Fluster: to put into a state of busy confusion
Question 1 (Worth 5 points)
[MC]
The Pony Express
Chapter I
At A Nation's Crisis
The fall of Fort Sumter in April, 1861, did not produce the Civil War crisis. For many months, the gigantic struggle then imminent had been painfully discernible to far-seeing men. In 1858, Lincoln had forewarned the country in his "House Divided" speech. As early as the beginning of the year 1860 the Union had been plainly in jeopardy. Early in February of that momentous year, Jefferson Davis, on behalf of the South, had introduced his famous resolutions in the Senate of the United States. This document was the ultimatum of the dissatisfied slave-holding commonwealths. It demanded that Congress should protect slavery throughout the domain of the United States. The territories, it declared, were the common property of the states of the Union and hence open to the citizens of all states with all their personal possessions. The Northern states, furthermore, were no longer to interfere with the working of the Fugitive Slave Act. They must repeal their Personal Liberty laws and respect the Dred Scott Decision of the Federal Supreme Court. Neither in their own legislatures nor in Congress should they trespass upon the right of the South to regulate slavery as it best saw fit.
These resolutions, demanding in effect that slavery be thus safeguarded—almost to the extent of introducing it into the free states—really foreshadowed the Democratic platform of 1860 which led to the great split in that party, the victory of the Republicans under Lincoln, the subsequent secession of the more radical southern states, and finally the Civil War, for it was inevitable that the North, when once aroused, would bitterly resent such pro-slavery demands.
And this great crisis was only the bursting into flame of many smaller fires that had long been smoldering. For generations the two sections had been drifting apart. Since the middle of the seventeenth century, Mason and Dixon's line had been a line of real division separating two inherently distinct portions of the country.
Reread these lines from the Chapter 1 excerpt and answer the question that follows:
These resolutions, demanding in effect that slavery be thus safeguarded—almost to the extent of introducing it into the free states—really foreshadowed the Democratic platform of 1860 which led to the great split in that party, the victory of the Republicans under Lincoln, the subsequent secession of the more radical southern states, and finally the Civil War, for it was inevitable that the North, when once aroused, would bitterly resent such pro-slavery demands.
Which of the following best summarizes the message of these lines?
The radical southern states instigated the Civil War.
The North expected and demanded Civil War.
Differing opinions on slavery contributed to the Civil War.
Disputes between political parties had little effect on the Civil War.
Points earned on this question: 0
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In medias res
It literally translates into "In the middle of things"
A) Fear appeals to the desire to be safe. To clarify, appeal to fear means presenting alternatives, one of which causes fear in order to force the person to choose what you would like them to choose.
B) False Dichotomy gives two choices, one of which is not truly an option. In false dichotomy, the alternatives do not exclude each other. They overlap, which means the person isn't really presented with a real opportunity to choose.
C) Slippery slope claims that one action leads to a series of undesirable events. This fallacy suggests that an insignificant first event might lead to another event, that might lead to yet another one and so on until, ultimately, a grand or disastrous event would happen in consequence of that first, small one.
D) Popularity claims something is true because most people agree. This fallacy basically states that, if everyone is doing it, then it's because it is the right thing to be done.
E) Post Hoc incorrectly assumes that one event causes another. This fallacy assumes that temporal succession establishes a connection between events. That is, if this event came after that one, it must be its consequence.
