Chapter 19 Drifting Toward Disunion, 1854–1861 I. Stowe and Helper: Literary Incendiaries • Uncle Tom’s Cabin—Harriet Beecher Stowe – She was determined to awaken the North to the wickedness of slavery • By laying bare its terrible inhumanity, especially the splitting of families • Relied on powerful imagery and touching pathos • Wrote later about how her deeper sources of her anti-slavery sentiments lay in the evangelical religious crusades of the Second Great Awakening. I. Stowe and Helper: Literary Incendiaries (cont.) • The success of the novel at home and abroad was sensational • It was also on the stage in “Tom shows” for lengthy runs • No other novel in American history can be compared with it as a political force • To many it made slavery appear almost as evil as it really was – She was introduced to President in 1862; he remarked, “So you’re the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war.” I. Stowe and Helper: Literary Incendiaries (cont.) – Mrs. Stowe never witnessed slavery in the Deep South: • She had seen it briefly during a visit to Kentucky • And she lived in Ohio, center of Underground Railroad activity – Uncle Tom: • Left an endearing and enduring impression on the North • Many swore they would not have anything to do with the enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Law I. Stowe and Helper: Literary Incendiaries (cont.) • It was devoured by millions of impressionable youth • It was immensely popular abroad, especially Britain and France. – The Impending Crisis of the South (1857) by Hinton R. Helper: • Hating slavery, he attempted to prove by an array of statistics that, indirectly, the nonslaveholding whites were the ones who suffered most from the millstone of slavery • He finally found a publisher in the North I. Stowe and Helper: Literary Incendiaries (cont.) – South’s planter elite took note of Helper’s audacity, which fueled their fears: – That the nonslaveholding majority might abandon them – It was banned in the South – In the North thousands were distributed as campaign literature by Republicans – Southerners were embittered when they learned that their northern brethren were spreading these wicked “lies.” p397 p397 p398 II. The North-South Contest for Kansas • Popular sovereignty: – New England Emigrant Aid Company: • Famous antislavery organization • Sent 2000 people to the troubled area to forestall the South and to make a profit • Many carried their breech-loading Sharps rifles, nicknamed “Beecher’s Bibles” after Rev. Henry Ward Beecher (Harriet Beecher Stowe’s brother) who had helped raise money to pay for them • Southern spokesmen raised cries of betrayal II. The North-South Contest for Kansas (cont.) • The northern “Nebrascals,” were now out to “abolitionize” both Kansas and Nebraska • Some southern hotheads attempted to “assist” small groups of well-armed slave-owners to Kansas • Planting blacks on Kansas soil was a losing game – Slaves were valuable and volatile property – Foolish for owners to take them where bullets were flying – The soil might be voted free under popular sovereignty • Census of 1860 only found 2 slaves among 107,000 souls in Kansas and only 15 in Nebraska. II. The North-South Contest for Kansas (cont.) • Crisis conditions in Kansas rapidly worsened (see Map 19.1): – In 1855 election day for the first territorial legislature: • Saw proslavery “border ruffians” pour in from Missouri to vote early and often • The slavery supporters triumphed and then set up their own puppet government at Shawnee, MO. • The free-soilers established an extralegal regime of their own in Topeka II. The North-South Contest for Kansas (cont.) – Confused Kansans had their choice of two governments: • One based on fraud • One based on illegality – Tensions mounted as settlers feuded over conflicting land claims • Breaking point (1856) when a gang of proslavery raiders, alleging provocation, shot up and burned part of the free-soil town of Lawrence • This outrage was but the prelude to bloodier tragedy. III. Kansas in Convulsion • John Brown now stalked upon the Kansas battlefield – Obsessively dedicated to the abolitionist cause: • Brooding over the attack on Lawrence, led a band to Pottawatomie Creek in May 1856 • There they literally hacked to pieces 5 surprised men, presumed to be proslaveryites • This terrorist butchery besmirched the free-soil cause • It also brought vicious retaliation from proslavery forces III. Kansas in Convulsion (cont.) – Civil war erupted in Kansas in 1856: • • • • Destroyed millions of dollars’ worth of property Paralyzed agriculture in certain areas Cost scores of lives Continued until it merged with the Civil War of 18611865. – Kansas applied for statehood on a popular sovereignty basis III. Kansas in Convulsion (cont.) • Lecompton Constitution: proslavery forces document – the people were not allowed to vote for or against the constitution as a whole – But for the