Slavery Divides the Nation

Unit 8: Slavery Divides the Nation, 1820-1861

8.1 Conflicts and Compromises

• Learning Objectives:
  • Describe how the Missouri Compromise affected slavery.
  • Explain why conflict arose over the issue of slavery in western territories.
  • Identify why the Free-Soil party was founded.
  • Explain how the Compromise of 1850 tried to resolve the issue of slavery.
  • Summarize how Uncle Tom’s Cabin affected attitudes toward slavery.
• Key Terms:
  • Henry Clay
  • Missouri Compromise
  • Wilmot Proviso
  • Popular sovereignty
  • Free-Soil party
  • Secede
  • John C. Calhoun
  • Fugitives
  • Daniel Webster
  • Civil war
  • Compromise of 1850
  • Fugitive Slave Act
  • Uncle Tom’s Cabin
• Journal Prompt:
  • Considering the Founding Fathers' negative views of slavery, what political, social, and economic reasons were used to justify slavery in America?

Slavery in the Territories

• Key Questions:
  • What was the purpose of the Missouri Compromise?
  • Why did conflict arise over the issue of slavery in the western territories?
  • Why was the Free-Soil party founded?

Missouri Compromise

• In 1819, there was an equal balance of 11 free states and 11 slave states.
• Missouri's application to join the Union as a slave state threatened to upset this balance, potentially giving the South a majority in the Senate.
• Henry Clay proposed the Missouri Compromise (Compromise of 1820) to address this issue:
  • Missouri admitted as a slave state.
  • Maine admitted as a free state.
  • An imaginary line was drawn across the southern border of Missouri at latitude 36°30´N. Slavery was permitted in the Louisiana Purchase territory south of this line.

Sectional Balance

• A list of free and slave states is given, along with the year they joined the Union, to illustrate the sectional balance.
• Free States: Pennsylvania (1787), New Jersey (1787), Connecticut (1788), Massachusetts (1788), New Hampshire (1788), New York (1788), Rhode Island (1790), Vermont (1791), Ohio (1803), Indiana (1816), Illinois (1818), Maine (1820)
• Slave States: Delaware (1787), Georgia (1788), Maryland (1788), South Carolina (1788), Virginia (1788), North Carolina (1789), Kentucky (1792), Tennessee (1796), Louisiana (1812), Mississippi (1817), Alabama (1819), Missouri (1821)

Gone to Texas

• Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1823 and needed to populate its land.
• Mexico granted Stephen Austin a large tract of land to bring families into Texas.
  • Settlers were expected to become Catholic and "Mexicanized."
• Figures like Davey Crockett, Jim Bowie, and Sam Houston were involved.
• Differences between Texans and Mexicans:
  • In 1830, Mexico abolished slavery, which conflicted with the Texans' practices.
  • Mexicans were Catholic, while Texans were primarily Protestant.
• Texas declared independence in 1836, with Sam Houston as commander in chief.
• The Alamo: a battle where approximately 200 Texans were besieged by 6,000 Mexican soldiers.
• Texas's annexation to the United States was delayed (1836-1846) due to the slavery issue; admitting Texas would have meant adding another slave state.

The U.S.-Mexican War

• Causes:
  • Mexico's refusal to accept Texan independence and outrage over the U.S. annexation of Texas.
  • American resentment of Mexico's rejection of President Polk's offer to buy California and New Mexico.
  • A border dispute, with both nations claiming land between the Rio Grande and the Nueces River.
• The war led to Americans in northern California revolting against Mexican rule and declaring the Bear Flag Republic.
• The U.S. gained control of New Mexico and California.
• The Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo in 1848 ended the war.

The Issue of Slavery in the West

• The Problem:
  • The U.S. acquired a vast amount of land after the Mexican War.
  • The Missouri Compromise only applied to the Louisiana Purchase, not the new western lands.
• The Argument:
  • North: Congressman David Wilmot of Pennsylvania proposed the Wilmot Proviso, which called for a ban on slavery in any territories won from Mexico.
  • South: Southern leaders argued that Congress had no right to ban slavery in the West.
• The Outcome:
  • The House passed the Wilmot Proviso, but the Senate defeated it.

Other Views on Slavery in the West

• Abolitionists:
  • Slavery should be banned throughout the country because it is morally wrong.
• Southern slaveholders:
  • Slavery should be allowed in any territory, and slaves who escape to the North should be returned.
• Other views:
  • The Missouri Compromise line should be extended across the Mexican Cession.
  • States carved out of the Mexican Cession should decide the slavery issue by popular sovereignty.

The Founding of the Free-Soil Party

• In 1848, slavery became an important election issue for the first time.
• Many northern Democrats and Whigs opposed the spread of slavery but were hesitant to speak out due to fear of losing southern votes and splitting the nation.
• In 1848, antislavery members of both parties formed the Free-Soil party.
• The party’s main goal was to keep slavery out of the western territories.

