Antebellum America
Unit 3
Antebellum: a time period before a
war; specifically before the U.S. Civil
War
The Industrial Revolution is the name for
the birth of modern industry and the social
changes that came with industrial growth.
Occurred from the mid-1700s to the mid-
1800s.
 First began in England.
James Watt’s steam engine powered the
I.R. in Eng. and later in the U.S.
The North Industrializes
The British made it illegal for anyone with
knowledge of industrial machines to leave
the country.
Samuel Slater broke the law when he
brought knowledge of the new industrial
machines to Am.
Built a water-powered spinning mill in
Rhode Island (the 1st textile mill in the US)
Most of the industrial growth took place in
New England and others parts of the
northeast
This region has fast-flowing streams which
were used to power the factories
By 1810: More than 60 textiles miles along
streams in New England
Francis Lowell created the Lowell
System…every aspect of production took
place under one roof and employees lived
in company-owned housing
The textile industry boomed in the city of
Lowell, MA
Many of his workers were women – the
“Lowell girls”
This system was used for the next several
decades in factories across the North
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Advances in Transportation
1. Roads
 The National Road (Cumberland Road)
was the first major road built in the US –
built from 1811 to 1838 – Maryland to Illinois
 By 1840: A network of roads connected
cities in the US, promoting travel and trade
2. Canals
1825: Erie Canal opened – connected Great
Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean
By 1840: More than 3,000 canals had been
built in the Northeast
3. Steamboats
 Robert Fulton developed the first
successful steamboat, the Clermont, in 1807
 Steamboats, or riverboats, made shipping
faster and allowed larger amounts of goods
to be shipped at one time
 By 1850: over 700 steamboats travelled up
and down the Miss. River and other
waterways
4. The “Iron Horse” (Trains)
 1830: Peter Cooper built the Tom Thumb,
a tiny but powerful train (10 mph!!)
 Railroads allowed producers to ship goods
across the country cheaper and faster
Other Inventions from the First Industrial
Revolution:
Steel plow: invented by John Deere –
helped farmers especially in the Great
Plains (tough grasses)
Telegraph: perfected by Samuel Morse –
sent first message in 1844…“What hath
God wrought?” - benefited the North more
than the South
Immigration greatly increased during the
Industrial Revolution (jobs were available)
The majority of immigrants struggled just to
survive in the US
Low wages, long hours, and unsafe working
conditions were the norm in factories
The “Know-Nothings”:
A secret, anti-immigrant organization
When asked about their activities, members
answered, “I know nothing”
Started a new political party (the American
Party) and had 1 million members by the
1850s
The first Industrial Revolution impacted
the US in several way – How??
1. New technologies made life “easier”
2. Immigration to the US increased
3. Urbanization, or the growth of cities,
occurred because most of the factories
were in or around urban areas
Cotton changed life in the South, but only
after the cotton gin made large-scale
cotton production possible
Invented by Eli Whitney in 1793 – removes
the seeds from the cotton
Side Note…Whitney’s concept of
“interchangeable parts” (for muskets)
impacted future inventions as well (ex: Henry
Ford’s Model T)
The booming textile industry of the North
bought cotton to weave into clothing England also wanted and bought the
South’s cotton.
The number of cotton plantations began
to increase in the South due to two
factors:
1. Development of the cotton gin (easier and
faster)
2. The demand for cotton from the North and
from England
Slavery Expands
More and larger cotton plantations meant
more labor was needed
1810-1840: The number of slaves in the South
doubled to nearly 2.5 million (1/3 of the South’s
total population)
More slaves = More cotton = More money
 So, what impact did the cotton gin have on
slavery??? It actually led to more slaves in
the South.
