Transcript Sec 1: Slavery States` Rights and Western Expansion

Slavery, States’ Rights, and Western Expansion
Slavery Divides the Nation
Main Idea: From the nation’s earliest days, the issue of slavery divided Americans. As the
nation expanded, the problem became more pressing. Southerners believed slavery should
be allowed in the new western territories; many northerners believed it should not.
The Election of 1848
Main Idea: In the 1848 presidential campaign, both Democrats and Whigs split over the
question of whether to limit the expansion of slavery. New political factions emerged, with
slavery at the center of debate.
A Compromise Avoids a Crisis
Main Idea: Henry Clay’s Compromise of 1850 offered concessions to both the South and the
North and suggested that popular sovereignty should decide the slavery issue in the Utah and
New Mexico territories.
Senate Adopts the Compromise of 1850
Main Idea: In an attempt to ward off division among the states, the Senate adopted the
Compromise of 1850. Though the legislation restored calm for the moment, it carried the
seeds of new crises to come.
Continued…
TRANSPARENCY
The Slavery Issue
CHART
Clay’s Compromise of 1850
A Rising Tide of Protest and Violence
Resistance Against the Fugitive Slave Act
Main Idea: The Compromise of 1850 was meant to calm the fears of Americans. But one
provision, the new Fugitive Slave Act, had the opposite effect. Black Americans and
abolitionists despised the law and organized to try to help enslaved people to freedom
through the Underground Railroad.
The Kansas-Nebraska Act Undoes the Missouri Compromise
Main Idea: Although Congress meant well, its repeated attempts to resolve the question of
slavery resulted in a jumble of contradictory, and often unenforceable, policies.
A Battle Rages in “Bleeding Kansas”
Main Idea: Kansas attracted not only farmers but settlers with political motives. Violence
erupted between abolitionists and proslavery settlers and eventually spread to the Senate.
Witness History: Slavery and Union
Note Taking: Reading Skill: Understand Effects
Color Transparencies: Bleeding Kansas
Continued…
NOTE TAKING
Reading Skill: Understand Effects
TRANSPARENCY
Bleeding Kansas
Political Realignment Deepens the Crisis
The Shifting Political Scene
Main Idea: Traditionally, American political parties extended across sectional lines. But starting
in the 1840s, American politics increasingly reflected regional tensions, especially over the issue
of slavery.
Sectional Divisions Intensify
Main Idea: For many years, the North and South tried to ignore or patch over their differences.
But by the mid-1850s, the dispute over slavery caused sectional differences to intensify.
The Lincoln-Douglas Debate
Main Idea: In 1858, Stephen Douglas and Abraham Lincoln held a series of seven debates while
competing for a seat in the U.S. Senate. Thousands of Americans attended the Lincoln-Douglas
debates and listened intently as the two candidates presented opposing views of slavery and its
role in America.
John Brown’s Raid
Main Idea: Abolitionist John Brown concluded that violence was the best way to reach his goal
of avenging the evil of slavery. In 1859, he and 21 followers seized the federal arsenal in
Harpers Ferry, Virginia. However, federal troops ended the attack, and Brown was eventually
executed.
Continued…
NOTE TAKING
Reading Skill: Sequence
CHART
American Political Parties During the 1850s
CHART
American Political Parties During the 1850s
PM
TRANSPARENCY
Progress Monitoring Transparency
CHART
The Candidates for President
Lincoln, Secession, and War
The Election of 1860
Main Idea: The Election of 1860 was a turning point for the United States. The election
demonstrated that there were no longer any national political parties. The North and South were
now effectively two political entities, and there seemed no way to bridge the gap.
The Union Collapses
Main Idea: Southerners were outraged that a President could be elected without a single southern
vote. In Southerners’ perception, the South no longer had a voice in the national government.
They decided to act by leaving the Union and forming the Confederacy.
The Civil War Begins
Main Idea: The Confederates attacked Fort Sumter, hoping to seize it from Union hands. Lincoln
declared that “insurrection” existed and called for 75,000 volunteers to fight against the
Confederacy.
Witness History: The President Falters
Note Taking: Reading Skill: Identify Causes and Effects
Chart: The Candidates for President
Continued…