I. Introduction
Territorial expansion brought the slavery question once again to the forefront. This volatile issue gave rise to a new political party, the Republicans, and moved the nation closer to war.
II. The War with Mexico and Its Consequences
A. Oregon
The Oregon Treaty of 1846 established the northernmost boundary of the Oregon County at the 49th parallel.
B. “Mr. Polk’s War”
After failing in his attempt to buy land to the Pacific from Mexico, Polk waited for war. After Mexican cavalry struck against an American cavalry unit on the north side of the Rio Grande, Polk drafted a war message to Congress. Congress voted in favor of a declaration of war on May 13, 1846.
C. Foreign War and the Popular Imagination
There were public celebrations that accompanied the declaration of war. It was seen as a fulfillment of Anglo-Saxon-Christian destiny.
D. Conquest
Due to steady progress on the part of American forces, and after a daring invasion at Vera Cruz that led to the capture of Mexico City, the U.S. was victorious.
E. Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
A treaty with Mexico gave the United States possession of California and the New Mexico Territory, and recognized the Rio Grande as the Texas border. The United States agreed to pay the claims of American citizens against Mexico and to give Mexico another $15 million.
F. “Slave Power Conspiracy”
Many Northerners opposed the Mexican War, insisting that its causes could be found in a slaveholding oligarchy that intended to ensure the institution of slavery.
G. Wilmot Proviso
Congressman David Wilmot proposed a bill that outlawed slavery in territories gained from Mexico, but his proposal failed in the Senate. The Proviso subsequently became a rallying cry for abolitionists.
H. The Election of 1848 and Popular Sovereignty
Slavery in the territories emerged as the primary issue in the 1848 election. The Democrat Lewis Cass supported popular sovereignty, allowing Whig slaveholder Zachary Taylor to win the presidency with the Southern vote.
III. 1850: Compromise or Armistice?
A. Compromise of 1850
California’s request to enter the Union as a free state sparked the first major political conflict following the Mexican War. Although Henry Clay’s omnibus bill did not pass, each compromise measure gained congressional support.
B. Fugitive Slave Act
An important facet of the compromise strengthened southerners’ ability to capture escaped slaves. Abolitionists sharply protested this law.
C. Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Harriet Beecher Stowe’s book enthralled northerners by painting a portrait of the suffering of slaves, a portrayal that appalled white southerners.
D. The Underground Railroad
Southerners were especially disturbed over the Underground Railroad.
E. Election of 1852 and the Collapse of Compromise
Franklin Pierce’s victory gave southerners hope because he believed that each section’s rights should be defended and because he supported the Fugitive Slave Act. Those same stands appalled many northerners.
IV. Slavery Expansion and Collapse of the Party System
A. The Kansas-Nebraska Bill
This bill, proposed by Stephen A. Douglas, exposed the complexity of popular sovereignty. Discord over the bill helped split the Whigs, and the party fell apart.
B. Birth of the Republican Party
The Kansas-Nebraska Bill encouraged antislavery Whigs and Democrats, Free-Soilers, and other reformers to form the Republican Party, which grew rapidly in the North.
C. Know-Nothings
The American Party, called Know-Nothings, started as an anti-immigrant party that exploited fears of foreigners.
D. Party Realignment and the Republicans’ Appeal
The Republicans, Democrats, and Know-Nothings all sought to attract former Whigs. The Republicans appealed to those voters interested in internal improvements, federal land grants, higher tariffs, and the economic development of the West.
E. Republican Ideology
To broaden their ideology beyond antislavery, the Republicans trumpeted “Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men.”
F. Southern Democrats
Southern Democrats attracted slaveholders from among the former Whigs. The party used racial fears to keep the political alliance between yeomen and planters intact.
G. Bleeding Kansas
When the Kansas-Nebraska Act passed, thousands of proslavery and antislavery people poured into Kansas, leading to massive bloodshed in the territory.
V. Slavery and the Nation’s Future
A. Dred Scott Case
This case ruled that blacks could not be citizens and that Congress had no power to bar slavery in the territories.
B. Abraham Lincoln on the Slave Power
Lincoln stressed that slavery in the territories affected all citizens of the United States because if left unchecked slavery would soon grow into a nationwide institution.
C. The Lecompton Constitution
Douglas’ stand against the Lecompton Constitution infuriated southern Democrats.
D. Stephen Douglas and the Freeport Doctrine
During his 1858 Illinois senatorial campaign against Lincoln, Douglas insisted that territorial legislatures could effectively end slavery by not supporting it.
VI. Disunion
A. John Brown’s Raid on Harpers Ferry
Hoping to bring about a slave rebellion, Brown led a band of men in an attack on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. This act struck fear into the South.
B. Election of 1860
Lincoln won this election on a sectional basis, with the southern votes split between Douglas, Breckenridge, and Bell. When Republicans refused to accept the Crittendon Compromise, southerners threatened secession.
C. Secession
On December 20, 1860, South Carolina seceded from the Union, a step that enticed other southern states to follow.
D. The Confederate States of America
By February 1861, seven states had formed the Confederate States of America. Upon inauguration, Lincoln worked to uphold federal authority without war.
E. Fort Sumter and the Outbreak of War
At Fort Sumter in South Carolina, the Confederates could acquiesce to Lincoln’s intent to supply the federal installation or they could attack the garrison. In April, Southerners bombarded the fort and forced its surrender.
