The American Journey:
Chapter 12: Road to Civil War
Section 1: Abolitionists
-ORAll Aboard the Underground Railroad!
The Spirit of Abolition
Not all Southerners want slavery; not all
Northerners call for its end.
 First group to try to gradually end slavery:
American Colonization Society.

◦ Society wants to resettle slaves in Africa or
Caribbean.
◦ Attempts to buy slaves & set them free.
◦ Society purchases land in West Africa (Liberia) and
resettles former slaves there.
 Many slaves don’t want to leave America, and pace of
slave trade is too great.
The Abolition Movement Spreads

1831: William Lloyd Garrison founds
anti-slavery newspaper The Liberator.
◦ By 1838 Garrison attracts 1,000+ anti-slavery
groups.
William Lloyd Garrison
“I am aware that many object to the severity of my
language; but is there not cause for severity? I will be
as harsh as truth, and as uncompromising as justice.
On this subject, I do not wish to think, or to speak,
or write, with moderation. No! no! Tell a man whose
house is on fire to give a moderate alarm; tell him to
moderately rescue his wife from the hands of the
ravisher; tell the mother to gradually extricate her
babe from the fire into which it has fallen; — but urge
me not to use moderation in a cause like the present.
I am in earnest — I will not equivocate — I will not
excuse — I will not retreat a single inch — AND I
WILL BE HEARD.”
The Abolition Movement Spreads
Sarah & Angelina Grimké free parents’
slaves and write in Theodore Weld’s
American Slavery As It Is.
 Congressman John Quincy Adams
proposes anti-slavery Constitutional
amendment in 1839.
 African-Americans like David Walker
encourage slaves to overthrow masters.

The Abolition Movement Spreads

Frederick Douglass:
most famous abolitionist.
◦ Douglass born a slave
but educates himself &
escapes.
◦ After escape, writes &
speaks against slavery.

Another famous
abolitionist: Sojourner
Truth, born Isabella
Baumfree.
The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850

1850: Fugitive Slave Act requires all
citizens help catch & return fugitive slaves.
◦ Fugitive = runaway.
◦ Many slaves run to North, but Southerners are
able to recollect them thanks to the act.
◦ Anyone caught aiding slave is fined or jailed.
◦ Northerners, bitterly opposed, step up efforts to
protect runaway slaves.
The Underground Railroad
Underground Railroad: series of whites
& freed slaves who aid runaways—providing
shelter & buying slaves’ freedom.
 Harriet Tubman escapes
slavery through Underground
Railroad.

◦ Tubman makes 19 trips back
to South to rescue slaves.
◦ “Moses of her people.”
The American Journey:
Chapter 12: Road to Civil War
Section 2: Slavery & the West
-ORPhew, We Kicked the Slavery Can
Down the Road for a Few More
Years…
Sectionalism Divides America

1819: Missouri applies for statehood as slave
state.
◦ At the time there are 11 slave & 11 free states.
◦ North wants to end slavery, opposes admitting
another slave state and upsetting this balance.

Sectionalism: Strong devotion to
region/area.
◦ South wants to be left alone and is mad at
North’s intrusion in Southern affairs.
Sectionalism Divides America

1820: Speaker of the House Henry Clay
works out Missouri Compromise w/
Senate.
◦ Missouri is admitted as slave state; Maine
(formerly part of Massachusetts) is admitted as
free state.
◦ Slavery is banned in remainder of Louisiana
Purchase north of 36º30’N.
Missouri Compromise, 1820
Nullification Debates
But Southerners again argue nullification,
idea that states can legally overturn federal
laws they don’t like.
 Proponents of nullification look to John
Locke/Tenth Amendment.

◦ Wasn’t federal govt. formed by coalition of
states?
◦ Doesn’t Tenth Amendment say federal govt. has
limits?
◦ Therefore, isn’t prohibiting slavery in new states
an overstep by federal govt.?
◦ You discuss!
Nullification Debates

Nullification came up many times:
◦ 1798-99 Alien & Sedition Acts
◦ War of 1812
◦ 1820’s-1830’s tariff debates (Jackson)

Nullification debate leads to 2 major
propositions:
◦ 1. States have their own sovereignty and “states’
rights” outside federal govt.
◦ 2. If states are sovereign, they have right to
secede (break away) from Union.
New Lands in the West

1840’s: Slavery issue comes up again.
◦ Now it’s over Tx., Ca. & N.M.
◦ Remember: Texas acquired in 1845, leading to
war w/ Mexico.
What to do about the West?
Wilmot Proviso

During Mexican-American War, Rep. David
Wilmot proposes Wilmot Proviso.
◦ Wilmot Proviso: Slavery should be prohibited in
any lands acquired from Mexico.

