Lesson 15.2a: The Crisis
Deepens
Today’s Essential
Question: How did the
slavery debate lead to
acts of violence in the
1850s?
Vocabulary
•
•
•
•
•
debate – discussion or argument
fugitive – one who runs away or escapes
popular – of the people
sovereignty – self-rule
popular sovereignty – people ruling
themselves (the majority make the rules)
• repeal – to revoke or take back a law
Check for Understanding
• What is today’s Essential Question?
• What is a fugitive?
• Why do teachers have more
sovereignty than students have?
• Do you know of any laws that have
been repealed?
What We Already Know
In the 1840s, thousands of settlers moved onto
the plains west of the Mississippi River.
What We Already Know
California’s request for statehood led to
Henry Clay’s Compromise of 1850.
What We Already Know
The Compromise of 1850 contained a
controversial new fugitive slave law.
The Fugitive Slave Act
• No arrest warrant required
• No right to jury trial; federal commissioner
to rule on each case
• Commissioner received $5 for releasing
the defendant and $10 for turning him over
to a slaveholder
• Fines for those help runaway slaves
• Required Northerners to help recapture
runaway slaves
The Fugitive Slave Act
• Southerners believed slaves were property
and should be returned.
• Northerners realized that, by supporting the
Fugitive Slave Act, they were supporting
slavery.
• Should they obey the law and support
slavery, or should they break the law and
oppose slavery?
Meanwhile,
Southern
slave catchers
roamed the
North,
sometimes
capturing free
African
Americans
instead of
runaway
slaves.
Get your whiteboards
and markers ready!
What was the Fugitive Slave Act?
A. It allowed fugitive slaves to be arrested
without warrants.
B. Officials were paid $10 for releasing the
fugitive, but only $5 if he returned the
fugitive to slavery.
C. Fugitives had no right to a jury trial.
D. It required that Northerners return runaway
slaves to their masters.
E. It placed fines on people who helped
runaway slaves escape.
Choose the one that is NOT true!
10. Why did Northerners resent
the Fugitive Slave Act?
A. The act had been passed
without any input from
Northerners.
B. They didn’t believe black
fugitives should have a
right to a jury trial.
C. If they obeyed or enforced
the act, they would be
supporting slavery.
D. The act would lead to
higher taxes in the North.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
• Harriet Beecher Stowe
was from a family that
had helped runaway
slaves escape.
• Her brother was a
preacher and a
leading abolitionist.
• She was outraged by
the Fugitive Slave Act.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Her 1852 novel, Uncle
Tom’s Cabin, dramatically
portrayed slavery as brutal
and immoral.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
• The novel includes
dramatic scenes,
such as the dangerous
escape of a slave
named Eliza and her
baby across the Ohio
River.
• Stowe’s book was
wildly popular in the
North, but criticized by
white Southerners as
inaccurate.
Get your whiteboards
and markers ready!
Who was the author of Uncle
Tom’s Cabin?
A. Margaret Chapman Howe
B. Harriet Beecher Stowe
C. Madeline Douglas Rowan
D. Henrietta Beckham Rowe
11. How did Uncle Tom’s Cabin influence
national politics?
A. It increased abolitionist feeling in the North
by showing the brutality of slavery.
B. It led many western states to prohibit free
blacks from settling within their borders.
C. It caused Southerners to become angry over
the lies they said it told about slavery.
D. It led to the creation of the Free Soil Party.
E. It helped convince Congress to pass the
Fugitive Slave Act.
Choose all that are true!
The Kansas–Nebraska Act
• In 1854, Senator
Stephen A. Douglas
of Illinois wanted to
see a railroad built to
link Chicago with
California.
• To make this easier,
Douglas proposed
the organization of
two new western
territories –
Nebraska and
Kansas.
Senator Stephen
Douglas of Illinois
Douglas said the question of slavery in these
territories was to be settled by popular
sovereignty, a very controversial idea.
• Douglas’ idea of popular
sovereignty was controversial because it would
mean the repeal of the
Missouri Compromise,
since it would give people
living north of 36º30’ a
choice regarding slavery
in their territory.
• Southerners supported
the bill, but it angered
opponents of slavery.
The Kansas–Nebraska Act
The KansasNebraska Act
and popular
sovereignty
would soon
turn Kansas
into a battleground over
slavery.
The Three Compromises
Get your whiteboards
and markers ready!