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North
Free states
Favored a strong
national gov’t
More nationalist
Urban
Industrial
Strong
transportation
network
Dependent on
immigrant labor
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South
Slave states
Favored states’ rights
over a strong national
gov’t
More sectionalist
Rural
Agricultural
Weak transportation
network
Dependent on slave
labor
Religion Sparks Reform
Second “Great Awakening” (1820s-1830s)
Americans began attending revival meetings
in record numbers
Followers were told they had the
responsibility to do God’s work on earth
Result: 1000s of Americans began to reform,
or reshape, American life
Major Reforms Included:
1. Temperance Movement: an attempt to
eliminate or lessen the use of alcohol
 Supporters believed alcohol was linked to
sickness, poverty, and the breakup of
families
2) Education Reforms: wanted more
children to be educated and worked to
improve education

Horace Mann: education reformer
3. Prison Reforms: Dorothea Dix
campaigned for prison reform after she
saw horrible conditions in a Mass. prison
 She convinced states to create state-
sponsored mental hospitals
4. Urban Reforms: most of the people in
the cities lived in tenements (poorly
made, crowed apartment buildings) –
very unhealthy conditions
 Sanitation rules were established in some
cities, but most didn’t change until the late
1800s
Women in the Reform Era:
Early 1800s: For the most part women
couldn’t vote, hold public offices, or serve on
juries
Married women were not allowed to own
property
But, women still played a key role in the
reform movements
Seneca Falls Convention (July 1848)
The first women’s rights convention held in
America
Organized by Lucretia Mott and Elizabeth
Cady Stanton
Signed the Declaration of Sentiments –
stated that “all men and women are created
equal”
Women’s suffrage, or the right to vote, was a
key issue discussed
IV. The Abolition Movement
Life as a Slave:
Most slaves lived on farms or plantations in
the South
Cotton farming required many workers doing
many different tasks
Some slave worked in cities (factories, mills,
stores, etc.)
Food, clothing, shelter, and medical care were
all inadequate
Slaves had no rights under the law and were
treated as property
Anti-slavery Efforts in the South
Not all African Americans in the South were slaves
Mid-1800s: about 250,000 were freedmen, or free
African American
Freedmen played a leading role in anti-slavery
activities
1831: An uprising led by Nat Turner became the
deadliest slave revolt in American history (dozens of
whites killed) – Turner and 19 others caught and
hanged
Underground Railroad: a constantly changing
network of escape routes (Harriet Tubman was a
famous “conductor”)
Abolition Movement in the North
Abolition Movement in the North
The abolition movement was formed to help
abolish, or end, slavery
Supporters were called abolitionists
The Second Great Awakening helped
increase the movement (slavery went against
religious beliefs)
Frederick Douglas, a former slave, was a
leading abolitionists
V. Expansion Leads to Conflict
Manifest Destiny: the idea that it is the
country’s destiny to expand and possess
territory all they way to the Pacific Ocean
This was fueled by the growing sense of
nationalism
Reasons for Migrating West
1.Religious: Christians to spread the gospel
to Native Americans; Mormons to escape
religious persecution (settled in Utah under
the leadership of Brigham Young)
2.Financial: Gold in California; silver in
Nevada (just 2 examples)
3.Land: Southerners to grow cotton; the poor
to start a new life
Major western trails established by 1850:
1. Santa Fe Trail: Independence, Missouri to
Santa Fe, New Mexico
2. Oregon Trail: Independence, Missouri to
Oregon – 2,000 miles long
3. Mormon Trail: Illinois to Salt Lake City, Utah
As settlers moved to the West,
conflict in those areas increased:
1. Texas War for Independence
 Texas was once a part of Mexico
 Many Americans lived in Texas and had
to agree to give up their US citizenship,
swear allegiance to Mexico, adopt the
Catholic religion
 1836: Texas declared it’s independence
from Mexico and its new President
Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna
After losing the Alamo, the Texans won at
San Jacinto and captured Santa Anna
Forced Santa Anna to sign a treaty giving
Texas its independence
Texas was now a new, independent
nation…The Republic of Texas
1845: Texas was annexed (added) to the US
and became a state after much debate in
Congress (slavery was the issue)
2. Oregon Territory
 Early 1800s: US and England occupied
the Oregon Territory jointly and peacefully
 1843: President James K. Polk said the
US had the right to claim the territory up
to 54º40’ N
 “Fifty-Four Forty or Fight!” became a
common slogan
 1846: US and England compromised and
made the 49th parallel the border
between the US and Canada
 Oregon was now a US territory
3. Mexican-American War
 Mexico still considered Texas as Mexican
territory since Santa Anna signed the treaty
as a prisoner
 President Polk wanted more than just
Texas; he also wanted the land between
Texas and the Pacific
 US offered to buy the land, but Mexico
refused to even talk about it
 May 1846: War began after a border dispute
(Rio Grande River?)