Southerners loudly protest Wilmot Proviso.
◦ Sen. John C. Calhoun of S.C. counters w/ new
proposal: Congress has no authority to ban
slavery or regulate it at all!
◦ Neither proposal passes, but furious debate is
underway.
Wilmot Proviso
(Never implemented)
Note: N.M. & Tx. have a
border dispute here.
The Election of 1848

Main candidates in 1848: Zachary Taylor
(Whig) & Lewis Cass (Democrat).
◦ And yes, Henry Clay… 
◦ Neither candidate takes stand on slavery: afraid
of losing votes.

So, many abandon both parties and form
Free Soil Party.
◦ “Free Soil, Free Speech, Free Labor & Free Men”
◦ Nominate former Pres. Martin Van Buren.
Search for Compromise

Zachary Taylor wins election, but
many are now calling for abolition.
◦ Taylor tells leaders in Ca. and N.M. to
apply for statehood immediately.
 California does so in 1850.
◦ If California is admitted as free state and
others follow, Southern slave states would
be out-voted in Congress.
◦ Southern leaders threaten to secede,
break away.
Compromise of 1850
Before issue is worked out, Taylor
dies of stomach illness.
 New Pres. Millard Fillmore favors
compromise on issue of Ca. &
slavery.

◦ Senators Henry Clay & Stephen A.
Douglas work out series of proposals
for Congress to vote on.
◦ Pres. Fillmore convinces many Whigs to
abstain (not vote) on what they
disagree with.
Compromise of 1850

Compromise of 1850 features 5 provisions:
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
1. California admitted as free state.
2. N.M. Territory has no slavery restrictions.
3. N.M. & Tx. border dispute settled in N.M.’s favor.
4. Slave trade (not slavery) outlawed in Wash., D.C.
5. Fugitive slave law made stronger.
Compromise of 1850
The American Journey:
Chapter 12: Road to Civil War
Section 3: A Nation Dividing
-ORAn Election So Fraudulent, It Would Make Vladimir
Putin Proud
The Kansas-Nebraska Act
1853: Franklin Pierce, Northern
Democrat in favor of fugitive slave
act, defeats Winfield Scott for pres.
 Pierce declares he will fully support
fugitive slave act.

◦ Thus many fight harder against it.

Author Harriet Beecher Stowe
writes Uncle Tom’s Cabin, book that
shows cruelty of slavery.
The Kansas-Nebraska Act

1854: Sen. Stephen A. Douglas
introduces Kansas-Nebraska Act.
◦ Proposes that area west of Missouri &
Iowa be called Kansas & Nebraska.
◦ Though both are above 36º30’N latitude
line, Douglas proposes scrapping Missouri
Compromise & allowing each state to
decide on slavery.
 He calls this popular sovereignty: allow the
people to decide.
The Kansas-Nebraska Act

Northern states hate the idea.
◦ Would allow slavery into formerly free states!
Douglas dislikes slavery but sees opportunity
to spread railroads westward.
 With backing of Pres. Pierce & Northern
Democrats, Douglas pushes act through
Congress.

◦ Bill reveals deep split in Democratic & Whig
Parties.
Compromise of 1850…
…vs. Kansas-Nebraska Act, 1854
Conflict in Kansas

Immediately, pro & antislavery groups rush to
Kansas to elect officials.
◦ 1855: Proslavery legislature is elected in corrupt
election.
◦ 1000’s of pro-slavery supporters, known as
border ruffians, come from Missouri to vote in
election & harass abolitionists.
Antislavery forces reject legislature & arm
themselves
 1856: Antislavery constitution/govt created.

◦ Both govt’s ask Congress for support.
“Bleeding Kansas”
Pres. Pierce favors proslavery govt, but
Congress favors antislavery govt.
 May 1856: pro-slavery forces attack antislavery capital of Lawrence, Kansas.

◦ Led by proslavery leader David Rice Atchison.
◦ Antislavery forces retaliate.

