Prelude to War (1850s – 1861)
Themes
• Compromise of 1850
• Several crises eventually led to Civil War
• North vs South division
Zachary Taylor
• As early as 1849, President Taylor was facing issues on
whether or not these newly found territories would
enter the Union as a free or slave state
• In February 1850, President Taylor held a stormy
conference with southern leaders who threatened
secession.
• Taylor warned Southerners that he would personally
march the Army and take control of any state in the
South
• However, on July 4th Taylor would fall in and die 5 days
later
• Millard Fillmore
Controversies after Mexican War
• With all the new found land, would slavery
expand into the west?
• What about Texas (border and debt) and
California?
• Texas was still making claims to the northwest
territory. (Modern day: New Mexico, Colorado
and parts of Oklahoma and Kansas
• Some felt slavery in Washington D.C. was
embarrassing for the nation
Different Solutions
1. Free soil:
- All new territory should be FREE (prohibit
slavery)
• Wilmot Proviso: Proposed to prohibit slavery
in any territory acquired from Mexico.
Defeated in 1846, but would have been
supported by followers of Free Soil
Different Solutions
2. Popular Sovereignty:
- Allow people who live in new territories
to vote and decide themselves
3. Extend Missouri Compromise line
Extend Missouri Compromise Line
Who Could Develop A Compromise?
• U.S. political system was based on
compromise ever since Constitutional
Convention
• To officially ratify the Constitution, Federalists
and Anti-federalists had to compromise
Who Could Develop A Compromise?
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Henry Clay (Great Compromiser)
Tried and failed to develop a broad consensus
Stephen Douglas (Illinois Senator)
Succeeded where Clay had failed
Everyone in government hated what Douglas
proposed. However, Douglas broke the
compromise down into different topics which
made it easier for politicians to understand
what is being compromised
Compromise of 1850
1. California entered Union as a free state
- People in California did not want slave owners
bringing their slaves to prospect and dig for gold
2. Slavery in Utah and New Mexico territories would
be decided by popular sovereignty
3. Texas border was settled and its debt was paid
4. Outlawed slave trade in Washington D.C. (but
slavery remained legal)
5. Stricter Fugitive Slave Law
*Signed into law by President Millard Fillmore*
Compromise of 1850
Compromise of 1850
(Impact)
• Significance
- The nation avoided war
- Over the next 10 years Northern states grew
in population and industrial power as
compared to the South
Fugitive Slave Law
1. All runaway slaves had to be returned to
their owners
2. It became illegal to aid runaway slaves
- Almost impossible to know how many slaves
successfully made it to the North using the
Underground Railroad
3. Accused runaways were denied a jury trial; a
judge decided their fate
Underground Railroad
Fugitive Slave Law
(Impact)
• Infuriated opponents of slavery
• Showed slavery was a national problem, not
just a regional (Southern)
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
(1852)
• A novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe
• Identified horrors of slavery
• Uncle Tom was a loyal slave eventually
whipped to death by his new owner
• The novel became a best seller in the United
States and the world
• Also became a popular play
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
(1852)
• Significance:
- Angered people in North; opposition to
slavery began to grow
- Angered people in South; it misrepresented
slavery
Kansas and Nebraska
• Northerners supported a railroad out West,
but much of the region was unorganized
• Southerners wanted slavery to expand
Westward, but it was prohibited by the
Missouri Compromise
- NEVER will slavery go north of the 36,30 line in
the previous Louisiana Territory
Compromise of 1850
Kansas and Nebraska
• Sen. Stephen Douglas (Illinois) sought a
compromise because a railroad meant more
revenue for his state
• He wanted to become President and to show
the nation he could make important decisions
Kansas/Nebraska Act
(1854)
1. Organized two new territories: Kansas and
Nebraska
2. The Missouri Compromise was repealed
3. Slavery in Kansas and Nebraska was to be
determined by popular sovereignty
*Douglas believed he was genius; however, he
had no clue as to the capability of people who
would fight for free and slave representation*
Kansas/Nebraska Act
(1854)
Kansas/Nebraska Act
(Impact)
• Significance:
- Infuriated opponents of slavery
- Led to “death” of Whig Party and second
American party system
• Senator William H. Seward (New York), “Come
on then, Gentlemen of the Slave States, since
there is no escaping your challenge, we will
engage in competition for the virgin soil of
Kansas..”
