Module x Regional Differences and Social Movements,

History

What was the Wilmot Proviso, who proposed it, and when?

Introduced in 1846 by Democrat David Wilmot, it was a House resolution to ban slavery in territory gained from Mexico.

What happened to the Wilmot Proviso in Congress?

Passed in the House but failed in the Senate, sparking a national debate over federal power to regulate slavery.

How did the Wilmot Proviso influence the Election of 1848?

It became a major issue, influencing candidates and public debate on slavery in new territories.

What was John C. Calhoun’s stance on slavery?

South Carolina Senator; called slavery a “positive good” (1837) and argued Congress had no right to ban slavery in territories.

What is popular sovereignty, and who proposed it?

Proposed by Democrat Lewis Cass (MI); it meant letting local voters decide on slavery in their territory.

Who were the main candidates in the 1848 presidential election and their results?

• Zachary Taylor (Whig): 163 electoral votes, 47.4% popular vote

• Lewis Cass (Democrat): 127 electoral votes, 42.5% popular vote

• Martin Van Buren (Free Soil): 0 electoral votes, 10.1% popular vote

Why were Southern slave owners concerned about new territories?

They feared losing political influence and the eventual abolition of slavery if new territories banned slavery.

What was Henry Clay’s role in the slavery debate?

Senator from Kentucky; crafted proposals to preserve the Union and settle slavery conflicts (after Missouri Compromise).

What were the main points of Henry Clay’s proposals (Compromise of 1850)?

• California admitted as a free state

• New Mexico & Utah: popular sovereignty

• Slave trade banned in D.C., but slavery legal

• Texas borders accepted for $10 million

• Enhanced Fugitive Slave Law

What did the new Fugitive Slave Law require?

Citizens had to help return runaway slaves; commissioners got $10 if the person was returned, $5 if freed.

Who supported Clay’s compromise and why?

Senator Daniel Webster argued it was the last chance to preserve the Union.

What was Calhoun’s objection to California’s admission?

California as a free state would break the balance of 15 free vs. 15 slave states; slave states feared losing influence.

How did Stephen Douglas help pass the Compromise of 1850?

Broke it into individual bills and built separate voting coalitions; signed into law by President Millard Fillmore.

Why did California grow quickly in 1848–49?

Gold discovered at Sutter’s Mill → Gold Rush; attracted hundreds of thousands of settlers (49ers).

What was the impact of Chinese immigration?

Thousands came to work, establishing the first Chinatown in San Francisco.

What were examples of Utopian or communal experiments?

• New Harmony, Indiana (1825–26): Robert Owen; failed

• Brook Farm, MA (1841–47): attracted writers like Hawthorne; failed

• Icarians (TX & IL, 1848–56): French socialists; failed

• Oneida Community, NY (1848–1880): survived, famous for silverware

What fueled these utopian experiments?

Available land, freedom, optimism, idealism.

Who were the Millerites?

Followers of Baptist preacher William Miller, believed Jesus would return 1843–44; sold possessions; some became Seventh-Day Adventists.

What was the Seneca Falls Convention (1848)?

First major organized women’s rights convention, led by Elizabeth Cady Stanton & Lucretia Mott, attended by Frederick Douglass. Discussed social, civil, and religious conditions of women.

What was the Declaration of Sentiments?

Modeled after the Declaration of Independence; declared all men and women are created equal.

What were some key resolutions at Seneca Falls?

• Laws harming women’s happiness are invalid

• Women shouldn’t be inferior to men

• Women are equal to men

• Women must fight for the right to vote

Who was Frederick Douglass and why was 1852 important?

Escaped slave, powerful abolitionist; gave “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” speech in Rochester, NY.

What were Douglass’ main points in the speech?

• July 4th is mockery to enslaved people

• America is false to its promises of liberty

• Fugitive Slave Law condemned

• Despite harsh reality, he remained hopeful that slavery would end

What was Uncle Tom’s Cabin, who wrote it, and when?

A novel published in 1852 by Harriet Beecher Stowe; it depicted the brutality of slavery and used narratives from former slaves.

How did Southerners react to Uncle Tom’s Cabin?

