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Chapter 16: Slavery Divides the
Nation
16.1 – Slavery in the Territories
• From the days of Jefferson and the Founding
Fathers, slavery was a major issue for
politicians
The Missouri Compromise
• By 1819, there were 22 states (11 free, 11 not)
• Missouri wanted to join—North said NO to the
South
– Maine also wanted to join, so Senator Henry Clay
made a proposal
• Maine would be free; Missouri would not
• Then, an imaginary line drawn at around 36
degrees latitude would separate slavery in the
Louisiana Purchase territories
Wilmot Proviso
• After the U.S. War w/ Mexico, more lands
were added
• David Wilmot (PA) argued that new lands from
the West should be free
• South rejected his idea—goes to Congress; the
House passes it, the Senate does not
Opposing Views
North
South
• Slavery is morally
wrong
• Be banned in the
whole U.S.
• Slavery should be
allowed
• Helps the
economy
• Runaway should
be returned to the
South
Moderate View
• Extend the imaginary line to the Pacific Ocean
– Anything north is free; south is not free
• Also, allow new lands to have popular
sovereignty
– the people create their gov’t and they vote for or
against slavery
The Free-Soil Party
• Fearing slavery would split the nation, northern
Dems. and Whigs formed the Free-Soil Party
– Main goal was to keep slavery out of the West
• In 1848, Martin Van Buren (8th POTUS) was their
candidate
• Zachary Taylor (Whig) eventually wins, but Van
Buren’s success earned Free-Soil Party members
seats in Congress
– He also won 10% popular vote!
16.2 – The Compromise of 1850
• In 1850, California was ready to be admitted
into the U.S. as a free state
California’s Impact
• California’s admission in 1849 would break up
the 15-15 tie
– Southerners also feared the inevitable reality that
OR, UT, and NM would enter free too
• Southerners suggested to secede or remove
themselves from the U.S.
Henry Clay v. James C. Calhoun
• Successful w/ the Missouri Compromise, the “Great
Compromiser” (Clay) was called to work something out
• Sen. Calhoun (SC) argued that slavery should be
permitted in the West, and runaways be returned
– No deal = South will leave the Union (U.S.)
• Daniel Webster (MA) supported Clay; feared the states
would enter a bloody civil war over this
– Slavery is wrong, but a civil war would be worse
Debate Keeps Going
• As the debate continued, Calhoun dies of
tuberculosis, and Pres. Taylor also dies
• Millard Fillmore is the new POTUS
– He agrees with Clay’s plan, unlike Taylor
The Compromise of 1850
• Stephen Douglas (IL) took over for Clay’s plan
• It passes!
• Plan consisted of five parts:
– Cali. would be a free state
– Mexican Cession land would be UT and NM (voters
would decide on slavery)
– Slave trade ends in Washington, D.C.
– Fugitive Slave Act would be passed
– Settled border dispute between TX and NM
Fugitive Slave Act 1850
• Citizens had a duty to catch runaways
• Those interfering w/ runaways could be jailed or
fined $1000
• Judges earned a cut when they sent African
Americans (free or enslaved) back to the South
• This made northerners act on a cause they find
morally wrong
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
• In 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe, a New Eng.
woman wrote a novel to show the evils of the
Fugitive Slave Act
• Uncle Tom was an enslaved man; refused to
give up two runaways; is beaten to death
• Becomes a bestseller and truly epitomizes the
northern sentiment over slavery
16.3 – The Crisis Deepens
• Kansas becomes the new arena for the
antislavery debate
Kansas-Nebraska Act
• 1854, Douglas issues for a gov’t in the Nebraska
Territory (pg. 469 for map)
• Comp. of 1850 did not include LA Purchase lands;
therefore, Douglas splits the NE Territory into two
– Kansas and Nebraska
• Let the people decide on slavery
– Popular sovereignty
Support of the KS-NE Act
• Southerners believed the neighboring territories
of MO would support slavery
• POTUS Franklin Pierce (Dem) also supported the
bill
• Northerners were outraged by the bill; thought
slavery was forbidden due to the MO
Compromise
– KS-NE Act repeals the MO Comp. though
Violence Breaks Out
• Supporters of both sides come together on election
day
• “Border Ruffians” from MO came out to support
slavery; abolitionists from New Eng. came as well to
support antislavery members
• Illegal voting from Border Ruffians saw a proslavery
legislature in KS
• Ridiculous laws were passed, so abolitionists in KS
made their own legislature
– Kansas was split!
