Slavery, Politics, and North
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Slavery, Politics, and Westward Expansion Political Strife Between North and South from 1819 up to the Election of 1860 1819-20 1844-5 Missouri Crisis 1846-8 1848 1850 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 • Northern concern over the growing “slave power” • Populations in slave areas seem to be growing faster than in free areas. • Missouri’s statehood threatens an imbalance between free and slave states. 1819-20 1844-5 Missouri Crisis 1846-8 1848 1850 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 • Congress arrives at a political compromise with 3 parts: – Maine added as 12th free state – Missouri added as 12th slave state – Agreement on the “Missouri Compromise Line” of no slavery in the Louisiana Purchase above 3630’ 1819-20 1844-5 1846-8 1848 1850 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 Missouri Crisis 1819-20 1844-5 Missouri Crisis 1846-8 1848 1850 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 • Why would southerners have been satisfied with the Missouri Compromise when so little additional land fell below the 3630’ line? • Are Maine and Missouri wholly equal? 1819-20 1844-5 Annexation of Texas 1846-8 1848 1850 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 • Texas had been settled largely by southerners who brought with them slavery - particularly into Eastern Texas • Mexico had outlawed slavery with its independence from Spain • Texas independence in 1836 reestablished slavery as the law of the land 1819-20 1844-5 Annexation of Texas 1846-8 1848 1850 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 • The annexation of Texas as a state became the political issue of the early 1840s and the central factor in the Presidential election of 1844 • Southern Democrats used the political issue of Texas to damage the hopes of their political rivals, the Whigs. 1819-20 1844-5 Annexation of Texas 1846-8 1848 1850 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 • Southern Democrats play up fears that Texas will fall under the protection of England or France if the U.S. fails to act – Such an action would lead to the abolition of slavery in Texas – Abolition in Texas would be perceived as a grave threat to slavery in neighboring southern states 1819-20 1844-5 1846-8 1848 1850 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 Republic of Texas, 1844 1819-20 1844-5 Annexation of Texas 1846-8 1848 1850 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 • Pro-Texas candidate James K. Polk of Tennessee emerges as the Democratic Presidential candidate in 1844 • Henry Clay runs as the Whig candidate and proposes vague measures toward Texas annexation 1819-20 1844-5 Election of 1844: Polk vs. Clay 1846-8 1848 1850 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 James K. Polk of Tennessee Henry Clay of Kentucky Democrat Whig 1819-20 1844-5 Annexation of Texas 1846-8 1848 1850 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 • In the election of 1844, region and slavery often trump loyalty to political party • Texas and slavery drown out all other political issues • Polk wins big 1819-20 1844-5 Mexican War 1846-8 1848 1850 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 • Once President, Polk takes a more expansive view of western expansion. • Has eyes on California • Provokes Mexicans into war. 1819-20 1844-5 1846-8 1848 1850 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 Mexican War: Northern Opposition • War is enormously unpopular in the North • Northerners again feel as though they have been pulled into a war they do not want by a southern president and the political power of slavery • Northerners believe the war is only about expanding slavery 1819-20 1844-5 1846-8 1848 1850 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 Mexican War: Northern Opposition • Among the most vocal opponents are the Transcendentalists and northern intellectuals like Henry David Thoreau 1819-20 1844-5 Mexican War: Opposition 1846-8 1848 1850 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 • Wilmot Proviso - proposed but never passed - would prohibit the expansion of slavery into any territory gained by the war. • Proposed by David Wilmot, a northern Democrat from Pennsylvania • Debate again divides Congress into North vs. South. 1819-20 1844-5 1846-8 1848 1850 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 Mexican War: A Southerner’s War • Southern officers & men fight overwhelmingly in Mexican War • Victories greeted with enthusiasm in the South 1819-20 1844-5 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo 1846-8 1848 1850 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 • After suffering a humiliating defeat, the Mexicans sign the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, ceding present-day California, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico 1819-20 1844-5 Zachary Taylor 1846-8 1848 1850 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 • The Whigs luck-out in the election of 1848: They recruit a slaveholding Louisiana planter and hero of the Mexican War as their candidate -Zachary Taylor • The election is not even close • Southerners feel reassured that Taylor will protect their interests in the new territories 1819-20 1844-5 1850: California 1846-8 1848 1850 