379. Hesitation in the North.--At first it seemed as if Davis was right when he said the Northerners would not fight. General Scott, commanding the army, suggested that the "erring sisters" should be allowed to "depart in peace," and Seward seemed to think the same way. The Abolitionists welcomed the secession of the slave states. Horace Greeley, for instance, wrote that if those states chose to form an independent nation, "they had a clear moral right so to do." For his part, President Buchanan thought that no state could constitutionally secede. But if a state should secede, he saw no way to compel it to come back to the Union. So he sat patiently by and did nothing. QUESTIONS AND TOPICS CHAPTER 35 §§ 361, 362.--_a_. Compare the area and population of the United States in 1800 and in 1860. _b_. Compare the white population of the North and the South. Were all the Southern whites slave owners? _c_. Why had the control of the House passed to the free states? Did a white man in the North and in the South have proportionally the same representation in the House? Why? _d_. What change in the control of the Senate had taken place? Why? Why was this change so important? §§ 363, 364.--_a_. What had caused the growth of the Northern cities? Why were there so few large cities in the slave states? _b_. How had the population of the states changed since 1790? What had caused the growth of the Northwest? _c_. Where was there the greatest density of population? Why? §§ 365, 366.--_a_. Describe the change of life in the cities. What arrangements were made for the comfort and health of the people? _b_. How had railroads increased, and what improvements had been made? §§ 367, 368.--_a_. Of what use are newspapers? How do they influence the opinions of the people? What policy did Horace Greeley uphold? Why? _b_. Who were some of the important writers? Mention two works of each. _c_. What influence did the telegraph have? Was this important? _d_. Describe some of the other inventions. _e_. Why had this progress been confined mainly to the North? CHAPTER 36 § 369.--_a_. Who were the leading Republican candidates? _b_. Why was Lincoln nominated? What is the meaning of the phrase "too conspicuous"? _c_. What did Seward mean by saying that there was a "higher law" than the Constitution? Why was the slavery contest "irrepressible"? _d_. What declaration was made by the Republican party as to slavery? Compare this policy with the Wilmot Proviso. §§ 370, 371.--_a_. What divisions took place in the Democratic party? Why? _b_. What candidates were named? What policy did each uphold? _c_. How had the demands of the Southerners concerning slavery increased? _d_. What third party was formed? By whom? What does the name show? §§ 372, 373.--_a_. What was the result of the election? _b_. What was there peculiar in Lincoln's election? _c_. Were the Southern states in any particular danger?