CHAPTER 14
Slavery and America’s Future: The Road to War, 1845-1861
Chapter Summary
Chapter 14 has as its theme the interplay of several forces that paved the road to war in the period between 1845 and 1861.
Two of the forces, territorial expansion and slavery, might at first glance seem separate, but in fact the two became
inseparably intertwined because of the addition of a third force—the perceptions (frames of reference) of the two antagonists,
North and South, toward each other: “[The Republican Party] charged southerners with using the power of the federal
government to make slavery legal throughout the Union. Southern leaders defended slavery and charged the North with
unconstitutional efforts to destroy it.” The application of such perceptions to the twin forces of territorial expansion and
slavery provided the catalyst necessary to produce sectional polarization, disunion, and war.
The Mexican War heightened northern fear of a Slave Power. This fear, present in the North since passage of the gag rule
in 1836, was caused by the belief that southern power and the expansion of slavery were jeopardizing the liberties of whites.
Northerners began to see a Slave-Power conspiracy behind most of the events of the era, and, as a result, they became more
and more antislavery in sentiment. The nature of northern fears and analysis of the Wilmot Proviso demonstrate that northern
antislavery sentiment was racist and, in the sense that northerners wanted the territories for the expansion of their economic
system (based on the free-wage labor system) as opposed to a slave-labor system of the South, self-serving in its orientation.
Furthermore, the Mexican War, through introduction of the Wilmot Proviso into the House of Representatives,
heightened southern fear that a hostile North was attempting to undermine and eventually abolish the institution of slavery.
Southerners began to see an antislavery conspiracy behind most of the events of the era, and since such a conspiracy seemed
tied to the northern abolitionist movement, southerners began to defend slavery more vociferously and, through John C.
Calhoun’s state-sovereignty theories, claimed slaveowners’ rights were constitutionally protected.
Acquisition of territory from Mexico caused slavery expansion to become the overriding issue in the presidential election
of 1848. The Democrats and the Whigs began to fragment as a result of sectional antagonisms, and the presence of the FreeSoil Party was partially responsible for Zachary Taylor’s election as president. Between 1848 and 1850 several other issues
emerged and caused further dissension. The most troublesome matter was the rights of settlers in the territories. The
Compromise of 1850, rather than settling this and other issues, became a source of argument, which was further fueled by
publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
As southern leaders began to feel more and more threatened by the antislavery arguments coming from the North, they
developed a variety of proslavery arguments designed to explain the necessity of expanding slavery and to counter the moral
arguments against slavery. Furthermore, to prevent congressional action, the South continued to advance states’ rights
constitutional theories.
The election of Franklin Pierce to the presidency and the domestic and foreign policy decisions of his administration had
the effect of further feeding northern fear that the Slave Power had captured control of the national government. Northerners
saw passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act and its repeal of the Missouri Compromise as a proslavery act inspired by the Slave
Power. The shock waves from passage of this act brought the destruction of the Whig Party, the birth of the Republican and
American Parties, and a complete realignment of the political system in the United States. In this realignment, the Republican
Party, by appealing to groups interested in the economic development of the West and by expounding an ideology based on
the dignity of labor, became the dominant party in the North. Concurrently, the Democratic Party, by arguing that slavery
elevated the status of all whites, appealing to racism, and emphasizing the “rights” of southerners, became the party of the
South. In addition, northerners linked Democrats with the Slave Power, while southerners linked Republicans with radical
abolitionists.
Events now came in rapid succession—”Bleeding Kansas,” the Sumner-Brooks affair, the Dred Scott decision, Stephen
Douglas’s Freeport Doctrine, John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry, the splintering of the Democratic Party, and Abraham
Lincoln’s election in 1860. Each drove the wedge more deeply between the two sections and served to harden opinions.
However, analysis of the 1860 election results indicates that the electorate did not vote in favor of extreme action.
Compromise was made impossible first by Lincoln’s refusal to soften his party’s stand on the expansion of slavery into the
territories. The situation was exacerbated by the adoption of the separate-state secession strategy by southern extremists,
which led to the secession of seven southern states between the time of Lincoln’s election and his inauguration. Lincoln’s
decision as president to reprovision the federal fort in the Charleston harbor brought the first shots of the Civil War.
Chapter Outline
I.
Introduction
Territorial expansion brought the slavery question once again to the forefront. This volatile issue gave rise to a new
political party, the Republicans, and moved the nation closer to war.
II.
The War with Mexico and Its Consequences
A. Oregon
The Oregon Treaty of 1846 established the northernmost boundary of the Oregon County at the 49th parallel.
B. “Mr. Polk’s War”
After failing in his attempt to buy land to the Pacific from Mexico, Polk waited for war. After Mexican cavalry
struck against an American cavalry unit on the north side of the Rio Grande, Polk drafted a war message to
Congress. Congress voted in favor of a declaration of war on May 13, 1846.
