(2) Attempts to maintain the Union, c1845–1854

politics pre and post compromise, railways, Cuba and Central America

whig and dem brief overview

Whig party = party of business

Democrat party = party of workers and immigrants

immigration

Large numbers of Irish (around the time of the potato famine, potatoes were the primary food of the Irish and led to mass starvation) and German immigrants arriving in the 1850s. Population in 1850 was 9 million, this was 6 million by 1860 (1 million died from famine, 2 million immigrated). Progressive Germans who favoured revolution also decided to immigrate to the US. People who came to the US looked for freedom and economic opportunities. This grew the Democrat party.

2.9 million European immigrants between 1845 and 1854 - Irish and German catholics. Settled in the urban areas of the eastern seaboard and Midwest. Strong discontent for these people from protestants who competed with immigrants for jobs, resented their social drinking habits, allegiance to the Pope and the Catholic connection to the Old World of aristocracy and poverty.

Economic condition of America 1852

America is prospering - morale is high. 1840s economy recovering from a depression, by 1852 it was expanding. 

dem party split

The Democrat Party had a split in the late 1840s with key figures (such as Van Buren) leaving to establish the Free-Soil Party but by 1852, Van Buren returned to the Democrat Party and so did his supporters.

1852 dem candidate

At the Democratic Convention, they chose Franklin Pierce as their Presidential elect. An unlikely choice. He is from New Hampshire. Struggles with alcoholism. Friendly with Southerners. Good looking, charismatic. Southerners like him (Governor Brown says he is reliable like ‘Calhoun’, essentially saying he will support the South and defend slavery). He is a dough face – supportive of a Southern view of the slave question. Also, fought in the Mexican War. He has a national appeal whether through his military past or his Northern heritage or his Southern sympathy

dem party stance on compromise

The Democrat party sold on the idea of popular sovereignty. Are for the compromise

whig party candidate 1852

The Whig Party meets in Baltimore. The two Whig candidates are Millard Fillmore (85% of Southern delegates are in favour of supporting Fillmore) and Winfield Scott. William Seward hates Millard and champions Winfield Scott, he was a general and a national figure. Scott was from Virginia (South). This would be smart as the Whigs were a mostly Northern party and a candidate that appealed to the South could attract Southern votes. 95% of Northern delegates favour Winfield Scott. Scott is also a friend of William Seward which hurts his support as Seward was an abolitionist. This would not help Southern support. However, this can’t be solved by expressing support for the compromise or he threatens to lose the support of conscience whigs completely. A letter suggesting he is not completely for the compromise is published.

whig party stance on compromise

Pledge to ‘acquiesce in’ with the compromise. This is a weak support.

Georgia platform

Georgia’s conditional acceptance of the Compromise - The Georgia platform says that the fugitive slave law must be followed and respected.

Scott lack of support

Winfield Scott knows that he has to attract Northern votes with anti-slavery ideology which has grown massively in the North. Scott is also a friend of Seward who advises him to express anti-slavery sentiment by not giving firm support to the Compromise. This sends the message to the south that Scott was not going to support the Compromise and so would not uphold the Fugitive Slave Law. Furthermore, the Georgia Platform says that the FSL must be followed and respected. This leads to Scott haemorrhaging votes in the South.

Steven, Toombs and Halcroft (who framed the Georgia platform)  are suspicious of Winfield Scott. Refuse to support him.

pierce background info

Firm support of the Compromise of 1850.

Becomes a Senator for New Hampshire in 1847 and immediately falls under the sway of a group of Southern politicians.

Pierce is a dough-face. A northerner who keeps Southern interests at heart; many of his friends are Southerners.

how did pierce harness optimism?

The Democrat Party also displays an attitude of optimism. America was in a good place at this point, the economy was booming due to the discovery of Gold most notably in California and trade was increasing due to the pressure the Crimean War put on manufacturers in Europe so people turned to America. Furthermore there seemed to be vast amounts of opportunity in the West. There is an increase in nationalism and the ‘manifest destiny’ mindset. Americans feel entitled to Westward Expansion as they are hardworking, democratic people. Pierce is able to harness this.

