Download 15-03 Discussion Notes Road to Civil War 1820-1861

15-03 Road to Civil War 18201861
Challenges to Slavery
15-04
Road to Civil War 1820-1861
Secession and War
The Dred Scott Decision
The Supreme Court announced a
decision about slavery that shook the
nation.
Dred Scott was a slave
owned by an army doctor
in Missouri, a slave state.
In the 1830s the doctor moved to a free
state. Later the family returned to
Missouri, where the doctor died. In
1846 Scott sued for his freedom. He
claimed he should be
free because he had
once lived on free soil.
Eleven years later the case reached
the Supreme Court. The case attracted
enormous attention. Many Americans
hoped that the
Court would
resolve the
slavery issue for
good.
Chief Justice Roger B. Taney said that
Dred Scott was a slave and had no
right to file a lawsuit because he was
not a citizen. He also said that a slave
was property, and the 5th Amendment
prohibits Congress
from taking away
property.
Taney also said that
Congress had no
power to prohibit
slavery in any territory
and that The Missouri Compromise
was unconstitutional. For that matter,
so was popular sovereignty. The voters
in a territory could not take away a
person's property either.
The decision meant that the Constitution
actually protected slavery. Rather than
settling the issue, the Supreme Court's
decision divided the country even more.
Nothing could legally prevent the
spread of slavery.
Republicans and
other antislavery
groups were outraged.
The Lincoln-Douglas Debates
The congressional election of 1858
pitted Democrat Stephen A. Douglas
against Republican
Abraham Lincoln.
Douglas disliked slavery
but believed the voters
should decide in each
state. Lincoln saw
slavery as morally wrong.
He saw no way to eliminate slavery
where it already existed. However, he
was sure that slavery should not be
allowed to spread.
Lincoln challenged Douglas to a series
of debates. Thousands came to hear
the debates. The main topic, of course,
was slavery. Douglas won the election,
but Lincoln
gained a
national
reputation.
The Raid on Harpers Ferry
After the 1858 elections, Southerners
began to feel threatened by increasing
Republican power.
On October 16, 1859,
John Brown led 18
men, both whites
and blacks, in a raid
on an arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia.
Brown hoped to start a rebellion
against slaveholders by giving slaves
weapons. Brown and
his men were quickly
defeated. Brown was
convicted of treason
and murder and was
hanged.
Some antislavery Northerners
and Republican leaders
disagreed with Brown's use
of violence. Others felt he
was a hero. His execution
caused an up-roar in the
North. John Brown's death
became a rallying point for
abolitionists.
Brown’s raid had been
financed by a group of
abolitionists. When
Southerners learned
of his connection to
abolitionists it seemed to confirm their
fears of a great Northern conspiracy
against them. The nation was on the
brink of disaster.
15-04
Road to Civil War
1820-1861
Secession and War
The Election of 1860
During the election of 1860
the slavery issue split in the
Democratic Party. The
Republicans nominated Abraham Lincoln
and said that slavery should be left alone
where it already existed, but that it should
be banned from the territories.
The Election of 1860
During the election of 1860
the slavery issue split in the
Democratic Party. The
Republicans nominated Abraham Lincoln
and said that slavery should be left alone
where it already existed, but that it should
be banned from the territories.
Some Southern states had already said
they would secede if Lincoln were
elected. With the Democrats divided,
Lincoln won the election. He received
only 40% of the
popular vote,
but that was more
than any other
candidate.
The South Secedes
On December 20, 1860, South Carolina
voted to secede.
Even then,
many people
still wanted to
preserve (save) the
Union. The question was how.
By February 1861, Texas, Louisiana,
Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and
Georgia had also seceded. Delegates
from these Southern states met and
formed a new government
and nation called the
Confederate States
of America.
By February 1861, Texas, Louisiana,
Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and
Georgia had also seceded. Delegates
from these Southern states met and
formed a new government
and nation called the
Confederate States
of America.
Jefferson Davis
• Chosen as President of the
Confederate States of America.
Southerners justified secession with
the theory of states' rights. They said
that the states had voluntarily entered
the Union and that because the
national government had refused to
enforce the Fugitive Slave Act and had
denied the Southern states equal rights
in the territories, the states were
justified in leaving the Union.
Reactions to Secession
Many Southerners wanted secession.
Most Northerners wanted to save the
Union. For Lincoln the issue was
"whether in a free government the
minority have the right to break up the
government whenever they choose."
In his Inaugural
Address, President
Lincoln said that
secession would not be
allowed. He vowed to
keep control of federal
property in the South
and to enforce the laws
of the United States.
At the same time, he
asked the South for
reconciliation: “We
are not enemies, but
friends. We must not
be enemies.”
The War Begins
On his inauguration day, Lincoln
received a message from Fort Sumter
off the coast of South Carolina.
(Discussion) The message said they
were low on supplies and that the
Confederates were demanding their
surrender. Lincoln sent a message to the
Governor of South Carolina. It said that
he was sending an unarmed supply
transport to Fort Sumter. Lincoln said
that Union forces would not fire unless
they were fired upon.
Confederate president Jefferson Davis
and his advisers ordered their forces to
attack Fort Sumter before the Union
supplies could arrive.
Confederate guns
opened fire on
April 12, 1861.
Thousands of
shots were
exchanged during the next 33 hours
before the North was forced to
surrender, but no one died on either
side.
When news of the attack
reached President
Lincoln, he called for
75,000 troops to save
the Union.
Meanwhile, Virginia, North Carolina,
Tennessee, and Arkansas voted to join
the Confederacy. The Civil War had
begun.