Lesson 1: Slavery and Western Expansion. The war opened vast new lands to American settlers. The...

Lesson 1: Slavery and Western Expansion

The war opened vast new lands to American settlers. The land increase led to an increased debate over whether slavery should expand westward. President Polk didnt believe that slavery would be an issue because he felt that the environment was not suitable for plantation lifestyle (He was a southern slave owner).

August 1846: Democrat Representative from PA. who proposed a new piece of legislature. Proposed that in any territory the U.S. gained in Mexican War Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall ever exist. Results: 1. Southerners were outraged with it. 2. Northern Democrats and Whigs passed it in the House but the Senate refuses to vote on it.

Proposed by Calhoun (SC) to counter Wilmot Proviso. He argued that the states owned the territories and Congress had no right to ban slavery. Congress refused to consider resolutions. Calhoun predicted political revolution, anarchy, and civil war would surely erupt if southern demands were not met.

The slavery issue had divided the country along sectional lines (N Against S). Popular Sov: Idea where the citizens of each new territory would decide whether to permit slavery or not. Proposed by Michigan Senator Lewis Cass. Many Members of Congress liked the idea because it removed the slavery question from national politics (Democratic Process).

Candidates from 3 parties campaigned. 1. Free Soil Party: Nominated Martin Van Buren, supported Wilmot Proviso. 2. Democrats: Nominated Lewis Cass, supported Popular Sovereignty. 3. Whig Party: Nominated Zachary Taylor who ran on his military achievements. Taylor wins a close election.

California Gold Rush (1848): The discovery of gold brought thousands of new settlers to CA. 49ers: Name given to the miners in CA gold fields. December 1849: California applied for statehood as a free state. Results: The gold rush forced the nation to debate the slavery issue once again.

If CA. became a free state it would upset the balance in the Senate. Southerners feared they would lose political power and limits would be placed on slavery expansion. Southerners started to again talk of secession. Henry Clay (The Great Compromiser): Early 1850 he proposed 8 resolutions to save the Union. Concessions would be needed by both the north and south.

1. CA would be a free state and the rest of Mexican Cession would have popular sovereignty. 2. Texas/ New Mexico border dispute was solved favoring NM. 3. The slave trade was abolished in the DC. 4. Congress could not interfere with domestic slave trade. 5. Promise of a stricter Fugitive Slave Law (Escaped slaves). Clays proposal sparked a massive debate.

Senator John C. Calhoun (SC) was on his death bed and was unable to address Senate. He prepared a speech (given by a fellow Senator) that asserted that the Northern states agitation towards slavery threatened to destroy the South. If the South couldnt live within the Union, secession was the only honorable solution.

Daniel Webster (MA) spoke in response to Calhouns threat of secession. He asks the Senate to put national unity ahead of sectional differences. He believed that Clays plan was the only way to save the Union.

President Taylor opposed Clays Compromise. Unexpectedly Taylor dies and is succeeded by VP Millard Fillmore who supports the compromise. Senator Stephen Douglas (IL): He divided the large compromise into smaller bills for Senate approval. Fall 1850: Compromise was passed but was not a permanent solution.

Harriet Beecher Stowe: Author who published a book which presented slaves as real people imprisoned in a dreadful situation. Her account changed the Northern outlook of slavery. Southerners tried to have the novel banned and accused Stowe of writing falsehoods. The book sold millions of copies and swayed public opinion. Many view this as a cause of the Civil War (Created more tension).

Any African American accused of being a runaway was arrested and brought to a federal commissioner. A sworn statement by a white citizen stating that the captive had escaped was all that was needed to send a slave south. African Americans accused of being runaways had no right for a trial and could not testify. Whites who refused to testify or help were jailed. The act created hostility towards slavery in the north. Newspaper accounts of illegal seizures of African Americans made many increasingly angry.

Frederick Douglas spoke out against the Fugitive Slave Act. He helped persuade many Northerners to fight against the institution of slavery. Antislavery activists encouraged civil disobedience against slavery on moral grounds. Resistance became frequent, public, and sometime violent.

Informal but well organized system that helped slaves escape to the north (1830 to 1860s). Goal: Reach the Northern States or go to Canada. Conductor: Individual who helped the slaves escape. Passenger: Slave who is attempting to escape. The RR consisted of homes and people who used secret messages/codes that helped the runaways.

Most famous conductor and former slave who continually risked her life to help slaves escape. Southerners placed a bounty on her. She was never caught or captured while making many visits into the South.

Sectional differences followed the settlers west. Many people believed that there was a need to connect the east and west coasts by a cross country RR. Why? Make overland travel easier and increase the growth of the new territories. Problem: Where should it be built? Gadsden Purchase (1853): James Gadsden was sent to Mexico to purchase land. U.S. will purchase southern Arizona and New Mexico for $10 million from Mexico. To create the route, Congress needed to organize territories west of Missouri and Iowa.

Stephen Douglas: Illinois Senator who attempts to pass the Kansas Nebraska Act through Congress. He proposed that 2 territories should be organized west of Missouri and that popular sovereignty would decide the issue of slavery. (Kansas and Nebraska). Problem: He realized that the Missouri Compromise would have to be repealed. Angered northerners!!! By opening this issue, he set the nation on the road to Civil War. Act was passed by Congress in May 1854.

