Heimler APUSH TP 5.6

Introduction

Welcome back to Heimler’s History – Unit 5 of AP U.S. History.
Previously covered the Compromise of 1850, which temporarily eased tensions over slavery.
Present focus: failures of political compromise regarding slavery.

Multiple attempts at compromise ultimately failed.
Key factor: westward expansion led to new territories, reigniting the slavery debate.

Introduced by Senator Stephen Douglas of Illinois.
Proposed dividing the northern section of the Louisiana Purchase into two: Kansas and Nebraska Territories.
Each territory could decide on the slavery issue through popular sovereignty (residents would vote to allow or disallow slavery).
Overturned the Compromise of 1820, which had prohibited slavery in this region.

Enraged Northerners who were committed to the Compromise of 1820.
Led to violence in Kansas, known as Bleeding Kansas, between pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions.
In 1855, elections for the Kansas legislature revealed voter fraud: over 6,000 votes cast when only about 1,500 men could legally vote.
Pro-slavery Missourians crossed the border to cast illegal votes, establishing a pro-slavery government in Kansas.
Resulted in two rival legislatures:
- Pro-slavery constitution in Lecompton, supported by President Franklin Pierce.
- Anti-slavery constitution in Topeka, which denied the legitimacy of the pro-slavery government.

Case of Dred Scott, a man enslaved in Missouri, taken by his master to free territories (Illinois and Wisconsin).
Scott sued for his freedom based on residence in these free areas.

Chief Justice Roger Taney delivered the majority decision:
- Scott was not a citizen and thus could not sue.
- Congress could not deprive citizens of property (slaves considered property).
- Result: Slave owners could bring enslaved individuals into any territory, effectively open to slavery.
This decision escalated national tensions and moved the nation closer to civil war.

The Whig Party was divided by the Kansas-Nebraska Act into:
- Cotton Whigs: pro-slavery faction.
- Conscience Whigs: anti-slavery faction.
Ultimately led to the disintegration of the party.

Strengthened as a regional pro-slavery party due to the divisions.
Opposition to the Democrats emerged in the form of a newly formed Republican Party in 1854.
- Unified abolitionists, free soilers, Know Nothings, and former Whigs against expansion of slavery.
Republicans aimed to prevent the spread of slavery into new territories, not necessarily to abolish it.

Republican success in 1858 midterm elections sparked fear among Southerners.
The potential election of a Republican president in 1860 could threaten Southern interests and slavery.

Understanding the failures of these compromises helps clarify the tensions leading to the Civil War.
Stay tuned for the next video on the 1860 election to further unpack the causes of division.