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North and the South
• Sectionalism: loyalty to the interests of one's own region or section of the
country, rather than to the country as a whole.
North and South in the 1800s: Climate and
Geography
• South: long hot rainy summers, and mild winters. Climate and soil ideal for
agriculture.
• North: Warm summers, and long harsh winters. Climate ill-suited for agriculture.
Cities develop around bays and rivers, and become centers of trade.
The North and South in the 1800s: Population
• North: diverse population due to immigration: Irish, German, and other
European groups.
• South: most Southerners are of English or Scottish decent. But 1/3 of the
population was made up of enslaved Africans. Most Southerners lived on
small farms.
The North and South in the 1800s: Cities
• North: cities were centers of trade, art, culture, and education. The cities were very
industrialized with lots of textile (cloth goods) factories. The cities were dirty and
overcrowded.
• South: very few large cities. Most Southerners lived on farms. Plantations were selfsufficient and operated like small towns.
Greek Revival style Plantation homes
The North and South in the 1800s: Economy
• North: was a manufacturing economy, that relied upon Southern Cotton for
their textile factories. The North-Free States
• South: was a agricultural economy. Cotton was the biggest cash crop (thanks
to Eli Whitney’s Cotton Gin), but tobacco, sugar cane, rice, and indigo were
also Southern cash crops. Slavery was viewed as a “necessary evil.”
The North and South in the 1800s: Culture
• North: The culture was determined by life in the city. Education was well
organized, but most children would only attend primary school. College was
only available for the wealthy.
• South: Southern culture revolved around plantation life. Only the wealthy
plantation owners children would receive a good education. Small farmers
were generally poorly educated.
The North and the South in the 1800’s:
Transportation
• North: relied upon canals, and railroads for transportation. The North had
more railroads than the South.
• South: relied mainly on the steamship for transportation. The South had
very few railroads.
Misconceptions
• All southern slave holders were not cruel and inhumane toward their slaves,
and not all Northerners were promoting abolition. Both groups were racist
and viewed themselves superior to Slaves.
• Large Southern plantation (50-more slaves) owners made up only about 24% of the population.
Wilmot Proviso and Slavery in the Territories
Consider this…
“Provided, That, as an express and fundamental condition to the acquisition of
any territory from the Republic of Mexico by the United States, by virtue of
any treaty which may be negotiated between them, and to the use by the
Executive of the moneys herein appropriated, neither slavery nor involuntary
servitude shall ever exist in any part of said territory, except for crime, whereof
the party shall first be duly convicted.”
–David Wilmot, From the Wilmot Proviso, 1846
About the Proviso
• It was proposed by David Wilmot in 1846 to stop the spread of Slavery into
the newly acquired territories from Mexico like CA, NM, and UT.
• John C. Calhoun, and the South viewed it as unconstitutional.
• The Proviso passed in the House, but the Senate defeated it.
• It increased sectional tensions in the South.
• The Wilmot Proviso led to the Free Soil Political Party.
Additional Questions
• The Union—How far should we be willing to compromise in order to preserve the Union?
• --Attitudes toward African Americans--Both northern and southern white Americans were
racist and (except for a few abolitionists) did not think African Americans should be treated
equally. Many northerners voted to bar free blacks from their states.
• --Slavery—What is its place in the United States? In the Constitution? Is it good or bad?
• --Wilmot Proviso—Is it appropriate? Is it dangerous?
• --Abolition—Is it good or bad?
• --Balance of power between North and South
The California Gold Rush
• What effect did the Gold Rush have on the U.S.?
• Gold Rush began in Jan. 24th 1848-1855
• 80,000 “Forty-niners”
California
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In 1849 applied to join the Union
CA’s new state constitution prohibited slavery.
It upset the South: California lay south of the 36°30 parallel.
President Zachary Taylor was supportive of California’s decision, but the
South saw it as a direct attack upon their way of life.
California
• CA’s admission would create a unbalanced nation
• The South questions whether or not to stay in the Union.
The Compromise of 1850
Three different views- one compromise
ISSUES
Northern Extremists
Southern Extremists
Moderates
Admission of
California as 31st state.