1852 election result

The Democrat Party wins the election with Pierce getting 51% of the vote. Majority of the country are in favour of the Democrat Party and Pierce. He won 27 states and 254 electoral college votes. He is the most successful elect in both the North and th eSouth. Scott gets 44% of the vote. He carries 4 states, 2 in the North and 2 in the South with 42 electoral college votes. This could be attributed to the third party - Free Soil Party.

whig party death

This stuns the Whigs. Led to the conclusion that the Whig Party is dead. If they cannot get office then the party is a waste of time and money. 1852 is the last year the Whig Party fights a Presidential Election in the South; it is in a state of dissolution. It continues to function in the North but by 1856, it was dead too. In the 11 states of the Confederacy, no whigs win Governor and they only win 14 out of 65 congressional seats. 

The South does not have a 2 Party system, they are united by the Democrat Party and influential Whigs move to the Democrat Party as that was the only viable Party in the South.

1850-52 elections in the south

Unionists defeated secessionists

rise of abolitionist victories in north 1850-2

The North in this period saw a rise in success for anti-slavery politicians e.g. Charles Summner. They usually criticised the idea of a ‘slave power’ which was essentially wealthy plantation owners.

Chase (Ohio) and Charles Summner (Mass) elected. From different parties. Abolitionism is not a party issue.

Franklin pierce breaking promises

Franklin Pierce sped up his ascendency by offering lots of favours. He does not fulfil all of these once he comes into office. This culminates in resentment.

Franklin Pierce broke his campaign promise to uphold national unity by supporting the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which reignited sectional conflict over slavery and undermined the Compromise of 1850.

Pierce appointments

Pierce assigns William Marcy to Secretary of State from NY. New York is connected to the South through investment, transport and the garment industry. The people are more anti-slavery but the economy is closely connected to the South. 

He also assigns Jefferson Davis (who has a lot of influence on Pierce) to Secretary of War (a part of a group of War heroes from the war with Mexico). He comes from Mississippi. 

Many foreign dignitaries Pierce appoints are Southerners. Pierce’s Cabinet rears strongly Southern despite winning on a national ticket.

pierce and Douglas

He does not give any patronage to Douglas or anyone associated with him. This was a poor move as Pierce would have no control over Douglas and perhaps give him incentive for vengeance. If Douglas saw he had no opportunity to make a mark within Pierce’s administration then he would do it outside of it. He is desperate to demonstrate his credentials to be a presidential candidate going forward.

railroads

1853-54 idea of drawing America together. The country had become disjointed especially due to its continental size. Large parts of Middle America are largely unorganised and uninhabited. There needs to be a way to tie the two coasts together. This led to the idea of a trans-continental railway. Southerners want the terminus to be in the South (New Orleans) and Northerners want it in the North (Chicago). The middle is in Missouri (St. Louis).

issue with Chicago route

to get to San Francisco they must pass through unorganised land so the federal government would have to establish new territories.

Gadsden purchase

not an obvious territorial route for the railway to go unless the US buys land from Mexico along the Gila River. The US bought 29000 square miles of territory in 1853.

railway appointments

Jefferson Davis is responsible for surveying and creating maps for possible routes of a Southern route. 

This angers Stephen Douglas who was senator of Illinois. He makes a lot of money by speculative purchasing of land for a route from Chicago. He pushes for a Northern route. Douglas wants to make his mark by a Northern trans-continental railway. This is not only a move for national politics but also state politics. If the railway begins in Chicago then the state will profit off it massively. This will secure the place of Democrats in Chicago. And probably help his presidential ambitions.

kansas-nebraska northern route

To get a Northern route then the lands of Nebraska and Kansas need to be organised as no railway country will buy land there as it is not secure. The Federal gov needs to establish it as a territory as then there will be a land office where land can be legitimately bought and sold.

