Download Unit 6 – The Coming of the Civil War (1846-1861)

Unit 6 – The Coming of the Civil War (1846-1861)
I.
Two Nations
A. Historians and the Civil War
 Historians are split on whether the conflict could have been avoided, but most
feel that compromise was no longer possible because of the differences between
the two sections of the country.
B. The Case Against Slavery
1. Uncle Tom’s Cabin
 Written by Harriet Beecher Stowe and published in 1852, the book
became an instant bestseller and sold millions of copies.
 What was the purpose of the book?
2. Impact of Uncle Tom’s Cabin
 Stowe’s novel presented a vivid picture of slavery in the South that
northern readers found believable, even if it was exaggerated.
 Some northerners felt that slavery would be the ruin of the United States.
C. Southern Views on Slavery
 Southern intellectuals and politicians thought that Stowe’s bestseller was a book
of insulting lies.
 Some white Southerners had their own exaggerated view of slavery, in which
plantations were like large and happy families.
 How did the plantation owners use the Northern Industrialists to further their
cause of slavery?
 Many white Southerners argued that they represented the true spirit of the
American Revolution; after all Washington and Jefferson owned slave.
 On what key point did almost all Southerners agree?
D. Differences Between the North and South
 The differences between the North and South were not simply a product of
exaggerated fiction and propaganda
 Hard facts illustrate how differently the two regions had developed since 1790
(EXPLAIN)
1. Trains and Trade
 Like immigration, new technology had a heavier impact on the North
than on the South.
 What was the importance of the critical innovation of the railroad?
a.
b.
 During the railroad boom, remote places suddenly became centers of
bustling trade – Chicago became an important regional center quickly.
 The railroads primarily had a positive effect in the North
- by 1860, 70% of the railroad track in the United States were in the
North
- in the South, the southern networks were much less developed.
2. The Telegraph
 The historic advance in communication patented by Samuel Morse in
1844 allowed people to send messages over wires by using a code of short
and long pulses of electricity.
 Why did the North have an advantage over the South with the
telegraph?
 Together, railroads and improved communications nourished the
booming industries of the North.
- North produced over $1.6 billion worth of goods
- South produced $155 million worth of goods
 SEE chart on page 350 for more examples.
II.
The Mexican War and Slavery Extension
 Define Manifest Destiny
A. Annexation of Texas
 In 1836, after winning independence from Mexico, Texans voted to be annexed
(join or attach) by the United States for protection against Mexico
 Americans were far from united on the question of annexation
-
Southerners
-
Northerners
-
Many people in both the North and the South worried that annexation
would lead to war with Mexico
 What did Santa Anna say would happen if Texas were annexed?
 President John Tyler signed a treaty of annexation with Texas in April 1844, but
the Whig controlled Senate defeated the treaty.
 Which President finally annexed Texas in 1845?
B. War with Mexico
 In March 1845, one month after Congress approved annexation, Mexico broke
off diplomatic relations with the United States.
 President Polk and other southern Democrats wanted much more from Mexico
than just Texas; he wanted from Texas to the Pacific Ocean.
 What was Polk’s final attempt to avert war?
 Polk sent more than 3000 American troops under General Zachary Taylor into a
disputed area of southern Texas.
 There was a small skirmish that Mexican soldiers started and this was the
excuse Polk had been waiting for.
 He asked Congress for a declaration of war against Mexico and Congress
gave it to him on May 13, 1846. Who led the US forces?
1. Bear Flag Revolt – June 14 1846
 A group of American settlers in California led by William Ide
launched an attack on the town of Sonoma and proclaimed the
Republic of California.
 Fremont quickly assumed control of the rebel force then drove the
Mexican army out of northern California.
 General Stephen Kearny crossed into New Mexico in July 1846 and
together with Fremont defeated the Mexican Army and by January
1847 the territories of New Mexico and California were in US hands.
2. Fighting in Mexico
 General Taylor had taken the war into Mexico in February 1847 and
was up against Santa Anna and defeated him.
 Who led the charge into Mexico City for the US?
3. The Treaty of Guadelupe Hidalgo – February 2, 1848
- Mexico gave up Texas and accepted Rio Grande as the southern
border of Texas
- Mexico sold California and New Mexico – How much did the US pay?
