Transcript The Crises of the 1850s

The Crises of the 1850s
Lead up to Civil War 1830-1860
The Uneasy Truce
► For
a few years after the Compromise of 1850,
sectional conflict seemed briefly forgotten – time
of prosperity and growth.
► Divisions between Whigs helped bring a victory in
the election of 1852 for the Democrats.
► Northern opposition to the Fugitive Slave Act
increased.
► Many Whigs voted for John P. Hale of the Free Soil
Party.
“Young America”
►
Adherents saw the expansion of American democracy as a
way to divert attention away from slavery issues.
 Revolutions in Europe in 1848 led them to dream of a republican
Europe.
 They wanted to extend America’s influence throughout the Western
Hemisphere.
►
President Franklin Pierce attempted to buy Cuba from
Spain.
 In 1854 his envoys sent him a letter making the case for seizing
Cuba by force – The Ostend Manifesto.
 Anti-slavery supporters outraged saying it was a way to expand
slavery – reignites sectional crisis.
Slavery, Railroads and the West
► As
the expanded westward communication
between east and west became critical.
 Increased calls for a transcontinental railroad.
 North wanted terminus in Chicago, South favored St.
Louis or New Orleans.
 Railroad became part of North/South divide.
 Jefferson Davis (Sec. of War), sent James Gadsden to
buy a strip of land from Mexico – Gadsden Purchase –
so Southern terminus could be built.
 Accentuated sectional rivalry.
The Kansas – Nebraska Controversy
► Kansas-Nebraska
Act
 Stephan A. Douglas from Illinois wanted railroad
terminus in Chicago.
 Railroad would pass through an area that was
substantially Native-American.
 Douglas introduced a bill to organize the region
into a new territory – Nebraska.
Kansas –Nebraska Controversy
 Nebraska north of the Missouri Compromise
Line – thus closed to slavery.
 Douglas put a provision in the bill said that the
territorial legislature would determine status.
 Southern Democrats demanded more so,
Nebraska split into two – Nebraska and Kansas.
 Agreed to repeal the Missouri Compromise.
Kansas –Nebraska Controversy
 Kansas was more likely to become a slave
state.
 May 1854 the Act was passed.
 Divided and destroyed the Whig party.
 Divided the Northern Democrats.
 “Anti-Nebraska Democrats” and “AntiNebraska Whigs” created the Republican
Party.
“Bleeding Kansas”
► Violence
followed the passage of the KansasNebraska Act.
 White settlers began to move into Kansas.
 Spring of 1855 1,500 legal voters and 6,000 heavily
armed Missourians elected a pro-slavery legislature.
 “Free-staters” elected their own legislature.
 Pres. Franklin Pierce supported the pro-slavery
legislature.
 Pro-slavery Federal Marshall assembled large pose of
mostly Missourians to arrest the Free-State legislature.
 Sacked Lawrence, Kansas and burned the “Free-State
Governor’s” house.
 Retribution followed.
“Bleeding Kansas”
► John
Brown led the Pottawatomie Massacre which
killed five pro-slavery settlers.
► Led to more civil strife – each side blamed the
other.
► May 1856, Sen. Charles Sumner of Massachusetts
gave a speech against Sen. Butler of South
Carolina, a few days later Rep. Preston Brooks the
nephew of Butler beat Sumner with a cane.
► Both became heroes to their respective regions.
Free-Soil Ideology
► “Slave-Power
Conspiracy.”
 Free-Soil and Free labor – an economic argument not a
moral one.
 Only opportunity for advancement was through work. If
whites were denied that then that was undemocratic.
 South anti-thesis to democracy – a closed society with
an entrenched aristocracy.
 The South were engaged in a conspiracy to extend
slave system and shut down northern capitalism and
turn it into the aristocratic system of the south.
 Free-soil had to be maintained – became the heart of
the Republican Party ideology.
Pro-Slavery Argument
► Slavery
good because it served as basis of
Southern way of life – better then other ways.
 Slaves enjoyed better conditions than workers in
industrial north.
 The only way the two races could live in peace.
 Southern economy key to the prosperity of the nation.
 Ideal social order that led to stable, orderly existence
free of conflict between Capital and Labor.
 Blacks inherently unfit to look after themselves.
Election of 1856
►
►
►
►
►
Democrats chose James Buchanan who had been in
England during “Bleeding Kansas” crisis.
