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AP®HistoryCollege BoardUS HistoryExam QuestionsPeriod 5: 1844-1877The Compromise of 1850

The Compromise of 1850 (College Board AP® US History): Exam Questions

4 mins4 questions
11 mark

“I have a part to act, not for my own security or safety, for I am looking out for no fragment upon which to float away from the wreck, if wreck there must be, but for the good of the whole, and the preservation of all; and there is that which will keep me to my duty during this struggle, whether the sun and the stars shall appear, or shall not appear for many days. I speak to-day for the preservation of the Union. "Hear me for my cause." I speak to-day, out of a solicitous and anxious heart for the restoration to the country of that quiet and harmonious harmony which make the blessings of this Union so rich, and so dear to us all.”

Daniel Webster, “Seventh of March Speech”, March 7, 1850

The author’s concerns show that this speech was written in the context of the

  • Nullification Crisis

  • American Revolution

  • Mexican-American War

  • Dred Scott v. Sandford case

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21 mark

“I have a part to act, not for my own security or safety, for I am looking out for no fragment upon which to float away from the wreck, if wreck there must be, but for the good of the whole, and the preservation of all; and there is that which will keep me to my duty during this struggle, whether the sun and the stars shall appear, or shall not appear for many days. I speak to-day for the preservation of the Union. "Hear me for my cause." I speak to-day, out of a solicitous and anxious heart for the restoration to the country of that quiet and harmonious harmony which make the blessings of this Union so rich, and so dear to us all.”

Daniel Webster, “Seventh of March Speech”, March 7, 1850

Daniel Webster’s argument most directly reflected which of the following political developments in the 1850s?

  • Mounting sectional tensions between the North and the South over slavery

  • Rise of the Populist movement in response to industrialization and economic inequality

  • Debate over the annexation of Texas and its implications for slavery

  • Growing demands for women's suffrage and calls for political equality

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31 mark

“I have a part to act, not for my own security or safety, for I am looking out for no fragment upon which to float away from the wreck, if wreck there must be, but for the good of the whole, and the preservation of all; and there is that which will keep me to my duty during this struggle, whether the sun and the stars shall appear, or shall not appear for many days. I speak to-day for the preservation of the Union. "Hear me for my cause." I speak to-day, out of a solicitous and anxious heart for the restoration to the country of that quiet and harmonious harmony which make the blessings of this Union so rich, and so dear to us all.”

Daniel Webster, “Seventh of March Speech”, March 7, 1850

The concerns expressed in Webster’s speech can best be connected to which of the following earlier historical events?

  • The Indian Removal Act of 1830 and its impact on westward expansion

  • The Declaration of Independence and the colonies’ fight for freedom from British rule

  • The signing of the Treaty of Paris in 1783 and the establishment of U.S. boundaries

  • The drafting of the Missouri Compromise in 1820 and its impact on the union 

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41 mark

“I have a part to act, not for my own security or safety, for I am looking out for no fragment upon which to float away from the wreck, if wreck there must be, but for the good of the whole, and the preservation of all; and there is that which will keep me to my duty during this struggle, whether the sun and the stars shall appear, or shall not appear for many days. I speak to-day for the preservation of the Union. "Hear me for my cause." I speak to-day, out of a solicitous and anxious heart for the restoration to the country of that quiet and harmonious harmony which make the blessings of this Union so rich, and so dear to us all.”

Daniel Webster, “Seventh of March Speech”, March 7, 1850

Webster’s plea for "the preservation of the Union" reflects which of the following broader continuities in U.S. history?

  • Debates for civil rights among Black Americans during the Reconstruction Era

  • Debates over federal versus state authority and its impact on national unity

  • Debates over nativism and opposition to immigration in the late nineteenth century

  • Debates for labor rights during the Gilded Age and Progressive Era

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