constitution either “with slavery” or “with no slavery” – Whatever the outcome there would still be black bondage – Free-soilers boycotted the polls – The proslaveryites approved the constitution with slavery late in 1857 • The scene shifted to Washington: – President Pierce had been succeeded by James Buchanan, who was strongly under southern influence III. Kansas Convulsion (cont.) – Buchanan supported the Lecompton Constitution – Senator Douglas threw his support behind popular sovereignty – A compromise was arrived at that submitted the entire Lecompton Constitution to the people – The free-soil votes thronged to the polls and snowed it under – Kansas remained a territory until 1861, when the southern secessionists left Congress. – Buchanan’s action divided the Democratic Party. Map 19-1 p399 p400 IV. “Bully” Brooks and His Bludgeon • Bleeding Kansas: – Also spattered blood on the Senate floor 1856: • Senator Charles Sumner of Mass. was a leading abolitionist • Made himself one of the most disliked men in Senate • Delivered the speech “The Crime Against Kansas” – He condemned the proslavery men – Referred insultingly to South Carolina and to its whitehaired senator Andrew Butler IV. “Bully” Brooks and His Bludgeon (cont.) – Preston S. Brooks: • Congressman from South Carolina took vengeance into his own hands • He resented the insults to his state and to its senator • His code of conduct called for a duel • To Brooks, the only alternative was to chastise the senator • On May 22, 1856, he approached Sumner and pounded the orator with an 11-ounce cane until it broke IV. “Bully” Brooks and His Bludgeon (cont.) • The House could not muster enough votes to expel Brooks • He resigned but was triumphantly reelected • Sumner had to leave due to his injuries, go to Europe for treatment • Mass. For 3 ½ years keep his seat open until he could return – Bleeding Sumner was thus joined with bleeding Kansas as a political issue II. “Bully” Brooks and His Bludgeon (cont.) – The free-soil North was mightily aroused against Brooks: • Copies of Sumner’s speech were sold by the thousands • Every blow to the Senator doubtless made thousands of Republicans • The South not unanimous in approving Brooks – Were angered by Sumner’s speech and because it was so extravagantly applauded in the North – The Sumner-Brooks clash and the ensuing reactions revealed how dangerously inflamed passion were – The blows rained on Sumner were among the first blows of the Civil War p401 V. “Old Buck” Versus “The Pathfinder” • The Democrats met in Cincinnati to elect their presidential standard-bearer of 1856 – The delegates chose James Buchanan: • He was serving in London during the Kansas-Nebraska uproar—therefore “Kansas-less” • In a crisis that called for giants, he was mediocre, irresolute, and confused • Republicans met in Philadelphia: – “Higher Law” Steward was the conspicuous leader V. “Old Buck” versus “The Pathfinder” (cont.) – However, the final choice was John C. Frémont: • The so-called “Pathfinder of the West” • Was virtually without political experience, but was not tarred with the Kansas brush • The Republicans came out strongly against the extension of slavery • While the Democrats declared no less emphatically for popular sovereignty V. “Old Buck” versus “The Pathfinder (cont.) – An ugly dose of antiforeignism was injected into the campaign: • Recent influx of immigrants from Ireland and Germany alarmed “nativists”—name of old-stock Protestants – They organized the Know-Nothing party because of its secretiveness – In 1856 nominated ex-president Millard Fillmore – Anti-foreign, anti-Catholic – Threatened, with some Whig supporter for Fillmore, to cut into the Republican strength – Mudslinging bespattered both candidates p402 VI. The Electoral Fruits of 1856 • The election returns: – Buchanan • Polled less than a majority of the popular vote • Won handily (see Map 19.2) • Electoral College count was 174 to 114 for Frémont and 8 for Fillmore • The popular vote was 1,832,955 for Buchanan; 1,339,932 for Frémont; 871,731 for Fillmore. VI. The Electoral Fruits of 1856 (cont.) • Why the Republican defeat: • Frémont’s lack of honesty, capacity, and sound judgment • Violent threat that the election of a sectional “Black Republican” would be a declaration of war, forcing the South to secede • Many northerners were intimidated to vote for Buchanan • Innate conservatism triumphed, assisted by so-called southern bullying VI. The Electoral Fruits of 1856 (cont.) • Fortunate for the Union that secession and the Civil War did not come in 1856: – Frémont was ill-balanced and second rate figure – In 1856 the North was more willing to let the South depart in peace than in 1860 – Dramatic events (1856-1860) aroused stillapathetic northerners to a fighting pitch • The election of 1856 cast a long shadow forward, and politicians, North and South, peered anxiously toward 1860 Map 19-2 p403 VII. The