Unit 1: The Crisis of Union 1848-1877

1. Unit 1: The Crisis of Union1848-1877 American History Fall 2013 Wattie

2. Slavery and Western Expansion • Main Idea: Continuing disagreements over the westward expansion of slavery increased sectional tensions between the North and South. • Objectives • Explain how the government dealt with slavery in the territories acquired after the war with Mexico. • Evaluate how both the Fugitive Slave Act and the transcontinental railroad heightened sectional tensions. • Key Terms and Names • Wilmot Proviso, popular sovereignty, secession, Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman, transcontinental railroad.

3. The Impact of the War with Mexico • As the United States continued to fight Mexico for territory in the southwestern part of the country, the debate of whether this new territory would be allowed to have slaves was beginning to heat up. • In August of 1846, Representative David Wilmot put together a bill that stated the following: • Any territory the United States gained from Mexico, “neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall ever exist.” • This infuriated Southern politicians, but a coalition of Southern Democrats and Whigs passed the bill in the HOR.

4. The Impact of the War with Mexico • When the bill reached the Senate, they refused to vote on the bill. • Southern representatives stated that Americans had the right to bring their property to the new territory which included enslaved laborers, and Congress had no power to ban slavery in the territories. • They then warned that a civil war would definitely erupt if the North failed to give in to the Southern concerns. • For many years the Wilmot proposal come up in Congress creating a deeper division between the North and the South.

5. The Impact of the War with Mexico • Lewis Cass of Michigan proposed one solution. • Popular Sovereignty: citizens of each new territory should be allowed to decide for themselves if they wanted to permit slavery or not. • This idea appealed to both sides of the issue of slavery because it made the issue a state issue. • It also appeared democratic in the sense that it would be up to the settlers themselves to decide.

6. The Impact of the War with Mexico • During the 1848 election, both sides backed away from the issue of slavery. • Whig candidate stressed his leadership in the war. • Democratic candidate downplayed his support of popular sovereignty. • Because of this a new party emerged, Free-Soil Party, who opposed the spread of slavery onto the “free soil” of the western territory. • Their reasoning behind this support was that if slavery was allowed to expand it would take land away from white farmers. • Support for the Free-Soil Party ended up taking votes away from the Democrats giving the Whig candidate the win by a narrow victory.

7. Congress Struggles for Compromise • Not long after president Taylor’s entrance into office, the first major issue about slavery came center stage. • The discovery of gold in California led to that territory’s application for statehood, and a decision had to be made on whether the state would be a slave or free state. • Currently there were 15 slave states and 15 free states. • With California applying for statehood the side that they chose would throw off the balance in the Senate. • With this in mind, Southerners began talking about secession or taking their states out of the union. • What would be the solution???

8. Congress Struggles for a Compromise • The Compromise of 1850. • Proposed by Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky

9. Congress Struggles for a Compromise • This compromise created even more tension, but was eventually passed because it was separated into individual bills. • The South opposed the compromise because they felt they needed an acceptance of its (South) rights, the return of fugitive slaves, and a guarantee of balance between the sections.

10. Congress Struggles for a Compromise • The North opposed the compromise because of the Fugitive Slave Act which allowed a slaveholder to just point out alleged runaways to have them taken into custody. • The accused would then be brought in front of a commissioner. • The accused could not testify on their own behalf. • An affidavit asserting that the captive had escaped from a slaveholder, or testimony by white witnesses, was all the court needed to order the person sent to the South. • Also, federal commissioners had a financial incentive to rule in favor of slaveholders with each judgments earning then $10. • A decision for the accused only earned them $5. • Federal marshals could also assist slavecatchers by deputizing citizens on the spot to help them catch an alleged fugitive.

11. Congress Struggles for a Compromise • The Underground Railroad was a key to many African Americans’ escape from the South. • This informal network began to expand in the early 1830s and helped thousands of enslaved persons flee north. • Conductors transported runaways in secret, gave them shelter and food along the way as well as saw them to freedom in the Northern states or Canada with some start up money. • The most famous conductor was Harriet Tubman, who was an escaped slave herself.

