Chapter 11 Sectional Conflict Increases Section 1 – An Uneasy Balance A. Missouri Compromise 1. 1819 – Missouri applies for statehood 2. Debate over slavery/sectional fears – ► Georgia congressman tells James Talmadge (NY), who wanted to gradually eliminate slavery if Missouri became a state: “You have kindled a fire which all the waters of the ocean cannot put out, which seas of blood can only extinguish.” ► Would he prove to be correct? A. Missouri Compromise 3. Agreement – Henry Clay led Congress a) Missouri admitted as a slave state b) Maine admitted as a free state c) Slavery banned in Louisiana Territory north of Missouri’s southern border (36°30’ N latitude) 4. Result – Temporary relief See quotes on next slide A. Missouri Compromise 5. Sectional Concerns Sectional antagonism, Jefferson wrote, "is hushed, indeed, for the moment. But this is a reprieve only, not a final sentence… and every new irritation will mark it deeper and deeper." John Quincy Adams agreed. The Missouri crisis, he wrote, is only the "title page to a great tragic volume.“ ► Why did Jefferson and Adams say this? ► Will they be proven correct? B. The Slavery Debate Reopens 1. A Tense Time a) Southern members of House able to outlaw talk of abolishing slavery on the floor b) Equal numbers continue – Arkansas admitted as slave state in 1836, Michigan as free state in 1837 ►February 1838 – Congressmen from Maine and Kentucky have a duel, northerner was killed B. The Slavery Debate Reopens 2. Annexation of Texas a) Slave states vs. free states b) Result – ► ► ► Texas admitted as a slave state but it could be divided into as many as five states if it wanted Missouri Compromise line extended westward Between 1845 and 1848, Texas and Florida added as slave states, Iowa and Wisconsin added as free states B. The Slavery Debate Reopens 3. Popular Sovereignty and Wilmot Proviso a) Big question – What should be done with slavery in newly acquired land from Mexico in Mexican war? b) Polk’s proposal – extend Missouri Compromise line all the way to Pacific Ocean c) Popular sovereignty – proposed by Senators Lewis Cass (MI) and Stephen Douglas (IL) – would allow the citizens of new territories to vote on whether or not to allow slavery ► How was this different from previous discussions about the expansion of slavery? B. The Slavery Debate Reopens d) Neither proposal satisfied antislavery people ► What did they want? e) Wilmot Proviso –wanted to make it a law and ban slavery in all lands that were added from Mexico f) Result – DID NOT BECOME A LAW C. Election of 1848 1. Democrats – Lewis Cass Supported popular sovereignty and was against Wilmot Proviso 2. Whigs –Mexican War hero Zachary Taylor People didn’t know Taylor’s views on slavery but since he had slaves it was assumed he would be in favor of it C. Election of 1848 3. Free Soil Party – a) Formed by antislavery Whigs and Democrats in August 1848 b) Nominated former president Martin Van Buren c) Platform [position] – Demanded that slavery be banned in all territories 4. Result – Taylor beats Cass 163-127 Free Soil party takes enough votes in NY (Van Buren’s home state) to cost Cass the election D. Gold in California 1. Sutter’s Fort – fort and trading post owned by Swiss immigrant John Augustus Sutter along the California Trail 2. California Trail – trail that split away from Oregon Trail near the southernmost point of the Snake River Gold discovered in the bottom of a wooden canal on January 24, 1848 D. Gold in California 3. Discovery led to a huge number of incoming people to join the search (40,000 by May 1849 over California Trail) 4. Forty-niners – migrants to gold rush, named because of the year (1849) Nearly 80 percent of forty-niners were Americans, others were from Mexico, Australia, China, Europe and South America E. Slavery in Congress 1. By 1850, California had enough people to apply for statehood Wanted to enter the Union as a free state – Taylor OK but Southerners said no 2. Texas’ role – wanted more land, threatened to hold up approval of California F. Clay’s Proposal 1. Henry Clay wanted Northern and Southern members of the Senate to compromise on slavery Clay returned to Congress after a long absence due to illness “All society is formed upon the principle of mutual concession [compromise]” His rival in the Whig party Daniel Webster agreed with his ideas and so Clay presented them to the Senate F. Clay’s Proposal 2. The Compromise of 1850 a) Admit California as a free state b) Abolish the slave trade, but not slavery itself, in D.C. c) Pay Texas $10 million to give up its claim to part of New Mexico F. Clay’s Proposal d) Create New Mexico and Utah Territories – have slavery decided by popular sovereignty e) Pass a tougher fugitive slave law that would force everybody to help federal officials track runaway slaves • • • State and local authorities along with private citizens were required to help Clay urged both sides to solve their differences and save the Union What factors were at work here? F. Clay’s Proposal 3. Fire-eaters – a) Definition – southern political leaders who were extremely pro-slavery b) Wanted slavery to be protected by federal law or constitutional amendment, otherwise wanted southern states to secede from the Union