Download The Controversy Over Westward Expansion

Unit 10, Notes 1
The Controversy Over Westward Expansion
Differences between the North and South
NORTH
SOUTH
Diversified economy with an emphasis on
industrialization Produced 90% of the nation’s
manufactured goods
Economy almost entirely dependent on agriculture
20,000 miles of railroad
Depended on rivers for shipping/travel
2/3 population
1/3 population At least 1/3 of Southerners were
slaves. In some states like Mississippi and South
Carolina slaves outnumbered white people.
Many immigrants Most European immigrants
came to Northern states and they opposed
slavery primarily for 2 reasons… 1) if slavery
in the North were legal, they would be
competing with slaves for industrial jobs, 2)
it would threaten to reduce the status of
white people would couldn’t compete with
slaves.
Few immigrants Immigrants who did settle in the
south opposed slavery. Immigrant-owned
newspapers in Texas, Maryland published
editorials in favor of universal voting rights and
freedom for African-Americans.
Many large, growing cities
Very few large cities
Telegraph wires provided instant communication
Very small telegraph system
Opposed slavery
Supported slavery Most Southerners opposed any
restriction of slavery, fearing it would lead to a
social and economic change. John C. Calhoun
warned that such change would lead “to the
greatest calamity, and the South to poverty,
desolation, and wretchedness.”
The American West: Slave or Free? – When the nation gained new territory, the slavery
controversy intensified. Would new states be slave or free? Who would decide? States that
allowed slavery were determined to prevent free states from gaining a majority in the
Senate. Political compromise broke down by 1860, and when Lincoln was elected president,
many Southern states decided to secede.
 President James K. Polk predicted that slaveholders would not travel to the new southwestern
territory gained from the Mexican War because the dry, arid climate was not suitable for plantation
farming – However, the Mexican War only heightened opposing viewpoints and led
to increasingly divisive sectional tensions
 Wilmot Proviso: Congressional proposition made by Pennsylvania Representative David Wilmot
(1846) stating that slavery should never exist in any territory gained from Mexico – Wilmot was
one of a group of Northern Democrats who believed the president was “proSouthern” – Despite opposition to the Wilmot Proviso by Southerners, it was passed
by Northern Democrats and Whigs in the House of Reps…but the Senate did not
vote on it
 Calhoun Resolutions…old and weak, Calhoun prepared a series of resolutions to
counter Wilmot
o Senator John C. Calhoun's response to the Wilmot Proviso
o Argued that states owned the territories of the US in common and that Congress had
no right to ban slavery in those territories
o Warned that civil war would result if the North did not comply – The Resolutions
never came to a vote – moderates in the Senate were unwilling to
consider them – but they demonstrated the growing anger of many
Southerners
Popular Sovereignty: The Answer?
 Many moderates looked for a solution to avoid sectional conflict
 Senator Lewis Cass of Michigan proposed a new solution that became known as popular
sovereignty: citizens of each new territory would be allowed to decide for themselves if they
wanted to permit slavery or not
 Many congressmen supported the idea because it passed the bill onto someone else and removed
some of the pressure on them – it appeared democratic since the settlers themselves
would make the decision…Most Northerners supported the idea because they
believed Northern settlers would occupy most of the new territory and would ban
slavery from their states
Political Parties
 Whig Party in the North split over the issue of slavery expansion during the Presidential Election of
1848
o Conscience Whigs: opposed slavery and Whig presidential nominee Zachary Taylor –
Hero of the Mexican War – they believed Taylor wanted to expand
slavery
o Cotton Whigs: supported extension of slavery because of their economic links to
Southern cotton through cloth manufacturing
 Many Conscience Whigs quit the party and joined with antislavery Democrats (who had grown
frustrated that their party had nominated Lewis Cass instead of Martin Van Buren)
and the abolitionist Liberty Party to create the Free-Soil Party (opposed slavery on the "free soil" of
western territory)
 Election of 1848
Whig candidate Zachary Taylor refused to take a side over the issue and won the election after
the political duel between Democrats and Free-Soilers led many voters to the moderate Whigs
– Democrat Cass and Free-Soiler Van Buren took strong positions on the slavery
issue – Cass supported popular sovereignty and Van Buren support the Wilmot
Proviso
California and Controversy – Within a year of President Taylor’s inauguration, the issue of
slavery once again took center stage thanks to the discovery of gold in California
 Thanks to the gold rush, California was able to apply for statehood in 1849 – With thousands of
people flooding to California and mining towns springing up overnight, a
government was needed to maintain order to prevent chaos and violence
 Controversy: bringing California in as a free state would make the slaveholding states a minority in
the Senate – Southerners dreaded losing power in national politics
 Some Southerners began talking openly of secession: removing their states from the Union
Compromise of 1850
 Compromise of 1850: yet another compromise devised by Henry Clay to keep the nation together
o California entered as a free state
o Other western territories such as Utah and New Mexico would have their slave status
determined by popular sovereignty
o Federal govt. agreed to pay for Texan debts
o Slave trade outlawed in Washington, D.C.
o Congress wouldn't interfere with domestic slave trade
o Congress would pass a new fugitive slave act to help Southerners recover escaped
slaves – These concessions were necessary to assure the South that after
California joined the Union, the North would not use its control of the
Senate to abolish slavery…This proposal triggered massive debate…Any
such compromise would need the approval of Senator Calhoun, the great
defender of the South’s rights…Another senator read Calhoun’s response
to Clay’s proposal…it was brutally frank….it said the North’s agitation
against slavery threatened to destroy the South. He did not think Clay’s
compromise would save the Union. Calhoun darkly predicted secession
was the only honorable solution for the South.
o Three days later Daniel Webster voiced his support for Clay’s plan and
called on the Senate to put national unity above sectional loyalties.
 President Taylor opposed the bill but died in office – had Taylor not died it probably would
not have been passed because he was against it
 New President Millard Fillmore signed the bill into law
 The Compromise of 1850 provided only a temporary solution – In the next few years, the
hope for a permanent solution through compromise would begin to fade.