Chapter
Section
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Objectives
•
Contrast the economies, societies, and
political views of the North and the South.
•
Describe the role of the Free-Soil Party in the
election of 1848.
•
Analyze why slavery in the territories was a
divisive issue between North and South and
how Congress tried to settle the issue in 1850.
Slavery,
States’
The Cold
WarRights,
Beginsand Western Expansion
Chapter
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Terms and People
•
Wilmot Proviso – outlawed slavery in lands
won from Mexico
•
Free-Soil Party – a political party that
promised free soil, free speech, free labor,
and free men
•
popular sovereignty – followers believed
a territory’s voters should decide themselves
whether to allow slavery
Slavery,
States’
The Cold
WarRights,
Beginsand Western Expansion
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Terms and People
(continued)
•
secede – to break away, especially from
the Union
•
Compromise of 1850 – legislation designed
to avoid division between North and South
over slavery
•
Fugitive Slave Act – stringent laws that
required citizens to apprehend fugitive slaves
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States’
The Cold
WarRights,
Beginsand Western Expansion
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How did Congress try to resolve the
dispute between North and South
over slavery?
As the nation expanded, the problem of slavery
became a divisive and difficult issue to resolve.
Different economies and viewpoints of the North
and the South hindered compromise.
Slavery,
States’
The Cold
WarRights,
Beginsand Western Expansion
Chapter
Section
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The North,
a manufacturing society
The South,
an agricultural society
• Cities and towns were
trade centers
• Cities and towns were
few and far between
• Factories and farms
produced goods
• Large plantations and
small farms were source
of wealth
• Paid labor source,
few slaves
• Many immigrants
• Enslaved labor force of
African Americans
• Few immigrants
Slavery,
States’
The Cold
WarRights,
Beginsand Western Expansion
Chapter
Section
25 Section 1
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The North and the South
had very different views
of slavery.
Slavery,
States’
The Cold
WarRights,
Beginsand Western Expansion
Chapter
Section
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Slavery and the North
Slavery and the South
Few people had slaves and
slavery ended by 1860.
Slavery was an integral part
of life with over 1 million
enslaved African Americans.
Early in the 1800s, some
northerners began to work
for the abolition of slavery.
Many believed God intended
blacks to provide labor
for whites.
Many northern states limited the
rights and migration of free
African Americans, so many white
northerners had little contact
with them.
Southerners claimed that
enslaved people were healthier
and happier than northern
wage earners.
Slavery,
States’
The Cold
WarRights,
Beginsand Western Expansion
Chapter
Section
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The North and South had different views
about new territories.
The North wanted the
new territories to be
free states.
The South wanted the
new territories to be
slave states.
Slavery,
States’
The Cold
WarRights,
Beginsand Western Expansion
Chapter
Section
25 Section 1
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In 1846, the Wilmot Proviso stated that all lands
acquired from Mexico would be free territories.
It was defeated, but it brought the slavery issue
into public debate.
Keeping a balance between free and slave states
became the focus of Congress.
Slavery,
States’
The Cold
WarRights,
Beginsand Western Expansion
Chapter
Section
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In the election of 1848, the
two political parties, the
Democrats and the Whigs,
split over the issue of
slavery and a third party
was formed, the Free-Soil
Party.
Slavery,
States’
The Cold
WarRights,
Beginsand Western Expansion
Chapter
Section
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The Free-Soil party lost the election but had a large
influence on politics before the Civil War.
Platform
Impact
“Free soil, free speech,
free labor, and free men.”
It won 10 percent
of the vote
Keep slavery out of the
western territories.
It raised the question as to who
would decide the slavery issue.
A national platform
of “freedom.”
Tensions increased when
California sought to join the
Union as a free state.
Slavery,
States’
The Cold
WarRights,
Beginsand Western Expansion
Chapter
Section
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The Democrats and Whigs were forced to address
the slavery issue.
Both parties supported popular sovereignty,
having voters in a territory decide whether their
territory would be free or slave.
Having voters decide had wide appeal since it
seemed to keep with the tradition of American
democracy. It would also remove Congress from
the controversy.
Slavery,
States’
The Cold
WarRights,
Beginsand Western Expansion
Chapter
Section
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Once again, the slavery issue was debated
in the Senate by three political leaders.
Henry Clay
from the West
Daniel
Webster
from the
North
John Calhoun from
the South
Slavery,
States’
The Cold
WarRights,
Beginsand Western Expansion
Chapter
Section
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Henry Clay proposed a compromise
balancing the number of free states
and slave states in Congress known
as the Compromise of 1850.
Slavery,
States’
The Cold
WarRights,
Beginsand Western Expansion
Chapter
Section
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Calhoun and Webster’s positions on Clay’s
compromise during Senate debate:
Calhoun
Webster
• Clay’s compromise did not give
the South enough protection.
• The states should rally to the
cause of unity.
• The South would break away
from the Union if it did not get
its demands on the slavery
issue.
• Sectional compromise was
needed in order to preserve
the Union.
• Any state had the right to
secede if it disagreed with
national laws.
• Webster supported popular
sovereignty.
Slavery,
States’
The Cold
WarRights,
Beginsand Western Expansion
Chapter
Section
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The Compromise of 1850 finally became a law
stating that:
The North
The South
California would be admitted to
the Union as a free state.
Congress would pass a stricter
fugitive slave law.
The territories of New Mexico
and Utah would decide on slavery
by a vote.
Slavery would be enforced in
Wash., DC, although the slave
trade would be abolished.
The compromise brought calm to the nation, but
larger crises loomed.
Slavery,
States’
The Cold
WarRights,
Beginsand Western Expansion
Chapter
Section
25 Section 1
1
Section Review
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Slavery,
States’
The Cold
WarRights,
Beginsand Western Expansion