- Lincoln/Douglas debates showed the sectional divides that appeared in the mid 1800’s
- Lincoln - Abolition
- Douglas - Pro-Slavery
America in 1850
- Economically, culturally, and politically, Americans had a strong sense of identity
Expansion and Growth
- America is hugely expanding
- Through war / diplomacy, country triples in size from 890,000 to 3,000,000 mi2
- Population grows from 5.3 mil to 23 mil (4 mil Blacks, 2 mil Immigrants)
- Cotton still #1 export, but manufacturing has grown in the Northeast
- Railway systems opened the door for rich farmland
- As South’s share in the economy waned, so did it’s political importance
- Undermined the role of the slave South in national politics
Cultural and Social Issues
- Many forms of media availiable to the masses
- Increasingly becoming less Jacksonian
- This time period became known as the “American Revolution”
- Series of famous books and plays written
- Includes Moby Dick (Melville) and Uncle Tom’s Cabin (Beecher Stowe)
- Cabin became an instant bestseller
- Called to action after Fugitive Slave Law (1850)
Political Parties and Slavery
- No solution to south because things were becoming increasingly sectional
- No more appealing to a nation with big sectional differences
- Sectional differences began to split apart Whigs and Democrats
- Slavery disagreements also began to split religious groups
- Presbyterians (1837), Baptists (1845), Methodists (1844)
States’ Rights and Slavery
- John C. Calhoun argued that slaveowners, as a minority, should have full access to territories because territories are property of both the North and the South
Northern Fears of “The Slave Power”
- “The Slave Power” - a small oligarchy of slave owners who run the southern economy, politics, and society
- James Birney felt this was a conspiracy against the federal government
Two Communities, Two Perspectives
- Southerners wanted expansion into Cuba and supported the Mexican-American War because they were running out of land in which to expand the slave system
- Free Soilers - Believe in the liberty of all
- South - Believed in the freedom to own slaves as property and as a way of life
- Both groups wanted to expand
- South did not want exposure to abolitionist literature
- Accused the North of helping slaves escape and revolt
- Northern View - South: Blocked work for other whites because of plantations
- North: Freedom for all
- Southern View - South: Owning slaves was a right and a way of life
- North: Practiced “wage slavery” and were hypocrites
- These conflicted views brought questions of unity to the divided country
Compromise of 1850
- Question arose if new states admitted to the Union should be slave or free
Debate and Compromise
- Henry Clay (West), John C. Calhoun (South) and Daniel Webster (North) met in Congress to discuss a Compromise
- Stephen Douglas brought it all together and ended up pushing it through Congress
- The Compromise - California admitted as a Free State
- Former Mex. territories use pop. sovereignty (vote by inhabitants)
- Texas cedes land to New Mexico, govt assumes $10 mil debt
- Slave trade but not slavery ended in the District of Columbia
- Stronger Fugitive Slave Laws
- Union is saved for a while
- Sectional animosity grew and Southern Whigs and Northern Democrats lost popularity
The Fugitive Slave Act
- Northerners helped slaves escape from the South to freedom
- Free blacks were captured by Slave Catchers and taken into captivity
- Even free blacks had no rights
- Northerners upset
- Southerners upset because the Northerners were stealing their slaves
- New laws said slaves had the right to trial and it was illegal to help fugitives
- However, it was illegal for slaves to speak in their own defense
- Northerners still helped blacks escape when captured until Thomas Sims was escorted South in a federal ship
- 1850’s - 322 blacks send South to slavery, only 11 declared free
- Frederick Douglas - famous black anti-slavery writer and orator
- In effect, the Fugitive Slave Law made slavery a nationally accepted institution
Election of 1822
- Whigs elect a pro-North leader (William Seward) and lose their Southern friends
- Democrats choose Pierce, who appeals to Free-Soilers and Immigrants
- Used the platform “Faithful Execution” of all parts of the Fugitive Slave Law
- He ends up winning the election
“Young America”: The Politics of Expansion
- Many young politicians used “Manifest Destiny” as an excuse to try to conquer Central America and Cuba
- Filibusters - from the Spanish word for “adventurer” or “pirate”
- Invaded countries with the declared intention of extending slave territory
- Quickly lost favour
- It was Stephen Douglas, not the Young America expansionists, who eventually reignited the slavery expansion debate
The Crisis of the National Party System
- 1854 - Douglas introduces the Kansas-Nebraska Act
