Coming of the Civil War

Lecture 1

• Lincoln Douglas debates of 1858

  • Republican party -

    • Getting more popular because of issues around violence with expansion of slavery.

      • Bleeding kansas, charles sumner attack, dred scott decision - all were turning interest towards freedom

      • Even moderates were wary about slavery expansion

    • They attack stephen douglas (big political figure of the democratic party). Douglas is vulnerable as popular sovereignty blows up in his face, so he is on the decline.

    • Lincoln is selected to run against douglas in 1858 midterms - want to capture power away from democrats

      • Lincoln at this time is a lawyer (good public speaking), from the frontier (swing votes from the west), very careful about how he feels about slavery - he considers it immoral, but wants to make compromises in congress.

    • Lincoln gets Douglas to declare his stance on slavery, who says slavery should thrive and become permanant in unincorporated terrirtories is decided to be legal there. He also does not believe in racial equality.

    • Douglas wins, but it sets his opinions out in the open for the presidential election of 1860.

• john brown - attack on harpers ferry

  • Brown would get a vision to raid the federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, Virignia and arm slaves to create an armed rebellion.

  • He gets backing from radical abolitonists in the new engalnd area and tells fredrick douglass, who tells him to calm down and not go through with the plan - Brown would do it anyway.

  • Brown and his co-conspiasors would meet and capture the arsenal and wait for runaway slaves to come to the area - however, word sent to nearby plantations wasn’t very strong, and not a lot of people came to harpers ferry.

  • The virginia militia, led by robert e lee, would be called to put down the rebellion, where most would be killed or captured.

  • Browns arrest and execution would make him a martyr for the abolitionist movement, with some comparing him to jesus.

  • Plantation owners become afraid of the support for Brown and worry hte plainfolk may overthrow the plantation system. It also got more moderates in the south to talk about succession.

• Democratic Convention of 1860

  • Current president, buchanan, is not very popular.

  • Stephen douglas is not popular with s. democrats because he doesn’t seem to be a supporter for slavery expansion.

  • Douglas is unable to get the needed two thirds of the vote for the nomination because the southern democrats do not want to vote for him, and they walk out of the convention because they feel so divided.

  • Because of this, the Republican party was able to sweep the election.

  • Stephen Douglas become the nominee for the NDs, and John C Breckenridge becomes the nominee for the SDs.

  • Lincoln is chosen for the Republicans.

  • Lincoln would ultimately win the presidency - basically gets no votes from the south.

Lecture 2

• After lincoln is elected, the republicans gain a lot of control - not only do they control the white house, but also the houses of congress. The south doesn’t want the dred scott decision reversed, and they feel like slaveholders don’t have a political voice anymore.

  • they enter into a dilemma called the slaveholders dilemma - they can leave the union and enter into conflict with the north, having fightso ccur in the south or they can remain in the union were there is a growing force of anti-slavery.

• The south ultimately decides to leave the union while Lincoln is getting ready to be inaugurated.

  • The states that left say themselves as being the true inheritors of the american revolution, but Linconl is not convined with any of their arugements.