Chapter 10 The Nation Divided (1846 – 1861)
Section 1: Growing Tensions Over Slavery
Standard 8.9.4 Discuss the importance of the slavery
issue as raised by the annexation of Texas and
California’s admission to the union as a free state under
the Compromise of 1850.
Standard 8.9.5 Analyze the significance of the States’
Rights Doctrine, the Missouri Compromise (1820), the
Wilmot Proviso (1846), the Compromise of 1850, the
Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854), the Dred Scott v. Sandford
decision (1857), and the Lincoln-Douglas debates (1858).
Standard 8.10.1 Compare the conflicting interpretations
of state and federal authority as emphasized in the
speeches and writings of statesmen such as Daniel
Webster and John C. Calhoun.
Chapter 10 The Nation Divided (1846 – 1861)
Slavery and the Mexican-American War
The vast territory acquired
as a result of the Mexican –
American War reignited the
controversy over slavery.
Between 1820 and 1848, four new
slaveholding states and four new
free states were admitted to the
Union.
The Missouri Compromise did not
apply to the huge territory gained
from Mexico in 1848.
In 1846, Representative David
Wilmot of Pennsylvania proposed
that Congress ban slavery in all
territory that might become part of
the U.S. as a result of the Mexican –
American War.
Chapter 10 The Nation Divided (1846 – 1861)
Slavery and the Mexican-American War
The vast territory acquired
as a result of the Mexican –
American War reignited the
controversy over slavery.
The Wilmot Proviso never became
law, but it aroused great concern in
the South.
In August 1848, antislavery Whigs
and Democrats formed a new party
called the Free-Soil Party.
It called for the territory gained in
the Mexican – American War to be
“free soil.”
The new party, led by Martin Van
Buren, divided the Democrats, and
Zachary Taylor, a Whig became
President.
Chapter 10 The Nation Divided (1846 – 1861)
A Bitter Debate
The compromise proposed
by Henry Clay produced one
of the greatest debates in
American history.
After the discovery of gold in
California, thousands of people
rushed west.
California soon had enough people
to become a state.
Southerners feared that if
California became a free state, the
South would not be able to block
antislavery attacks like the Wilmot
Proviso.
Chapter 10 The Nation Divided (1846 – 1861)
A Bitter Debate
The compromise proposed
by Henry Clay produced one
of the greatest debates in
American history.
Southern leaders began to
threaten to secede if California
became a free state.
Northerners wanted the slave trade
abolished in Washington, D.C.
Southerners wanted northerners to
catch people who had escaped from
slavery.
Southerners called for a law that
would force the return of fugitives, or
runaway enslaved people.
Chapter 10 The Nation Divided (1846 -1861)
A Bitter Debate
The compromise proposed
by Henry Clay produced one
of the greatest debates in
American history.
John C. Calhoun was against
compromise.
He claimed there were only two
ways to preserve the South’s way of
life. One was a constitutional
amendment to protect states’ rights.
The other was secession.
Daniel Webster spoke on behalf of
Clay’s proposals and called for an
end to the bitter sectionalism that
was dividing the nation.
Chapter 10 The Nation Divided (1846 – 1861)
Section 1 Quick Quiz
California’s request to join the Union in 1850 would have
A.given slave states an advantage over free states.
B.given free states an advantage over slave states.
C.restored the balance between free and slave states.
D.extended slavery into a territory acquired from Mexico.
Answer: B - given free states an advantage over slave
states.
Chapter 10 The Nation Divided (1846 – 1861)
Section 1 Quick Quiz
Which of the following was a result of the Wilmot Proviso?
A.The issue of slavery in new territories gained from
Mexico was left undecided.
B.Southerners became increasingly concerned that the
North was trying to end slavery in the United States.
C.Some Democrats and Whigs formed the Free Soil Party.
D.All of the above
Answer: D – All of the above
Chapter 10 The Nation Divided (1846 – 1861)
Section 1 Quick Quiz
California entered the Union as a free state in the
A.Kansas-Nebraska Act.
B.Missouri Compromise.
C.Compromise of 1850.
D.Wilmot Proviso.
Answer: C – Compromise of 1850
Chapter 10 The Nation Divided (1846 – 1861)
Section 1 Quick Quiz
Senator John C. Calhoun would most likely agree with
which of the following statements?
A.New territories should be allowed to determine for
themselves whether to allow slavery.
B.The federal government should have the power to decide
whether states allow slavery.
