369 AP US HISTORY
AMERICA: PAST AND PRESENT
EIGHTH EDITION
CHAPTER 14: THE SECTIONAL CRISIS
LEARNING TARGETS
1. List and analyze the following suggestions made to solve the problem of extending slavery to
new territories after the Mexican War: (a) Wilmot Proviso, (b) extension of the Missouri
Compromise line, (c) squatter sovereignty, and (d) President Taylor’s solution
2. Describe the series of resolutions that resulted in the Compromise of 1850
3. Explain the motivations for and consequences of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854
4. Contrast the intent and results of the Ostend Manifesto
5. Analyze the reasons for shifting political alignments in their era, specifically: (a) the rise and
fall of the Free-Soil party; (b) the disintegration of the Whig party, (c) the appearance and brief
success of the Know-Nothing party, and (d) the emergence and victory of the Republican Party.
6. Trace the development of attempts to win Kansas by the proslavery and antislavery forces,
noting specifically: (a) the “sack of Lawrence,” (b) the role of John Brown, and (c) the
Lecompton Constitution.
7. Discuss the effects of social and cultural sectionalism in preparing the path for southern
secession
8. Discuss the background, final decision, criticisms, and implications of the Dred Scott case of
1857.
9. Contrast the position taken by Republican Abraham Lincoln and Democrat Stephen Douglas
in the debates held for the Illinois Senate race of 1858.
10. Explain the intensification of southern fears regarding a possible Republican victory in the
election of 1860, especially in light of Jon Brown’s 1859 raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia, and the
1860 contest for Speaker of the House.
11. Contrast the various historical interpretations that have been advanced to explain the reasons
for southern secession
AP Topic Outline:
10. The Crisis of the Union
Pro- and antislavery arguments and conflicts
Compromise of 1850 and popular
sovereignty
The Kansas–Nebraska Act and the
emergence of the Republican Party
Abraham Lincoln, the election of 1860, and
secession
11. Civil War
Two societies at war: mobilization,
resources, and internal dissent
Military strategies and foreign diplomacy
Emancipation and the role of African
Americans in the war
Social, political, and economic effects of
war in the North, South, and West
12. Reconstruction
Presidential and Radical Reconstruction
Southern state governments: aspirations,
achievements, failures
Role of African Americans in politics,
education, and the economy
Compromise of 1877
Impact of Reconstruction
Terms to know/Identifications:
Tallmadge Amendment (1819)
Missouri compromise (1820
Tariff of Abomination (1828-32)
Gag Rule (1836)
Panic of 1837
Wilmot Proviso (1846)
Popular (Squatter) Sovereignty
Election of 1848
Free Soilers (1848)
Compromise of 1850
Fugitive Slave Law
Election of 1852
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Underground Railroad (pre-1850—Civil War)
Kansas-Nebraska Act
Ostend Manifesto (1854)
Know-Nothing Party (1854
Republican Party (1854)
Bleeding Kansas (1856)/John Brown,
Summer-Brooks Incident (1856)
Election of 1856
Panic of 1857
Dred Scott Case (1857)
Lecompton Controversy (1858),
Lincoln-Douglas Senatorial Debates/Freeport
Doctrine (1858
Harpers Ferry, VA (1859),
Impending Crisis of the South by Hinton Rowe
Helper (1859)
Election of 1860
Crittendon compromise (1860-61)
CHAPTER 14 ID’S
1819
Tallmadge Amendment
Pgs. 270
The Tallmadge Amendment was a bill introduced to the House by New York
Representative James Tallmadge. It was an amendment to the Missouri statehood bill. The
Tallmadge Amendment provided for the banning of further introduction of slavery into
Missouri while gradually emancipating the slaves already there. The amendment narrowly
passed the House, but was voted down by the Senate.
1820
Missouri Compromise
Pgs. 270
In 1870, Missouri applied for Statehood. There were two or three thousand slaves in the
territory, and it appeared that Missouri would enter the union as a slave state. Missouri was the
first state west of the Mississippi after Louisiana to apply for statehood. Whatever happened in
Missouri would set a precedent for the rest of the territory west of the Mississippi. There was a
great debate over whether to accept Missouri as a slave or free state. One of the attempts at
compromise was the Tallmadge Amendment, but that didn’t pass. The compromise that was
eventually reached was written basically by Henry Clay. It made Missouri a slave state while
Maine was brought in as a free state. Also, any other state accepted into the union north of
Missouri’s southern border was to be a free state. The line was at 3630.
