What did the beating of Charles Sumner show about relations between the
North and South?
O
A. It showed that Southerners were willing to accept Free-Soil ideas.
O
B. It showed their deep cultural and political differences.
O
C. It showed their commitment to the Compromise of 1850.
O
D. It showed their willingness to compromise.

on this day in 1939, in response to hitler’s invasion of poland, britain and france, both allies of the overrun nation declare war on germany.

the first casualty of that declaration was not german—but the british ocean liner athenia, which was sunk by a german u-30 submarine that had assumed the liner was armed and belligerent. there were more than 1,100 passengers on board, 112 of whom lost their lives. of those, 28 were americans, but president roosevelt was unfazed by the tragedy, declaring that no one was to “thoughtlessly or falsely talk of america sending its armies to european fields.” the united states would remain neutral.

as for britain’s response, it was initially no more than the dropping of anti-nazi propaganda leaflets—13 tons of them—over germany. they would begin bombing german ships on september 4, suffering significant losses. they were also working under orders not to harm german civilians. the german military, of course, had no such restrictions. france would begin an offensive against germany’s western border two weeks later. their effort was weakened by a narrow 90-mile window leading to the german front, enclosed by the borders of luxembourg and belgium—both neutral countries. the germans mined the passage, stalling the french offensive.

the tariff was created to protect industry in the northern part of the united states. industries in the north were being driven out of business by imported goods that were priced at a low rate. the goal was to protect these industries   by taxing the goods.