Dred Scott Bombshell • The Dred Scott v. Stanford decision by the Supreme Court on March 6, 1857: – Pronouncement was one of the opening papergun blasts of the Civil War • Basically the case was simple • The Supreme Court turned it in a complex political issue: – It ruled that Dred Scott was a black slave and not a citizen, and hence could not sue in federal courts – The tribunal could then have thrown out the case on these technical grounds alone VII. The Dred Scott Bombshell (cont.) – A majority decided to go further, under the leadership of emaciated Chief Justice Roger B. Taney (from slave state-Maryland) • A majority decreed that because a slave was private property, he or she could be taken into any territory and legally held there in slavery • Reasons—the Fifth Amendment—forbade Congress to deprive people of their property without due process of law • The Court went further: VII. The Dred Scott Bombshell (cont.) • They ruled that the Compromise of 1820 had been unconstitutional all along: – Congress had no power to ban slavery from the territories, regardless of what the territorial legislatures themselves might want • Southerners were delighted with this victory • Champions of popular sovereignty were aghast • Another lethal wedge was driven between the northern and southern wings of the once united Democratic party. VII. The Dred Scott Bombshell (cont.) – Foes of slavery extension were infuriated by the Dred Scott setback: • They insisted the ruling was an opinion, not a decision • Therefore not binding • Republicans were defiant of the Court because: – Its members were southerners – And by their convictions debased themselves • Southerners were inflamed by all this defiance; how long could they be joined to a section that refused to honor the Supreme Court? p404 VIII. The Financial Crash of 1857 • Panic of 1857: why the crash? • Inpouring California gold helped to inflate the currency • The demands of the Crimean War (Russia, 1853-1856) overstimulated the growing of grain • Frenzied speculation in land and railroads – Over 5000 businesses failed • North and its grain growers hardest hit • South enjoyed favorable cotton prices abroad VIII. The Financial Crash of 1857 (cont.) – Panic conditions further proof that cotton was king: • This false delusion helped drive the overconfidence of southerners closer to a shooting showdown – Financial distress in the North, especially agriculture, gave a new vigor for free farms of 160 acres from the public domain VIII. The Financial Crash of 1857 (cont.) – Scheme to make outright gifts of homesteads: • Eastern industrialists opposed free land giveaways • South opposed because they didn’t think gang-labor slavery could flourish on a mere 160 acres • Congress (1860) passed a homestead act – Public land available for 25 cent an acre – It was killed by President Buchanan’s veto – The panic of 1857 created a clamor for higher tariff rates: • There was a large Treasury surplus VIII. The Financial Crash of 1857 (cont.) • The Tariff of 1857: – Responding to pressure from the South, reduced duties to about 20 percent on dutiable goods—the lowest point since 1812 – As the surplus melted away in the Treasury, » Industrials in the North pointed to the need for higher duties » They were concerned about the need of increased protection – The panic of 1857 gave Republicans two surefire economic issues for the election of 1860: » Protection for the unprotected » Farms for the farmless p405 IX. An Illinois Rail-Splitter Emerges • The Illinois senatorial election of 1858 claimed the national spotlight: – Senator Stephen A. Douglas’s term was to expire – Republicans ran a Springfield lawyer, Abraham Lincoln: » Not well educated, but an avid reader » He married “above himself” into the influential Todd family of Kentucky—helped to school him in patience and forbearance » Emerged as a trial lawyer in Illinois » Widely referred to as “Honest Abe” » He served an undistinguished term in Congress, 18471849 IX. An Illinois Rail-Splitter Emerges (cont.) – The Kansas-Nebraska Act lighted within him unexpected fire » He emerged as one of the foremost politicians and orators in the Northwest – At the Philadelphia convention 1856: » John C. Frémont was nominated » Lincoln received 100 votes for the vice-presidential nomination p406 X. The Great Debate: Lincoln Versus Douglas – Lincoln-Douglas debates: • Lincoln challenged Douglas to a series of joint debates • Douglas accepted; they were arranged from August to October 1858 • The most famous debate came at Freeport, Illinois: – Lincoln presented a question based on the Supreme Court ruling in the Dred Scott decision – Douglas had already publicly answered the Freeport question – The “Little Giant” did not hesitate to meet the issue headon, honestly and consistently X. The Great Debate: Lincoln Versus Douglas – Freeport Doctrine: • No matter how the Supreme Court ruled, slavery would stay