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The Election of 1852: Franklin Pierce, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and the Prelude to "Bleeding Kansas"

In 1852, the Democrats chose Franklin Pierce as their nominee, promising to uphold the Compromise of 1850 and the Fugitive Slave Act, which pleased Southern voters. The Whigs nominated Winfield Scott, who faced mistrust from the South. Subsequently, the Kansas-Nebraska Act introduced by Stephen Douglas allowed popular sovereignty to decide slavery in new territories, igniting controversy. The violent struggle for Kansas, where both pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions clashed, culminated in events known as "Bleeding Kansas," followed by violent confrontations that extended even to the Senate.

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The Election of 1852: Franklin Pierce, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and the Prelude to "Bleeding Kansas"

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  1. Trouble in Kansas Chapter 18.2

  2. The Election of 1852 • The Democrats • Selected Franklin Pierce, a little-known politician from New Hampshire, after none of the four leading candidates secured a majority of votes • Pleased southerners by promising to honor the Compromise of 1850 and to enforce the Fugitive Slave Act • Whigs • Nominated Winfield Scott, a hero of the Mexican War • Southerners did not trust Scott because he had not completely supported the Compromise of 1850 • Pierce easily defeated Scott

  3. The Kansas-Nebraska Act • A Railroad to the Pacific • Stephen Douglas, a congress member from Illinois, had long supported the construction of a railroad running from Illinois to the Pacific Ocean. • Would require making the remainder of the Louisiana Purchase a territory • Because of the Missouri Compromise, the land in this territory would eventually enter the Union as free states. • Douglas and the Southerners • Southerners wanted the railroad to follow a southern route. • To gain their support, Douglas promised to open up the new territory to slavery.

  4. The Kansas-Nebraska Act • The Kansas- Nebraska Act • Douglas introduced the Kansas-Nebraska Act in Congress in 1854 • The act called for dividing the rest of the Louisiana Purchase into two territories- Kansas and Nebraska. • Popular sovereignty would determine the issue of slavery in each territory.

  5. The Kansas-Nebraska Act • Response • Anti-slavery northerners condemned the act for violating the “sacred pledge” of the Missouri Compromise and for expanding slavery. • Pierce and Douglas convinced some Democrats to vote for the act. • The act passed and became law in May 1854.

  6. “Bleeding Kansas” • Antislavery and pro-slavery forces saw Kansas as a contest to be won. • Territorial Elections • Held in March 1855 • Won by pro-slavery forces, who had the votes of thousands of men who crossed the Missouri border into Kansas

  7. “Bleeding Kansas” • Two governments • Territorial legislature passed strict pro-slavery laws • In response, antislavery Kansans formedtheir own government. • Pro-slavery forces attacked Lawrence, the anti-slavery capital. • Abolitionist John Brown killed pro-slavery men in the Pottawatomie Massacre.

  8. “Bleeding Kansas” • Violence in the Senate • Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts gave a speech about Kansas, in which he insulted Senator Andrew Pickens Butler of South Carolina. • In retaliation, Butler’s nephew, Representative Preston Brooks, beat Sumner badly in the U.S. Senate chamber.

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