Republicans nominated John C. Frémont, an explorer of
the West.
The Native American, or Know-Nothing Party (outgrowth of
the strong anti-immigrant and especially anti-Roman
Catholic sentiment that started to manifest itself during the
1840s), nominated former president Millard Fillmore.
Buchanan won – a timid and indecisive president at a
critical time in history.
Depression hit and Northerners blamed the Southern
Democratic administration. Moved support toward the
Republicans.
The Dred Scott Decision
►
1857 the U.S. Supreme Court got involved in the sectional
dispute with its ruling in the case Dred Scott v. Sandford
[sp]
Dred Scott a Missouri slave owned by army surgeon who
took him into Illinois and Wisconsin, were slavery was
outlawed.
► Scott sued his owners widow for his freedom on the
grounds that his residence in free territory had liberated
him from bondage.
► There was a precedent in Missouri law and in 1850 the
Circuit Court gave Scott his freedom.
► Sanford (widows brother) appealed the ruling saying that
Scott had no grounds to sue because he was not a citizen.
►
The Dred Scott Decision
► Supreme
► CJ Roger
Court too divided to issue a single ruling.
Taney wrote one of the majority
opinions, which rendered the federal government
powerless to act on the issue:
 Blacks had no claim to citizenship.
 Slaves were property and Fifth Amendment prohibit
Congress from taking property without “due process of
law.”
 Consequently, Congress had no authority to pass a law
depriving people of their slave property in the
territories, the Missouri Compromise, therefore, had
always been unconstitutional.
Dred Scott
Deadlock over Kansas
timidly endorsed Dred Scott decision
and supported Kansas to be admitted to the Union
as a slave state.
► Pro-slavery territorial legislature called a election
for delegates to a constitutional convention – freestate supporters refused to participate.
► The “Lecompton constitution” legalized slavery –
did not give voters an opportunity to reject it.
► Election for a new territorial legislature threw out
pro-slavery delegates. Lecompton constitution
went to the voters who rejected it (twice).
► Buchanan
The Emergence of Lincoln
► Elections
of 1858 important. Lincoln ran
against Stephan A. Douglas in Illinois.
► Lincoln,
a Congressman, was not a national
figure like Douglas.
► Decided
to engage Douglas in debates to
increase visibility.
Lincoln
Douglas
Lincoln-Douglas Debates
► Basic
differences on issue of slavery.
 Douglas had no moral position on slavery.
 Lincoln argued that if the nation could accept that
blacks were not entitled to basic human rights, then it
could accept that other groups could be deprived of
rights too.
 If slavery were extended to western territories
opportunities for poor white laborers would be lost.
 Lincoln believed slavery was morally wrong, but he was
not an abolitionist.
 Would stop slavery from spreading, but would not stop
it where it already was.
John Brown’s Raid
►
On October 16th 1859, John Brown, funded by prominent
Northern abolitionists, led a raid on the U.S. arsenal in
Harpers Ferry, Virginia.
►
He hoped to inspire a slave uprising, but it didn’t happen.
►
He was surrounded in the arsenal by local militia before
the U.S. army showed up commanded by Robert E. Lee.
►
He was tried and hanged for treason.
►
The event convinced Southerners that they could not live
safely in the Union – many erroneously believed that the
raid had been supported by the Republicans.
The Election of Lincoln
► Election
of 1860
 Democrats torn apart by southerners who demanded a
strong endorsement of slavery, and westerners who
supported popular sovereignty.
 Party convention endorsed popular sovereignty and
delegates from eight southern states walked out.
 Northern and western delegates endorsed Douglas for
president and southern Democrats endorsed John C.
Breckinridge of Kentucky.
 Lincoln was nominated by the Republican party –
advocated internal improvements, a homestead bill, no
slavery in territories.
The Election of Lincoln
► In
November Lincoln won the election with
the majority of electoral votes, but only
2/5ths of the popular vote.
► Republicans failed to win a majority in
Congress.
► The election of Lincoln started the process
of disunion.
► On December 20th, 1860 South Carolina
succeeded from the Union.
Questions
► Explain
the Kansas-Nebraska controversy.
► What was “Free-Soil” ideology? How did
Lincoln’s argument in the Lincoln/Douglas
debates reflect this ideology.
► How did the Dred Scott decision affect the
sectional crisis?
► Was John Brown a “hero” or a “terrorist”
defend your answer.