3. The Road to the Civil War: Sectional Discord in the 1850s

1846 Sectional Rift

The first major sectional division occurred during debates over the Mexican War funding bill.

Wilmot Proviso

A proposed amendment banning slavery in any territory acquired from Mexico.

Outcome of the Wilmot Proviso

It was defeated but highlighted growing national division over the expansion of slavery.

Popular Sovereignty

The policy of letting settlers in a territory decide the issue of slavery.

Lewis Cass

The 1848 Democratic presidential candidate who advocated for popular sovereignty.

Zachary Taylor

The Whig candidate and Mexican War hero who won the presidency in 1848.

California Gold Rush (1849)

A massive population influx that allowed California to bypass the territorial stage for statehood.

Southern Opposition to California Statehood

Southerners feared California entering as a free state would upset the congressional balance.

Henry Clay

An aging Whig senator from Kentucky known for orchestrating major political compromises.

Death of Zachary Taylor

His sudden death in July 1850 broke the political impasse over compromise legislation.

Stephen Douglas

The Illinois congressman who passed the Compromise of 1850 by splitting it piecemeal.

Compromise of 1850: California

California was admitted to the Union as a free soil state.

Compromise of 1850: Southwest Territories

Slavery in the remaining Mexican Session was left to popular sovereignty.

Compromise of 1850: Washington, D.C.

The slave trade was officially abolished in the nation's capital.

Compromise of 1850: Fugitive Slaves

The federal government established a strict, active Fugitive Slave Law.

Antebellum

A term literally translating to 'before the war.'

Douglas's Railroad Goal

Stephen Douglas wanted a transcontinental railroad with its eastern terminus in Chicago.

Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)

Legislation that applied popular sovereignty to the Kansas and Nebraska territories.

Repeal of the Missouri Compromise

The Kansas-Nebraska Act directly overturned the 1820 Missouri Compromise line.

Sam Houston's Opposition

The Texas Senator opposed the Kansas-Nebraska Act to prevent the Union from fracturing.

Collapse of the Whig Party

The Kansas-Nebraska Act split Northern and Southern Whigs, destroying the party.

Birth of the Republican Party

Formed in Ripon, Wisconsin, by northern Whigs opposing the expansion of slavery.

GOP

A nickname for the Republican Party meaning 'Grand Old Party.'

Bleeding Kansas

The violent conflict between pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers in Kansas Territory.

John Brown

A radical abolitionist who led a deadly anti-slavery massacre in Kansas.

Brooks-Sumner Affair

South Carolina Representative Preston Brooks beat Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner with a cane.