The Road to Disunion
1780s–1860
Territorial expansion
leads to greater
differences on slavery
and sectionalism. The
election of 1860
finally drives states in
the South to break
away from the Union.
The slavery debate occasionally leads to
fights between members of Congress.
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The Road to Disunion
1780s–1860
SECTION 1
Growing Sectional Differences
SECTION 2
The Issue of Slavery
SECTION 3
The Southern States Secede
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Section 1
Growing Sectional
Differences
There is a difference of opinion about the role of
the federal government in the affairs of each state.
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SECTION
1
Growing Sectional Differences
States’ Rights
Tariff of Abominations
• Tariffs, or taxes on imported items, spark feelings
of sectionalism
• Sectionalism—loyalty to regional concerns, not to
nation as whole
• Tariff of 1828 helps Northern manufacturers
compete with Britain
- hurts South, which buys many imports; prices
rise on many items
- cotton growers fear tariff might make Britain buy
cotton elsewhere
• Tariff of 1828 called Tariff of Abominations by
opponents
Continued . . .
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SECTION
1
continued States’
Rights
Nullification Crisis
• Tariff of Abominations angers South Carolina
leaders
- threaten to secede, or leave the Union
• Vice-President John C. Calhoun opposes
secession
- believes states have right to nullify, or reject,
federal laws
- feels Congress lacks right to pass tariff favoring
a section of U.S.
• States’ rights— states’ power to govern without
federal interference
Continued . . .
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SECTION
1
continued States’
Rights
Nullification Crisis
• President Jackson opposes nullification
- does not want South Carolina to secede
• Other Southern states dislike tariff but oppose
nullification
• Jackson declares nullification threat against the
law, threatens force
• Henry Clay proposes Tariff of 1833; a lower tariff
over ten years
- South Carolina withdraws nullification threat
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Section 2
The Issue of Slavery
The government allows slavery in more
areas of the nation.
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SECTION
2
The Issue of Slavery
Early Compromises over Slavery
Slavery Affects Political Balance
• Slavery an issue each time U.S. adds a territory or
state
• Balance between free, slave states affects
Congressional power
Compromises in the Constitution
• Northern states begin to ban slavery in 1770s–
1780s; divisions grow
• Framers of the Constitution include several
compromises in 1787
- refer to slaves as “other persons”; delay end
of slave trade until 1808
- “Three-Fifths” Compromise on population;
states must return runaways
Continued . . .
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SECTION
2
continued Early
Compromises over Slavery
Slavery in New Territories
• Northwest Ordinance of 1787 bans slavery in
Northwest Territories
- area later Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin,
some of Minnesota
• Southwest Ordinance allows slavery south of
Ohio River (1790)
- area later Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama
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SECTION
2
The Missouri Compromise
Missouri Wants Slavery
• Missouri territory wants to become slave state,
1819
- would tilt Congress’s balance to proslavery;
North tries to prevent
• Henry Clay proposes Missouri Compromise;
two-part solution
- Maine joins as free state to keep Congress
balanced
- bans slavery in Louisiana territory north of
36º30’ latitude line
• Both sides agree to Missouri Compromise
despite flaws
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SECTION
2
Critics of Slavery
The Abolitionists of the North and South
• Abolition—reform movement whose supporters
demand end to slavery
• Many abolitionist groups form in 1830s; Also
many slavery critics:
- Frederick Douglass—former slave, powerful
writer, speaker
- William Lloyd Garrison—founds The Liberator
antislavery newspaper
• Southern abolitionists Sarahand Angelina Grimké
help lead movement
• Southerner Hinton Rowan Helper feels slavery
harms Southern economy
Image
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SECTION
2
Defenders of Slavery
Economy, Property, Morals
• Southern slaveholders defend institution of
slavery
- slavery vital to economy, moral because not
condemned in Bible
- feel slaves are just property
• Different defenses of slavery arise in 1850s
- some claim Africans need owners’ protection in
modern world
- George Fitzhugh—slavery better system than
free labor in North
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SECTION
2
Westward Expansion and Slavery
War With Mexico
• As U.S. expands westward, South less agreeable to
compromise
• Republic of Texas asks to join U.S.,1845; Mexico,
U.S. go to war, 1846
• U.S. gains territory from Mexico; later used to create
nine states
Wilmot Proviso
• Slavery becomes hot issue again in 1840s after
Mexican War
• Wilmot Proviso—proposed law banning slavery in
land won from Mexico
• Wilmot Proviso doesn’t pass, but fuels conflict over
slavery
Continued . . .
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SECTION
2
continued Westward
Expansion and Slavery
The California Gold Rush
• John A. Sutter strikes gold in California territory,
1848
• California gold rush begins; thousands go
there, try to strike gold
• Slaveholders bring slaves to California to work
mines; locals upset
• California asks to join U.S. as free state (1849)
• Slave, free states even at 15; power balance in
jeopardy again
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Section 3
The Southern States
Secede
Events in the 1850s lead the Southern
states, including Georgia, to secede.
