Download NOTES- Chapter 14 Slavery and America`s Future: The Road to war

TIME 5 (1844-1877)
NOTES- Chapter 14 Slavery and America’s Future: The Road to war (1845-1861)
As the nation expanded and its population grew, regional tensions, especially over slavery, led to a civil war- the course and aftermath of
which transformed American society.
SUMMARY:
Chapter 14 has as its theme the interplay of several forces that paved the road to war in the period 1845 to 1861. Two of the forces, territorial
expansion and slavery, might at first glance seem separate, but in fact the two became inseparably intertwined because of the addition of a third force- the
perceptions (frames of references) of the two antagonists, North and South, toward each other: “The Republican Party charged that southerners were taking
over the federal government and planning to make slavery legal throughout the Union. Southern leaders defended slavery and charged the North with
unconstitutional efforts to destroy it.” The application of such perceptions to the twin forces of territorial expansion and slavery provided the catalyst necessary
to produce sectional polarization, disunion, and war.
The Mexican War heightened northern fear of a “Slave Power.” This fear, present in the North since passage of the gag rule in 1836, was caused by
the belief that southern power and the expansion of slavery were jeopardizing the liberties of whites. Northerners began to see a Slave-Power conspiracy
behind most of the events of the era, and, as a result, they became more and more antislavery in sentiment. The nature of northern fears and analysis of the
Wilmot Proviso demonstrate that northern antislavery sentiment was racist and, in the sense that northerners wanted the territories for the expansion of their
economic system (based on the free-wage labor system) as opposed to a slave-labor system of the South, self-serving in its orientation. Furthermore, the
Mexican War, through introduction of the Wilmot Proviso into the House of Representatives, heightened southern fear that a hostile North was attempting to
undermine and eventually abolish the institution of slavery. Southerners began to see an antislavery conspiracy behind most of the events of the era, and since
such a conspiracy seemed tied to the northern abolitionist movement, southerners began to defend slavery more vociferously and, through John C. Calhoun’s
state-sovereignty theory, claimed slaveowners’ rights were constitutionally protected.
Acquisition of territory from Mexico caused slavery expansion to become the overriding issue in the presidential election of 1848. The Democrats
and the Whigs began to fragment as a result of sectional antagonisms, and the presence of the Free-Soil Party was partially responsible for Zachary Taylor’s
election as president. Between 1848 and 1850 several other issues emerged and caused further dissension. The most troublesome matter was the rights of
settlers in the territories. The Compromise of 1850, rather than settling this and other issues, became a source of argument, which was further fueled by
publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin.
As southern leaders began to feel more and more threatened by the antislavery arguments coming from the North, they published proslavery tracts
and novels to justify slavery and to counter the moral arguments against it. Furthermore, to prevent congressional action, the South continued to advance
states’ rights constitutional theories.
The election of Franklin Pierce to the presidency and the domestic and foreign policy decisions of his administration had the effect of further feeding
northern fear that the Slave Power had captured control of the national government. Northerners saw passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act and its repeal of
the Missouri Compromise as a proslavery act inspired by the Slave Power. The shock waves from passage of this act brought the destruction of the Whig Party,
the birth of the Republican and American Parties, and a complete realignment of the political system in the United States. In this realignment, the Republican
Party, by appealing to groups interested in the economic development of the West and by expounding an ideology based on the dignity of labor, became the
dominant party in the North. Concurrently, the Democratic Party, by arguing that slavery elevated the status of all whites, appealing to racism, and emphasizing
the “rights” of southerners, became the party of the South. In addition, northerners linked Democrats with the Slave Power, while southerners linked
Republicans with radical abolitionists.
Events now came in rapid succession- “Bleeding Kansa,” the Sumner-Brooks affair, the Dred Scott decision, John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry, the
splintering of the Democratic Party, and Abraham Lincoln’s election in 1860. Each drove the wedge more deeply between the two sections and served to
harden opinions. However, analysis of the 1860 election results indicates that the electorate did not vote in favor of extreme action. Compromise was made
impossible first by Lincoln’s refusal to soften his party’s stand on the expansion of slavery into the territories. The situation was exacerbated by the adoption
of the separate-state secession strategy by southern extremists, which led to the secession of seven southern states between the time of Lincoln’s election
and his inauguration. Lincoln’s subsequent decision as president to reprovision the federal fort in the Charleston Harbor brought the first shots of what was to
be the Civil War.
I.
1850: Compromise of Armistice?
a.
Debate Over Slavery in the Territories
California’s request to enter the Union as a free state sparked the first major political conflict following the Mexican War.