Second American Party System
• Since the late 1820s, two dominant political
parties
- Democrats : supporters of Andrew Jackson
- Whigs: opponents of Jackson
• Not a single Whig in HoR voted in favor of the
Kansas/Nebraska Act
• The Act would “kill” the Whig Party
Bleeding Kansas
(1855-56)
• Supporters and opponents of slavery
converged in Kansas
• Many pro-slavery advocates voted illegally in
1855 election
• Eventually there was bloodshed
Bleeding Kansas
(1855-56)
Bleeding Kansas
(1855-56)
• Battle of Pottawatomi Creek Massacre (1856):
- John Brown (Abolitionist) and others abducted
five pro-slavery supporters
- The men were murdered
- North vs. South
- Kansas made its way into the HoR
- Preston Brooks (S. Carolina) vs. Charles
Sumner (Mass)
Fight in the Senate
Election of 1856
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James Buchanan (Democrat) – 174
John C. Fremont (Republican) – 114
Millard Fillmore (American) – 8
Fremont condemned the Kansas/Nebraska Act
Democrats supported the idea of popular
sovereignty
Dred Scott Case
(Background)
• Dred Scott was from slave state, but then
resided in free state (Illinois) and territory
(Wisconsin)
• He sued to obtain his freedom on the grounds
that Illinois and the Michigan Territory
prohibited slavery (1820)
Dred Scott Decision
(1857)
• Chief Justice Roger Taney wrote the decision:
1. Scott will not be granted his freedom
- Just because you are a slave in a free state does not
mean you automatically free
2. Blacks were not citizens and had no citizenship rights
3. Congress cannot prohibit slavery anywhere; only states
have this power
- Slaves were the property of their owners and private
property was protected under the Constitution
*Taney hated Republicans and detested racial equality*
Dred Scott Decision
(1857)
• The decision was suppose to settle the slavery
issue once and for all, but it just made it worse
• Decision infuriated the North
• Southerners saw it as a validation for previous
arguments towards slavery
Dred Scott Decision
(Impact)
• Opponents of slavery feared slavery might
expand into additional areas
• Reinforced argument that slavery was a
national problem, not regional
Senate Debates
• Over the next couple of years all eyes would
be on Illinois
• Stephen Douglas vs. Abraham Lincoln
Stephen Douglas
• Incumbent Senator from Illinois
• Supported westward expansion and popular
sovereignty
• Also supported legislation: Compromise of
1850 & Kansas/Nebraska Act
Abraham Lincoln
• Humble origins and Illinois lawyer
• Served one term in U.S. House; opposed
Mexican War
• Member of newly formed Republican Party,
which began in 1850s
-opposed to expansion of slavery into new
territories
Lincoln/Douglas Debates
(1858)
• Candidates debated national policies in wake of Dred
Scott decision
• Lincoln was morally opposed to slavery, but rejected
abolitionism
• Freeport Doctrine: Douglas argued people in territories
could prohibit slavery if laws protecting slavery were
not enforced
- New territories could choose for themselves to either
allow or outlaw slavery in their territory
*power to the states*
Result: Douglas won re-election to Senate; beating
Lincoln
Lincoln/Douglas Debates
(Impact)
• One of the first national debated to printed
across the nation
• Further separated Northerners and
Southerners
• Introduced the newly formed Republican
Party and Abraham Lincoln
John Brown’s Raid
(1859)
• John Brown was an abolitionist
• Had already caused many problems in Bleeding Kansas
• Goal: capture federal arsenal in Harper’s Ferry, Virginia
and lead a slave uprising
• Successfully captured the arsenal, but no slave
rebellion
• Problem: Brown and his small group vs. the U.S.
Government
• Brown was captured and put on trail for treason and
executed
John Brown’s Raid
(Impact)
• Significance:
- Brown’s correspondence with northern
abolitionists was shocking to southerns
- In the North, he was treated like a martyr (not
a traitor)
• Some in South believed many in North were
abolitionists willing to fight to free slaves
Presidential Election of 1860
• Four candidates in the elections; all 4 were
ripping the nation apart on every issues
• Stephen Douglas (Northern Democrat):
supported popular sovereignty
• John Breckinridge (Southern Democrat):
supported expansion of slavery into all territories
• Abraham Lincoln (Republican): Allow slavery to
remain where it exists; no new expansion
• John Bell (Constitutional Union): Stood for
Constitution, Union, and enforcement of laws
Presidential Election of 1860
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Abraham Lincoln – 180 (Northern States)
John Breckinridge – 72 (Southern States)
Stephen Douglas – 12
John Bell - 39
Following Lincoln’s Victory
• Seven states seceded (even before his
inauguration)
• December 1861- South Carolina voted in favor
to break its ties with the Union
• Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia,
Louisiana, and Texas
• Confederate States of America
*America’s experiment with Democracy had
failed*
Review
• Politics from 1850-1861
• Several crises leading up to secession