C.Preserving the Union is more important than states’
rights.
D.States’ rights are more important than preserving the
Union.
Answer: D - States’ rights are more important than
preserving the Union.
Chapter 10 The Nation Divided (1846 – 1861)
Section 1 Quick Quiz
The Wilmot Proviso
A.called for a ban of slavery in the South.
B.proposed that Congress ban slavery in all territory that
might become part of the U.S. as a result of the Mexican–
American War.
C.called for a law that would force the return of fugitives, or
runaway enslaved people.
D.proposed that popular sovereignty should determine if
slavery would be allowed in territory that might become part of
the U.S. as a result of the Mexican–American War.
Answer: B - proposed that Congress ban slavery in all
territory that might become part of the U.S. as a result of the
Mexican–American War.
Chapter 10 The Nation Divided (1846 – 1861)
Section 2: Compromises Fail
Standard 8.9.4 Discuss the importance of the slavery
issue as raised by the annexation of Texas and
California’s admission to the union as a free state under
the Compromise of 1850.
Standard 8.9.5 Analyze the significance of the States’
Rights Doctrine, the Missouri Compromise (1820), the
Wilmot Proviso (1846), the Compromise of 1850, the
Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854), the Dred Scott v. Sandford
decision (1857), and the Lincoln-Douglas debates (1858).
Chapter 10 The Nation Divided (1846 – 1861)
The Compromise of 1850
The key part of the
Compromise of 1850
related to the Fugitive
Slave Act.
•In September 1850, Congress finally
passed five bills based on Clay’s
proposals:
•California was admitted as a free state;
•Slave trade was banned in the nation’s
capital.
•Popular sovereignty would be used to
decide the question of slavery in the rest
of the Mexican Cession.
•The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 allowed
special government officials to arrest any
person accused of being a runaway
slave.
Chapter 10 The Nation Divided (1846 – 1861)
The Compromise of 1850
The key part of the
Compromise of 1850
related to the Fugitive
Slave Act.
•Suspects had no right to trial to prove
they had been falsely accused.
•A slaveholder or any white witness could
swear to the suspect being the
slaveholder’s property.
•The law required northern citizens to
help capture accused runaways if
authorities requested assistance.
•Thousands of northern African
Americans fled to the safety of Canada to
avoid the injustices of the law.
Chapter 10 The Nation Divided (1846 – 1861)
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Anger over the Fugitive
Slave Act led Harriet
Beecher Stowe to write
the antislavery novel
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
•In 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe, the
daughter of an abolitionist minister, wrote
a novel about the abuses of slavery.
•The book was a bestseller in the North.
•Stowe’s book convinced readers to view
slavery as more than just a political
problem.
Chapter 10 The Nation Divided (1846 – 1861)
The Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas-Nebraska
Act allowed settlers in
the territories to decide
whether their territory
would allow slavery.
•In 1854, Senator Stephen Douglas
pushed through the Kansas-Nebraska
Act.
•The act basically undid the Missouri
Compromise by allowing the new
territories to decide the slavery issue by
popular sovereignty.
•Northerners were outraged by the act
while southerners supported it.
Chapter 10 The Nation Divided (1846 – 1861)
Bleeding Kansas
Kansas suffered
widespread violence
as proslavery and
antislavery settlers
battled for control.
•The Kansas – Nebraska Act left it to the
white citizens of Kansas to determine
whether it would be a free territory or not.
•Thousands of Missourians entered
Kansas in March 1855 to illegally vote in
the election to select a territorial
legislature.
•Of 39 legislators elected, all but 3
supported slavery.
•Antislavery settlers refused to accept the
results and held a second election.
Chapter 10 The Nation Divided (1846 – 1861)
Bleeding Kansas
Kansas suffered
widespread violence
as proslavery and
antislavery settlers
battled for control.
•Kansas now had two governments, each
claiming the power to govern.
•In April, a proslavery sheriff was shot
when he attempted to arrest some
antislavery settlers In Lawrence.
•The next month, he returned with 800
men and attacked the town.
•Three days later, John Brown, an
antislavery settler from Connecticut, led
seven men to a proslavery settlement
where they killed five proslavery men and
boys.
Chapter 10 The Nation Divided (1846 – 1861)
Bleeding Kansas
Kansas suffered
widespread violence
as proslavery and
antislavery settlers
battled for control.
•These incidents set off widespread
violence in Kansas.
•The violence earned Kansas the name
“Bleeding Kansas.”