12. New Territorial Troubles • By the early 1850s, many Americans believed it was important to settle the lands of Missouri and Iowa. • They demanded that the federal government organize these new regions as territories for settlement. • When California became a state and the Oregon country began to be settled, many farmers, members of Congress, and business leaders began voicing a need for a transcontinental railroad. • A railroad that would cross the entire country. • This development would decrease travel time and increase safety from one coast to the other. • The debate then became on what the optimal route for this new railroad to be. • Northerners wanted a route through the northern part of the U.S. • Southerners wanted a route through the southern part of the U.S.

13. New Territorial Troubles • In 1853, Senator Stephen Douglas prepared a bill to organize the region of Nebraska into a territory for the railroad to pass through. • The HOR passed the bill quickly, but the Southern senators quickly prevented the bill from coming to a vote in the Senate. • They made it clear that before Nebraska could be organized, Congress would have to repeal part of the Missouri Compromise and allow slavery in the new territory.

14. New Territorial Troubles • Wanting Nebraska to be organized, Douglas proposed a series of bills to meet the demands of the Southern Senators. • The first was to repeal the antislavery provision of the Missouri Compromise. • Then he proposed that any new territory would be able to practice popular sovereignty. • Still not meeting their demands, he proposed to repeal the antislavery provision of the Missouri Compromise and divide the region into two territories. • Nebraska would be the northernmost and antislavery • Kansas would be south and be a slave state. • In May 1854, Congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act.

15. New Territorial Troubles • Kansas became the first battle ground between those favoring the extension of slavery and those opposing it. • Northerners hurried to the territory trying to create an antislavery majority. • Before the March 1855 elections, Missourians called “border ruffians” moved into Kansas and illegally voted in a pro-slavery legislature. • The Northerners, infuriated, then held their own convention and drafted their own constitution. • In March 1856, Kansas had two governments.

16. New Territorial Troubles • In the spring of 1856, border ruffians began attacking the northerners “territory” destroying homes, ships, hotels, and newspaper presses. • “Bleeding Kansas” became the scene of a territorial civil war between pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers. • By the end of 1856, 200 people had died fighting and $2 million worth of property had been destroyed.

17. The Crisis Deepens • Main Idea: The slavery controversy accelerated the breakdown of the major political parties and the growth of hostility between North and South. • Objectives: • Describe the origins of the Republican Party and the fate of the Whigs and the Know-Nothings. • Explain the significance of the Dred Scott Decision, the Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858, and John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry. • Key Terms and Names • Republican Party, Dred Scott, referendum, insurrection, Harpers Ferry.

18. Political Developments • With the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act the delicate balance of the Missouri Compromise became obsolete causing opponents of slavery to become enraged. • Because of this new political parties began to emerge to compete against the traditional parties in the U.S. • One that was created out of this act was the Republican Party. • The Whig Party was destroyed by the Kansas-Nebraska Act. • Northern Whigs voted against the act while Southern Whigs voted for it. • Many Northern Whigs and anti-slavery Democrats left the party and joined the Free-Soilers. • These anti-slavery coalitions formed the Republican Party in July 1854.

19. Political Developments • The Republicans Party’s main objective was to stop the Southern Planters from becoming an aristocracy that controlled the government. • They did NOT agree on whether slavery should be abolished from the Southern states, but did feel that it needed to be kept out of the new territories. • Public anger against the Northern Democrats enabled the American Party (Know-Nothings) to gain support, especially in the northeast U.S. • The American Party was and anti-Catholic, nativist party. • They wanted to prolong the naturalization process. • The Know-Nothings did not stay around for long and was eventually absorbed by the Republican Party.

20. Sectional Divisions Grow • The Dred Scott Decision • Dred Scott was a Missouri slave that moved north with his owner to work for several years. • When they arrived back in Missouri, Scott sued his owner for freedom claiming that living in free territory made him a free man.