C. Foreign War and the Popular Imagination
There were public celebrations that accompanied the declaration of war. It was seen as a fulfillment of AngloSaxon-Christian destiny.
D. Conquest
Due to steady progress on the part of American forces, and after a daring invasion at Vera Cruz that led to the
capture of Mexico City, the U.S. was victorious.
E. Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
A treaty with Mexico gave the United States possession of California and the New Mexico Territory, and
recognized the Rio Grande as the Texas border. The United States agreed to pay the claims of American citizens
against Mexico and to give Mexico another $15 million.
F. “Slave Power Conspiracy”
Many Northerners opposed the Mexican War, insisting that its causes could be found in a slaveholding oligarchy
that intended to ensure the institution of slavery.
G. Wilmot Proviso
Congressman David Wilmot proposed a bill that outlawed slavery in territories gained from Mexico, but his
proposal failed in the Senate. The Proviso subsequently became a rallying cry for abolitionists.
H. The Election of 1848 and Popular Sovereignty
Slavery in the territories emerged as the primary issue in the 1848 election. The Democrat Lewis Cass supported
popular sovereignty, allowing Whig slaveholder Zachary Taylor to win the presidency with the Southern vote.
III.
1850: Compromise or Armistice?
A. Compromise of 1850
California’s request to enter the Union as a free state sparked the first major political conflict following the
Mexican War. Although Henry Clay’s omnibus bill did not pass, each compromise measure gained congressional
support.
B. Fugitive Slave Act
An important facet of the compromise strengthened southerners’ ability to capture escaped slaves. Abolitionists
sharply protested this law.
C. Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Harriet Beecher Stowe’s book enthralled northerners by painting a portrait of the suffering of slaves, a portrayal
that appalled white southerners.
D. The Underground Railroad
Southerners were especially disturbed over the Underground Railroad.
E. Election of 1852 and the Collapse of Compromise
Franklin Pierce’s victory gave southerners hope because he believed that each section’s rights should be
defended and because he supported the Fugitive Slave Act. Those same stands appalled many northerners.
IV.
Slavery Expansion and Collapse of the Party System
A. The Kansas-Nebraska Bill
This bill, proposed by Stephen A. Douglas, exposed the complexity of popular sovereignty. Discord over the bill
helped split the Whigs, and the party fell apart.
B. Birth of the Republican Party
The Kansas-Nebraska Bill encouraged antislavery Whigs and Democrats, Free-Soilers, and other reformers to
form the Republican Party, which grew rapidly in the North.
C. Know-Nothings
The American Party, called Know-Nothings, started as an anti-immigrant party that exploited fears of foreigners.
D. Party Realignment and the Republicans’ Appeal
The Republicans, Democrats, and Know-Nothings all sought to attract former Whigs. The Republicans appealed
to those voters interested in internal improvements, federal land grants, higher tariffs, and the economic
development of the West.
E. Republican Ideology
To broaden their ideology beyond antislavery, the Republicans trumpeted “Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men.”
F. Southern Democrats
Southern Democrats attracted slaveholders from among the former Whigs. The party used racial fears to keep the
political alliance between yeomen and planters intact.
G. Bleeding Kansas
When the Kansas-Nebraska Act passed, thousands of proslavery and antislavery people poured into Kansas,
leading to massive bloodshed in the territory.
V.
Slavery and the Nation’s Future
A. Dred Scott Case
This case ruled that blacks could not be citizens and that Congress had no power to bar slavery in the territories.
B. Abraham Lincoln on the Slave Power
Lincoln stressed that slavery in the territories affected all citizens of the United States because if left unchecked
slavery would soon grow into a nationwide institution.
C. The Lecompton Constitution
Douglas’ stand against the Lecompton Constitution infuriated southern Democrats.
D. Stephen Douglas and the Freeport Doctrine
During his 1858 Illinois senatorial campaign against Lincoln, Douglas insisted that territorial legislatures could
effectively end slavery by not supporting it.
VI.
Disunion
A. John Brown’s Raid on Harpers Ferry
Hoping to bring about a slave rebellion, Brown led a band of men in an attack on the federal arsenal at Harpers
Ferry, Virginia. This act struck fear into the South.
B. Election of 1860
Lincoln won this election on a sectional basis, with the southern votes split between Douglas, Breckenridge, and
Bell. When Republicans refused to accept the Crittendon Compromise, southerners threatened secession.
C. Secession
On December 20, 1860, South Carolina seceded from the Union, a step that enticed other southern states to
follow.
D. The Confederate States of America
By February 1861, seven states had formed the Confederate States of America. Upon inauguration, Lincoln
worked to uphold federal authority without war.
E. Fort Sumter and the Outbreak of War
At Fort Sumter in South Carolina, the Confederates could acquiesce to Lincoln’s intent to supply the federal
installation or they could attack the garrison. In April, Southerners bombarded the fort and forced its surrender.