Download Social Studies. Chapter 15. The Nation Breaking Apart 15

Social Studies. Chapter 15. The Nation Breaking Apart
15-1 Tensions Rise Between North and South
I. North and South Follow Different Paths
A. Industry and Immigration in the North
1. Both economies mainly agricultural; small farms in N
a. N had more industry and commerce
b. S relied on plantations and slave labor
c. differences began to divide nation politically
2. Immigrants were attracted to N industries
a. cities grew; immigrants also moved west
b. built farms in new states; NW territory
c. canals and RR ran E to W
i. connected MW and east coast
B. Agriculture and Slavery in the South
1. Small group of wealthy planters dominated S politics and society
a. profit on the backs of slaves came from trade
b. planters relied on exports of cash crops
i. invested in land and slaves
2. Most Southern whites were poor farmers with no slaves
a. many resented powerful plantation owners
b. some accepted slavery because it made them feel socially superior
3. To defend against N criticism, S argued that whites are superior to AA
a. many also claimed it helped slaves
i. exposed them to Christianity
ii. provided food, clothing and shelter
II. Slavery and Territorial Expansion
A. The Wilmot Proviso
1. N had fear that after the war with Mexico, S wanted to expand slavery
a. PA rep, David Wilmot proposed bill to outlaw slavery in land acquired
from war with Mexico
b. slaveholders felt Congress had no right to prevent them from bringing
slaves with them to new territories
c. Constitution protects all property rights
d. Proviso divided Congress along sectional lines
e. passed House; not Senate
2. Proviso failed; important effects
a. led to creation of the Free-Soil Party
b. dedicated to stopping expansion of slavery
c. “Free Soil, Free Speech, Free Labor, and Free Men”
d. won 10 seats in Congress in 1848
e. made slavery a key issue
B. The Compromise of 1850
1. Debate over what to do with lands won from Mexican War
a. both sides feared upset in balance; when CA became a state
b. most CA residents wanted to become a free state
c. S wanted to divide CA in half
2. March, 1850 CA applied to become a free state
a. Congress was divided over the issue
3. Henry Clay had a solution to the problem
a. N: CA admitted free; slave trade would be abolished in DC
b. S: Cong. Would not pass laws regarding slavery in the rest of
territories won from Mexico
i. Cong would pass stronger law to help slaveholders
4. Both sides felt they were giving up too much
5. Job of winning passage of the plan fell to Sen Stephen A. Douglas (IL)
a. Douglas succeeded; Compromise of 1850 became law
b. some believed this would save the Union; tensions continued to rise
III. The Crisis Deepens
A. The Fugitive Slave Act
1. Fugitives could be held without an arrest warrant; no right to jury trial;
federal commission ruled on each case
a. S backed act; considered slaves property
b. required N to help recapture slaves
c. penalties for ppl who didn’t cooperate
d. slave catchers allowed to roam N; sometimes captured free AA
i. drew more to the abolition cause
ii. many defied the act
B. Outrage Over the Act
1. Harriet Beecher Stowe, outraged by Fugitive Slave Act, wrote Uncle
Tom’s Cabin
a. novel presented cruelty and immorality of slavery
b. popular in the N; refuted as false in the S
IV. Violence Erupts
A. The Kansas-Nebraska Act
1. 1854, Sen. Douglas drafted bill to organize Nebraska Territory
a. became known as Kansas-Nebraska Act
b. proposed to divide territory into two parts
2. Douglas suggested popular sovereignty to get S support
a. people to decide free or slave
b. S liked that; chance of slavery where it was banned by MO Comp
c. passage would mean destruction of the MO Comp
d. passed; turned Kansas into battleground
B. Bleeding Kansas
1. Kansas became proslavery through its representatives after 5,000 MO
people came in and voted illegally
a. anti-slavery settlers rejected elected government
b. both sides armed themselves
c. proslavery mob looted Lawrence, KS
2. John Brown, extreme abolitionist, led 7 in massacre of 5 proslavery
neighbors
a. news of violence spread
b. civil war in Kansas; 3 years; called “Bleeding Kansas”
C. Violence in Congress
1. May 1856, Sn Charles Sumner of MA spoke against pro-slavery forces in KS
a. in speech, insulted Sn AP Butler of SC
b. Preston Brooks, relative of Butler attacked Sumner as he sat at his
desk in Congress
i. beat him with his cane; never fully recovered
c. Brooks cheered in S; N shocked at violence in Senate
2. Angry, anti-slavery forces united and created Republican Party
15-2 Slavery Dominates Politics
I. Slavery and Political Division
A. The Republican Party Forms
1. Whig Party split over Kansas-Nebraska Act; N v. S
a. some S Whigs joined the Democratic Party
i. others looked for leaders who supported slavery
b. N Whigs joined w/other rivals; formed Republican Party
i. anti-slavery and sought to protect N interests
ii. used moral arguments; looked down on agricultural system
based on enslaved labor
c. Republicans quickly gained strength in N
i. “Bleeding Kansas” was the key
ii. blamed violence on Dems
2. Republicans nominated John Fremont, handsome explorer, “The
Pathfinder” as their representative for president
a. Fremont wanted CA and KS as free states
b. no controversial past
3. Republican Party position on slavery so unpopular in S; Fremont not even
on ballot
B. Election of 1856