21. Sectional Divisions Grow • On March 6, 1857, the Supreme Court ruled against Scott. • Ruling stated the following: • African Americans could not be U.S. citizens and that Scott therefore had no right to sue in the federal courts. • Scott’s residence in free territory did not alter his enslaved status • Congress’s ban on slavery in the western territories, as a part of the Missouri Compromise, was unconstitutional. • Under the Fifth Amendment protected slaveholders from being deprived of their property.

22. Sectional Divisions Grow • After the decision was made, Democrats cheered while Republicans claimed that the decision about slavery in the territories was not binding. • If Scott was not a citizen then he technically could not sue, so the Supreme Court should have dismissed the case without considering the constitutionality of the Missouri Compromise.

23. Sectional Divisions Grow • When the Scott decision was released, the conflict in “Bleeding Kansas” began to intensify. • The President (Buchanan) urged the territory to apply for statehood. • The pro-slavery legislature scheduled an election for delegates to a constitutional convention, but anti-slavery Kansans boycotted. • The constitution in the town of Lecompton legalized slavery in the territory.

24. Sectional Divisions Grow • To vote down the new constitution, anti-slavery put together a referendum or a popular vote on an issue. • Ignoring the vote, Buchanan asked Congress to admit Kansas as a slave state. • Republicans and Northern Democrats in the House blocked the measure, stating it ignored the people’s will. • Buchanan then allowed for another referendum to be voted on by the people. If the people voted slavery down than Kansas would have to wait until its population reached 90,000. • When the votes were tallied, the people of Kansas voted down statehood allowing slavery and Kansas did not become a state, a free state, until 1861.

25. John Brown’s Raid • John Brown: strong abolitionist who opposed slavery not with words but with violence. • He played a big part in “Bleeding Kansas” taking revenge by abducting and murdering five pro-slavery settlers. • Developed a plan to organize and insurrection (rebellion) against slaveholders. • It would start in the Appalachian foothills and move southward. • Supported and financial aid from Eastern abolitionists. • To obtain weapons, Brown planned to raid Harpers Ferry, Virginia (West Virginia) where he took control of the United States armory.

26. John Brown’s Raid • Soon Harpers Ferry was rushed by U.S. Marines and in 36 hours later, Brown surrendered. • Brown was tried, convicted, and sentenced to death. • Many Northerners viewed Brown as a martyr in a noble cause. • Southerners believed that Brown’s raid offered proof that the North was actively plotting the murder of slaveholders and began defending themselves from their new enemy, the North.

27. The Union Dissolves • Main Idea: The election of Abraham Lincoln as president and the secession of Southern states pushed the nation into civil war. • Objectives: • Discuss the presidential election of 1860 • Explain how and why the Civil War began. • Key Terms and Names • Crittenden’s Compromise, Confederacy, Jefferson Davis, Fort Sumter, martial law

28. The Election of 1860 • John Brown’s raid terrified and enraged the South. • They now believed that Northerners, especially Republicans, would arm African Americans and encourage an uprising. • With the election of 1860 approaching, the South was determined to, “never permit this Federal government to pass into the traitorous hands of the Black Republican Party.”

29. The Election of 1860 • In April of 1860, Northern and Southern Democrats came together to choose their nominee for president. • Southern Democrats wanted to uphold Dred Scott decision. • Northern Democrats believed in wanted to continue to support popular sovereignty. • The Southern Democrats proposed the passing of a federal slave code in the territories which the Northern Dem’s rejected. • Upset 50 Southern Dem’s walked out of the convention. • This caused the party to not be able to nominate anyone because they could not collect two-thirds majority vote.

30. The Election of 1860 • In June of 1860, both sides tried to come together again to nominate a candidate. • After several hours of fighting, Southern Dem’s walked out again and formed their own convention which nominate John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky. • Northern Dem’s formed their own party, the Constitutional Union Party, and chose John Bell as their candidate.

31. The Election of 1860 • The Republicans needed a candidate that would take most of the North’s votes because they knew that they were not going to receive any of the South’s votes. • They nominated Abraham Lincoln because of his success during the debates he had with Douglas on his Senate seat campaign.

