AICE US History Chapter 1

The Missouri Compromise, 1820

- Missouri join as a slave state
- Maine join as a free state
- In land of Louisiana Purchase, nothing above latitude 36* 30' could be slave state
- North's 1st attempt at stopping the spread of slavery
- affected the South but they were not worried bc they wanted to get Mexican land anyways

The Wilmot Proviso, 1846

- provide President Polk $2 mil for peace talks with Mexico
- slavery was not permitted in any land gained from Mexico after the war
- did not pass congress bc southern legislators
- obvious attack at the South from the North
- first sign of regional division in Congress and U.S.

The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, 1848

- ended Mexican-American war
- US gained upper California and New Mexico (Mexican Cession)
- border between Texas and Mexico = Rio Grande
- Mexico got $15 mil
- because according to Missouri Comp most land would become slave states North thought South was gaining too much Slave Power (+ more Congress seats)

The Compromise of 1850

- California would be a free state
- New Mexico and Utah would decide later when they became full states
- no more slave trade in Washington D.C.
- new Fugitive Slave Act (more rights for slave owner's and no fair trial for fugitive slaves)
- reduced risk of civil war
- clearly each side got certain things

How and why did the outcomes of the war with Mexico 1846-48 add to sectional difficulties?

- Missouri Compromise - first sign of North coming for the South and their slavery bull, set up for problems with new land in the future
- The Wilmot Proviso - attack on the south from the north, first sign of regional division in congress
- Treaty of Guadalupe - North become more worried about Slave Powe/spread of slavery
- Comp of 1850 - problems with Mexican Cession led to more obvious regional division in policies and congress

Fugitive Slave Act

- fine for officials who didn't catch fugitives/bonus for those who did
- slave owner's claim a slave was a fugitive was enough for arrest
- slaves got no trial by jury nor could legally represent themselves
- South thought this was fair for Mexican Cession not being slave
- many Northerners publicly disagreed with this bc it violated the Constitution

Uncle Tom's Cabin

- anti-slavery novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe
- described horrors of slavery
- became SUPER popular in U.S.
- showed North what slavery's really like
- fueled abolitionist cause

Kansas-Nebraska Act and Bleeding Kansas

- proposed by Stephen Douglas
- popular sovereignty for Nebraska and Kansas for slavery
- split the Democratic party
- repealed the Missouri Comp of 1820
- abolitionists and slave supporters started moving into Kansas super fast
- border ruffians from Missouri threatened voters
- pro-slavery won in state elections
- so opposition held illegal elections and made their own constitution
- result = local civil war
- warning for what was to come
- popular sovereignty was clearly a flop

Formation of the Republican Party

- Northern Whigs/Democrats and Free Soil Party joined together through their hatred for slavery and made the Republican party
- results of 1856 presidential elections (Buchanan the Democrat won) showed great regional divides
- Comp of 1850 was too pro-slavery so Republican formation affected it

Why did the Compromise of 1850 break down so quickly?

- Fugitive slave act made North angry
- Uncle Tom's Cabin made more and more Northerners anti-slavery
- Kansas Nebraska Act and its result Bleeding Kansas showed that popular sovereignty was a flop
- Formation of Republican party and North being done with the South showed that the compromise flopped, no one was happy

Dred Scott Case

- slave had no right to be a US citizen
- if slave is in free state he is not free as original slave owner's property rights had to be respected
- congress has no authority to limit slavery (aka Missouri Comp is unconstitutional)
- North angry af, South went too far
- North thought there was a conspiracy between Southern democrats in congress and the supreme court/the presidency bc there were 5 judges from slave states

Lincoln-Douglas Debates

- national debate of slavery became personified by Lincoln and Douglas
- Lincoln was unknown, helped found the Republican party
- Douglas was known as Little Giant, Kansas-Nebraska Act, popular sovereignty
- Lincoln hated Dred Scott judgement which helped unify the Rep party
-Douglas couldn't fully support it or reject it bc pOpULaR SoVeReiGNtY which divided the Democratic party further
- Douglas also looked bad bc of how bad pop sov flopped in Kansas lmfao
- Lincoln looked decisive and was good at speaking so, of course, my guy got famous and convinced everyone

Raid on Harpers Ferry

- 22 men both black and white attacked a US army's munitions depot in hopes for slaves nearby to form an uprising in Virginia
- John Brown, an abolitionist who fought in Kansas conflict led the group
- US troops led by Robert E Lee killed some rebels and captured others
- John Brown got lots of sympathy from public afterwards and when he was killed many Northerners/Westerners were mad
- South got scared of now obvious abolitionist threat to slavery

1860 Presidential Campaign

- Democratic party elected two different people one of them Douglas, they were clearly divided
- North all decided on Lincoln
- another party in south further divided the votes (Constitutional Party)
- Lincoln got some votes in South and lots in the North

Why did the Republicans win the 1860 election?

- Dred Scott Case/Raid on Harpers Ferry unified the North in their hate for the south's love for slavery.
- Lincoln-Douglas debates and the 1860 presidential campaign divided the democratic party and made Lincoln famous

Results of 1860 Election

- Lincoln winning made South scared that they had lost power and that slavery was gonna be taken away from them in 0.2 seconds (which wasn't even true lmao boo boo the fools)

Secession of the South in 1860-61

- South Carolina left first then Mississippi, Florida (smh what), Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas
- Lincoln wanted unified country

The Leadership of Lincoln

- after Fort Sumter (fight between North and South for fort) Lincoln announced the naval blockade of the Confederate states
- at peace conference, he said he didn't care to abolish slavery he just wanted the country to be united again
- Lincoln was prepared to go to war if it meant he brought the seceded states back
- he showed great political skill by being able to keep border slave states on his side
- implemented martial law in Maryland to make sure it didn't secede

The Leadership of Jefferson Davis

- chosen as president of the Confederate states
- the objective was to preserve the Southern way of life (built on slavery smh) which meant secession
- argued secession was also about a state's right to exercise self-determination
- saw the attack on Fort Sumter as an opportunity to bring in the rest of the slave states that hadn't seceded yet

Why did the Civil War begin in 1861?

- southern states got scared after Lincoln was elected so they ghosted
- after southern states seceded, Lincoln was willing to do anything to bring them back
- he was good at persuading people that war was necessary for the US to survive
- Davis was not giving up easily