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 • The discovery of gold in California in 1849 leads to a huge increase in population • California will apply for statehood • Some slaveholders go to California, but slavery does not have enough time to become established 1819-20 1844-5 1850: California 1846-8 1848 1850 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 • Like Missouri had thirty years earlier, California’s admission as a free state threatens the balance of power in Washington D.C. 1819-20 1844-5 1850: The “Fire-Eaters” 1846-8 1848 1850 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 • Zachary Taylor, the southern Whig President, goes against his region and supports California’s admission as a free state • The “Fire-Eaters” - Southerners enraged at Taylor and the prohibition of slavery in California meet in Nashville to discuss secession 1819-20 1844-5 The Compromise of 1850 1846-8 1848 1850 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 • Henry Clay promotes his last great compromise in 1850 • The Compromise has these four components: – – – – Admission of California as free state Outlawing of slave trade in D. C. A strong Fugitive Slave Act Slavery in Utah and New Mexico territories to be decided by residents 1819-20 1844-5 Fugitive Slave Act 1846-8 1848 1850 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 • The Fugitive Slave Act compelled law enforcement in northern states to cooperate with the returning of escaped slaves • Gives slave catchers federal authority • Backfires on South: Turns thousands of northerners against slavery and the South 1819-20 1844-5 Fugitive Slave Act 1846-8 1848 1850 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 • The Fugitive Slave Act compelled many northerners to take a stand against slavery • Saw the evil in their midst • Felt loss of sovereignty 1819-20 1844-5 1846-8 1848 1850 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 Railroads and the Gadsden Purchase • Even significant economic and internal improvement issues began to split along sectional lines • The debate over the northern vs. southern routes for the transcontinental railroad reflected this divide • Jefferson Davis as Secretary of War allows for the Gadsden Purchase making a southern route plausible 1819-20 1844-5 1846-8 1848 1850 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 Railroads and the Gadsden Purchase 1819-20 1844-5 Kansas-Nebraska Act 1846-8 1848 1850 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 • The debate over the addition of Kansas will render the Missouri Compromise line of 3630’ null and void. 1819-20 1844-5 1846-8 1848 1850 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 Kansas-Nebraska Act 1819-20 1844-5 Kansas-Nebraska Act 1846-8 1848 1850 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 • Stephen Douglas and “popular sovereignty” • Occupants of Kansas will decide the fate of slavery in their future state • Douglas trying to build his image as a national political figure - a moderate voice 1819-20 1844-5 Birth of Republican Party 1846-8 1848 1850 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 • The Republican Party emerges out of opposition to the Kansas-Nebraska Act. • Dominated by Free-Soilers, but includes abolitionists • Will be a strictly northern party 1819-20 1844-5 “Bleeding Kansas” 1846-8 1848 1850 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 • Election violence erupts in Kansas over slavery referendum • “Popular Sovereignty” leads to a bloodbath and a preview of the Civil War 1819-20 1844-5 “Bleeding Kansas” 1846-8 1848 1850 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 • Emergence of John Brown 1819-20 1844-5 The Caning of Sumner 1846-8 1848 1850 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 • Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts delivers his “Crime against Kansas” speech • Preston Brooks, a Representative from South Carolina canes Sumner senseless in the Senate chamber 1819-20 1844-5 1846-8 1848 1850 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 The Caning of Sumner 1819-20 1844-5 Dred Scott 1846-8 1848 1850 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 • The Supreme Court rules on the case of Dred Scott vs. Sandford • Refuses to intervene on behalf of Scott, a slave brought to Minnesota • Recognizes slaves as property, even in free states • Declares that blacks are not citizens and slaves cannot sue for freedom 1819-20 1844-5 1846-8 1848 1850 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 Dred Scott 1819-20 1844-5 Lincoln-Douglas Debates 1846-8 1848 1850 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 • Lincoln of Illinois challenges Douglas to a series of debates about “popular sovereignty” • Lincoln unable to deliver a majority to the Republicans in the Illinois statehouse, but makes a national reputation 1819-20 1844-5 John Brown’s Raid 1846-8 1848 1850 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 • John Brown’s raid on the Harper’s Ferry Arsenal is a flop, but it gets people excited • Brown, a true nut, becomes a hero and martyr to anti-slavery forces 1819-20 1844-5 The Election of 1860 1846-8 1848 1850 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 • The election of 1860 provided the last phase of the sectional crisis over slavery and led America into the secession crisis.