•In the U.S. Senate, Charles Sumner, an
abolitionist from Massachusetts, verbally
attacked Andrew Butler, an elderly
senator from South Carolina.
•A few days later, Butler’s nephew,
Congressman Preston Brooks, beat
Sumner over the head with a heavy cane,
nearly killing him.
Chapter 10 The Nation Divided (1846 – 1861)
Section 2 Quick Quiz
What led the newspapers to speak of “Bleeding Kansas” in
1856?
A.reaction to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling against Dred
Scott
B.fighting between pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces
C.attacks on job-seeking Irish immigrants
D.conflict between cattle ranchers and farmers
Answer: B – fighting between pro-slavery and anti-slavery
forces
Chapter 10 The Nation Divided (1846 – 1861)
Section 2 Quick Quiz
All of the following statements are true of the Compromise
of 1850, EXCEPT
A.California was admitted as a free state.
B.Slave trade was banned in the nation’s capital.
C.Popular sovereignty would be used to decide the
question of slavery in the rest of the Mexican Cession.
D.Oregon was admitted as a free state.
Answer: D – Oregon was admitted as a free state.
Chapter 10 The Nation Divided (1846 – 1861)
Section 2 Quick Quiz
All of the following were included in the Fugitive Slave Act
of 1850, EXCEPT
A.Slave trade was forbidden in the nation’s capital.
B.A slaveholder or any white witness could swear to the
suspect being the slaveholder’s property.
C.Suspects had no right to trial to prove they had been
falsely accused.
D.The law required northern citizens to help capture
accused runaways if authorities requested assistance.
Answer: A - Slave trade was forbidden in the nation’s
capital.
Chapter 10 The Nation Divided (1846 – 1861)
Section 2 Quick Quiz
The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854
A.eased tension between the North and South.
B.allowed Kansas to enter the Union as a slave state and
Nebraska to enter as a free state.
C.allowed both states to enter the Union as slave states.
D.basically undid the Missouri Compromise.
Answer: D – basically undid the Missouri Compromise
Chapter 10 The Nation Divided (1846 – 1861)
Section 3: The Crisis Deepens
Standard 8.9.1 Describe the leaders of the movement
(e.g., John Brown and the armed resistance)
Standard 8.10.4 Discuss Abraham Lincoln’s
presidency and his significant writings and speeches
and their relationship to the Declaration of
Independence, such as his “House Divided” speech
(1858).
Chapter 10 The Nation Divided (1846 – 1861)
A New Antislavery Party
The goal of the new
Republican Party was
to stop the spread of
slavery into the
western territories.
•As the Whig Party split apart in 1854,
many northern Whigs joined the new
Republican Party.
•Two years later, the Republican Party
ran its first candidate for President, John
C. Fremont.
•Although Democrat James Buchanan
won, Fremont won in 11 of the nation’s
16 free states.
Chapter 10 The Nation Divided (1846 – 1861)
The Dred Scott Decision
The Dred Scott ruling
meant that all
American territories
were open to slavery.
•In March 1857, the U.S. Supreme Court
ruled in the case of Dred Scott, a slave
who was owned by a U.S. Army doctor.
•Scott sued for his freedom, claiming he
was free because his owner had moved
him to Illinois and Wisconsin, where
slavery was illegal.
•The Court ruled Scott had no right to sue
because African Americans were not
citizens.
Chapter 10 The Nation Divided (1846 – 1861)
The Dred Scott Decision
The Dred Scott ruling
meant that all
American territories
were open to slavery.
•Chief Justice Roger B. Taney declared
that slaves were property, and property
rights were protected by the U.S.
Constitution.
•Taney wrote that Congress did not have
the power to prohibit slavery in any
territory.
•The Missouri Compromise was
unconstitutional.
•Slavery could spread throughout the
West.
Chapter 10 The Nation Divided (1846 – 1861)
The Lincoln-Douglas Debates
Abraham Lincoln took
a strong stand against
slavery’s expansion in
the Lincoln-Douglas
debates.
•In 1858, Illinois Republicans chose
Lincoln to run for the Senate against
Stephen Douglas, author of the KansasNebraska Act.
•When Lincoln accepted the nomination,
he made a famous speech, known as the
“House Divided” speech.
•Lincoln then challenged Douglas to a
series of public debates.
Chapter 10 The Nation Divided (1846 – 1861)
The Lincoln-Douglas Debates
Abraham Lincoln took
a strong stand against
slavery’s expansion in
the Lincoln-Douglas
debates.