Stephen Douglas influence of territories

The Chairman of the Committee of Territories in the Senate is Stephen Douglas. This puts him in a position to convince Congress to allow for the organisation of these lands. He will face opposition from Southerners who want a Southern railway route and overall, he is generally unlikeable.

support for Douglas bill

Senator Atchinson from Missouri. Involved in a re-election campaign with Thomas Hart Benton. He tells Douglas that he will support his bill if slavery is allowed into Kansas and Nebraska. This kills the bill.

However Douglas returns to Congress, ready to go on. 

The Bill should have had no chance. Nebraska and Kansas was above the latitude 36 30 and so slavery could not be introduced there

Douglas OG bill

The bill was first published on the 4th of January 1854 with no mentions to the institution of slavery. On the 10th of January he republishes the bill, citing ‘clerical errors’ led to an omission of an additional section - ‘...all questions pertaining to slavery in the territories, and in the new states to be formed therefrom are to be left to the people residing therein, through their appropriate representatives’. Essentially popular sovereignty. Douglas has taken this from the 1850 Compromise, he is taking something specific into a general principle. It is an intelligent way to play both sides. 

Douglas OG bill response

Archibald Cox on the 16th of January introduced an amendment to repeal the Missouri Compromise. If Douglas really wants this bill he must make this happen.

Douglas revised bill

A revised bill was presented to the Senate on January 23rd which divided Nebraska into 2 territories. Kansas - adjacent to Missouri. Nebraska - adjacent to Iowa. The idea to his Southerners that one would be a slave state (Kansas as it borders a slave state) and one would be a free state (Nebraska as it borders a free state). To Northerners he talks about the particular climate slave crops need (wet and hot) which is not what Nebraska can provide. Therefore, slave owners wouldn't be inclined to take their slaves in large numbers as it wouldn’t be profitable. The real barriers to slavery aren’t legal, they are geographical and climatological. There is no need to antagonise the South and bar them as it won’t happen anyways. It also explicitly repealed the Missouri Compromise.

who does Douglas need support from to get this through?

he must get the support of the President who is the Democrat Party Leader and many politicians need to be heavily steered towards repeal as the Missouri Compromise was almost embedded into the constitution at this point.

convincing pierce

On the 22nd of January a number of Southern senators visited White House. Northern democrats like Cass and his Secretary of State advise the President to not support the bill. Southern senators called the F.Street Mess convinced Pierce to support it. Pierce signs a statement that says the Missouri Compromise had been ‘superseded by the principles of the legislation of 1850, commonly called the Compromise measure and is hereby declared inoperative and void’

Missouri compromise importance to the north

The Missouri Compromise is seen by the North as almost a part of the constitution and is an incredibly important principle. Northerners are extremely attached to it. It is a demonstration that Congress does have the power about slavery in the West. 

Pierce has to use great amounts of patronage to subdue and cajole senators to get this bill through. Northern Democrats are very nervous about this bill as if this bill got passed they could lose their seats.

Douglas bill result

By the 30th of May it has become the law because the Pierce whitehouse uses its weight to push it through. Pierce was convinced by the F Street Mess; Jefferson Davis etc; senior figures of the Democrat Party.

northern democrats split in favour by 44 to 42, all 45 northern whigs opposed

southern democrats voted in favour 57 to 2, whigs by 12 to 7

Douglas bill opposition

Charles Summner requests a delay to go over the bill. He gathers a group of like-minded/anti-slavery Northerners. On the 19th of January they published a document called ‘An Appeal to the Independent Democrats’. This group doesn’t really exist. They are encouraging some democrats to become independent and not bow down to Pierce’s pressure. They are also trying to appeal to other Northerns with any political affiliation who are opposed to the expansion of slavery. 