 Sept. 1846: War was over – US captured NM,
CA, and Mexico City
 Treaty of Guadalupe Hildalgo: ended the
war
1. Mexico gave up its claim to TX
2. Mexico gave up a huge tract of land to US
(Mexican Cession) in exchange for $15
million
 US received all or parts of NM, CA, NV,
AZ, UT, CO, WY
California Gold Rush (1849)
1848: A carpenter discovered gold at John
Sutter’s sawmill in northern CA
Tried to keep it a secret, but word soon
spread
People as far away as Asia, South America,
and Europe heard the news and headed to
CA to strike it rich
80,000 moved to CA in 1849 alone (49ers)
By 1854: 300,000 had migrated to CA
Gadsden Purchase (1854)
Southern NM and AZ bought from Mexico for
$10 million
US wanted the land for a southern railroad
line
VI. Slavery Divides the Nation
The issue of whether or not slavery would
be allowed in the West divided the nation
Southerners supported expanding slavery to
the West
Northerners, for the most part, opposed this
idea
Also, feelings of sectionalism, or pride in
one’s region, began to emerge
Major Issues Regarding Slavery
1. Missouri Compromise (1820)
 In 1819 there were 22 states in the Union –
11 were slave states, 11 were free states
 Missouri wanted to be admitted to the
Union as a slave state
 Northerners opposed it because it would
give slave states a majority in the Senate
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The solution was called the Missouri
Compromise
a. Missouri was admitted as a slave state
b. Maine (once a part of Massachusetts)
was admitted as a free state
c. Slavery was banned north of Missouri’s
southern border
This kept the balance between slave and free
states, but feelings of sectionalism emerged
2) Compromise of 1850
The Mexican Cession added more than
500,000 square miles of territory to the US
New states would eventually be formed –
Would they allow slavery?
March 1850: California applied to become
a state and the territory had already
banned slavery
 Henry Clay (“The Great Compromiser”)
introduced the Compromise of 1850 to
keep the balance of power:
a. Admitted California as a free state
b. Gave popular sovereignty (the right of the
residents to choose) to NM and UT
territories
c. Fugitive Slave Law – all citizens must help
catch or turn-in runaway slaves (outraged
northerners)
d. Outlawed the buying and selling of slaves,
but not slavery itself, in Washington DC
3) “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”
A novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe in
response to the Fugitive Slave Law
Wrote about a cruel southern slave owner
Added to the tension between the North
and South – southerners were outraged in
how they were described
4) Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)
 Illinois Senator Stephen Douglas
proposed organizing western lands into
two territories – Kansas and Nebraska
 To win southern support, he suggested
dropping the Missouri Compromise’s ban
on slavery
 The Kansas-Nebraska Act became law in
May 1854:
a. Organized Kansas and Nebraska
Territories
b. Popular sovereignty was to decide
the issue of slavery in each territory
 Northerners were outraged again
5) “Bleeding Kansas”
Pro-slavery and anti-slavery supporters
began to fight for control in Kansas
Several “battles” took place
Abolitionist John Brown killed 5 pro-slavery
settlers
This struggle became known as “Bleeding
Kansas”
After years of struggle, Kansas was
admitted as a free state
6) Dred Scott Decision (1857)
Dred Scott, a slave, had lived on free soil for
many years
He sued for his freedom after his master
died, arguing that living on free soil made
him free
In Dred Scott vs. Sandford the US Supreme
Court ruled against him
The Court said Scott “had no rights which
the white man was bound to respect”
Slaves were still considered “property”
7) John Brown’s Raid
Brown raided the US arsenal at Harper’s
Ferry, VA in an attempt to get guns for a slave
revolt
US military, led by Robert E. Lee, captured
Brown and his followers
They were tried for murder and treason
against VA and sentenced to death
Brown was executed in December 1859
Some questioned his sanity, but many
northerners viewed him as a hero
Southerners viewed the attack as a threat to
the institution of slavery
VII. Lincoln’s Path to the Presidency
A Frontier Upbringing
Lincoln was born in 1809 in a one-room cabin
in Kentucky
His parents were poor, and like many white
southerners, they held no slaves
Their opposition to slavery was one of the
reasons they moved to Indiana Territory in
1816
1828: Lincoln took a job on a riverboat
