Slavery Divides the Nation,
1820–1861
Chronological Order
• Missouri Compromise 1819
• Nullification Crisis 1832
• Compromise of 1850
• Kansas-Nebraska Act 1854
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The Missouri Compromise
In 1819, there were 11 free states and 11 slave
states.
Representation in the Senate was evenly
balanced between the North and the South.
Missouri wanted to join the Union as a slave
state. That would give the South a majority in
the Senate.
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The Missouri Compromise
Henry Clay proposed the Missouri
Compromise.
– Missouri would join the Union as a slave
state.
– Maine would join the Union as a free state.
– Congress drew an imaginary line across the
southern border of Missouri at latitude
36º30´N. Slavery would be permitted in the
Louisiana Purchase south of that line.
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The Issue of Slavery in the
West
The Problem
As a result of the Mexican War, the
United States acquired a vast amount of
land.
The Missouri Compromise applied only
to the Louisiana Purchase, not the new
western lands.
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Nullification Crisis
1. A sectional crisis during the Presidency of
Andrew Jackson
2. Created by South Carolina’s 1832 Ordinance
of Nullification:
A- declared the power of the state
B- rejected federal tariffs of 1828 and 1832
C- argued they were unconstitutional and
therefore null and void
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3- Tariff of 1828, known as :Tariff of
Abominations” enacted by President John
Quincy Adams
4- South Carolina repealed its Nullification
Ordinance on March 11,1833
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The Compromise of 1850
• A series of five (5) bills
• Intended to stave off sectional strife
• To keep spread of slavery to territories
in balance
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5 Bills
1. California was entered as a free state
2. New Mexico and Utah were each allowed to
use popular sovereignty to decide the
issue of slavery
3. The Republic of Texas gave up lands it
claimed in present day New Mexico and
received $10 million to pay its debt to
Mexico
4. The slave trade was abolished in District of
Columbia
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5. The Fugitive Slave Act was enacted
The Slavery Debate Erupts Again
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The Crisis Deepens
• What was the goal of the KansasNebraska Act?
• Why did violence erupt in Kansas
and in the Senate?
• What impact did the Dred Scott
case have on the nation?
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The Kansas-Nebraska Act
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The Problem
The Compromise of 1850 dealt mainly
with the Mexican Cession, and not with
the lands that were part of the
Louisiana Purchase.
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Provisions of the KansasNebraska Act
• Nebraska Territory was to be divided
into two territories— Kansas and
Nebraska.
• The settlers in each territory would
decide the issue of slavery by popular
sovereignty.
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The Argument for the Act
• Many people thought the act was fair
because the Compromise of 1850 had
applied popular sovereignty in New
Mexico and Utah.
• Southerners hoped slave owners from
Missouri would move into Kansas and
make Kansas a slave state.
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The Argument Against the Act
• The Missouri Compromise already
banned slavery in Kansas and
Nebraska. In effect, the KansasNebraska Act would overturn the
Missouri Compromise.
• Northerners protested by challenging
the Fugitive Slave Act.
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Violence Erupts in the Senate
• Charles Sumner of Massachusetts was the
leading abolitionist senator. In one speech
he denounced the proslavery legislature of
Kansas and viciously criticized his southern
foes, especially Senator Andrew Butler of
South Carolina.
• A few days later Butler’s nephew,
Congressman Preston Brooks, marched into
the Senate chamber and with his cane beat
Sumner until he was unconscious.
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The Dred Scott Case
What did the Supreme Court decide?
• Scott could not file a lawsuit because,
as an enslaved person, he was not a
citizen.
• Slaves were considered to be property.
• Congress did not have the power to
outlaw slavery in any territory. This
decision meant the Missouri
Compromise was unconstitutional.
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The Election of 1860
The Democratic party split into two
groups:
Northern Democrat and Southern
Democrat.
– Northern Democrats nominated
Stephen Douglas.
– Southern Democrats nominated John
Breckinridge.
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How the South Reacted to the
Election of 1860
• Many southerners thought that
Lincoln’s election meant the South no
longer had a voice in national
government.
• They believed the President and
Congress were against them.
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How the South Reacted to the
Election of 1860
• Senator John Crittenden of Kentucky
introduced a bill to extend the Missouri
Compromise line to the Pacific.
• He proposed an amendment to the
Constitution that would guarantee
slavery south of the compromise line
forever.
• His proposals received little support.
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How the South Reacted to the
Election of 1860
• Other southerners believed secession
was their only choice.
• On December 20, 1860, South Carolina
became the first state to secede.
• By late February 1861, Alabama,
Florida, Georgia, Louisiana,
Mississippi, and Texas had followed.
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How the South Reacted to the
Election of 1860
• At a convention in Montgomery,
Alabama, the seven states formed a
new nation, The Confederate States of
America. Jefferson Davis became its
president.
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How the Civil War Began
• When Lincoln took office, he
warned that no state could lawfully
leave the Union.
• Jefferson Davis had already ordered
Confederate forces to begin seizing
federal forts in the South.
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• President Lincoln had to make a
decision.
• Should he let Confederates take
over federal property and look like
he was admitting that states had a
right to leave the Union?
• Or should he send troops to hold
the forts and risk a war?
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