What was popular sovereignty?
A.
B.
C.
D.
Proposed by Senator Stephen Douglas
Violated the Compromise of 1850
Supported most strongly by Northerners
Would allow the residents of a state to
decide the slavery question
E. Repealed the Missouri Compromise line
Choose ALL that are true!
What was the Kansas-Nebraska Act?
A. Strengthened the Missouri Compromise
B. Introduced to make it easier to build a
railroad to California
C. Established the territories of Kansas and
Nebraska
D. Required Congress to submit future
requests for statehood to the Supreme
Court
E. Gave their residents the right to decide
whether to allow slavery
Choose ALL that are true!
12. How was the issue of slavery to be
decided in Nebraska and Kansas?
A. It would be decided only after their
residents had ratified their
respective state constitutions.
B. It would be decided by the
Supreme Court.
C. It would be decided on the basis
of popular sovereignty, with each
state's residents voting on it.
D. It would be decided as part of the
Compromise of 1863.
13. Why was the Kansas–
Nebraska Act controversial?
A. It banned slavery in all lands gained
from Mexico.
B. It repealed the Missouri Compromise
and replaced it with popular sovereignty.
C. It established the territories of Kansas
and Nebraska , which were not yet
American possessions.
D. It required Congress to submit future
requests for statehood to the Supreme
Court.
“Bleeding Kansas”
Proslavery and antislavery settlers rushed
into the Kansas Territory
to elect the territorial
legislature, including
5,000 Missourians (border
ruffians).
“Bleeding Kansas”
Antislavery
settlers boycotted
the pro-slavery
government and
formed a
government of
their own, as both
groups of settlers
armed
themselves.
“Bleeding Kansas”
In an attack that came to be known as the Sack of
Lawrence, a proslavery mob burned the anti-slavery
capital at Lawrence, Kansas.
John Brown
Seeking revenge for the
sack of Lawrence, an
extreme abolitionist named
John Brown and seven
other antislavery men
murdered five of their
proslavery neighbors as
they slept at a cabin near
Pottawatomie Creek.
As news of this attack (known as the
Pottawatomie Massacre) spread, civil
war broke out in Kansas.
The violence continued for three years, and
the territory came to be called “Bleeding
Kansas.”
Get your whiteboards
and markers ready!
Why did violence break out
in Kansas in 1855?
A. Native Americans and white settlers
battled on the wind-swept plains.
B. Pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces
were fighting for political control of
the territory.
C. White settlers and free black settlers
competed for possession of the best
farmland.
D. Supporters of the Dred Scott decision
clashed with supporters of popular
sovereignty.
15. Why did John Brown murder
five proslavery people in Kansas?
A. He was angry about the Fugitive Slave
Act being declared unconstitutional.
B. Pro-slavery men had led an assault
against the federal arsenal at Topeka.
C. It was revenge for the proslavery
attack on Lawrence, Kansas.
D. He was angry because Congress
turned down Kansas' application for
statehood.
Violence in Congress
• In late May, 1856, Massachusetts Senator Charles
Sumner gave a rousing
speech before the
Senate.
• In very insulting terms,
he attacked the proslavery forces in Kansas,
the institution of slavery
in general, and proslavery Senators such as
Andrew Butler of South
Carolina in particular.
Violence in Congress
• Nearby, in the House of
Representatives, South
Carolina Congressman
Preston Brooks got wind
of Sumner’s speech.
• Senator Butler was
related to Congressman
Brooks, who angrily
decided he must defend
the honor of his family
and of the South.
Congressman Brooks charged into the
Senate chamber and viciously beat Sumner
unconscious with a cane.
Many Southerners cheered
Brooks’ defense of the South,
but most Northerners were
shocked at such violence in
the Senate.
“Bleeding Kansas” and “Bleeding Sumner”
became rallying cries for antislavery
Northerners, as well as for a new political
party that was beginning to emerge.
Get your whiteboards
and markers ready!
16. Why did Preston Brooks attack
Charles Sumner in the Senate?
A. Brooks objected to Sumner's
position on popular sovereignty.
B. Sumner made insulting remarks
against proslavery forces and
Brooks' relative.
C. of the inaccurate portrayal of
slavery in Sumner's novel, "Uncle
Tom's Cabin.“
D. Sumner had criticized Brooks for
supporting John Brown.