Soon, full civil war, known as “Bleeding
Kansas” breaks out in Kansas.
◦ Civil war: war between citizens of same
country.
“Bleeding Kansas”

John Brown: abolitionist
who believes God
commanded him to end
slavery.
◦ He and 4 sons retaliate
for the sacking of
Lawrence.
◦ They massacre 5 slavery
supporters w/
broadswords.
The Most Interesting Moment in the
History of the Senate…

Violence over Kansas debate spills into
Congress.
◦ Abolitionist Sen. Charles Sumner lashes out
against slavery supporters in Kansas.
◦ 2 days later: pro-slavery Rep. Preston Brooks
comes to Congress w/ cane and beats Sumner
repeatedly on the head.
Political Parties Fracture

After Kansas-Nebraska Act, many political
parties change.
◦ Northern, anti-slavery Democrats leave
Democratic Party.
◦ Differing views on slavery (Conscience Whigs vs.
Cotton Whigs) destroy Whig Party.

1854: anti-slavery Democrats & Conscience
Whigs join w/ Free-Soil Party to create
Republican Party.
◦ Republican Party’s main message: slavery should be
banned from all new states.
Final tally of political parties…
Federalists
mostly become
“Era of Good
Feelings” (one-party
Republican system)
AntiFederalists
mostly become
Federalist
Party
Dies off c. 1816
National
Republican
Party
Whig Party
DemocraticRepublican
(Democratic) Party
Democratic
Party (current)
(Democratic)
Republican
Party
The Election of 1856
Republican Party quickly = northern party.
 Democratic Party = southern party.
 1856: Republicans choose John C.
Frémont for president.

◦ “Free soil, free speech, and
Frémont!”

Democrats choose James
Buchanan, who wins.
The American Journey:
Chapter 12: Road to Civil War
Section 4: Challenges to Slavery
-ORDred, Pure Dred
Dred Scott v. Sandford
1857: Supreme Court decides
a legendary case.
 Dred Scott: slave whose
owner moves from Missouri
(slave state) to Wisconsin
Territory (free territory).
 Later they return to Missouri,
where his owner dies.

Dred Scott v. Sandford
1856: Dred Scott sues for freedom, claiming
he should be free since he was in Wisconsin.
 Dred Scott’s case also a chance to rule on
slavery in territories.
 Chief Justice Roger B. Taney (Taw-nee) rules
that since Scott is a slave, not a citizen, he has
no right to sue.
 Taney also rules that a slave is always a slave,
even on free territory.

◦ Fifth Amendment prohibits government from
taking property w/out “due process of law.”
Dred Scott v. Sandford

Taney declares Missouri Compromise
unconstitutional.
◦ (Slavery cannot be outlawed in territories.)

Taney also rules popular sovereignty is
unconstitutional.
◦ Voters can’t prohibit slavery, because that means
taking away property.

Dred Scott decision goes further than Stephen
Douglas: Constitution protects slavery!
Lincoln and Douglas

1858’s congressional race: Democrat Stephen
Douglas against unknown Republican lawyer
Abraham Lincoln.
◦ Douglas dislikes slavery but thinks restricting it will
restrict national growth.

Lincoln challenges Douglas to series of seven
debates about slavery.
◦ Challenges Douglas about popular sovereignty.
Lincoln and Douglas

Douglas claims Lincoln thinks blacks & whites
are equal.
◦ Lincoln denies this claim, but says all men are
equally free and Republican Party finds slavery
morally wrong.
◦ Compare quotes, pg. 552.

Lincoln loses the race,
but after 1858, South
fears rising Republican
power.
Lincoln on slavery (1854)
“When the white man governs himself that is self-government; but
when he governs himself, and also governs another man…that is
despotism.…The negro is a man. …There can be no moral right in
connection with one man’s making a slave of another….
Let no one be deceived….The spirit of seventy-six and the spirit of
Nebraska, are utter antagonisms….Little by little…we have been
giving up the old for the new faith. Near eighty years ago we began by
declaring that all men are created equal; but now from that beginning
we have run down to the other declaration, that for some men to
enslave others is a ‘sacred right of self-government.’ These principles
cannot stand together…Our republican robe is soiled, and trailed in
the dust. Let us repurify it…Let us re-adopt the Declaration of
Independence, and with it, the practices, and policy, which harmonize
with….If we do this, we shall not only have saved the Union; but we
shall have so saved it, as to make, and to keep it, forever worthy of the
saving.”
Raid on Harpers Ferry

1859: Abolitionist John Brown attacks again.
◦ Financed by abolitionists, he leads 18 white & black
men on raid of Harpers Ferry, Va.
◦ They attack the arsenal (weapon storage facility).
◦ Brown hopes to
arm slaves and
cause uprising
against slaveowners.
Raid on Harpers Ferry

Brown is captured, tried, & hanged.
◦ Some Northerners call him a martyr, one who
dies for beliefs.
Abolitionists, especially in North, begin
rallying strongly against slavery.
 Southerners believe Brown’s raid & abolition
rallies are evidence of Northern conspiracy
against South.

