Download Ch18 Renewing the Sectional Struggle

War on the Horizon
Study the political cartoon and use your knowledge of U.S. History
to answer the following questions.
• What are the two ways the cartoonist shows who the
two groups of students are?
• What point is the cartoonist making by having
Columbia just awaken from a nap?
• What lesson has the teacher assigned? How do you
know? Why would she assign this lesson?
• What were the scrambling students doing before the
teacher woke up? What historical event might this
reference?
• Why is there a map of the United States behind Miss
Columbia?
Chapter 18:
Renewing the Sectional Struggle
The sectional conflict over the
expansion of slavery that erupted after
the Mexican War was temporarily
quieted by the Compromise of 1850,
but Douglas’s Kansas-Nebraska Act of
1854 exploded it again.
The Beginnings of Sectionalism
• As Americans expanded West in the 1840s,
conflicts
intensified
the is
North
& the
A major
shiftbetween
in politics
looming
South
regardingsectional
the issue of
slavery parties
involving
political
• Northerners rallied around the Wilmot Proviso
(prohibited slavery in any territory acquired in
the Mexican War)
– Southern senators blocked its passage
• Its debate revealed sectional (not party)
divisions
The Popular Sovereignty Panacea
• Existence of two strong political
parties (Democrats & Whigs) that
were both popular in the North,
South, & West helped keep
America from splitting apart
– Politicians ignored problems
generated by slavery
– Northern abolitionists and
southern “fire-eaters” (strongly
pro-slavery) continued to
agitate
• 1848: Polk, due to exhaustion
from overworking, did not seek a
second term
Northern Democrats liked it (let settlers decide)
The Popular Sovereignty Panacea
• Slavery in the West was a key issue in the
Election of 1848:
– Democratic platform did not address the
issue of slavery
– Democratic nominee Lewis Cass
proposed popular sovereignty to allow
territorial settlers (not Congress) to decide
slavery in the West
• Compromise between the extremes of the North and
the South
• Places the issue in the hands of the people
Free Soilers were against the expansion of
slavery (not slavery in the South), wanted
Political
Triumphs
for
General
Taylor
to expand West & allow free white
workers
a
chance
at
upward
mobility
– Whig candidate Zachary Taylor evaded
the slavery issue
• No political experience, but a popular war
hero
– The Free Soil Party was created by
Northern abolitionists who nominated
Martin Van Buren
• Party was committed against the extension of
slavery, advocated federal aid for internal
improvements and urged free government
homesteads for settlers
Neither major party talked
about the slavery issue, but
Taylor won narrowly
“Californy Gold”
• 1848: gold was discovered in
California, thousands of men
flooded into the state
• Most people didn’t “strike it rich”
• An increase in crime led California
to draft a constitution and apply for
statehood
– Constitution written that outlawed
slavery
– Bypassed the usual territorial stage
and avoided becoming a slave state
Sectional Balance and the
Underground Railroad
• 1850: South was very well off
–
–
–
–
Southerner as president (Taylor)
Majority in the cabinet and on the Supreme Court
Equality in the Senate
Extremely unlikely that slavery was threatened in 15
original southern states
• Admission of free California would destroy the
equilibrium forever
– Might set a precedent for the rest of the Mexican Cession
territory and other states could follow
Sectional Balance and the
Underground Railroad
• Underground Railroad - a secret organization
that took runaway slaves north to Canada
– Harriet Tubman (illiterate runaway slave) freed more
than 300 slaves
• Southerners were upset at the loss of more and
more slaves from the South through this
organization
• South also demanded a stricter fugitive slave law
– First one (passed in 1793) was inadequate and ignored
by some antislavery public officials
Twilight of the Senatorial Giants
• Reasons for Compromise of 1850
– Taylor proposed the immediate admission of
New Mexico & California as states
– The South reacted angrily:
•
•
–
Popular sovereignty would make California a free
state
New Mexico had no slaves or a climate adequate
for slavery
“Immortal Trio” met together for the last time
to engineer a compromise
Twilight of the Senatorial Giants