They claimed it was inaccurate and tried to ban it in some states, though it sold 300,000 copies in the first year and influenced opinion in Great Britain.

Who were the main characters in Uncle Tom’s Cabin?

• Uncle Tom: Christ-like, saintly, forgave his beaters

• Eliza: Escaped across the icy Ohio River with her child

• Simon Legree: Brutal overseer

What were the results of the 1852 presidential election?

• Democrat Franklin Pierce: 254 electoral votes, 50.8% popular vote, won 27 states

• Whig Winfield Scott: 42 electoral votes, 43.9% popular vote, won 4 states

• Free Soil Party: 0 electoral votes

• Last Whig presidential candidate; party later merged into Republican Party.

What was the Gadsden Purchase (1853)?

Added a strip of land from Mexico along the southern border of New Mexico Territory for railroad development.

Why did the U.S. send a fleet to Japan, and who led it?

To open trade, protect shipwrecked sailors, and gain coal/supplies; led by Commodore Matthew Perry.

• Fleet brought gifts: telescope, camera, telegraph, miniature railroad.

• Agreement signed: March 1854.

What was the Ostend Manifesto (1854)?

Proposed by three American diplomats in Europe to force Spain to sell Cuba to expand slavery.

• U.S. backed off after Spain threatened defense and the document leaked to press.

What did the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854) do?

• Prepared by Stephen Douglas

• Repealed Missouri Compromise (1821)

• Popular sovereignty would decide slavery in new territories

• Created Kansas and Nebraska

• Native Americans removed to Indian Territory (Oklahoma)

• Enabled a railroad link to Chicago

What was “Bleeding Kansas”?

Violence between pro-slavery and anti-slavery groups in Kansas.

• Pro-slavery “border ruffians” attacked Lawrence (1856)

• John Brown killed pro-slavery men at Pottawatomie Creek (1858)

• Two rival legislatures: Pro-slavery at Lecompton and anti-slavery at Topeka

• Kansas admitted as the 34th state on Jan 29, 1861

What happened in the Senate on May 22, 1856?

Preston Brooks (SC) beat Senator Charles Sumner (MA) with a cane in retaliation for Sumner’s speech insulting Brooks’ relative Andrew Butler.

• Sumner returned in June 1859 as a Radical Republican.

What were the results of the 1856 election?

• Democrat James Buchanan: 174 electoral votes, 45.3% popular vote (Northern Democrat with Southern sympathies)

• Republican John Fremont: 114 electoral votes, 33.1% popular vote

• American “Know Nothing” Party Millard Fillmore: 8 electoral votes, 21.53% popular vote

• Republicans formed in Ripon, WI, March 1854; anti-slavery coalition

• Know Nothings were anti-immigrant and anti-Catholic

What was the Dred Scott case (1857)?

• Dred Scott, a slave, sued for freedom after living in free states/territories

• Missouri court denied him; federal appeals upheld

• Supreme Court ruling (March 1857) by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney:

  • Blacks cannot be U.S. citizens

  • Scott had no legal standing to sue

  • Congress cannot regulate slavery in territories

  • Missouri Compromise declared unconstitutional

What was Justice Curtis’ dissent in Dred Scott?

Noted that free black men could vote in 5 states at the time of the Constitution; argued they were citizens of the U.S.

What happened to Dred Scott after the decision?

His former owners purchased freedom for him and his wife; Scott died within a year.

How did the North react to Dred Scott?

Many were shocked; slaveholders celebrated. The decision intensified the slavery debate.

What was the Lincoln-Douglas Debates (1858)?

Series of 7 debates for Illinois Senate race between Abraham Lincoln (Republican) and Stephen Douglas (Democrat) over slavery expansion and Dred Scott.

What was Lincoln’s “House Divided” speech?

• Government cannot endure half free, half slave

• Predicted the Union would eventually become all free or all slave

• Urged opponents of slavery to halt its expansion

What was Douglas’ stance in debates?

• Supported popular sovereignty

• Defended Dred Scott decision

• Argued citizenship should be only for white men

What was Lincoln’s response to Dred Scott?

Claimed it was improperly decided; opposed allowing slavery in territories; argued it should be reversed.