When Henry Clay’s omnibus bill did not pass, Stephen Douglas introduced each measure separately. Douglas was able to gain
a majority for each separate bill that made up the compromise, and the Compromise of 1850 became law.
b.
Compromise of 1850
California entered the Union as a free state; Texas gave up its boundary claims; the New Mexico and Utah territories were
organized on the basis of popular sovereignty; the Fugitive Slave Law was strengthened; and the slave trade was abolished in
Washington, D.C. The two basic flaws in the Compromise of 1850 were: (1) popular sovereignty in all its vagueness had been
written into the act, and (2) the Fugitive Slave Act.
c.
Fugitive Slave Act
An important facet of the compromise strengthened southerners’ ability to capture escaped slaves. Abolitionists sharply
protested this law. Protests and violent resistance to slave catchers occurred in many northern towns from 1850 to 1854.
d.
“Uncle Tom’s Cabin”
Harriet Beecher Stowe’s book enthralled northerners by painting a portrait of the suffering of slaves, a portrayal that appalled
white southerners.
e.
The Underground Railroad
Southerners were especially disturbed by the Underground Railroad which helped slaves escape to the North.
f.
Election of 1852 and the Collapse of Compromise
Franklin Pierce’s victory gave southerners hope because he believed that each section’s rights should be defended and because
he supported the Fugitive Slave Act. Those same stands appalled many northerners. Pierce’s foreign policy decisions caused a
further rift between southerners and northerners.
II.
Slavery Expansion and Collapse of the Party System
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
III.
Slavery and the Nation’s Future
a.
b.
c.
IV.
The Kansas-Nebraska Bill
This bill, proposed by Stephen A. Douglas, exposed the complexity of popular sovereignty. By throwing open to
slavery Louisiana Purchase territory north of 36’30, the bill in effect repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820.
Discord over the bill helped split the Whigs, and the party fell apart.
Birth of the Republican Party
The Kansas-Nebraska Bill encouraged antislavery Whigs and Democrats, Free-Soilers, and other reformers to form
the Republican Party, which grew rapidly in the North. In the 1854 Congressional elections, Republicans captured
a majority of northern House seats.
Know-Nothings
American Party (“Know-Nothings”) started as an anti-immigrant/anti-Catholic Party that exploited fears of
foreigners.
Party Realignment
The Republicans, Democrats, and Know-Nothings all sought to attract former Whigs. The Republicans appealed
to those voters interested in internal improvements, federal land grants, higher tariffs, and the economic
development of the West.
Republican Ideology
To broaden their ideology beyond antislavery, the Republicans trumpeted “Free Soil, Free Labor, Free Men”
Southern Democrats
Southern Democrats attracted slaveholders from among the former Whigs. They party used racial fears to keep
the political alliance between yeoman and planters intact.
Bleeding Kansas
When the Kansas-Nebraska Act passed, thousands of proslavery and antislavery people poured into Kansas,
leading to massive bloodshed in the territory. Passions led to violence in the Senate in the form of the SumnerBrooks affair (caning of Senator Sumner).
Election of 1856
With southern support, James Buchanan was elected president in 1856.
Dred Scott Case
In this case, the Supreme Court ruled that Dred Scott was not a citizen of the US or of Missouri; that residence in
free territory did not make Scott free; and that Congress had no power to bar slavery in the territories. The
decision seemed to confirm northern fear of an aggressive Slave Power.
Abraham Lincoln on the Slave Power
Lincoln stressed that slavery in the territories affected all citizens of the US because, if left unchecked, slavery
would soon grow into a nationwide institution.
Lecompton Constitution and Sectional Disharmony Among Democrats
Douglas’s stand against the Lecompton Constitution infuriated southern Democrats.
Disunion
a.
b.
c.
d.
John Brown’s Raid on Harpers Ferry
Hoping to bring about a slave rebellion, Brown led a band of men in an attack on the federal arsenal at Harpers
Ferry, Virginia. This act struck fear into the South.
Election of 1860
Lincoln won this election on a sectional basis, with the southern votes split between Douglas, Breckenridge, and
Bell. When Republicans refused to accept the Crittenden Compromise, southerners threatened secession.
Secession and the Confederate State of America
On December 20, 1860, South Carolina seceded from the Union, a step that enticed other southern states to
follow. By February 1861, seven states had formed the Confederate States of America. Upon inauguration, Lincoln
worked to uphold federal authority without war.
Fort Sumter and Outbreak of War
At Fort Sumter in South Carolina, the Confederate States could acquiesce to Lincoln’s intent to supply the federal
installation or they could attack the garrison. In April, Confederates bombarded the fort and forced its surrender.