down if the people voted it down • Laws to protect slavery would have to be passed by the territorial legislatures – In the absence of popular approval, black bondage would soon disappear • Where public opinion does not support the federal government, as in the case of Jefferson’s embargo (see pp. 216-218), the law is impossible to enforced. X. The Great Debate: Lincoln Versus Douglas (cont.) – Douglas defeated Lincoln for the Senate seat • The “Little Giant’s” loyalty to popular sovereignty was the decisive point • Senators were chosen by the state legislatures • “Honest Abe” won a clear moral victory • Lincoln began to emerge as a potential Republican nominee for president • Douglas, in winning Illinois, lost his chances of winning the presidency • Lincoln-Douglas debate platform proved to be one of the preliminary battlefields of the Civil War p407 XI. John Brown: Murderer or Martyr? – John Brown studied the tactics of the black rebels Toussaint L’Ouverture (see p. 211) and Nat Turner (see p. 348) – – – – Hatched a scheme to invade the South secretly Called upon the slaves to rise Furnished them with arms Established a kind of black free state as a sanctuary • Harpers Ferry: – he seized the federal arsenal in October 1859 – Incidentally killing seven innocent people, killing a free black and injuring ten or more – Slaves ignored Brown’s strike, failed to rise, and wounded Brown XI. John Brown: Murderer or Martyr? (cont.) – Brown and his remnants were captured by U.S. Marines under Robert E. Lee • Convicted of murder and treason • Presumed insanity, supported by 17 friends and relatives – He marched up the scaffold steps without flinching – His conduct exemplary – His devotion to freedom so inflexible that he took on an exalted character – The effects of Harper Ferry were inflammatory: • To the South, Brown was a wholesale murderer • An apostle of treason XI. John Brown: Murderer or Martyr? (cont.) • Abolitionists and ardent free-soilers were infuriated by Brown’s execution • Free-soil centers in the North tolled bells – Fired guns, lowered flags, and held rallies • The ghost of the martyred Brown would not be laid to rest XII. The Disruption of the Democrats – The presidential election of 1860 was the most fateful in American history: • Democrats met in Charleston, South Carolina – Douglas the leading candidate for the northern wing – Southern wing regarded him a traitor » Because of the Lecompton Constitution and the Freeport Doctrine – Cotton state delegates walked out – Remaining could not scrape enough of the 2/3 necessary; disbanded • The first tragic secession was the secession of southerners from the National Convention • Departure became habit-forming XII. The Disruption of the Democrats (cont.) – The Democrats tried again in Baltimore: • Douglas was firmly in the saddle • Many cotton-state delegates took a walk • The rest of the delegates enthusiastically nominated their hero • Platform came out squarely: – For popular sovereignty – Against obstruction of the Fugitive Slave Law by the states – John C. Breckinridge was chosen vicepresidential candidate XII. The Disruption of the Democrats (cont.) • The platform favored the extension of slavery into the territories and the annexation of slave-populated Cuba – Constitutional Union party: • The middle-of-the-road group • Sneered as the “Do Nothing” or “Old Gentleman’s” party • Desperately wanted a compromise candidate, met in Baltimore and nominated for the presidency John Bell of Tennessee. p409 XIII. A Rail-Splitter Splits the Union – Republicans met in Chicago: • William H. Seward was the best candidate: – Radical utterances, his “irrepressible conflict” speech at Rochester 1858 had ruined his prospects – Enemies’ slogan, “Success Rather Than Steward.” • Lincoln, the favorite son of Illinois: – A “Second Best,” but a stronger candidate because he made fewer enemies – Overtook Seward on the third ballot, was nominated. • Republican party had an appeal for everybody: – For the free-soilers, nonextension of slavery – For the northern manufacturers, a protective tariff – For the immigrants, no abridgment of rights XIII. A Rail-Splitter Splits the Union (cont.) – For the Northwest, a Pacific railroad – For the West, internal improvements at federal expense – For the farmers, free homesteads from the public domain • Southern secessionists called Lincoln the “baboon,” the “abolitionist” rail-splitter who would split the Union – “Honest Abe,” though hating slavery, was no outright abolitionist – Lincoln enthusiasts staged roaring rallies and parades – Douglas waged a vigorous speaking campaign – The returns, breathlessly awaited, proclaimed a sweeping victory for Lincoln (see Table 19.1). p410 XIV. The Electoral Upheaval of 1860 • Lincoln was a minority president: – 60% of the voters would have preferred someone else – A sectional president—in ten southern states, not being on the ballot – The election