The Sectional Crisis

Manifest Destiny and Compromises

  • Manifest Destiny played a significant role in the lead-up to the Civil War.
  • Compromises attempted to address the issue of slavery and maintain balance:
    • 1787: No slavery north of the Ohio River was permitted.
    • The goal was to maintain a balance between slave and free states.
    • 1817: Missouri Compromise.
  • Events that heightened tensions:
    • Mexican-American War.
    • Revolutions of 1848 in Europe.
    • Irish Famine led to increased immigration.
  • Western territories became a focal point of conflict.
  • The key questions were:
    • How to solve domestic problems?
    • How to address immigration?
    • The overarching issue: Slavery.

Northern and Southern Divisions

  • Divisions existed within:
    • Political parties: Whigs and Democrats.
    • Churches, influenced by the Second Great Awakening.
    • New religious movements emerged (e.g., Seventh Day Adventist, Latter Day Saints).
    • 1844: Methodist Episcopal Church split.
    • 1845: Southern Baptists formed.
    • 1861: Presbyterian Church divided.

Abolitionists

  • Abolitionists advocated against slavery, but differed on goals:
    • Some were anti-slavery.
    • Some were anti-racism.
    • Some sought equality.
  • Methods employed:
    • William Lloyd Garrison (1805-1879): Published "The Liberator."
    • Sarah and Angelina Grimké: Daughters of a slaveowner, also involved in the women’s movement.
    • Harriet Beecher Stowe: Wrote "Uncle Tom’s Cabin."
    • Sojourner Truth: Abolitionist and women's rights advocate.
    • Harriet Tubman: Conductor on the Underground Railroad.
    • Frederick Douglass: Wrote his autobiography and published "The North Star."

Sectional Crisis 1848

  • 1848: Wisconsin Statehood.
  • Whig political failures, particularly under Zachary Taylor.
  • Rise of the Free Soil Party.
  • Seneca Falls Convention (women's rights).
  • The California Problem (1850):
    • Compromise of 1850: California admitted as a free state.
    • Southern demanded to increase slavery.
    • The Fugitive Slave Act was enacted.
    • Kansas-Missouri Wars (