1828-1832
Tariff of Abominations
Pg. 292-93
The Congress in 1826 was faced with the problem of setting up a tariff. The
industrializing Northeast wanted a tariff to protect their fledgling industries. Wool and hemp
growers also wanted a tariff. The cotton-growing South didn’t want a tariff because they did a
lot of trading with Europe, trading cotton to the textile mills of Britain for manufactured goods.
The tariff that eventually passed Congress was intended to appease everybody by basically
taxing everything. It didn’t work. Southerners were outraged and called it the “tariff of
abominations”.
1836
Gag Rule
In class
The Gag Rule was a bill passed in Congress that had two parts. The first part said that
House of Representatives wouldn’t hear any petitions against slavery. The second part was
that the Senate wouldn’t hear any slavery bills at all.
1837
Panic of 1837
Pgs. 297
The Panic of 1837 was started in part of Jackson’s specie circular. The specie circular
required that all land purchases be paid off with specie. The Panic of 1837 was a great
depression. Cotton prices fell almost 50%. Banks all over the nation stopped specie payment.
Business went bankrupt. The unemployed demonstrated all over. Now, the Panic of 1837 is
thought to be part of a worldwide depression. The whole thing was blamed on Van Buren who
couldn’t do anything because he was committed to laissez faire. Van Buren tried to create an
independent sub treasury, but he was stopped by Congress.
1846
Wilmot Proviso
Pg. 393
After winning the Mexican-American War, there was a large debate as to how the new
territories were to be admitted to the Union. Texas would be admitted as a slave state, but
Oregon would be admitted as a free state to counteract that. California and New Mexico posed
problems. If they were admitted as free or slave states, there were no other territories ready to
be admitted that would be the opposite. David Wilmot, a Congressman from Pennsylvania,
started the Free Soil Movement. The movement called for all of the Mexican cession to be
free. The Wilmot Proviso was an amendment to the military appropriations bill of 1846. The
Proviso called for the ban of slavery in any territory that might be acquired from Mexico. The
Proviso didn’t pass because the Senate voted it down.
1848
Popular (Squatter) Sovereignty
Pgs. 391-92
One approach to determining slavery in new states was Popular Sovereignty. It was an
idea developed by Michigan Senator Lewis Cass. The idea was that the settlers of the state
would decide whether it would be slave or free. The decision would be made at the first
meeting of a territorial legislature when the territory applied for statehood.
1838
Election of 1848
Pg. 391-92
In the election of 1848 Lewis Cass ran for the Democrats against Zachary Taylor of the
Whigs and Martin Van Buren of the Free Spoilers. Cass ran on a platform of popular
sovereignty. Taylor ran without a platform so the Democrats could avoid the issue of popular
sovereignty. Van Buren ran on a platform of free soil. Taylor won.
1848
Free Soilers
Pg. 391-92
The Free Soiler Party was started for the Election of 1848. The Free Soilers thought that
all the territory that was carved up from the Mexican cession should have been slave free. The
party was composed of antislavery Whigs, disgruntled Democrats, and former members of the
abolitionist Liberty party.
1850
Compromise of 1850//Fugitive Slave Law
Pgs. 393-94
Once Taylor became president, he decided to end the controversy over the Mexican
cession once and for all. He tried to get California and New Mexico into the union as states, by
passing the territorial stage. This idea was okay for California because people were flooding
into the state looking for gold. Mexico, on the other hand was still sparsely populated by
Americans. California applied for statehood as a free state. This made Southerners scared that
all of the Mexican cession would become free states. John Calhoun once again started talking
about secession. After Congress realized that Taylor wouldn’t back down, they went about
forming a compromise. Henry Clay was a leader of the compromise movement. He offered a
series of resolutions to hopefully make everybody happy. He said that California should be
admitted as a free state, but the rest of the Mexican cession should be admitted without any
specific prohibition of slavery. He pointed out that the climate was not good for growing
cotton so slavery would most likely not develop there anyways. He also tried to settle a
boundary dispute between Texas and New Mexico by granting the area to New Mexico and
having the federal government assume Texas’ debt. He also recommended prohibiting the
buying and selling of slaves in Washington D.C. Finally, he called for a more effective
fugitive slave law. The compromise plan had trouble getting through Congress. The final
copy that got through was changed only in that Utah and New Mexico were given popular
sovereignty.