•Douglas strongly defended popular
sovereignty.
•Lincoln took a stand against the spread
of slavery.
•He predicted slavery would die out on its
own.
•Lincoln insisted that African Americans
should be entitled to all the rights
enumerated by the Declaration of
Independence.
•Douglas won the Senate election, but
Lincoln became known throughout the
country due to the debates.
Chapter 10 The Nation Divided (1846 – 1861)
John Brown’s Raid
Northern support of
John Brown shocked
and angered southern
slaveholders.
•Driven out of Kansas after the
Pottawatomie Massacre, John Brown
returned to New England.
•Brown formed a plot to raise an army
and free people in the South who were
enslaved.
•In 1859, Brown and a small band of
supporters attacked the town of Harpers
Ferry, Virginia.
•His plan was to seize guns stored by the
U.S. Army at Harpers Ferry.
Chapter 10 The Nation Divided (1846 – 1861)
John Brown’s Raid
Northern support of
John Brown shocked
and angered southern
slaveholders.
•Troops commanded by Colonel Robert
E. Lee surrounded Brown’s force and
killed ten of his followers.
•Brown was wounded and captured.
•John Brown was found guilty of murder
and treason.
•When the state of Virginia hanged
Brown for treason on December 2, 1859,
church bells across the North tolled to
mourn the man who many considered a
hero.
Chapter 10 The Nation Divided (1846 – 1861)
Section 3 Quick Quiz
In the Lincoln-Douglas debates, Abraham Lincoln
A.gained support that helped him defeat Douglas for the
Senate in 1858.
B.supported the idea of popular sovereignty.
C.supported the Fugitive Slave Act.
D.insisted that the territories be kept free from slavery
Answer: D – insisted that the territories be kept free from
slavery
Chapter 10 The Nation Divided (1846 – 1861)
Section 3 Quick Quiz
“A house divided against itself cannot stand…I do not
expect the Union to be dissolved—I do not expect the
house to fall—but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It
will become all one thing or all the other.”
What division does this quotation describe?
A.church and state
B.free states and slaveholding states
C.the House of Representatives and the Senate
D.Republicans and Democrats
Answer: B – free states and slaveholding states
Chapter 10 The Nation Divided (1846 – 1861)
Section 3 Quick Quiz
chorus from “John Brown’s Body,” a folk song
“John Brown’s body lies a-mouldering [rotting] in the grave,
But his soul goes marching on.”
Which of the following people would have been most likely
to sing this song?
A.proslavery settlers in Kansas
B.an abolitionist
C.a supporter of popular sovereignty
D.a southern plantation owner
Answer: B – an abolitionist
Chapter 10 The Nation Divided (1846 – 1861)
Section 3 Quick Quiz
chorus from “John Brown’s Body,” a folk song
“John Brown’s body lies a-mouldering [rotting] in the grave,
But his soul goes marching on.”
Which of the following best paraphrases the meaning of the
quote?
A.John Brown’s spirit inspired other abolitionists.
B.John Brown’s efforts to end slavery were in vain.
C.John Brown’s crusade ended with his death.
D.John Brown deserved his punishment.
Answer: A - John Brown’s spirit inspired other abolitionists.
Chapter 10 The Nation Divided (1846 – 1861)
Section 3 Quick Quiz
Which of the following was a point made in the Dred Scott
decision?
A. Slaves were citizens.
B. Congress could prohibit slavery in any territory.
C. Slaves were property, even if they lived in a free
territory.
D. All of the above
Answer: C - Slaves were property, even if they lived in a
free territory.
Chapter 10 The Nation Divided (1846 – 1861)
Section 3 Quick Quiz
When the Whig party split apart in 1854, which party was
formed by northern Whigs?
A.the Federalist Party
B.the Republican Party
C.the Democrat Party
D.the Know Nothing Party
Answer: B – the Republican Party
Chapter 10 The Nation Divided (1846 – 1861)
Section 4: The Coming of the Civil War
Standard 8.10.3 Identify the constitutional issues
posed by the doctrine of nullification and secession
and the earliest origins of that doctrine.
Standard 8.10.4 Discuss Abraham Lincoln’s
presidency and his significant writings and speeches
and their relationship to the Declaration of
Independence, such as his inaugural addresses (1861
and 1865).
Chapter 10 The Nation Divided (1846 – 1861)
The Nation Divides
The election of 1860
led to the breakup of
the Union.