1. Democrats nominated James Buchanan; ambassador to GB last 3 years
a. hadn’t spoken out on KS-NE Act
b. claimed his goal was to maintain the Union
c. appealed to S (esp upper) and border states and N who feared
Fremont elected could tear the nation apart
2. American Party (Know-Nothing Party) nominated Millard Fillmore
a. had been president after death of Z. Taylor
b. K-N divided over slavery; little strength
3. 1856 election turned into 2 separate races
a. N: Fremont v. Buchanan
b. S: Fillmore v. Buchanan
i. Buchanan won
c. Fremont won 11 N states; showed Republicans were N force
II. The Breaking Point
A. The Case of Dred Scott
1. Scott was enslaved in MO; lived in free territories before being taken
back to MO
a. after owners death, he argued he was a free man because he lived
in territories where slavery was illegal
b. sued for freedom
2. Dred Scott v. Sanford (1856)
a. ruled against Scott
b. chief Justice, Roger Taney stated that Scott was not a US citizen
c. could not sue in US courts
d. bound to MO slave code b/c he lived there
3. Taney argued that banning slavery in territories violated property rights
a. 5th Amendment
b. meant MO Comp. was unconstitutional
B. The Lincoln-Douglas Debate
1. After Scott decision, Republicans worried Dems wanted to legalize
slavery across US
a. used this charge to attack individual Dems
b. Stephen Douglas, one of main targets in 1858
c. Republicans nominated A. Lincoln to contest Senate seat
d. Lincoln used Bible to lay argument against Douglas
i. ‘House divided against itself cannot stand’
ii. ‘it will become all one or the other’
2. Lincoln-Douglas debates are models for political debates today
a. addressed expansion of slavery
i. Lincoln: moral, social, political wrong; not to be expanded
ii. Douglas: popular sovereignty best way to solve issue
3. But, Scott Decision made pop. sov. Unconstitutional
a. people had no right to take away property rights by voting
4. Lincoln lost; became national Republican figure
C. John Brown’s Raid
1. 1859, John Brown, wanted to provoke slave uprising
a. planned to capture weapons at Harpers Ferry, VA
2. Brown and 18 followers (13 white; 5 black) captured the arsenal
a. sent out word to rally and arm local slaves
b. no slaves joined
c. Marines attacked Brown; some escaped
d. Brown and six captured; 10 killed
3. Brown tried for murder and betrayal (treason)
a. accused of conspiracy to cause a slave revolt
b. convicted and sentenced to hang
c. day of hanging, abolitionists tolled bells and fired guns in honor
d. S horrified by N reaction and Brown’s actions
4. Sectional tensions at a breaking point
15-3 Lincoln’s Election and Southern Secession
I. The Election of 1860
A. The Split in the Democratic Party Platform Decision
1. N supported popular sovereignty; S supported slavery
a. N won platform vote; many S delegates left
b. had to chose a candidate
i. many S left
c. N backed Stephen A Douglas for support of pop sov
d. S backed VP John Breckenridge of KY
2. Republicans nominated A. Lincoln
3. Constitutional Union Party, aimed to preserve the Union nominated John
Bell of TN
B. Two Political Races
1. N: Lincoln and Douglas; S: Breckenridge and Bell
a. Lincoln and Breckenridge were the most extreme on slavery
b. Lincoln opposed expansion of slavery
c. Breckenridge wanted federal gov to protect slavery in any territory
2. Election showed nation to be sick of compromise
a. Lincoln defeated Douglas in N; Breckenridge carried most of S
b. Douglas and Bell won only border states
c. N had greater pop; Lincoln won
3. Despite Lincoln’s promise not to abolish slavery in S, they didn’t trust him
a. sure Republicans would move to ban slavery
b. white Southerners saw Republican victory as a threat to way of life
II. Southern States Secede
A. The Confederate States of America
1. Even before election, Southerners warned that if Lincoln won the
election, Southern states would secede
2. Based arguments on states rights; since they voluntarily joined the Union,
they could leave it
3. Dec. 20, 1860, SC became the first state to secede
a. MS, FL, AL, GA, LA, and TX joined
4. February 1861, states met in Montgomery, AL
a. formed Confederate States of America
b. named Jefferson Davis president of the Confederacy
c. drafted constitution; modeled on USA
i. supported states rights
ii. protected slavery
d. made plans to defend their separation
B. Union’s Response
1. Northerners considered secession unconstitutional
a. President Buchanan argued against secession
b. if secession was permitted, Union would become weak
i. ‘rope of sand’
ii. Constitution prevented this from happening
2. Secession raised issue of majority rule
a. S complained N would use their majority to force S to abolish slavery
b. N complained S not willing to live with election results
i. quarrel is with theory of democracy
C. Failure of Compromise
1. Crittenden Compromise (Sen. John J. Crittenden)
a. slavery protected south of the line established in MO Comp
b. Congress should not abolish slavery in a slave state
c. federal government should compensate owners of fugitive slaves
2. Compromise defeated in Senate
D. Lincoln’s Inauguration
1. What would Lincoln do about the crisis
a. March 4, he took the oath
2. Assured the South he had no intention of abolishing slavery there
a. spoke forcefully against secession
3. Didn’t want to invade the South; didn’t want to abandon Southern forts
a. What would happen next?