G. Senate Debate 1. John C. Calhoun – a) Leading fire-eater who attacked Clay’s proposal b) Said the South would be forced to choose between abolition and secession and it was the North’s responsibility to fix the problem ► Webster gave a speech supporting Clay’s proposal but many northerners thought that compromising on slavery was wrong and thus were against the Compromise G. Senate Debate 2. Change in power – President Taylor died suddenly in July 1850, replaced by Vice President Millard Fillmore 3. Compromise of 1850 was passed by Congress on September 20, 1850 ► Was the Compromise a permanent solution or a temporary fix? Chapter 11 Sectional Conflict Increases Section 2 – Compromise Comes to an End A. The Early 1850s 1. Election of 1852 a) Democrats – nominated Franklin Pierce of New Hampshire b) Whigs – nominated another Mexican War hero, Winfield Scott c) Free Soil – Nominated John P. Hale d) Result – Pierce won in a landslide (254-42) e) Why did Pierce win? f) Term – Pierce’s young son died in a train accident on the way to D.C., Pierce was never the same person A. The Early 1850s 2. Fugitive Slave Act a) What did it do? Made it a federal crime to assist runaway slaves b) What effect did it have? Compromise of 1850 was in trouble long before Pierce’s election in 1852 ► Many Northerners did whatever they could to help runaway slaves ► Further added to the divide between proslavery supporters and abolitionists ► B. Antislavery Literature 1. Uncle Tom’s Cabin – written by abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe – 2. Novel about the realities of slavery from sugar plantations to homes of slaveholders to plight of runaway slaves Reactions Sold 300,000 copies in nine months, over 2 million copies in U.S. by end of 1850s It was banned in parts of the south, where many novels defending slavery appeared Another event that widened the gap between north and south Do you think Uncle Tom’s Cabin an accurate portrayal of life in the South, particularly for slaves? Why or why not? C. Kansas-Nebraska Act 1. Transcontinental railroad wanted from Chicago to West Coast Douglas behind this one as well 2. What did the Kansas-Nebraska Act do? a) Repealed the Missouri Compromise b) Created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska and eventual statehood based on popular sovereignty C. Kansas-Nebraska Act 3. Reaction was predictable – a) Southerners liked the possibility of expanding slavery b) Abolitionists were upset at the turn of events c) It was also opposed for economic reasons. Why? D. Bleeding Kansas 1. 2. Both sides (pro- and anti-slavery) organize to help people move to Kansas Elections in Kansas – March 1855 a) About 5,000 pro-slavery residents of Missouri cross the border to vote in territorial elections ► How was this possible? b) Proslavery candidates win c) Antislavery settlers form own government, both claim to be legitimate government of Kansas D. Bleeding Kansas 3. Violence a) Lawrence – May 1856 – Pro-slavery raiders trashed the town that was headquarters of the Free State Party b) Pottawatomie Massacre – led by abolitionist John Brown (more about him later), attack on pro-slavery settlement, five men beaten and killed in middle of the night c) Bleeding Kansas – nickname given to violence in Kansas D. Bleeding Kansas d) Attack on the Capitol Floor – South Carolina Rep. Preston Brooks beat Massachusetts Sen. Charles Sumner unconscious with a cane e) End result of Brooks’ attack on Sumner and the violence in Kansas – only created more abolitionists than anything else E. The New Republican Party 1. 2. Republican Party – created in 1854 by antislavery Whigs and Democrats along with some Free-Soilers, took name from old Republican Party of Jefferson Elections of 1854 and 1856 a) 1854 Congressional Elections – Republicans team up with American Party (anti-immigrant, anti-Catholic Know-Nothings) to defeat Democrats b) By 1856, antislavery Know-Nothings officially join Republicans Cuba refers to the Ostend Manifesto, which was a proposal to buy Cuba from Spain and add it as a slave state E. The New Republican Party 3. Election of 1856 a) Republicans – nominate John C. Fremont ► “Free Soil, Free Speech, Free Men, Fremont and Victory!” b) Democrats – nominate James Buchanan of Pennsylvania over President Pierce ► Supported Kansas-Nebraska Act, Democrats called Republicans a party of sectionalism in response E. The New Republican Party c) American Party – Know-Nothings and remaining Whigs nominate former president Millard Fillmore d) Result – Buchanan wins (174 electoral votes), Fremont (114) and Fillmore (8) only carried Maryland e) Why did Buchanan win? E. The New Republican Party 4. Lecompton Constitution – a) It gave Kansas voters only the right to decide if more slaves could enter the territory, not whether or not slavery should exist b) Douglas speaks out against Lecompton a) Cost him Douglas key support and discredited popular sovereignty. Who was upset with him? Chapter 11 Sectional Conflict Increases Section 3 – On the Brink of War A. Dred Scott Decision 1. 2. Who was Dred Scott? Slave of army doctor John Emerson lived in Missouri, wanted to be free after Emerson passed away What was his argument? He should be free because he had previously lived with Emerson in Wisconsin Territory and Illinois, both free Missouri courts had already given slaves freedom in similar cases A. Dred Scott Decision 3. 4. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney – one of five southerners on the Supreme Court who wrote the majority opinion What was his decision? a) That since Scott was property and not a U.S. citizen, he had no right to sue b) Congress did not have the right to outlaw slavery because you couldn’t deny right to property without due process c) Missouri Compromise line was illegal A. Dred Scott Decision 5. Reaction a) Abolitionists were outraged but some saw it as an opportunity to take action b) Combined with Kansas-Nebraska Act, slavery looked like it was going to expand into territories B. Lincoln-Douglas Debates Abraham Lincoln – lawyer and former House member who was against slavery, ran for U.S. Senate from Illinois as a Republican 2. Stephen Douglas – called the “Little Giant”, was running for a third term 1. a) Douglas was popular with people in Illinois B. Lincoln-Douglas Debates 3. Lincoln-Douglas Debates (seven total between August and October) a) “A house divided against itself cannot stand” – Lincoln at Republican State Convention 6/16/1858 b) Lincoln – willing to tolerate slavery in the South but strongly opposed to it in territories c) Freeport Doctrine – Douglas said that people of a territory could still keep slavery out by refusing to pass local laws necessary to make slave system work d) Result – Freeport Doctrine helped Douglas beat Lincoln in a close race First Debate Ottawa – August 21, 1858 Second Debate Freeport – August 27, 1858 Third Debate Jonesboro – September 15, 1858 Fourth Debate Charleston – September 18, 1858 Fifth Debate Galesburg – October 7, 1858 Sixth Debate Quincy – October 13, 1858 Seventh Debate Alton – October 15, 1858 C. John Brown’s Raid 1. Attack on Harpers Ferry, Virginia (October 16, 1859) a) Who? Abolitionist John Brown and a group of 20 that included five African Americans. Group was funded by abolitionists from New England. b) What happened? Brown’s group seizes the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry C. John Brown’s Raid c) Why? Brown hoped to revolt against slaveholders and start a new government in the Appalachian Mountains d) Result – No slaves came to help and the army eventually attacked, killing half of the group and capturing the rest e) Fate of those captured? Brown and six of his followers were convicted and executed C. John Brown’s Raid 2. Reaction a) Northerners – questioned Brown’s sanity but many also saw him as a hero b) Southerners – ► Some saw him as a fanatic who got what he deserved ► Secessionists thought it would lead yeoman farmers and poor whites to support their cause D. Election of 1860 Democrats – nominated Stephen Douglas 2. Southern Democrats broke away and chose Vice President John Breckinridge 3. Republicans – nominated Abraham Lincoln, who seemed more moderate 1. Stronger abolitionists wanted William Seward Platform – designed to attract northern industrialists and wage earners along with midwestern farmers, totally ignored the South 4. Constitutional Union Party – formed by Southern moderates, nominated John Bell D. Election of 1860 5. Results a) Same as sectional divisions – Lincoln wins convincingly in Electoral College but only wins 40% of popular vote b) Lincoln – carried almost all northern and Midwest states (180 electoral votes) c) Douglas – claimed almost 30 percent popular vote but only 12 electoral votes (Missouri and 3 of 7 electoral votes from NJ) d) Breckinridge – carried every state of Lower South (18.1% popular vote, 72 electoral votes) e) Bell – Won three states in Upper South (KY, VA, TN), finished last in popular vote (12.6%) but third in electoral votes with 39 E. Secession 1. 2. 3. 4. Lincoln’s victory was seen in the South as a win for abolitionists States secede – South Carolina first on Dec. 20, 1860, six others follow by Feb. 1, 1861 Confederate States of America – formed by delegates from six of the seven seceding states in a convention at Montgomery, Alabama Jefferson Davis – Mississippi planter and former U.S. senator named Confederate president E. Secession Buchanan backs down – Before leaving office, he says that states have no power to secede but that the government can’t make them stay against its will 6. Southern justification – used states’ rights as basis for withdrawal but also feared that restricting slavery in territories would keep them as the minority in Congress 7. Northern reaction – states accepted the Constitution as supreme law of the land when they ratified it, can’t just withdraw if they didn’t like what was happening 5. Civil War Causes 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. Cotton Gin Sectionalism Missouri Compromise Nullification Crisis Manifest Destiny Annexation of Texas Mexican War/Cession Wilmot Proviso Compromise of 1850 Fire-eaters Fugitive Slave Act 12. Uncle Tom’s Cabin 13. Kansas-Nebraska Act Bleeding Kansas Attack on the Senate Floor (Sumner/Brooks) Republican Party Forms Dred Scott decision John Brown’s Raid Election of 1860 Secession/Formation of the Confederacy 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.