• Henry Clay urged concession from both the North and
the South (esp. a stronger fugitive slave law)
• John C. Calhoun, dying of tuberculosis, pleaded for
slavery to be left alone, for the return of runaway slaves,
the restoration of the rights of the South as a minority,
and the return for political balance
– Also wanted to elect 2 presidents, one from the North and one
from the South
• Daniel Webster wanted to uphold Clay’s compromise
(three hour speech)
– Proclaimed that the new land could not hold slaves anyway,
since it couldn’t cultivate cotton, etc…
– Seventh of March speech helped the North into compromise
Webster: The
North will never
accept secession
Calhoun: The South
must protect slavery &
will “peacefully” secede
Clay: We must
compromise
Deadlock and Danger on Capitol Hill
• William H. Seward - against
concession and hated slavery
– Said that Christian legislators
must adhere to a “higher law”
and not allow slavery to exist
• This might have cost him the
1860 presidential election
• President Taylor (influenced by the idea of
the “higher law”) vetoed every compromise
sent to him by Congress
Breaking the Congressional Logjam
• 1850: Zachary Taylor
suddenly died of an acute
intestinal disorder
– VP Millard Fillmore took over
the reigns
• He signed a series of
agreements that came to be
known as the Compromise
of 1850
California was
admitted as a free state
Ended the slave trade
in Washington DC
(but not slavery)
Taylor threatened to veto the compromise
but his death in 1850 allowed VP Millard
Fillmore to sign the Compromise of 1850
Popular sovereignty
would decide slavery in
Utah & New Mexico
A stronger Fugitive
Slave Law was
created to appease
the South
Balancing the Compromise Scales
• The North got the better deal in the Compromise
of 1850
– California was admitted as a free state, permanently
tipping the balance.
– The Utah and New Mexico Territories could decide,
with popular sovereignty, over slavery.
• New Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 was drastic
– (1) fleeing slaves couldn’t testify on their own behalf
– (2) the federal commissioner who handled the case
got $5 if the slave was freed and $10 if not
– (3) people who were ordered to help catch slaves had
to do so, even if they didn’t want to.
Balancing the Compromise Scales
• New Fugitive Slave Law was a mistake on
behalf of the South, since it inflamed both
sides
– Northerners turned from compromise to
abolition in large numbers
• Civil war didn’t occur, and this was better
for the North
– With each moment, the North was growing
ahead of the South in population and wealth
(crops, factories, ships, and railroads)
Chapter 18:
Renewing the Sectional Struggle
(2)
The sectional conflict over the
expansion of slavery that erupted after
the Mexican War was temporarily
quieted by the Compromise of 1850,
but Douglas’s Kansas-Nebraska Act of
1854 exploded it again.
Defeat and Doom for the Whigs
• With slavery (temporarily) under wraps,
the parties needed new issues for the
election of 1852:
– Whigs nominated Mexican War general
Winfield Scott (“Old Fuss and Feathers”);
Whigs had difficulty finding an issue
– Democrats nominated Franklin Pierce,
claimed credit for national prosperity, &
promised to defend the Compromise of 1850
By end
1852,
The
of the Whig Party was in trouble
the Whig
no significant platform issues
partyHad
leads
to a rise in
Had difficulty appealing to
sectional
voters in the North & South
political
alignments
Southern Whigs were
angry over the dominance
of the anti-slave Whig
faction
Coveted Cuba: Pearl of the Antilles
• Cuba’s appeal
– Had large population of black slaves
– Could be divided up into several states to restore balance of
power in US
– Polk offered $100 million for Cuba to Spain, but was turned
down
• Ostend Manifesto - stated that the U.S. was to offer
$120 million to Spain for Cuba, and if it refused then
America would be justified in seizing the island
– Northerners were outraged once this “secret” document was
leaked
• Sectional interests cancelled each other out
– North wanted Canada, South wanted Cuba
Pacific Railroad Promoters and the
Gadsden Purchase
• Difficult travel to California and Oregon
• Only real feasible land transportation lay in a
transcontinental railroad
• Southerners wanted a route through the South,
but the best one would go through Mexico
(would not pass through unorganized territory)
– Gadsden Purchase for $10 million (rip off?)
