Transcript The Slavery Issue before the Civil War

The Slavery Issue before the Civil
War
“It will be as the man who
swallows arsenic. Mexico will
poison us.”-Ralph Waldo Emerson
The Wilmot Proviso
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Named for Congressmen David Wilmot of
Pennsylvania
Racist
Wilmot more concerned about slavery taking away
jobs from poor white farmers than seeking an end to
slavery
Wilmot Proviso
Called for slavery to be banned in all territories
acquired from Mexico
Supported by the North
Opposed by the South
Good example of both slavery and sectionalism
dividing the country
Passes the House but fails in the Senate
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“As if by magic brought to a head the
great question that is about to divide
the American people”
Free Soil Party
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In 1848, Martin Van Buren runs for
President under the Free Soil Party
It was a third party started by those
who opposed expansion of slavery
Van Buren loses to Zachary Taylorwar hero and Southerner
Taylor was the safer choice
Anti slavery issue was now not just
an issue for abolitionists
Compromise of 1850
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California admitted as a free state
Slave trade, not slavery itself, would
be abolished in Washington D.C.
Fugitive Slave Act-allow Southerners
to reclaim runaway slaves
Status of slavery in the remaining
territories acquired from Mexico
would be decided by local white
inhabitants
Kansas-Nebraska Act
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1854-Illinois Senator Stephen Douglas
wanted to build a railroad through the
territories of Kansas and Nebraska
Need formal governments in these
territories for railroad project to become a
reality
Once again, intense debate between those
want slavery in the territories and those
who do not
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Douglas’ solution is “popular sovereignty”
• Let the people of a territory decides
whether they want slavery or not
• For Douglas, PS is a perfect example of
people voicing their opinion
• Douglas-”Little Giant”- Kansas Nebraska
Act passes
• KNA overrules the Missouri Compromise
Why was Popular Sovereignty
Problematic?
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PS was a big political miscalculation by
Douglas
Overturns Missouri Compromise
Southern Congressmen concerned about
the sectional balance
Northern Congressmen convinced that
slavery would be extended into the
territories
Lincoln
• Very concerned about the extension of slavery
• Why have the federal government deal with
the issue of slavery if slavery will only be
decided by PS?
Kansas-Nebraska Map
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http://teachingamericanhistory.org/n
eh/interactives/sectionalism/lesson3/
“Bleeding Kansas”
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1854 and 1855-elections held in
Kansas
Hundreds of proslavery Missourians
crossed the border to cast fraudulent
ballots
Violence breaks out between
proslavery mobs and their opponents
200 people killed
“Bleeding Kansas” discredits policy of
popular sovereignty
Beating of Senator Sumner
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Charles Sumner-Massachusetts Senator
1856- “The Crime against Kansas”
Speech included personal attacks against South
Carolina Senator Andrew Butler
Butler’s nephew, Congressman Preston Brooks,
walked into the Senate chamber and beat
Sumner over the head with a cane
House censured Brooks
Northern Congressman outraged by event
Several Southern Congressman bought Brooks
new canes
The Dred Scott Case
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During the 1830’s, Dred Scott, a
slave, went with his owner Dr. John
Emerson of Missouri (slave state) to
Illinois (free state)
When he returned to Missouri, Scott
sued for his freedom
He argued that his time on free soil
made him a free man
Chief Justice Roger Taney announced
the Court’s decision in March 1857,
two days before President-elect
James Buchanan’s inauguration
Dred Scott Timeline
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Born in the 1790s
Married Harriet Robinson in 1836
1840-Have their first child, a daughter
Ownership transferred to Dr. Emerson (U.S.
Army doctor)
1842-Return to Missouri
1843-Dr. Emerson dies. Wife takes control
of estate
Dred Scott denied freedom
1846-Sues for freedom
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The Court had three questions to
answer:
• Could a black person be a citizen
and therefore sue in federal court?
• Did residence in a free state make
Scott free?
• Did Congress possess the power to
prohibit slavery in a territory?