The new fugitive slave law said that suspected slaves were denied a jury trial, the right to
testify in their own behalf, and other constitutional rights. This meant that kidnapping free
blacks and selling them into slavery became much easier.
1852
Election of 1852
Pgs. 395-96
In the election of 1852, General Winfield Scott ran for the Whigs, against Democrat
Franklin Pierce. The election really wasn’t based on any issues because both parties avoided
slavery. The Whigs had a problem because they couldn’t decide what to run on. The flood of
immigration was bad for them because most of the immigrants voted Democratic. Scott tried
to win immigrant support, but failed. He allied himself with the abolitionist Whigs from the
North so he lost southern support. Pierce won in a landslide victory because people thought he
would help uphold the compromise of 1850.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
1852
Pgs. 402-03
Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin in 1852. The book was the pinnacle of
literary abolitionism. It did a lot to form the North’s picture of Southern slave-holding society.
Northerners saw every slaveholder as an evil Simon Legree. Beecher Stowe portrayed slavery
as a threat to the family. As a response to Uncle Tom’s Cabin and other such attacks,
Southerners formed an economic and cultural nationalism. They really started to separate from
the North. They tried to develop their own industry and education.
Pre 1850-1861
Underground Railroad
Pgs. 314; 407
The Underground Railroad was a pseudo-organization formed and run by free blacks
from the North. They would make forays into the South and help slaves escape to freedom.
They would also help runaways by giving them food, shelter, and a way to get North. Two of
the most famous runners on the underground railroad were Harriet Tubman and Josiah Henson.
1854
Kansas-Nebraska Act
Pgs. 396-98
In 1854, Stephen Douglas introduced a bill to organize the territory west of Missouri and
Iowa. Douglas was a proponent of expansionism and wanted the bill passed as quickly as
possible. He thought that a railroad was going to be built starting in Chicago and ending on the
West coast. The railroad would have to go through the territory he was trying to organize, and
he didn’t want a conflict over slavery to impede the railroad’s construction. He wanted to
organize a territorial government in Kansas and Nebraska based on popular sovereignty. The
southerners would only agree to the bill if it repealed the Missouri Compromise. Douglas
added the amendment, and the bill passed.
1854
Ostend Manifesto
Pg. 398
During the conflict over the Kansas-Nebraska Act, Pierce decided to obtain Cuba from
Spain. The American ministers to England, France, and Spain met in Ostend, Belgium. They
drew up a recommendation to Pierce that the U.S. try to obtain Cuba at any cost. Pierce
dropped the plan.
1854
Know-Nothing Party/American Party
Pgs. 398-400
After the Whig party fell apart in 1854, ex-Whigs tried to put together another party.
Originally, the party was going to be based on abolitionism, but that party didn’t surface right
away. The party that first replaced the Whigs was the Know-Nothing Party. The KnowNothing Party developed from an anti-immigrant organization called the Order of the StarSpangled Banner founded in 1849. When members were asked about the organization, they
replied, “I know nothing.” The objective of the Know-Nothing Party was to increase the
naturalization period, so fewer immigrants could vote. The party took over much of the
Northeast, but it died out in 1856.
1854
Republican Party
Pgs. 400-01
The Republican Party took over after the Know-Nothing Party disappeared. The
Republican Party was based on the idea of free soil. The Republicans said that the slaveholder
conspiracy was more dangerous than the Popish plot. The party was led by experienced
politicians, and had a following of most of the anti-Nebraska congressmen. The Republican
Party used the conflict over the Kansas-Nebraska Act to increase its power. They used the
conflict in Kansas over whether it would be a slave state or a free state to portray slaveholders
as evil and aggressive.
1856
John Brown/Bleeding Kansas
Pgs. 401, 406-07
When Kansas was being organized, the territorial legislature was set up by pro-slavery
Missourians. They crossed over the border to vote illegally for the legislature. Abolitionists
took up arms and set up another legislature. Pierce ignored the free soil government. A civil
war broke out in Kansas ending a pro-slavery attack on Lawrence, the seat of the anti-slavery
government. John Brown, I response to the “sack of Lawrence”, killed five slavery advocates
in cold blood. During the next few months, there was guerilla war in Kansas.