of 1860 was virtually two elections: one for the North and one for the South (see Map 19.3) – South Carolina rejoiced over Lincoln’s victory; they now had their excuse to secede. • Douglas scraped only 12 electoral votes: – He campaigned energetically for himself – Douglas and Breckinridge together amassed 365,476 more votes than did Lincoln XIV. The Electoral Upheaval of 1860 (cont.) • The ballot box did not indicate a strong sentiment for secession (see Map 19.4) • Breckinridge polled fewer votes in the slave states than the combined strength of his opponents Douglas and Bell – He failed to carry his own state of Kentucky. • Even though the Republicans had elected Lincoln: – They controlled neither the Senate nor the House. – The federal government could not touch slavery, except by a constitutional amendment. XIV. The Electoral Upheaval of 1860 (cont.) – Confederate States of America: • Formed by seven seceding states in Montgomery, Alabama in February 1861: – They chose as their president Jefferson Davis • Crisis was deepened by the “lame duck” interlude: – Lincoln, elected in November 1860, could not take office until March 4, 1861 – During this time seven of the eleven deserting states left – President Buchanan was blamed for not holding the nation together; he did not believe that the southern states could secede – Yet he could find no authority in the Constitution for stopping them with guns XV. The Secessionist Exodus (cont.) – One reason he did not resort to force: » The tiny standing army of 15,000 troops was urgently needed to control the Indians in the West – North not interested in fight at this time – The weakness not such much in Buchanan, but in the constitution and in the Union itself – Ironically, when Lincoln became president in March, he essentially continued Buchanan’s wait-and-see policy Table 19-1 p410 Map 19-3 p411 XV. The Secessionist Exodus – A tragic chain reaction of secession now began to erupt: • South Carolina had threatened to go out if the “sectional” Lincoln won: – 4 days later they voted to call a special convention – Meeting in Charleston, December 1860, the convention voted unanimously to secede – During the next six weeks other southern states voted to secede – Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas – Four more would join late, bringing the total to eleven Map 19-4 p412 p413 XVI. The Collapse of Compromise – Crittenden amendments: • Sponsored by Senator John Jordan Crittenden, Kentucky • Designed to appease the South • Slavery in the territories was to be prohibited north of the 36-30 latitude, but south of that line it was to be given federal protection in all territories existing or “hereafter to be acquired” • Future states north of this line could come into the Union with or without slavery, as they should choose • Slavery supporters were to be guaranteed full rights in the southern territories regardless of popular sovereignty XVI. The Collapse of Compromise (cont.) • Lincoln flatly rejected the Crittenden scheme • He was elected on a platform that opposed the extension and felt he must support this, even if slavery was only to be temporary • Buchanan: how could he have prevented the Civil War by starting a civil war? – No one has yet come up with a satisfactory answer XVII. Farewell to Union – Secessionists left for a number of reasons: • Most related to the issue of slavery • Southerners were dismayed by the triumph of the new Republican party • They were weary of free-soil criticism: – Abolitionist nagging – Northern interference ranging from the Underground Railroad to John Brown’s raid • Supported secession because they felt sure that their departure would be unopposed • Southerners saw it as a golden opportunity to cast aside their generations of “vassalage” to the North XVII. Farewell to Union (cont.) – An independent Dixieland could develop its own banking and shipping and trade directly with Europe – Who could tell when the “greedy” Republicans would drive through their own oppressive protective tariff? – Pitted between the North and South: » The North with its manufacturing plants » The South with its agricultural exports • Worldwide impulses of nationalism were fermenting in the South • The principles of self-determination—of the Declaration of Independence—seemed to many southerners to apply perfectly to them XVIII. Farewell to Union (cont.) – Few southern states felt that they were doing anything wrong or immoral • Historical parallel ran even deeper: – 1776 thirteen American colonies, led by the rebel George Washington, seceded from the British empire by throwing off the yoke of King George III – 1860-1861 eleven American states, led by the rebel Jefferson Davis, were seceding from the Union by throwing off the yoke of “King” Abraham Lincoln – With that burden gone, the South was confident that it could work its own peculiar destiny more quietly, happily, and prosperously p414 p417