32. The Election of 1860 • Their platform was the following: • Believed in anti-slavery but tried to persuade voters that they were more than just that. • Reaffirmed the right of the Southern states to preserve slavery within their borders • Supported higher tariffs (taxes) to protect domestic manufacturers. • New homestead law for settlers in the West • Federal funds for a transcontinental railroad.

33. The Election of 1860 • When it was time to cast their votes, Lincoln did not win one southern state. • The problem for the Democrats was the two candidates split the southern vote. • In the end Lincoln one with the electoral votes of all of the free states except New Jersey.

34. The Election of 1860 • After the election of Lincoln, many southerners viewed his election as a threat to their society and culture, even their lives. • The dissolution of the Union began with South Carolina. • Shortly after Lincoln’s election, the state’s legislature called a state convention. • On December 20, 1860, the convention unanimously voted to repeal the state’s ratification of the Constitution and dissolve its ties to the Union.

35. The Election of 1860 • By February 1, 1861, six more states had also voted to secede. • Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas.

36. The Compromise Fails • Lincoln would not be inaugurated until March of 1861, so the beginning of the secession fell on the hands of the current President, Buchanan. • Declaring that the government had no authority to forcibly preserve the Union, Buchanan urged Congress to be appeasing. • The first attempt of appeasing was Crittenden’s Compromise. • Guarantee slavery where it already existed. • Reinstate the Missouri Compromise line and extend it all the way to California border. • Republicans voted against Crittenden’s Compromise.

37. The Compromise Fails • The second attempt of appeasing the South was the organization of a peace conference in Washington D.C. • This was a complete failure because no representatives from the secessionist states showed up, and the conference accomplished very little.

38. The Compromise Fails • On the same day of the peace conference, delegates from the seceding states met in Montgomery, Alabama. • On February 8, they declared themselves a new nation, the Confederate States of American (Confederacy) • Their constitution did the following: • Recognized the independence of each state. • Guaranteed slavery in Confederate territory. • Banned protective tariffs. • Limited the president to a single, six year term. • They chose Jefferson Davis as their president.

39. The Civil War Begins • When Lincoln gave his inaugural speech he talked about the following: • His commitment not to interfere with slavery where it already existed. • Announced his intention to “hold, occupy, and possess” federal property in the southern states. • In April Lincoln announced that he intended to send needed supplies to Fort Sumter. • This was one of the only military bases that the North still had control of in Southern territory.

40. The Civil War Begins • The South had two options. • Tolerate U.S. troops in the South’s most vital Atlantic harbor. • Fire on the supply ship. • President Davis decided to demand the surrender of the fort before the supply ship arrived. • U.S. Army Major Robert Anderson stood his ground, but eventually lost. • The Civil War had begun.

41. The Civil War Begins • The South had two options. • Tolerate U.S. troops in the South’s most vital Atlantic harbor. • Fire on the supply ship. • President Davis decided to demand the surrender of the fort before the supply ship arrived. • U.S. Army Major Robert Anderson stood his ground, but eventually lost. • The Civil War had begun.

42. The Civil War Begins • President Lincoln reacted to the loss of Fort Sumter by calling on 75,000 voluntary troops to serve in the military for 90 days. • Most were from the border states. • These men faced a serious dilemma. • Even though they did not want to secede, they did not want to take up arms against their fellow Southerners. • Between April 17 and June 8, four more states left the Union • Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee.

43. The Civil War Begins • The Confederacy then established their capital in the city of Richmond, Virginia. • Lincoln’s new problem was losing the other border states including Kentucky, Missouri, Delaware, and most important Maryland. • Maryland is across the Potomac River from Washington D.C. • To prevent Maryland’s secession, Lincoln imposed martial law or military rule.

44. The Civil War Begins • Under martial law, anyone supporting secession could be arrested and held without trial. • Martial law kept Maryland in the Union. • Kentucky and Missouri initially tried to stay neutral in the war, but when Confederate troops entered each state and tried to seize them they both took up arms against the Confederacy. • Lincoln also sent federal troops for support.