California should be admitted as
a free state
Divide California into two states
along Missouri Comp. line
Admit California with
Constitution barring Slavery.
Amending the
Constitution
Amend Constitution to
abolish slavery
Amend it to allow two Presidents,
from both North & South
Don't change the Constitution
Slavery in New
Mexico & Utah
Territories
Ban slavery from New Mexico
and Utah.
Protect right to keep slaves there
Allow settlers to decide: Popular
Sovereignty
Fugitive Slave Act
Repeal Fugitive Slave Act of
1793
Enforce Fugitive Slave Act of 1793
Keep Fugitive Slave Act of 1793
Slavery in Washington
DC
Abolish slavery in Washington
DC
Don't change status of
slavery in Washington, DC
Stop sale of slaves but not slavery
in Washington, DC
Henry Clay’s Resolutions
• The Compromise of 1850 began in 1849.
• This admittance of CA, upset the balance of
slave and free state representatives in Congress.
• Clay created resolutions he wished to be
adopted by Congress.
• After seven months of debate in the Senate, his
resolutions were voted down.
Henry Clay known as the Great Compromiser
John C. Calhoun: South Carolina Senator, and
Southern Extremist
• Calhoun warns the Senate that it must take measures to
ensure the Southerners can remain in the union "with
their honor and their safety" intact.
• The South should stand firm on the issue of slavery.
Since Slavery was constitutional.
Daniel Webster: Moderate position
• Webster viewed slavery as immoral, yet it was a reality
• Slavery in the territories had been settled when Congress
divided regions into slave and free in the 1820 Missouri
Compromise.
• He believed that slavery where it existed could not be
eradicated but that it could not exist in the agriculturally
barren lands of the southwest.
William Henry Seward: Northern Extremist
• Constitution's framers had recognized the existence of
slavery and protected it where it existed, but the new
territory was governed by a "higher law than the
Constitution" -- a moral law established by "the Creator
of the universe."
• He warned the South that slavery was doomed and that
secession from the Union would be futile.
Acceptance and Outcomes of the Compromise
• Five major outcome: Stephen A. Douglas helped to pass the Compromise, it was approved
in September 1850.
• The Compromise:
1. Admitted California as a free state (Northern Extremists)
2. set the present boundaries for Texas, (Moderates)
3. allowed the territories of Utah and New Mexico to decide if they would be Slave or Free
(Moderates)
4. strengthened the fugitive slave law, (Southern Extremists)
5. abolished the slave trade in Washington D.C. (Moderates)
• The Compromise of 1850 calmed sectional tensions, and delayed the Civil War for another
ten years.
America in 1850
Fugitive Slave Act- or the “Bloodhound Law”
• Northerners required to capture runaway slaves and return them to their
masters.
• Escaped slaves no longer safe in the North.
• Abolitionists outraged
• Ex-slaves could be taken at any moment.
Fugitive Slave Act
• Harriet Beecher Stowe- writes Uncle Tom’s Cabin in 1852
• It enraged Southerners
• “So you're the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war!”
-Abraham Lincoln, 1862
Underground Railroad
• To protest the Fugitive Slave Act Northerners began to aid escaped slaves.
• They opened up their homes and provided escaped slaves with safety as they
made their way to Canada.
• Conductors helped to guide slaves to freedom.
• Harriet Tubman, Made 19 trips to the South and never lost a person.
Results of the Underground Railroad
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More than 30,000 slaves escape to freedom.
Southern distrust will increase.
The South will set up patrol to catch slaves and abolitionists.
The trip from North to South is long and dangerous.
Escaped slaves lack knowledge of Northern geography.
References
• Danzer, G. (2015). The Americans: Beginnings to 1914 ([Alabama ed.). Florida: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
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Day 1:
http://mrkash.com/activities/northsouth.html and Wikimedia commons
Day 2 and 3:
http://www.ushistory.org/us/30a.asp
https://www.sonoma.edu/tah/lessons/west/wilmotmenu.html
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/teachers/lesson_plans/pdfs/unit5_10.pdf
http://resourcesforhistoryteachers.wikispaces.com/USI.36