Douglas bill public consequence

The politics spills out into the public domain. It generates a large amount of heat and leaves Northerners feeling like the Democrat party has been captured by Southern interests

filibusters + Fillmore

Filibusters from Louisiana and Mississippi to land an armed expedition of Cuba in order to take over with the help of Cuban planters. This is financed by wealthy planters from the South. They are unsuccessful with one filibuster being arrested and executed by Cuban authorities

Millard Filmore, the then president, was put under pressure to take action. He refuses to do so on the grounds that filibustering is illegal. Filmore’s reputation suffers from this.

pierce stance on Cuba and Central America

In 1853 Pierce came into office with a message that America will be unconstrained by other forces.

why was Britain not much of an issue ATP

By 1853 Britain went to war with Russia. Not in a position to deter American ambitions.

William walker

from Tennessee (southerner). Journalist. In the early 1850s travels across the continent to California in search of gold, adventure and a new life. Whilst in California he contracts an ambition to head South and to establish an independent Southern California Republic. They are ejected by the Mexican army.

why does America feel entitled to South America?

Americans felt entitled to South America due to religion. Idea that God gave them a range of talents that we should cultivate and use. Hard work is a form of prayer; thanking God for the talents he gave you. Link between protestantism and capitalism. Mexicans are Catholic. Protestants see Catholics as self-indulgent, lazy 

William walker 1853

has the idea of going to Central America and establishing a Republic of Nicaragua.

William walker result 1853

comes into conflict with both the British and other republics. Nicaragua has a claim to a coastline on the Isthmus (the Mosquito Coast) which was extremely important as it had a river that allowed for great travel through Central America all the way to the Pacific. This allowed for much quicker and easier travel than crossing the American continent. The British do not want William Walker and America seizing control of this. Walker starts to call for assistance. He finds support in deep South states like Louisiana etc; they see Central America as an opportunity to expand slavery. The climate and soil is better, especially for cotton. Walker is no longer a national hero as Northerners see him as an agent of the South to expand slavery. Ultimately, he is forced out of Nicaragua.

Cuba

similarly attractive to Southerners. It is only 90 miles South of Florida. It grew many cash crops like sugar and cotton. It seemed like the perfect place to expand. Previous Cuban-American tension due to a filibuster that seeked to overthrow the Cuban government.

legislation surrounding Cuba + why is this problematic?

Senator John Slidell from Louisiana: sponsors a bill on the appropriation of Cuba. This is problematic as Cuba is a colony of Spain and is protected by the British. An overly aggressive policy towards Cuba could lead to a larger war.

Ostend Manifesto

Pierre Soule, James Buccanan and James Mason (all Southerners) engage in trying to pressure Spain and Britain to allow the USA to take control of Cuba. They meet in October 1854 and comprise the Ostend Manifesto - a bid by America to buy Cuba (up to $120 million dollars to the Spanish government) but it also says that if the Spanish do not accept this offer then the American government might feel pressured to respond militarily.

ostend manifesto international response

The British government tells the Spanish government that if they buckle they will put pressure on them by forcing them to pay back some loans.

The gov of Cuba are also unwilling to give in and begin a programme of encouraging the abolition of slavery in Cuba (slavery was an appeal for the deep South) and actively encourages the intermarriage of different racial groups.

In the South (which is not far from Cuba), these ideas seem incredibly dangerous. This worries that this could trigger a rebellion in the Deep South. 

ostend manifesto national response

When the Ostend Manifesto is published by the New York Herald. Northern Democrats are pushed to scrutinise the idea of ‘Manifest Destiny’ as just an alias of slavery expansion and violence. This one national campaign has become tainted and sectional. America seemed to succumb to the level of Old European powers by bullying a small country like Cuba. 

The Democrat party becomes increasingly more fragmented with the party seeming like it is managed only for the interests of the slave power. American expansionism seems to be driven by the South and only for their own personal gain.

native Americans

Most Anglo-Americans feel a great disdain toward native americans. They do not consider them civilised. They live amongst the wilderness and nature. They do not believe in land ownership. They tend to be transient and move with buffaloes which are the primary source of clothes and food. Anglo-Americans exploit the land by stripping it of its natural materials and profit off of it. This gives them material prosperity with commodities that they can buy and sell. They believe the native americans don’t do anything with their land so they don’t deserve it.