1856
Sumner-Brooks Incident
Pgs. 389
During the conflict over the Kansas-Nebraska Act, violence extended even to the floor of
Congress. On May 22, 1856, Representative Preston Brooks from South Carolina approached
Senator Charles Sumner from Massachusetts. Sumner had just given a speech condemning
slavery advocates for trying to extend slavery to Kansas. Brooks took his cane and beat
Sumner over the head repeatedly. Sumner was so hurt that he couldn’t return to work for three
years.
1856
Election of 1856
Pgs. 401-02
The election of 1856 pitted Republican John C. Frémont against Democrat James
Buchanan and Know-Nothing Millard Fillmore. Frémont ran on a platform of abolishing
slavery from Kansas and having Congress abolish slavery in all territories. Buchanan ran on a
platform of popular sovereignty in the territories. The race was divided into two. In the North,
Frémont basically ran against Buchanan. In the South, Fillmore basically ran against
Buchanan. Buchanan won, but Fremont did very well for a candidate from a one year old
party.
1857
Dred Harriet Scott Case
Pgs. 403-04
Dred Scott was a slave whose master had moved to the Wisconsin Territory from
Missouri. The matter then died, and Scott sued for his freedom on the grounds that he was
living in a territory where slavery was illegal. Roger B. Taney ruled against Scott. He said
that Scott could not sue because he was not a citizen. Taney went on to say that no AfroAmerican could become a citizen whether they were a slave or a freeman. The fact that he
lived in the Wisconsin territory did not make him a free man because the federal government
had no right to make slavery illegal in a territory. In effect, Taney ruled the Missouri
Compromise unconstitutional.
1858
Lecompton Controversy
Pgs. 404-05
While the Dred Scott case was being decided, slavery advocates in Kansas decided to
draft a constitution and submit an application for statehood to make Kansas a slave state.
Slavery opponents were the great majority in Kansas, so the writers of the constitution rigged
the election. When abolitionists found out, they boycotted the election. The proslavery
factions got complete control and drew up a constitution at Lecompton. The constitution was
sure to be voted down in a public referendum so the proslavery forces submitted just the
slavery provision to a public vote. Once again, abolitionists boycotted the election. The
constitution was ratified, making slavery legal, but abolitionists gained a majority in the
territorial legislature. They held a second referendum on the constitution which proslavery
forces boycotted, so the Lecompton constitution was rejected. Buchanan tried to push the
constitution through Congress against the protests of Stephen Douglas. The Senate passed it,
but the House voted it down. Finally, the constitution was resubmitted to the people of Kansas
who killed it once and for all.
1858
Lincoln-Douglas Senatorial Debates/Freeport Doctrine
Pgs. 405-08
In 1858, Stephen Douglas ran for Senate Abraham Lincoln. They had a series of debates
during which they brought out many points for and against slavery respectively, Lincoln said
that slavery was morally wrong, and the only way to save the country was to kill slavery. He
also said the first step was to contain it in the South and keep it out of the West. Douglas, in
Freeport, Illinois, said that slavery could not exist without supportive legislation. If a territory
didn’t want to be a slave state, it could vote to be a free state. Douglas said that Lincoln was
for racial equality which Lincoln strenuously denied. Douglas won the election to the Senate.
1859
Harpers Ferry Raid
Pgs. 408-09
John Brown saw himself as a prophet whom God told to purge the land with blood and
eradicate the sin of slavery. In Kansas he showed that he wasn’t opposed to using violence to
get rid of slavery. In October, 1859, he led a group of 18 men to Harpers Ferry and seized the
federal arsenal and armory there. He wanted to arm the local slaves and get them to rise up in
rebellion. His plan failed because the slaves didn’t support him, and he was driven out,
convicted of treason, and hanged.
1859
Impending Crisis of the South by Hinton Rowe Helper
Pg. 409-10
After the raid on Harpers Ferry, Hinton Rowe Helper wrote a book that did even more to
scare the South. His Impending Crisis of the South encouraged whites in the South that didn’t
own slaves to rise up and topple the slaveholding elite.