◦ Civil war is imminent.
The American Journey:
Chapter 12: Road to Civil War
Section 5: Secession & War
-ORIf at First You Don’t Secede…
The Election of 1860

After Harpers Ferry raid, South threatens
secession.
◦ North claims it’s all scare tactics to keep people
from voting Lincoln as pres. in 1860.
Northern Democrats nominate Lincoln’s
Congressional opponent, Stephen Douglas.
 Southern Democrats nominate John C.
Breckenridge.

The Election of 1860

Republicans nominate Lincoln.
◦ Lincoln’s position: slavery will be left alone where
it exists but excluded from territories.

Lincoln wins election.
◦ Election is purely sectional:
 Lincoln wins every Northern state, but his name is not
on the ballot in most Southern states!
 Breckenridge sweeps South.
 Border states (between North and South) vote for
John Bell of Tennessee.
Election of 1860: Results
The South Secedes
With Lincoln as pres., South fears slave
revolts & loss of states’ rights.
 Dec. 20th, 1860: South Carolina holds
special convention & votes to secede—
withdraw from Union.
 Republicans try hard to work compromise.

◦ Kentucky Sen. John Crittenden (Repub.) proposes
new set of amendments forever protecting
slavery below 36º30’ N.
The Confederacy Forms

Republicans consider Crittenden’s proposal
betrayal.
◦ Lincoln’s quote, pg. 556.
South also rejects any compromise w/ North.
 By Feb. 1861, six more states have seceded:

◦ Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and
Georgia join South Carolina.
The Confederacy Forms
Feb 4th, 1861: These seven states
meet in Montgomery, Alabama and
form new nation & govt.
 Called The Confederate States
of America or The Confederacy.

◦ Remember what a confederation is?
Why would they form this type of
government?

Mississippi Sen. Jefferson Davis
chosen as Confed. president.
The Confederacy

How does Confederacy justify secession?
◦ 1. Believe in states’ rights.
◦ 2.Voluntarily joined Union, can voluntarily leave
(Locke’s idea).
◦ 3.View Constitution as creation of states.
◦ 4. Believe federal govt. had violated the
Constitution in two ways:
 A. not enforcing fugitive slave act.
 B. denying Southern states equal rights—right to own
property (i.e., slaves)—in territories.
Reactions to Secession, 1861
Most Southerners overjoyed, but some
troubled by secession.
 North is more complicated.

◦ Many feel Union is better off being divided than
allowing slavery.
◦ Others feel Union must be preserved always.
Lincoln’s Response
Many wonder what Lincoln’s inaugural speech
will say.
 What will happen in slave states that chose to
remain w/ Union?

◦ (Virginia, Maryland, N. Carolina, Kentucky,
Tennessee, Missouri, & Arkansas.)

Lincoln has to be careful: more states might
secede if Union uses force vs. Confederacy.
Lincoln’s Response

1861: Lincoln’s speech is mix
of strong words & pleas for
peace.
◦ Says South will not be
allowed to secede!
◦ Lincoln will hold federal
property in the South &
enforce federal laws.
◦ See pg. 557—one of the most
famous speeches in history.
Fort Sumter

Right away, Confederate troops begin seizing
U.S. forts within their states.
◦ Lincoln doesn’t want to go to war over this.

However, the day after inaugural address, Pres.
Lincoln hears Confederate troops are seizing
Fort Sumter in Charleston, S.C.
◦ Lincoln responds by sending unarmed Union
expedition w/ non-war supplies for besieged
troops.
Fort Sumter
April 12, 1861: Confederate president
Jefferson Davis orders troops to fire on Ft.
Sumter before supplies arrive.
 Confederate troops take fort & hoist their
flag over it.

◦ No one killed, but fort is surrendered, April 14th.
Lincoln calls for 75,000 Union troops to fight.
 South issues similar call.

The Civil War Begins
Virginia, N.Carolina, Tennessee, & Arkansas
join Confederacy in secession.
 The Civil War has begun…

Civil War Map, 1861*
Nevada is
admitted (free
state) in 1864
June 20th, 1863: West
Virginia (free state)
secedes from Virginia.
FIN