•As the election of 1860 drew near,
Americans everywhere felt a sense of
crisis.
•The Republicans chose Abraham
Lincoln as their presidential candidate.
•Northern Democrats and Southern
Democrats were divided over the issue
of slavery.
Chapter 10 The Nation Divided (1846 – 1861)
The Nation Divides
The election of 1860
led to the breakup of
the Union.
•Lincoln won in every free state and
Southern Democrat John Breckinridge
won in all but four slave states.
•Although Lincoln received only 40
percent of the popular vote, he won the
election.
•On December 20, 1860, South
Carolina became the first state to
secede from the Union.
•Six more states soon followed South
Carolina out of the Union.
Chapter 10 The Nation Divided (1846 – 1861)
The Nation Divides
The election of 1860
led to the breakup of
the Union.
•In early February, leaders from the
seven seceding states met in
Montgomery, Alabama, to form the
Confederate States of America.
•By the time Lincoln took office in
March, they had a written constitution
and named former Mississippi Senator
Jefferson Davis as their president.
Chapter 10 The Nation Divided (1846 – 1861)
The Civil War Begins
President Lincoln’s
assurances of
friendship in his
inaugural address were
rejected by the South.
•In Lincoln’s inaugural address, he
assured the South he had no intention
of interfering with the institution of
slavery were it already existed.
•The seceding states rejected Lincoln
and took over federal property within
their borders, including forts.
•At Fort Sumter, located on an island in
the harbor of Charleston, South
Carolina, the fort’s commander would
not surrender.
Chapter 10 The Nation Divided (1846 – 1861)
The Civil War Begins
President Lincoln’s
assurances of
friendship in his
inaugural address were
rejected by the South.
•South Carolina authorities decided to
starve the fort’s 100 troops into
surrender.
•Lincoln did not want to surrender the
fort.
•He announced that he would send
food to the fort, but that the supply
ships would carry no troops or guns.
•Confederate leaders decided to
capture the fort while it was isolated.
Chapter 10 The Nation Divided (1846 – 1861)
The Civil War Begins
President Lincoln’s
assurances of
friendship in his
inaugural address were
rejected by the South.
•On April 12, Confederate artillery
opened fire on the fort.
•After 34 hours, with the fort on fire, the
U.S. troops surrendered.
•The attack on Fort Sumter marked the
beginning of a long civil war.
Chapter 10 The Nation Divided (1846 – 1861)
Section 4 Quick Quiz
How did the South react to Abraham Lincoln’s election as
President in 1860?
A.North Carolina and Virginia seceded, followed by South
Carolina.
B.Southern leaders called for a new presidential election to
be held in the spring.
C.To save the Union, Southern leaders agreed to support
the new President.
D.Seven Southern states seceded and formed the
Confederate States of America.
Answer: D - Seven Southern states seceded and formed
the Confederate States of America.
Chapter 10 The Nation Divided (1846 – 1861)
Section 4 Quick Quiz
Which statement BEST describes the results of the
presidential election of 1860?
A. Regional attitudes toward slavery decided the outcome.
B. National unity led to a landslide victory for the
Republican candidate.
C. Moderate voters who wanted a compromise on slavery
determined the winner.
D. Regional attitudes toward slavery played a small role in
the outcome.
Answer: A - Regional attitudes toward slavery decided the
outcome.
Chapter 10 The Nation Divided (1846 – 1861)
Section 4 Quick Quiz
Which of the following was not a direct cause of the Civil
War?
A. Confederate troops attacked Fort Sumter.
B. Abraham Lincoln was elected President in 1860.
C. Union troops attacked Confederate forts in South
Carolina.
D. Seven southern states seceded from the Union.
Answer: C - Union troops attacked Confederate forts in
South Carolina.
Chapter 10 The Nation Divided (1846 – 1861)
Section 4 Quick Quiz
All of the following were causes of the Civil War EXCEPT
A.John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry.
B.the Supreme Court ruling on Dred Scott v. Sandford.
C.the use of child labor in northern factories.
D.the publication of Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
Answer: C - the use of child labor in northern factories.
Chapter 10 The Nation Divided (1846 – 1861)
Section 4 Quick Quiz
What was the first major goal of President Abraham
Lincoln’s administration?
A.to destroy the institution of slavery
B.to maintain the unity of the country
C.to expand the power of the state governments
D.to industrialize the economy
Answer: B - to maintain the unity of the country