- US agreed to pay claims made by US citizens against Mexico ($3 mil)
 Gadsden Purchase – 1853
- Mexican government sold 30,000 square miles (present-day New
Mexico and Arizona) for $10 million.
 What was the importance of the Mexican-American war?
1.
2.
C. The Wilmot Proviso
 PA Democrat David Wilmot attached a “proviso” or amendment to a bill dealing
with Mexico that stated that slavery would not be allowed into the Mexican
territory.
 It did not pass, but showed another way the gap between the North and South
was widening.
III.
New Political Parties
A. Effects of the Missouri Compromise
 Sought to address long-term issue of westward expansion by stating that any
states to be created out of lands north of 36, 30 latitude would be free.
 Why was the North concerned after the Mexican-American War?
B. The Compromise of 1850
 The issue of territorial slavery resurfaced in 1850 when California, flooded with
migrants during the Gold Rush, asked to join the Union as a free state.
1. Clay Proposes a Compromise – (becomes known as Compromise of 1850)
 5 separate laws: (1) California admitted as free state, (2)people of New
Mexico and Utah decide free or slave themselves, (3)no sale of slaves in
DC, (4)Texas would give up its claims to New Mexico for $10 million.
 What was the (5) Fugitive Slave Act?
2. Calhoun Opposes Compromise
 John C. Calhoun presented a great speech on the views of the South
- South did not want to leave the Union, but they would not give up
liberty to save the Union.
- Government should protect property (slaves), not take it away.
3. Webster Favors Compromise
 Supported each of Clay’s proposals in a great speech to Congress, which
angered both sides of the debate.
4. Congress Approves the Compromise
 Congress eventually passed the bill, but all it really did was make
California a state – it did not totally solve the problem of slavery.
C. Changes in Political Parties
 During the early 1850s, the system of two powerful political parties began to
break down.
1. Decline of the Whigs
 The slavery issue had badly hurt the Whigs because many of the northern
Whigs (Protestants) were disgusted with the willingness of Whig leaders
to compromise on the issue of slavery.
 What was the other major reason for the decline of the Whigs?
2. Rise of the Know-Nothings
 DEFINE nativism
 Nativism arose in response to a surge in immigration between 1846 and
1854, when close to 3 million Europeans arrived in the United States.
 The fear of immigrants led in 1849 to the formation of a secret nativist
society called the Order of the Star-Spangled Banner.
- Why did they become known as the “Know-nothing Party”?
D. The Kansas-Nebraska Act
 Senator Stephen Douglas raised the issue of slavery in the territories because he
wanted to help Chicago and wanted to run for President.
 Douglas introduced the Kansas-Nebraska Act – January 1854
 Key idea was popular sovereignty – letting the people in a territory decide
whether to allow slavery there.
 What would this act get rid of?
 What was the reaction to the Kansas-Nebraska Act?
E. The Creation of the Republican Party
 In the summer of 1854 in Michigan, disgusted Northerners launched a new
Republican Party.
 Its members dedicated themselves to stopping the “Slave Power”, as they
called the South.
 Who made up the new Republican Party?
IV.
The System Fails
A. Violence Erupts
 Both pro and anti-slavery settlers began pouring into Kansas and by 1856
tension erupted into violence.
1. “Bleeding Kansas”
 How did John Brown respond to this violence?
2. “Bleeding Summer”
 Violence was not confined to the Kansas Frontier.
 What happened after Senator Charles Sumner gave a fiery speech later
titled “The Crime Against Kansas”?
B. Slavery and National Politics
 The violence of 1856 passed and peace returned to the country.
1. The Election of 1856
 Democrats nominated James Buchanan who had been out of the country
during the debate over Kansas-Nebraska, and the violence in Kansas.
 Republicans nominated John Fremont, Mexican War hero with no
political experience.
 Buchanan wins the election after promising to the South to stop “the
agitation of the slavery issue”.
2. The Dred Scott Decision – March 1957
 The Supreme Court handed down one of the most controversial decisions
in its history; Dred Scott v. Sanford.
 Dred Scott, enslaved man living in Missouri, sued for his freedom because
he once lived in a free state.
