-raising image.

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Those men - the ones standing on the Democratic platform -

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they're forcing slavery down the throat of a Free Soiler,

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someone opposed to the expansion of slavery in the Western territories.

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Could this image have been created as a response to the

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passage of the A - Compromise of 1850?

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Hmm. Well, the Compromise of 1850 allowed

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California to be admitted as a free state,

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as well as delaying decisions about slavery in

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the New Mexico and Utah territories.

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And while we're on the subject of compromises,

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the Missouri Compromise closed

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Kansas to slavery altogether.

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So Free Soilers would have rooted for

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both of these legislative acts. So cross out A and C.

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Was this image published as a reaction to the

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D - Fugitive Slave Act?

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Well, the Fugitive Slave Act required

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that escaped slaves in the North

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be returned to their owners in the South,

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forcing those against slavery to take

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part in its continuation.

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However, Free Soilers were specifically

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opposed to the expansion of slavery, not necessarily its

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eradication in places it already existed.

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So that knocks out D, as well.

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Which means that this cartoon was a reaction to the

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passage of the B - Kansas-Nebraska Act.

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The Kansas-Nebraska Act changed the game by

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overturning the Missouri Compromise,

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which allowed citizens in Kansas and Nebraska

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to decide on the slavery issue through

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popular sovereignty. In the eyes of the Free Soilers, this was like

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having slavery shoved down their very large throats.

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So B is the right answer.

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Though there were plenty of people out there in favor of

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the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the Free Soilers thought this

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whole popular sovereignty thing was, uh, well,

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pretty unpopular.

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