1860
Election of 1860
Pgs. 410-11
During the election of 1860, Republican Abraham Lincoln ran against Southern
Democrat James Breckinridge, Northern Democrat Stephen Douglas, and Constitutional
Unionist John Bell. Lincoln ran on a platform that toned down the anti-slavery, but brought
economic matters to the forefront. He called for a higher protective tariff, free homesteads,
and federal aid for internal improvements. The Democrats split when they met in convention.
The Northern Democrats went for Douglas while the Southern Democrats went for
Breckenridge. The Constitutional Union Party was made up of Know-Nothings and ex-Whigs.
Lincoln took the whole North and won the election.
1860-1861
Crittenden Compromise
Pg. 423
After Lincoln became president, the Deep South immediately started calling for
secession. The North frantically tried to come up with a compromise that would end talk of
secession. Kentucky Senator John Crittenden proposed extending the Missouri Compromise
line all the way to the Pacific to protect slavery in the West. He also said that the federal
government should compensate the owners of escaped slaves and proposed a constitutional
amendment prohibiting the federal government from abolishing or regulating slavery in the
states. The Republicans killed the compromise in committee.
MAJOR THEMES AND TIMELINE
CONTINUAL SECTIONAL PROBLEMS: NORTH, SOUTH AND WEST
CONTINUATION OF THE GROWTH OF AN INDUSTRIALIZED SOCIETY IN THE NORTH AND
AGRICULTURAL ECONOMY IN THE SOUTH
CIVIL WAR—TECHNOLOGICALLY VIEWED AD THE FIRST MODERN WAR
FOCUS ON CAUSES OF THE CIVIL WAR
RECONSTRUCTION PERIOD—HOW TO GO ABOUT MENDING THE WOUNDS BETWEEN THE VICTOR AND
THE DEFEATED—COMPASSION VS. REVENGE
SUCCESSES AND FAILURES OF THE RECONSTRUCTED SOUTH
TIMELINE
1817
James Monroe—President during “the Era of
Good Feelings”
1819
Tallmadge Amendment
1820
Missouri Compromise
1829
Andrew Jackson (Democrat) elected President
1857
Election of James Buchanon (Democrat) to the
Presidency
1858
Lincoln-Douglas Senatorial Debates
1859
John Brown’s Raid at Harper’s Ferry, Va.
1828-32 Tariff Issue: Secession/Nullification Crisis
1860
Election of Abraham Lincoln (Republican) to the
Presidency
1836
1861
Gag Rule
1837
Martin Van Buren (Democrat) inaugurated
President
Lincoln Inaugurated President
Crittendon Compromise
1860-61 Secession of the Southern States
1840
William Henry Harrison (Whig) elected
President and dies one month later
1861-65 Civil War
1845
James K. Polk (Democrat) inaugurated President
1846
Wilmot Proviso
1865
Assassination of Abraham Lincoln/Succeeded by
Andrew Johnson who in 1868 is acquitted of
Impeachment charges
1848
Emergence of the Free Soil Party
1868
1849
Zachary Taylor (Whig) elected President
1866-77 Reconstruction Era
1850
Millard Fillmore (Whig) assumes the Presidency
1876
Controversial Election of Rutherford B. Hayes
(Republican)
Compromise of 1850
Underground Railroad becomes a very effective route for
slaves
1852
Uncle Tom’s Cabin published
1853
Franklin Pierce (Democrat) elected President
1854
Kansas-Nebraska Act
1855
Bleeding Kansas
1856
Sumner’s Crime Against Kansas Speech
1877
U.S. Grant (Republican) elected President
Southern Reconstruction Ends
CIVIL WAR MAP
Develop your own key to
Label the following areas
Northern States (Union)
Northern Border States (Union)
Southern Border States (Confederacy)
Southern States (Confederacy)
In addition label the following:
1) Fort Sumter
6)
2) Richmond, VA
7)
3) Washington, D. C.
8)
4) Mississippi River
9)
5) Vicksburg, Mississippi 10)
New Orleans
Gettysburg
Bull Run
Appomattox
Attietam
Label each of the states and the year
they entered the Union.
Draw in the state of Kansas.
Draw in the country of Cuba.