Kansas became the battleground for the Pro/Anti Slavery movement. Both Northern and Southern states had encouraged settlers to move into territory before they voted on slavery issue. 1855: Thousands of Missourians called Border Ruffians came into Kansas and illegally voted in the state election. They voted in a Pro Slavery Government. 1856: Kansas became the scene of territorial civil war. 200 deaths and $2 million in property damage.

Mid May 1856: Senator Charles Sumner of MA delivered a speech accusing pro slavery Senators of forcing Kansas to become a slave state. He singled out SC Senator Andrew Butler. May 22 nd : Butlers 2 nd cousin Representative Preston Brooks accused Sumner of slander. Within the halls of Congress, Brooks beat Sumner with a cane and left his bloodied body lying on the floor. Response: Angered both sides (N and S).

Chapter 8

When the MO. Compromise was repealed, it enraged people who opposed the extension of slavery. It caused the Democrats and Whigs to split based on the issue of slavery. July 1854: Republican Party was officially organized with the hope of keeping slavery from expanding. Know Nothing Party: Anti Catholic and Nativists who opposed immigration. Many joined the Republicans.

The Republicans won many seats within Congress and began challenging the Democrats at the national level. Republicans: Nominated John C. Freemont. He had little political experience but favored keeping Kansas free. Democrats: Nominated James Buchanan (PA). His record showed that he favored making concessions to the south in order to preserve the Union. Know Nothings: Nominated Former President Millard Fillmore. Buchanan wins the election. Only PA President.

Scott was an enslaved man whose owner had taken him into a free territory before returning to Missouri. Abolitionists helped Scott sue to end his involuntary servitude. The case reached the Supreme Court In the Dred Scott v. Sanford case. Ruling: SC ruled against Scott because the Founding Fathers did not intend for African Americans to be citizens. They also decided that the Missouri Compromise was Unconstitutional.

President Buchanan urged Kansas to apply for statehood. In order to apply, they needed a written constitution. Pro Slavery Legislature wrote a constitution that legalized slavery, the Anti Slavery Legislature voted against it. Buchanan asked Congress to admit Kansas as a slave state. Passed in Senate, refused in House of Representatives. 1858: Citizens voted down the Lecompton Constitution and Kansas will not become a state until 1861 (Free State).

1858: Senatorial debates in Illinois that became a national spectacle. Stephen Douglas: Democratic nominee nicknamed the Little Giant. He was the incumbent who was in favor of popular sovereignty.

Abraham Lincoln: Republican nominee who was a relatively unknown small town politician and gifted debater. He was not an abolitionist but believed slavery was morally wrong and shouldnt expand westward. Lincoln challenged Douglas to a series of debates. Douglas supported the Dred Scott decision and said that citizens could keep slavery out of territories.

Results of Debates: 1. Stephen Douglas wins the Senate race. 2. Lincoln uses the debates to clarify the principles of the Republican Party. 3. He will also establish a national reputation as a clear, insightful thinker, and national leader of the Republicans.

He was a extreme abolitionist who believed he was called by God to end slavery. He developed a plan to seize the Federal Arsenal @ Harpers Ferry VA and arm the local slaves who would attack plantations. 10/16/1859: Brown and his followers seized the arsenal but didnt receive additional help. Within 36 hours, Brown and his followers were captured by U.S. Marines led by Colonel Robert E. Lee.

1. Brown was executed (12/59) and became a martyr to abolitionists. 2. Opened Northerners eyes to movement. 3. Southerners believed the North was plotting against the plantation owners. 4. Event signified the downfall of the North/South relationship (Eve of the Civil War).

Chapter 8

Democrats: The party was torn apart over the slavery debate. Southern Democrats: Nominate John Breckenridge of Kentucky. He supported slave owners rights. Northern Democrats: Nominate Stephen Douglas of Illinois. Supports popular sovereignty. The Democratic Party and their votes will be split. Constitutional Union Party: Nominated John Bell of TN.

Republicans campaigned against slavery in the Western Territories, denounced Browns Raid, and fought to preserve slavery where it had already existed. Nominate Abraham Lincoln of Illinois. Results: Lincoln was able to win because of split vote

Southerners viewed the election results as a mandate for secession. By February 1861: Seven states had seceded (SC, MS, FL, AL, GA, LA, and TX). 2/8/61: Seceding states met and declared themselves the independent nation of The Confederate States of America. Constitution was similar to U.S. but increased states rights and allowed slavery. Jefferson Davis: Senator from MS chosen as the President of the Confederacy.

March 4, 1861: Lincolns Inaugural Address. He told seceding states that he would not interfere with slavery where it existed. He also said that the Union would hold onto Federal property in seceding states. April 1861: Lincoln plans to re supply Federal Fort Sumter, Charleston, SC.

April 12, 1861: Jefferson Davis ordered an attack on Fort Sumter to remove Union troops. Confederates bombarded the fort for 33 hours. Lacking supplies and support, the Union forces surrendered (No deaths). This marked the beginning of the Civil War. April 17 th : Virginia joined the Confederacy. NC, TN, AR joined. 11 total states secede.

Lesson 1: Slavery and Western Expansion. The war opened vast new lands to American settlers. The...

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