- Kansas was at the time just a large reservation
- Douglas advocated taking Indian land to construct a railway
- Ended up killing the Whigs and eventually the Democrats as well
The Kansas-Nebraska Act
- Douglas wanted to use the railway to expand American democracy and commerce
- Wanted the rail line to end in Chicago in his home state of Illinois instead of St. Louis
- Though he would appeal to the South by letting slavery be decided by pop. Sovereignty
- In effect, this bill repealed the Missouri Compromise (no slavery N of 36o30’)
- Bill passed but badly strained the political parties
Bleeding Kansas
- Kansas soon became a battleground where pro- and anti-slavery settlers were poured in so that they could affect the votes illegally
- Contrast of settlers, “Border Ruffians” and pure northerners
- John Brown - high-profile anti-slavery fighter
- Led a marauding band of fighters trying to free slaves and kill owners
The Politics of Nativism
- North = anti-immigration after Democrats received many of the Irish and Catholic votes
- New “American” Party represented these views
- Whigs felt that immigration brought poor people who drained the economy
- Party was made up of mostly white, blue-collar workers
- Soon became known as the “Know-Nothings”
- Republican party formed in 1854 from ex-Whigs, Free-Soilers and Know-Nothings
- Gained support from merchants and industrialists
The Republican Party and the Election of 1856
- James Buchanan was selected to run for the Democrats because he appealed to both the North and the South Democrats
- Republicans beat the American Party, but as they were a sectional party they still lost
- Voter turnout was 79%, one of the highest ever
- Buchanan failed as President and this led to the Civil War
- Election showed Americans’ interest for Nation over Section
- North opted for anti-Slavery over Nativism
The Differences Deepen
- Sectional arguments continued to rise more and more
- One Congressman even went so far as to beat another with his cane in Congress
- Each thought the other was ridiculous
The Dred Scott Decision
- Dred Scott - Slave to a field surgeon in the South
- While on an assignment in Illinois (free), he married and had a child
- Justice Roger B. Taney ruled that no black was a citizen and threw out the case
- Shows how the South controlled the courts
- Made the North question the laws
- An attempt was made to grant blacks suffrage, but this was shot down
- Lincoln and Seward accused Buchanan of conspiring with the southern Supreme Court
The Lecompton Constitution
- 1855 - Illegal voting gives a hugely lopsided pro-Slavery outcome
- Free-soilers protest and form their own government at Topeka
- Proslavery govt makes their own constitution, and Kansas seemes destined to join the Union as the 16th Slave State
- Stephen Douglas defies Buchanan and votes against the constitution
- Insisted that the vote must be determined by fair elections
- Kansas refused admission under the Lecompton constitution
The Panic of 1857
- Short but sharp economic depression in 1857 and 1858
- Britain temporarily turns down agricultural exports
John Brown’s Raid
- Though he would make a giant slave uprising at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia
- Didn’t tell any slaves so it failed miserable
- Ended up dying as a martyr for the cause
- Widely supported by the North, which led to the South to finally begin talk of leaving
The South Secedes
- By 1860 the Whigs had collapsed due to sectional differences
- William Seward called it an “irrepressible conflict”
The Election of 1860
- Republicans planned to carry all the states won by Frémont in 1856, plus PA, IL, and IN
- Leading candidates were Seward and Lincoln - Lincoln won
- 4 Candidates - clearly a sectional battle
- Lincoln = North / Breckenridge = South / Douglas = Middle / Bell = Vague
- Republicans claimed to represent freedom while not being radical
- Republicans won the German immigrants votes
- South was fell of rumours of Slave Revolts and passionate for secession
The South Leaves the Union
- After Lincoln won, the South seceded from the Union
- SC, Miss, Fla, Ala, Geo, Lou, and TX were the first to go
The North’s Political Opinions
- Lincoln agreed to be firm but not give in to slavery
- Should go free in peace
- Too many people valued the Union
- Lincoln waited for the South to strike the first blow
Establishment of the Confederacy
- South’s capital became Montgomery, Alabama
- Constitution was the same as the United States, but with some crucial exceptions
- Made the abolishment of slavery essentially impossible
- Montgomery Convention made Jefferson Davis as President, Alexander Stephens VP
Lincoln’s Inauguration
- Showed signs of moderation while remaining firm
- Resigned to the fact that while he did not want to fight, he would have to
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