The Compromise of 1850

• The slavery debate erupted again in 1850 due to:
  • California applied for statehood in 1849 as a free state, threatening the balance of free and slave states in the Senate (15 of each).
• Key Figures in the Senate Debate:
  • Henry Clay: Urged the North and South to reach an agreement to prevent the nation from breaking apart.
  • John C. Calhoun: Refused to compromise and demanded slavery be allowed in the western territories and that fugitive slaves be returned to their owners.
  • Daniel Webster: Believed slavery was evil but preserving the Union was more important and supported the return of fugitive slaves to avoid civil war.
• Terms of the Compromise of 1850:
  • California admitted as a free state.
  • Upholds popular sovereignty in New Mexico and Utah territories concerning slavery.
  • Settles Texas/New Mexico border dispute (Texas paid 10 million).
  • Bans the slave trade in Washington, D.C.
  • Includes Fugitive Slave Act.

Impact of the Compromise of 1850

• Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 Provisions:
  • All citizens were required to help catch runaway slaves, regardless of state laws.
  • People who helped fugitives escape faced fines of 1,000 (approximately 30k today) and jail time.
  • Special courts would handle cases of runaways without jury trials.
  • Blacks could not testify in their own defense.
  • Judges received 10$for sending an accused runaway to the South and$5$$ for setting someone free.
• Response to the Fugitive Slave Act:
  • Some judges sent African Americans to the South regardless of whether they were runaways.
  • The act incited antislavery northerners and increased tensions.

Consequences of the Fugitive Slave Act

• Prigg v. Pennsylvania (1842):
  • Ruled Pennsylvania law unconstitutional, stating states could not nullify federal law regarding fugitive slaves due to Article IV of the U.S. Constitution.
  • However, state officials were not required to assist in enforcing the Fugitive Slave Act.

The Christiana Riot:

*   In 1851, Edward Gorsuch attempted to reclaim escaped slaves working on a farm in Lancaster County, PA.
*   The confrontation resulted in Gorsuch's death and a subsequent trial.
*   A Quaker farmer charged with treason for assisting the escaped slaves was acquitted (jury nullification).
*   The event increased tensions between the North and South.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

• Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote the novel to depict the evils of slavery and the injustice of the Fugitive Slave Act.
• The novel's vivid depiction of the cruel treatment of enslaved African Americans helped to stir antislavery sentiment.
• Northern Reaction: more Northerners viewed slavery as a moral problem facing every American
• Southern Reaction: Southerners claimed the book did not accurately portray the life of a slave.
• Lincoln's meeting with HBS in 1862, “So you’re the little woman that wrote the book that made this great war.”

8.2 Growing Tensions

• Learning Objectives:
  • Identify the goals and outcomes of the Kansas-Nebraska Act.
  • Summarize the impact of the Dred Scott case on the nation.
  • Explain why the Republican Party was founded.
  • Explain the rapid emergence of Abraham Lincoln as a Republican Party leader.
  • Describe the reaction to John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry.
• Key Terms:
  • Kansas-Nebraska Act
  • Border Ruffians
  • Guerrilla warfare
  • Lawsuit
  • Dred Scott v. Sandford
  • Arsenal
  • Treason
  • Martyr

The Kansas-Nebraska Act

• Provisions:
  • Divided the Nebraska Territory into two territories: Kansas and Nebraska.
  • Settlers in each territory would decide the issue of slavery by popular sovereignty (the idea that people should vote directly on issues).
• Arguments For:
  • The act was seen as fair because the Compromise of 1850 had applied popular sovereignty in New Mexico and Utah.
  • Southerners hoped slave owners from Missouri would move into Kansas and make it a slave state.
• Arguments Against:
  • The Missouri Compromise already banned slavery in Kansas and Nebraska.
  • The Kansas-Nebraska Act would overturn the Missouri Compromise.

Violence Erupts in Kansas

• Kansas settlers were to decide the slavery issue by popular sovereignty.

• Pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers fought for control of Kansas.

• Abolitionists brought in settlers from New England.

• Pro-slavery bands from Missouri (Border Ruffians) often rode across the border into Kansas.

• In 1855, Kansas held elections. Border Ruffians voted illegally, helping to elect a pro-slavery legislature.

• Anti-slavery settlers refused to accept the legislature and elected their own governor and legislature. Kansas had two governments.

  • Abolitionist John Brown led a band to Pottawatomie Creek (May 24, 1856)

    • He, his sons, and others dragged 5 unsuspecting proslavery settlers shot and hacked them. The killings at Pottawatomie Creek led to more violence.

Kansan-Nebraska - Lecompton Constitution

• In order to keep the free-soilers from creating a free state (thousands of settlers moving in), the pro-slavery politicians created the Lecompton Constitution.
  This document stated that the people were not allowed to vote for or against the constitution as a whole
  rather, they could vote on whether the constitution would be “with slavery” or “without slavery.”

• If slavery was voted against, then one of the provisions in the constitution would protect those who already owned slaves in Kansas.

• Many free-soilers boycotted voting, so the pro-slaveryites voted, approving the constitution to include slavery.