“Bleeding Kansas”
• Proslavery men raided the town of Lawrence by
burning homes
• John Brown, an abolitionist, and his four sons
rode into Pottawatomie Creek and murdered five
proslavery supporters
• Supporters from both sides exchanged bloodshed
through guerilla warfare
– By 1856, more than 200 people had died
– Newspaper called KS, “Bleeding Kansas”
Violence in the Senate
• Senator Charles Sumner (MA) openly refuted
the proslavery legislature in KS and singled out
Senator Andrew Butler (SC)
• Congressman Preston Brooks (Butler’s
nephew) marched into the Senate and beat up
Sumner for his trash talk on Butler
The Dred Scott Case
• 1857, the Dred Scott case further tested the
frailty of the slavery debate
• Dred Scott was enslaved in MO for years
– Moved w/ his owner to free IL and later the Wisconsin
Territory (also free)
– Returned to MO but his owner died
• Scott, with the help of antislavery lawyers, filed a
lawsuit which would document Scott as free since
he lived in free territories
The Supreme Court’s Decision
• Case eventually went to the S. Court as Dred Scott
v. Sandford
• Court ruled Scott could not file a lawsuit since he
was never a free citizen
– Court also stated slaves were considered as property
• Supreme Court went even further and said
Congress has no right to outlaw slavery in any
territory
– MO Comp. would then be deemed unconstitutional
Reactions from the Nation
• South rejoiced! Exactly what they wanted all
along
• Northerners openly argued the Supreme
Court’s decision
– Unity started to form with northerners, even
those that were not strong abolitionists
16.4 – The Republican Party Emerges
• The Republican Party was ready for action by
1856
• Abraham Lincoln was a strong representative
of the new party
The Party
• Convinced Dems. and Whigs would not do anything
with slavery, a new party was formed
– Free-Soilers, northern Dems., and antislavery Whigs
gathered in Michigan in 1854
• Goal: Keep slavery out of the West
• John C. Fremont was selected as first Republican
candidate for the 1856 Pres. Election
• Went up against former POTUS Millard Fillmore (KnowNothing) and James Buchanan (PA-Democrat)
– Buchanan wins the election
Abraham Lincoln of Illinois
• 1858, Abraham Lincoln challenged Stephen
Douglas (Dem) for the Senate
• Douglas was expected to run for POTUS in
1860—Senate election became popular
From Kentucky
• Lincoln was born in the backwoods of Kentucky; later
moved to Indiana and then Illinois
• Left home, studied law and began a career in politics
• Served on the state legislature and a term in Congress
• Deeply opposed the KS-NE Act
• Not well known, Lincoln was still respected due to his
plain-spoken manner, honesty, and public speaking skills
Lincoln-Douglas Debates
• Lincoln egged Douglas on to participate in debates
(seven times)
• Douglas was for popular sovereignty (didn’t like slavery,
but didn’t want to make a stand against it)
• Lincoln knew slavery was wrong; his goal was to stop
the spread of slavery in new states, not 100% end
it…yet
• Douglas wins the Senate election, but Lincoln put
himself on the map of American politics and the
antislavery movement
John Brown’s Raid
• In 1859, John Brown and his antislavery
supporters went to Harpers Ferry, VA
• Brown’s plan was to raid a federal arsenal
(weapons warehouse)
• Thought enslaved African Americans would
join his cause and he could equip them with
weapons from the arsenal
Sentenced to Death
• Brown gains control of the arsenal, but no slave
uprising occurred
• Instead, soldiers under Robert E. Lee killed ten and
captured Brown
• People thought Brown’s plan was insane
• Court found him guilty of murder and treason (actions
against one’s country)
• Showed no emotion at his hearing—sentenced to
death
The Impact
• Brown was seen as a hero to the North; a
martyr willing to die for his beliefs
• Northerners increased their support against
slavery
• The South scoffed at Brown’s raid; became
wary of the North wanting to destroy slavery
forever
16.5 – A Nation Divides
• Abraham Lincoln was elected by the
Republican Convention over William Seward
(NY)
The Election of 1860
• There was a split in ideas for the Democratic
Party
– Northern Dems. did not want to support slavery, while
Southern Dems. did
• Northern Dems. selected Douglas as their
candidate while Southern Dems. selected John
Breckinridge (KY)
• Another party, Constitutional Union, was formed
and selected John Bell (TN)
Election Results
• Douglas wins Missouri
• Bell wins three states looking to compromise over
slavery
• Breckinridge wins the southern states due to Lincoln’s
name being absent from southern ballots
• The North is more populated than the South; Lincoln
overwhelmingly wins the North
• Result: Lincoln is the sixteenth POTUS
Reactions from the South
• Felt that they had no voice in the national
gov’t
• Slavery would eventually be abolished
• South Carolina’s governor already pledged to
leave the Union if Lincoln won
Secession from the United States
• Senator John Crittenden (KY) made a last effort to save the
Union
• Introduced a bill to extend the MO Compromise line to the
Pacific Ocean
• Also proposed an unamendable (never can be changed) bill
where states below the line could own slaves
• Slavery in the West was no longer the issue; the South
rejected the bill and believed secession was their only
choice
• Even the North wasn’t thrilled with compromising what
they accomplished putting Lincoln into the White House
The Confederacy
• December 20, 1860, SC becomes first to secede
• Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and
Texas secede by Feb. 1861
• Southerners believed they had a right to leave
– Used the Dec. of Independence as a reason (“right to alter
or abolish a gov’t”)
• Seven states formed a new nation in Montgomery, AL
named the Confederate States of America (CSA)
• Jefferson Davis (MS) is elected the first president
The Civil War Begins
• Lincoln takes office in March, 1861
• Claimed that no state could legally leave the Union;
pledged no war unless the South fired first
• Davis (CSA) already began ordering seizure of federal
forts in the South
• Lincoln reacts – will start a civil war, maybe lose
support from the states that haven’t left yet
• Lincoln doesn’t react – make it seem like it was alright
for the states to secede
Fort Sumter
• Fort Sumter was a federal fort guarding
Charleston Harbor in SC
• Food supply was low; Lincoln was going to
send food and supplies (no troops or
weapons)
• Confederate troops intervened and wanted to
take the fort
Fort Sumter cont.
• April 11, 1861, troops demanded Major Robert
Anderson (US) to surrender the fort
– Anderson refused until he was ordered to
surrender by his commanders
• Confederates open fire; U.S. troops run out of
ammunition and surrender by April 13
• Fort Sumter marks the beginning of a very bloody
and terrible Civil War