1. What factors drove Irish immigration to the United States in the 1840s and what skills did they bring?

2. How did Irish immigrants establish themselves in Northern cities and what role did they play in local politics?

1. What caused German immigration in the late 1840s and 1850s, and how did their economic situation differ from Irish immigrants?

2. Where did German immigrants settle and what political positions did they support?

1. What were the main fears and concerns that drove nativist opposition to immigration?

2. What was the Know-Nothing Party and what policies did it support regarding immigration and citizenship?

3. Why did nativist sentiment decline by the late 1850s?

1. What groups faced religious discrimination in the Southwest and why?

1. How did industrialization spread beyond New England after 1840 and what new products did factories produce?

2. How did the sewing machine and telegraph transform American production and communication?

1. How did railroads replace canals and what role did government play in their expansion?

2. How did railroad expansion affect Western agriculture and regional economic connections?

1. How did the Panic of 1857 affect different regions of the country and what conclusions did some Southerners draw?

1. What was the purpose of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 and how did it change the legal process for fugitive slaves?

2. How did Northern activists resist the Fugitive Slave Law and what methods did they use?

1. What was the Underground Railroad and who were the main people involved in helping enslaved people escape?

2. What role did Harriet Tubman and vigilance committees play in protecting fugitive slaves?

1. What was the impact of Uncle Tom's Cabin on Northern and Southern views of slavery?

2. How did Hinton R. Helper's Impending Crisis of the South differ from Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel in its approach to attacking slavery?

3. What arguments did proslavery authors like George Fitzhugh use to defend slavery?

1. How did the Fugitive Slave Law and antislavery literature change Northern and Southern attitudes toward slavery?