Impact of Chief Justice Taney’s Ruling
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Taney’s ruling was a bad attempt by the Supreme
Court to decide the slavery issue once and for all
Because Scott was still a slave, Illinois’ law banning
slavery, didn’t apply when Scott returned to Missouri
***Because PS overturned the Missouri Compromise,
Congress had no authority to ban slavery in a
territory***
Therefore, Congress had no authority to restrict
southerners from bringing slaves into a western
territory
Decision also undermines PS
President Buchanan- Slavery existed in all territories
“By virtue of the Constitution.”
Lincoln-Douglas Debates
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Lincoln had retired from elected office
The philosophy of popular sovereignty ,the
overturning of the Missouri Compromise, and the
possible extension of slavery draws Lincoln back
into seeking elected office
Runs for a US Senate seat from Illinois in 1856
and 1858
Lecompton, Kansas
When he accepted the Republican nomination, he
said, “A house divided against itself cannot
stand.”
House Divided Speech
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Lincoln and Douglas have seven debates
across Illinois
Lincoln’s goals
• Get Douglas to explain how popular
sovereignty can work particularly after the
Dred Scott case!
• Slavery is wrong
• Blacks are entitled to freedom and liberties
written in the Declaration of Independence.
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Three reasons why Lincoln believed
slavery was wrong
• Slavery embarrasses work-1) Lincoln was a
work-a-holic 2) Slaves were doing other
people’s work
• Slavery makes American hypocrites
• Slavery is a violation of natural law- Lincoln
knew that slaves knew they were being
wronged
Outcome of Election
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State legislatures still choose U.S. Senators
Northern Illinois-voted Republican
Southern Illinois-voted Democratic
In 1858, Republicans received more votes in the
election for Illinois State Legislature
However, seats still apportioned by Census of 1850
which does not take into account growth of
Republican party in northern Illinois
Democrats win seats in State Legislature by a small
margin
Douglas is re-elected
Lincoln, however, emerges as a Presidential
candidate in the election of 1860
John Brown at Harpers Ferry
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Abolitionist
1830s and 1840s-Funded antislavery
publications
October 16, 1859-JB along with 21
men (7 black) seized Harpers Ferry in
Virginia
Raid was put down by Colonel Robert
E. Lee
Brown put on trial
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Brown ordered by Virginia’s governor to be
executed
Brown was considered a hero in the North
among both blacks and whites
His raid, trial, and execution further
demonstrated the differences between
North and South on the slavery issue
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jso1YR
QnpCI
Who am I? Would you vote for me?
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I was elected five times to the House
of Representatives
Then, after a stint as Minister to
Russia, served for a decade in the
Senate.
I was Polk's Secretary of State and
Pierce's Minister to Great Britain.
Election of 1860
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The Democratic Party splits over the issue
of slavery
• Southern Nationalists (“Fire-eaters”) in seven
Deep South states demanded the party protect
slavery in all territories not yet part of the
Union
• Stephen Douglas was not an acceptable
candidate for Southern party members
• Six weeks later, Douglas is nominated
• Southern democrats nominate John C.
Breckinridge from Kentucky
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Republicans nominate Abraham Lincoln
• Lincoln is a dark horse candidate.
• 4 people battle for nomination- Salmon Chase,
William Seward, Edwin Stanton, and Lincoln
• Devoted to preserving the Union
• Appealed to abolitionists
• Appealed to immigrants because Lincoln never
supported the “Know Nothings”
Candidate
Electoral Vote
Popular Vote
Lincoln
180 (59%)
1,866,452
(40%)
Breckinridge
72 (24%)
847,953 (18%)
Douglas
12 (4%)
1,371,157
(29%)
John BellConstitutional
Unionist Party
39 (13%)
590,831 (13%)
Secession
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First state to secede is South Carolina on
December 20, 1860
President Buchanan’s view of secession
• It is a threat to the Union
• It is a deliberate, malicious attack on the
Union
• The Union is perpetual
• No reversion clause
• We don’t create governments to eventually
disband them
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Buchanan is convinced he has no
constitutional authority to do anything
about it
President Lincoln’s view on secession
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Will not use force
Answers can be found in D.O.I. and Constitution
**Union was made for higher purposes**
South is going against what the Revolutionary War was
fought for
• Lincoln-1st paragraphs of D.O.I. are there for future
generations
• Secession is an attack on liberty and freedom
• Secession is anarchy