• North said that if organization of territories was
the problem, then Nebraska should be
organized
– Why would the South agree to this?
Douglas’s Kansas-Nebraska Scheme
Northern
were
outraged
• Senator Stephen
A. abolitionists
Douglas (Illinois)
wants
railroad
through Chicago,
he hadslavery
investedin
heavily
becausewhere
it allowed
an area
– Needs where
to get Southerners’
support
slavery was
already
prohibited
• Douglas proposed the Kansas-Nebraska Act –
would let slavery in Kansas and Nebraska be
decided upon by popular sovereignty
– Missouri Compromise had banned this so it would have
to be repealed
• Douglass rammed the bill through Congress, and it
was passed
– He hoped expansion of West would bring railroads,
Democratic Party cohesion, & a presidential nomination
for himself in 1856
Congress Legislates a Civil War
• Kansas-Nebraska Act led directly to Civil War
• Northerners no longer enforced the Fugitive
Slave Law at all, and Southerners were still
angry
• Democratic Party was hopelessly split into two,
and after 1856, it would not have a president
elected for 28 years
• The Rise of the Republicans
– Vowed to protect free white workers & boost the
economy
– Made up of seasoned politicians who effectively built
up the power of the party by 1856
Watch American party politics become
sectional, rather than national, from
1848 to 1860
Look, both parties have national appeal
Look at the Republicans in the North
& the Democrats in the South!
By 1860, the Republicans will elect
Abraham Lincoln without even
campaigning in the South!
Chapter 18 Assessment
The proposed admission of California directly into the
Union was dangerously controversial because
a. The territory was in a condition of complete lawlessness and anarchy
b. The Mexicans were threatening warfare if California joined the Union
c. California’s admission as a free state would destroy the equal balance
of slave and free states in the U.S. Senate
d. There was a growing movement to declare California an independent
nation
Northerners especially resented Douglas’s KansasNebraska Act because
a. It aimed to build a transcontinental railroad along the southern route
b. It would make him the leading Democratic candidate for the
presidency
c. It repealed the Missouri Compromise prohibiting slavery in northern
territories
d. It would bring Kansas into the Union as a slave state
Chapter 18 Assessment
The proposed admission of California directly into the
Union was dangerously controversial because
a. The territory was in a condition of complete lawlessness and anarchy
b. The Mexicans were threatening warfare if California joined the Union
c. California’s admission as a free state would destroy the equal balance
of slave and free states in the U.S. Senate
d. There was a growing movement to declare California an independent
nation
Northerners especially resented Douglas’s KansasNebraska Act because
a. It aimed to build a transcontinental railroad along the southern route
b. It would make him the leading Democratic candidate for the
presidency
c. It repealed the Missouri Compromise prohibiting slavery in northern
territories
d. It would bring Kansas into the Union as a slave state
Chapter 18 Assessment
The proposed admission of California directly into the
Union was dangerously controversial because
a. The territory was in a condition of complete lawlessness and anarchy
b. The Mexicans were threatening warfare if California joined the Union
c. California’s admission as a free state would destroy the equal balance
of slave and free states in the U.S. Senate
d. There was a growing movement to declare California an independent
nation
Northerners especially resented Douglas’s KansasNebraska Act because
a. It aimed to build a transcontinental railroad along the southern route
b. It would make him the leading Democratic candidate for the
presidency
c. It repealed the Missouri Compromise prohibiting slavery in northern
territories
d. It would bring Kansas into the Union as a slave state