People and Events in African-American
History
Slavery Debates in Congress
Slavery Debates in Congress
Abolitionists were agitators trying to stir up a response. In the first issue
of The Liberator; William Lloyd Garrison wrote: "1 will be as harsh as truth
and as uncompromising as justice." He never let up. Other abolitionists were
also determined, and they paid a price for it. Garrison was put in jail to protect
him from a Boston mob. The home of Arthur and Lewis Tappan was burned
to the ground. Elijah Lovejoy, editor of the. Alton Observer, was killed by a
mob. The attitude of the federal and local governments was generally hostile
to abolitionists, but they still found ways to get their message across. The more
enemies tried to silence them, the more ways they found to be heard, and the
more friends they made.
Beginning around 1836, government began to notice them. President
Jackson approved the postmaster -general's order that abolitionist material could
not be delivered in the South unless the addressee requested it. The House of
Representatives passed the "gag rule," which prevented any petition regarding
slavery from being considered. John Q. Adams, the former president and now
a member of the House, led the fight against the gag rule, and it was repealed
in 1844.
In 1836, Texas gained independence from Mexico, and many in the South wanted to add Texas to the Union.
The North's negative reaction to allowing so large a slaveholding region into the United States caused President
Andrew Jackson to back off from the issue. In the 1844 presidential campaign, James K. Polk's platform favored
expansion to both Texas and Oregon; when he was elected, Congress approved annexing Texas in 1845. That action caused even more tension between the United States and Mexico; the Mexican War was about to be fought.
When war was declared ill 1846, Representative David WIlmot of Pennsylvania proposed that slavery would be
prohibited in any territory taken from Mexico. Known as the WIlmot Proviso, it caused bitter debate between North and
South before it passed the House; however, it was defeated in the Senate.
The Mexican War ended in 1848, with the United States owning 530,000 square miles of new territory. The
California gold rush in 1849 quickly increased its population, and by 1850 the issue of admitting California to the
Union was before Congress. The South opposed statehood for California because it would make more free states
than slave states in the Senate. Many issues were added to make up the Compromise of 1850, which was worked
out by Henry Clay and Stephen Douglas. It was important to slavery because of four provisions: (1) California
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would be a free state; (2) New Mexico and Utah territories could choose to be slave or free (popular sovereignty);
(3) A stronger Fugitive Slave Act was included, and (4) Slave trade was ended in Washington, D.C. The new Fugi. tive Slave Act required that there be no jury trial, an African-American could not testify in his own defense, and
it authorized federal marshals to assemble posses to catch runaways.
RESULTS: The slavery issue, instead of quieting down, was becoming louder, and many Northerners were
beginning to listen. Most Northern whites still considered abolitionists radicals, but they were gaining.
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People and Events in African-American History
Name:
Slavery Debates in Congress
-,~---------
Date:
_
Slavery Debates in Congress: Reinforcement
Directions: Complete the following activities, essays, and challenges on your own paper.
ACTIVITIES:
1.
2.
The gag rule backfired on southerners. Have the class discuss how they would have handled abolitionists.
Have the class analyze the Compromise of 1850 as free African-Americans living in the North.
ESSAYS:
1.
,2.
3.
Why would the gag rule anger many people who were not abolitionists?
As an abolitionist, why would you oppose annexing Texas?
Why would the South react so strongly against the Wilmot Proviso?
CHALLENGES:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Who wrote: "I will be as harsh as truth and as uncompromising as justice"?
Who was the editor of the Alton Observer?
What was the purpose of the gag rule?
Who led the fight against the gag rule?
How long was the time span between Texas independence and its annexation to the United States? .
what was the purpose of the Wilmot Proviso?
Why was the South opposed to making California a state?
Who put together the Compromise of 1850?
What was "popular sovereignty"?
What did the South think they gained from the Compromise of 1850?
/
NATIONAL STANDARDS CORRELATIONS:
NCSS VIa: (power, Authority, & Governance) Examine persistent issues involving therights, roles, and status of
the individual in relation to the general welfare.
NSH Era 4, Standard 3: The extension, restriction, and reorganization of political democracy after 1800
WEBSITES:
http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/treasures_0f_congress/textipage10_text.html
"Struggles over Slavery: The 'Gag' Rule," The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration
http://www. uschs.org/04 _history Isubs_articles/04e_09 .html
"John Quincy Adams' Congressional Career," The United States Capitol Historical Society
http://lincoln.lib.niu.edu/digitalabolitionism.htrnl
"Abolitionism," Abraham Lincoln Historical Digitization Project
http://www.senate.gov/artandhistorylhistory/minute/Gag_Rule.htrn
"1801-1850: March 16,1836, Gag Rule," U.S. Senate
© Mark Twain Media, Inc., Publishers
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