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SECTION
3
The Southern States Secede
The Compromise of 1850
Balancing Power in Congress
• Henry Clay’s Compromise of 1850 balances free,
slave state interests
- admits California as free state
- abolishes slavery in District of Columbia; stronger
fugitive slave law
- New Mexico, Utah territories will make own slavery
decisions
• John C. Calhoun criticizes Compromise; says it
neglects South
- warns that Union will end if better solution can’t be
found
Continued . . .
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SECTION
3
continued The
Compromise of 1850
The Georgia Platform
• Georgians discuss Compromise of 1850 at
convention
• Decide against secession; “Georgia Platform”
supports Compromise
Fugitive Slave Act
• Fugitive Slave Act requires return of escaped
slaves throughout U.S.
• Northerners unhappy at having to help recapture
slaves
• Harriet Beecher Stowe writes Uncle Tom’s Cabin
to protest Act
- popular in North; white Southerners say it falsely
criticizes slavery
Image
Continued . . .
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SECTION
3
continued The
Compromise of 1850
The Underground Railroad
• Slavery opponents in North collect money to help
escaped slaves
• Set up Underground Railroad—network of safe
houses, hiding places
- many volunteer to help despite threat of
imprisonment
- Harriet Tubman, former slave, helps over 300
slaves to freedom
• Slaves make way to North, then on to Canada to
avoid capture
- some slaves go to Florida, live with groups of
Seminoles
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SECTION
3
The Kansas-Nebraska Act
“Bleeding Kansas”
• Kansas-Nebraska Act—allows these territories to
vote on slavery
- allowing residents to decide for themselves
called popular sovereignty
• People on both sides of issue move to Kansas to
vote
• Proslavery side wins, election in dispute; two
legislatures form
• Violence breaks out; mini-civil war called
“Bleeding Kansas”
- President Franklin Pierce sends in troops to
end fighting
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SECTION
3
The Dred Scott Case
Slaves are not Citizens
• Dred Scott, a slave in Missouri territory, files
Dred Scott v. Sandford
- lived in a free territory for a time, so feels he
should be free
• Case goes to Supreme Court in 1856, Court rules
against Scott, 1857
- says slaves aren’t citizens under Constitution,
have no right to sue
• Slaveholders view as important victory
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SECTION
3
John Brown’s Raid on Harper’s Ferry
Raid to Arm Slaves
• John Brown is abolitionist; raids Kansas
slaveholders, 1857–1858
• Brown, 21 supporters raid arsenal at Harper’s
Ferry, Virginia
- raid on October 16, 1859; Brown hopes to give
weapons to slaves
• Governor sends in Virginia militia; President
sends in federal troops
• Ten supporters killed; Brown wounded,
convicted, hanged for treason
• Story of raid and execution drives both sides
closer to war
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SECTION
3
The Republican Party
The Lincoln-Douglas Debates
• Some Northern Democrats unhappy with slavery
support in party
- form Republican Party in 1854, oppose slavery
in new territories
• Stephen A. Douglas, Abraham Lincoln debate in
Illinois Senate race
- Douglas, a Democrat, favors popular
sovereignty
- Lincoln—Republican—says half free, half slave
- Union can’t survive Douglas wins 1858
election, but Lincoln becomes national figure
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SECTION
3
The 1860 Election
Lincoln Elected
• Slaveholders want a president who will not attack
slavery
• Republicans select Lincoln, want to prevent
slavery in territories
• Democrats divided on slavery; North, South each
choose candidate
• North chooses Stephen A. Douglas; South
chooses John Breckinridge
• Democrat vote split; Lincoln wins with more
electoral votes
• Lincoln’s election convinces many in South that
they should secede
Map
NEXT
SECTION
3
Southern States Secede
Georgia Secedes
• South Carolina secedes days after Lincoln’s
election
• Georgia leaders gather in Milledgeville—state
capital—after election
• Call for secession, but some “cooperationists”
want compromise
• Convention on secession in January, 1861—state
votes to secede
• Voters opposing secession pledge to support
“Republic of Georgia”
Continued . . .
NEXT
SECTION
3
continued Southern
States Secede
Disagreements over Secession
• Some Georgians—Unionists—do not want to
secede
- live mostly in northern hill counties, southern
pine barrens
- view secession as unpatriotic; less concerned
about slavery issue
• Georgians, Southerners never unanimous about
leaving union
• Seven states secede before Lincoln takes office;
four more follow
Map
NEXT
SECTION
3
Georgia Joins the Confederacy
The Confederate Constitution
• Representatives from seceding states meet to
start new nation
• Georgia’s T.R.R. Cobb, Robert Toombs on
constitutional committee
- document models U.S. Constitution, but allows
slavery
• Jefferson Davis named president of
Confederate States of America
- calls for slave states still in Union to join
Confederacy
• Georgia ratifies Confederate Constitution, March
16, 1861
NEXT
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