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Student Reading 12.6: Westward Expansion and the Role of Slavery Part 2
Americans in the nineteenth century thought and spoke of their country as
an “empire of liberty.” America was a land of opportunity and liberty for those
adventurous enough to take on the challenge of moving west. With the northern
colonies becoming crowded and the southern colonies being used for large
plantations, many new settlers felt that heading west would provide the best
opportunities to start a new life.
During the 1800s, southern slave owners insisted that slavery was essential
to the progression of the new nation. They believed that slavery freed the higher
class from the need to do manual labor, or work done without machines. With
more free time on their hands, wealthy Americans would have more time to
devote themselves to their education, the arts, literature, and intellectual topics
such as politics and the economy. The Southerners believed that if slaves did the
work on the plantations, then much more work could be accomplished, leading to
the economic progress of our nation.
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Activity 12.6: Westward Expansion and the Role of Slavery Part 2
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Northerners, however, did not
agree with this way of thinking
because they lived in non-slave
states. As America acquired more
territory, Northerners became
concerned and fearful that slavery
would continue to spread across the
nation as more states entered the
Union.
Henry Clay introduced the
Compromise of 1850 to Congress,
hoping that it would settle disputes
(Broadside announcing an abolitionist lecture, 1857. Courtesy of
Ohio Pix.)
arising from the end of the Mexican-American War. The bill was divided into four
separate parts:
A. The bill required California to enter the Union as a free state.
B. The slave trade, but not slavery itself, was abolished in Washington, D.C.
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Activity 12.6: Westward Expansion and the Role of Slavery Part 2
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C. The Fugitive Slave Law was strengthened to protect the slave owners.
D. The territories of Utah and New Mexico were opened to slavery, based
on popular vote.
In 1854, the Kansas-Nebraska Act passed, dividing the region with Kansas to
the south and Nebraska to the north. It provided both territories the right to vote
on whether to be a free or a slave state. Both proslavery and antislavery
supporters moved to Kansas, trying to persuade people to vote one way or the
other. This caused a great disagreement between the two groups of people, and
before long the two groups began fighting, giving Kansas the nickname of
“Bleeding Kansas.”
The years of 1854-1861 were a rough time in the Kansas territory, with
continued fighting over whether or not it would become a free or slave state. The
antislavery forces finally won and Kansas entered the Union as a free state on
January 29, 1861, just a few months after Abraham Lincoln was elected the
President of the United States.
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Activity 12.6: Westward Expansion and the Role of Slavery Part 2
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Following the election of Abraham Lincoln, tension was high throughout the
states. Eleven states seceded, or withdrew from the union, by July of 1861 and
created the Confederate States of America.
The Civil War started April 12, 1861 with
the Battle of Fort Sumter in South Carolina.
The views of the Westerners were as
varied as those in the Eastern portions of
the United States. Although there were few
states in the west, more people were
beginning to inhabit the territories. The
soaring population of California, caused by
the Gold Rush, brought a need for a
transcontinental railroad. The government
(Abraham Lincoln. Courtesy of Ohio Pix.)
was pushing for the railroad to reach across
the nation, along with coast-to-coast telegraph wires for communication.
Western farmland was being opened up to millions of settlers and American
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Activity 12.6: Westward Expansion and the Role of Slavery Part 2
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(This photograph shows a miner’s camp and large log cabin on a hillside; prospectors, some with shovels,
and pix axe pose near a ditch. Courtesy of the Library of Congress.)
Indians were forced to once again give up their lands for the sake of American
settlers. Many Westerners supported the expansion of slavery into the West, and
some would support southern secession.
The Civil War ended in 1865 with a northern victory. At the conclusion of
the war, thousands of slaves received the news that they were free from their life
of forced labor. After they were given their freedom, many slaves left the South
where they had been enslaved and moved to new areas in the West and the
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Activity 12.6: Westward Expansion and the Role of Slavery Part 2
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North, though many stayed in the South. The United States government passed
new amendments to the Constitution, giving African Americans rights they had
never had before. The 13th Amendment abolished slavery in the United States.
The 14th Amendment made all people born in the United States regardless of
enslaved status citizens. The 15th Amendment was passed in 1870, and gave all
men, regardless of race or former enslavement, the right to vote.
Policies for the future growth of the West came during the Civil War.
Congress passed the Homestead Act in 1862. Lincoln also signed the Pacific
Railway Act that year, providing land and government loans to construct the first
transcontinental railroad. He also passed the Morrill Act, allotting pubic lands to
states to finance colleges dedicated to agricultural education and research. This
would help the West develop its dry land into fertile land to use for farming.
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Activity 12.6: Westward Expansion and the Role of Slavery Part 2
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Reading Comprehension Questions
1. Southern slave owners insisted that slavery was important for the
progression of our nation. They believed the slaves should do all of the
___________________________________________________________ so
owners would have more time to spend on the arts, literature, and
intellectual topics.
2. The Fugitive Slave Act was a bill divided into four parts. It included all of
the following except:
a. Abolished slave trade in Washington D.C.
b. Required California to enter the Union as a free state
c. Abolished slavery in all states
d. Strengthened the Fugitive Slave Law
3. While the North and the South were fighting over slavery issues, which of
these events were happening in the West? Mark all that apply.
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Activity 12.6: Westward Expansion and the Role of Slavery Part 2
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a. The California Gold Rush was happening in the 1840s and 1850s
b. Many people were moving out west for land and freedom
c. The Transcontinental Railroad was beginning to move eastward
d. Americans in the West wanted to become their own country
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Activity 12.6: Westward Expansion and the Role of Slavery Part 2