 What was the Supreme Court’s decision? (2 points)
i.
ii.
 Antislavery forces were disgusted with the Dred Scott decision because it
meant that Congress had no power to ban slavery.
C. The Lecompton Constitution
 A small pro-slavery group in Kansas elected members to a convention to write
the constitution required for statehood.
 The constitution was pro-slavery and Buchanan supported it because he wanted
it to end to violence and problems in Kansas.
 What was the reaction to the Lecompton Constitution?
D. The Lincoln-Douglas Debates
 Stephen Douglas – Democratic leader from Illinois
 Like many Americans in the 1850s, he believed that white Americans were
superior and white citizens should be able to choose the kind of society and
government they wanted.
 Abraham Lincoln – Republican from Illinois
 Born in a log cabin in Kentucky, became a lawyer, served in Congress and
was known for his strength in character.
 Douglas and Lincoln met in a series of 7 debates on the issue of slavery.
 Newspapers throughout the country covered the debates.
 The debates highlighted two important principles:
1. Majority Rule
2. Minority Rights
 What were Lincoln’s views on African-Americans?
 Lincoln loses the 1858 election to Douglas, but earned a reputation for eloquence
and moral commitment that would serve him well in the future.
E. John Brown’s Raid
 On October 16, 1859, an event took place that raised the worst fears of the South
 John Brown led an unsuccessful attempt to seize a federal arsenal at Harper’s
Ferry, Virginia.
 What was the purpose of this?
 United States troops under the command of Robert E. Lee surrounded the
arsenal and killed half of the attackers and captured Brown (sentenced to death)
 What was the reaction to Brown’s actions:
 In the North =
 In the South =
V.
A Nation Divided Against Itself
A. The Election of 1860
 Democrats eventually split into 3 parts over the issue of slavery:
1. Southern Democrats
 Wanted government to protect slavery in the territories
 Nominated John C. Breckinridge – Why?
2. Constitutional Union
 Moderate Southerners who had belonged to the Whig and American
parties met in Baltimore to form their own party.
 Joined by politicians from the Border States
 Nominated John Bell of Tennessee, a moderate slaveholder.
3. Northern Democrats
 Nominated Stephen Douglas because of his support of popular
sovereignty.
 Republican Party met in Chicago, and also had some difficulty:
1.
William Seward
 Favored to win at first, but many delegates felt his antislavery views were
to extreme and would hurt Republican chances at winning.
2.
Abraham Lincoln – gets nomination
 More moderate view on slavery while standing firm against its spread
into the territories.
 Election results of 1860
 Lincoln wins 39% of the popular vote and 180 electoral votes.
 How was he able to win the election even when his name did not appear on
the ballot in many Southern states?
B. The Lower South Secedes
 Southerners were outraged that a President could be elected without any
southern electoral votes – many called for the South to secede.
 DEFINE Secessionists
 What was the secessionists main argument?
 Confederate States of America
 South Carolina was the 1st state to officially leave the Union on December
20,1860 – right after it was official that Lincoln won the election.
 6 other states joined in the following weeks
 Who was elected president of the Confederacy?
C. The War Starts
 The worry on many minders in early 1861, was what the federal government
would do about the secession of the Southern states.
1. Last-Minute Compromises Fail
 Senator John Crittenden of Kentucky proposed a plan similar to the
Missouri Compromise line – Lincoln said no.
 Horace Greely, editor of the New York Tribune, proposed that the federal
government allow the seceding states to go.
- Who was against this and why?
 In his First Inaugural Address, Lincoln promised not to invade the South,
but said he would protect federal property in the South.
2. Fort Sumter
 Although South Carolina had seceded from the Union, federal troops
continued to occupy Fort Sumter (federal fort in Charleston harbor)
 The fort was running out of supplies and Lincoln had a decision to make:
-
Supply the fort?
-
Resupply the fort?
 April 12 1861, the South began a 34-hour bombardment of Ft. Sumter
and the federal troops surrendered.
3. The Upper South Secedes
 By firing on federal property, the Confederate states had committed an
open act of rebellion.
 When Lincoln called for volunteers to fight the seceding states, what
happened?
 84 years after it had declared its independence, the United States had
come apart – Could the Union be restored by force?