moving produce to New Orleans and saw a
slave auction for the first time
Lincoln’s Early Political Career
Moved to New Salem, a village near Springfield,
IL as a young man
Took a job as a store clerk and then ran for a
seat in the state legislature
1834: Began the first of four terms in the IL
General Assembly and began to study law
1842: Married Mary Todd, the daughter of a KY
slaveholder
1846: Elected to Congress and proposed
compensated emancipation, or paying
slaveholders to free their slaves (rejected)
Lincoln also believed that only the states had the
right to end slavery within their borders
1849: Resigned from Congress and returned to
IL to practice law
The Lincoln-Douglas Debates
Lincoln returned to politics after the passage
of the Kansas-Nebraska Act
Said he was “thunderstruck and stunned” by
its passage
1858: Decided to run against Stephen
Douglas for a US Senate seat
Quoting from the Bible, Lincoln said in a
speech, “A house divided against itself cannot
stand. I believe this government cannot
endure, permanently half slave and half
free…It will become all one thing or all the
other.” (southerners saw this as a threat to
slavery)
Lincoln-Douglas Debates took place across IL
from August to October 1858
Douglas continued to support popular
sovereignty
Lincoln spoke about the immorality of slavery
Douglas defeated Lincoln, but they would
meet again
Election of 1860
 Slavery was the major issue
 The Democrats were so divided over slavery
that the party split and 3 candidates were
nominated:
1. Stephen Douglas of IL – nominated by
the Democratic Party (northern
democrats)
2. John Breckenridge of KY – nominated
by southern Democrats
3. John Bell of TN – nominated by the
Constitutional Union Party
 Lincoln was nominated by the new Republican
Party
 The vote was almost completely split along
sectional lines
 Lincoln carried (won) the more populous North
and won the presidency
 Southerners were shocked – How could a
man be elected President and not win one
single southern state?
The South Secedes
 Following Lincoln’s election, states in the
lower South began to secede (a formal
separation) from the Union
 These states feared a northern-controlled
government would act to end slavery
1.
2.
3.
4.
South Carolina (1st)
Georgia
Florida
Alabama
5. Mississippi
6. Louisiana
7. Texas
Reactions to Secession
Many southerners opposed secession
because the decision was made by
politicians not voters
Some northerners felt the US would be
better off without the slave states, so they
should let them go
Other northerners, including Lincoln,
questioned whether secession was even
legal
Forming the Confederacy
Feb. 1861: The 7 seceded states met in
Montgomery, AL to form a new nation and to
write a new constitution that guaranteed slavery
Created the Confederate States of America, or
the “Confederacy”
Each state governed themselves but would
come together and fight for a common goal
(independence)
Chose Jefferson Davis, a former US senator
from Mississippi, as president
Problems: no currency, no buildings for gov’t
officials, no established military
Attempts at Compromise Fail
Crittenden Compromise: proposed by
Sen. John Crittenden from KY
1. Would guarantee slavery where it already
existed
2. Would reinstate the Missouri Compromise
line and extend it to the CA border
3. Slaveholders would be compensated for
runaway slaves
Powerful leaders in both the North and the
South opposed this compromise
For many southerners, no compromise
could undo their main reason for
secession…Lincoln’s election
Lincoln privately opposed any plan that
allowed for the extension of slavery to the
Western territories
March 1861: Lincoln becomes President
and promised again that he would not
interfere with slavery where it currently
existed
Would this promised save the Union?
The Civil War Begins
April 1861: The first shots of the Civil War
were fired at Fort Sumter – off the coast of
Charleston, SC
This was a Union fort on Confederate soil –
not acceptable for the Confederacy
Confederate troops captured the fort
Lincoln’s call for volunteer troops forced the
slave states still in the Union to choose a side
 4 more states chose not the fight against their
fellow southerners and seceded from the Union:
8) Virginia
10) Tennessee
9) North Carolina
11) Arkansas
 Leaders on both sides wondered what the
slaveholding border states of Delaware,
Kentucky, Maryland, and Missouri would do (All
chose to stay in the Union)
 The battle lines were drawn, the bloodiest war in
the history of the United States had begun!