• Presidents Pierce and then Buchannan supported

Violence Erupts in the Senate

• Charles Sumner of Massachusetts was the leading abolitionist senator.
• In one speech, he denounced the pro-slavery legislature of Kansas and viciously criticized his southern foes, especially Senator Andrew Butler of South Carolina.
• Three days later, Butler’s nephew, Congressman Preston Brooks, beat Sumner with his cane until he was unconscious.
• The South cheered and sent Brooks canes in tribute to his “elegant and effective caning.”

The Dred Scott Case

• What was the Dred Scott Case?

  • Dred Scott filed a lawsuit to dispute between people or groups.

  • Dred Scott had been enslaved in Missouri.

  • He moved with his owner to Illinois and then to the Wisconsin Territory, where slavery was not allowed.

  • Scott with his owner returned to Missouri. When his owner died, Scott claimed that because he had lived in a free territory, he had become a free man.

  • The case reached the Supreme Court as Dred Scott v. Sandford.

• What did the Supreme Court decide?

  • Scott could not file a lawsuit by an enslaved person, he was not a citizen.
  • Slaves were considered to be property because the Fifth Amendment forbade Congress from depriving people of their property without the due process of law.

The Court went further and stated that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional

White Southerns Reaction on Dred Scott Case

• White southerners were overjoyed because slavery was legal in all territories.
• African American Northerners Reaction : condemned the ruling and asked whites to join their efforts to end slavery.
• White Northerns Reaction: Northern were shocked because slavery could spread.

Dred Scott v. Sandford

• Dred Scott, a slave who had lived with his master (residence in Missouri) for 5 years in Illinois and Wisconsin Territory, sued after the death of his owner for his freedom on the basis of his long residence on free soil.
  Roger Taney wrote for the majority stating that Scott had no standing before the court

Dred Scott - Fifth Amendment

• The Fifth Amendment forbade Congress from depriving people of their property without the due process of law.
  • The Court went further and stated that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional and that Congress had no power to ban slavery from the territories, no matter what the territorial legislatures themselves wanted.

The Republican Party Emerges

• Who formed the Republican Party?
  • A group of Free-Soilers, northern Democrats, and antislavery Whigs
• Why did they form a new party?
  • They believed that neither the Whigs nor the Democrats would take a strong enough stand against slavery.
• What was the goal of the party?
  • Its main goal was to keep slavery out of the western territories. A few Republicans hoped to end slavery in the South as well.

How Abraham Lincoln Became Leader

• Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky and opened a store in Illinois. He studied law and entered politics.
• He served eight years in the state legislature and one term in Congress.
• He opposed the Kansas-Nebraska Act, so he ran for the Senate in 1858.
• During the Senate campaign, he debated Stephen Douglas seven times. Lincoln: Slavery is wrong, Slavery should not extend to the territories.
  Douglas: The slavery question should be settled by popular sovereignty.

Great Debate: Lincoln versus Douglas

• Lincoln challenged Douglas to a series of seven debates that were arranged from August to October 1858.
  The most famous debate came at Freeport, Illinois. Lincoln asked Douglas, "What if the people of a territory should vote down slavery?"

Republican - Freeport Doctrine

• Douglas's reply to him became known as the "Freeport Doctrine." Douglas argued that no matter how the Supreme Court ruled, slavery would stay down if the people voted it down. Laws to protect slavery would have to be voted on by the territorial legislatures. Douglas won the senatorial election, but Lincoln won the popular vote.

Impact - John Brown’s Raid

• In 1859, John Brown planned to raid a federal arsenal, or gun warehouse to inspire a slave uprising, but none took place.
• He was tried for murder and treason, or actions against one’s country, but gave a moving defense of his actions. He was found guilty and sentenced to death. John Brown was hanged.
• To many northerners, John Brown became a martyr because he was willing to give up his life for his beliefs; however, white southerners were outraged at the northern response.

8.3 Division and the Outbreak of War

• Learning Objectives:
  • Identify how the 1860 election reflected sectional differences.
  • Explain why southern states seceded from the Union following the election of 1860.
  • Identify how the Civil War began in 1861.
  • Describe the strengths and weaknesses of the North and South as the war began.
  • Identify the leaders of each side in the war.
• Key Terms:
  • Unamendable
  • Jefferson Davis
  • Border states
  • Martial law
  • Robert E. Lee

The Disruption of the Democrats

• For the election of 1860, the Democrats met in Charleston, South Carolina to choose their candidate.

The Southern Democrats

• Met in Baltimore to choose their own Democratic presidential candidate
• Chose vice-president John C. Breckenridge.
• The Constitutional Union Party was formed by former (conservative) Whigs, Know-Nothings, and some southern Democrats.
• Nominated John Bell as their presidential candidate

A Rail-Splitter Splits the Union

• The Republican Party met in Chicago and nominated Abraham Lincoln as their presidential candidate.

The Electoral Upheaval of 1860

• Abraham Lincoln won the election of 1860, but he did not win with the popular vote.
  Southern states didn't even allow Lincoln to appear on the ballot.