Download Sectionalism

Sectionalism
4 Major Causes of the Civil War
1.
2.
3.
slavery- growing moral issue in the North vs. its
defense and expansion in the South
Constitutional disputes- federal Union vs. states’ rights
Economic differences- industrial North vs. agricultural
South
1.
2.
3.
4.
Tariffs
Banks
Internal improvements
Political blunders & extremism- on both sides
Economic Differences
• Henry Clay’s Economic System:
• How did Henry Clay’s system lead to the
development of regional economics?
• How did economics become a political issue?
Tariffs
• After War of 1812, tariffs were passed to help
the Northern industries
• Tariffs continued to increase- upset the South
– Dependent on GB for goods
– Now forced to pay more $$ for American goods
– Believed the gov’t only cared about N
• SC in economic trouble!
– Many leaving SC for new lands in the west
– Soil no longer fertile
States’ Rights
• John C. Calhoun needed to
protect the interests of his state
• Nullification theory
• If federal gov’t doesn’t allow
nullification of a law, then a
state can secede
• AJ doesn’t agree!
– “Our Union must be preserved”
The Tariff Showdown
• John C. Calhoun
• Daniel Webster
Rebellious South Carolina
• New tariffs in 1832
– Upsets SC
• SC declares ’28 & ’32 tariffs “null and void”
• Threatened to leave the Union if taxes were collected
• AJ FURIOUS . . . Sees Calhoun’s acts as treasonous
– Force Bill 1833- US gov’t to use force in SC
– Henry Clay to the rescue . . . Passes a new bill with lower
tariffs
Political Sectionalism
•How did the good intentions of
politicians create a greater rift in US
regions?
•What attempts at saving the Union
occur and what were their
consequences?
Political Issues
• Land is a hot topic in the Union
• Congress wanted to maintain a balance b/w
slave and non-slave states
• Missouri Compromise 1820
– 1819 Missouri Territory- state
– Slavery a main issue-> balance of states in the
Union (Senate)
– Slavery established in MO- worried the North
– Debates in Congress
Henry Clay’s proposal
•Missouri- slave state
•Maine- free state
•Rest of LA territory
– 36-30 line
•Slavery allowed below
Expansion in 40-50’s
• Wilmont Proviso- wanted to ban slavery in new
states gain through Mexican-American war
• Free Soil Movement– Not necessarily against slavery
– Didn’t want slaves in new territories
– Wanted whites to have more economic opportunities out
west and didn’t want to compete with free blacks or slave
labor
– “free soilers”est. political party in 1848
• “free soil, free labor, and free men”
New lands
• South wanted new states to allow slavery &
North doesn’t
• Saw Northern attempts to limit slavery as a
violation of their constitutional rights
– Abolitionists & free-soilers a threat to slavery
• Wanted to extend MO Compromise line to
Pacific Ocean
Popular Sovereignty
• Congress in charge of deciding whether states
allow slaves or not
• Lewis Cass (MI) proposes that the citizens
decide
– People vote on the issue
– Moderates on both side support the idea
Election of 1848
• Democrats- Lewis Cass
• Whigs- Zachary Taylor
• Free-Soil Party- Martin Van Buren
– **Taylor barely wins
•Has NO position on slavery
•South thinks he’ll be on their side
Compromise of 1850
• Gold rush in CA- population booming, ready
to apply for statehood
• CA bans slavery in their constitution= upsets S
– Even Taylor wants CA as a non-slave state
– Upsets many radical Southerners- meet in
Nashville in 1850 “fire eaters”
• 1850 Henry Clay proposes a compromise
Compromise of 1850
• CA admitted as a free state
• Utah & New Mexico divided into 2 territories- allow
popular sovereignty
• New territories gain land in dispute to new terr. (b/w
TX & NX territory) & assume TX’s debt
• Ban slave trade in DC, but whites can own slaves in
the city
• New Fugitive Slave law- harsher and more enforced
Debates over the Compromise
• 3 men: Clay, Calhoun & Daniel
Webster
• Calhoun: against
• Webster: for comp.; upsets N.
England
• Clay: for
• **Taylor against compromise,
but dies and his VP Millard
Fillmore signs bill into law
– After Stephen Douglass passes
separate parts of act
– **Act buys the Union some time
Kansas-Nebraska Act 1854
• Nebraska Territory split into 2 smaller territories
• Stephen Douglass (D) pushes for this legislation in
Congress
– Allow new territories to have popular sovereignty
– Problem??
• Why does Douglass “help” the South?
• Kills the Whig Party . . . Why?
Consequences of Act
• Passed in Congress
• Disrupts the peace from Compromise of 1850
• Repeals Missouri Compromise
• N. Democrats upset with Douglass
– Destroys his political career
– Many Dems. Want to leave party
New Political Parties
• Know-Nothing
– Tensions in the north due to diversity
• Anti-Catholic and anti-immigration
– Nativists form a political party
– Weakens Whig party
• Republican
– Formed directly after K/N Act (opposition)
– Who? Free-Soiler, anti-slavery Whigs & Democrats
• Western and northern moderates
– Wanted repeal of K/N Act & Fugitive Slave law
– Abolitionists join later
– Early on- wanted slavery confined to the South
Know-Nothing party
Bleeding Kansas
• MO slaveholders est.
homesteads in Kansas
• Anti-slavery settlers move to
KS also (with $$)
• Fighting breaks out b/w 2
groups over slave issue->
“bleeding Kansas”
• http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/a
ia/part4/4p2952.html
Slavery Issue
• Fugitive Slave Law
– Resisted by northerners
– Track down runaways, capture them & return
home
– Slave cases in federal court jurisdiction
– Tougher penalties for helping runaways
– Northerners find loopholes
Underground RR
• network throughout South
& Middle States to ensure
freedom for runaways
• Not well organized or run
by white abolitionistsmostly ex-slaves
– Harriet Tubman
•19 trips & 300 slaves
Underground RR
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
• Harriet Beecher Stowe
1852
– Lived in Cincinnati
• Instant best seller
• Argues that slavery
changes normal people
• Helped Abolitionist
cause
• Banned in the South
Abolitionists
• William Lloyd Garrison
• Frederick Douglass
Dred Scott decision
• Dred Scott a MO slave and lives in
Wisconsin for 2 years
• Back in MO & sues for freedom
• Case appealed and ends at SC
– Scott has no right to sue in federal court
– Due process & property
– MO Compromise is unconstitutional
Lincoln- Douglass Debates
• 1858 Senatorial election in Illinois
• Stephen Douglass v. Abraham Lincoln
Douglass
Lincoln
Debates
• Slavery a hot topic
– Douglass argues that Lincoln wants racial
equality, but he promises he doesn’t
– Douglass wanted popular sovereignty . . . He
believed it would die out anyways
• Douglass wins due to his aggressiveness, but
destroys his chance of wining presidential
election in 1860
Harper’s Ferry
• John Brown- divine right hand of God
• His plan- take group of men and capture
the US arsenal
– Slaves will naturally join him
– United front will take on plantation owners
• October 16, 1859
– No slaves come!
– Federal troops put down the raid (Lee)
Reaction to the attack
• South-Fear,
condemnation
• North- frown on
Brown at 1st, but later
see him as a martyr
• Increased tension b/w
regions
Steps to war . . .
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•
•
Missouri Compromise
Election of 1848
Compromise of 1850
Kansas Nebraska Act
Bleeding Kansas
New political parties
Dred Scott decision
Harper’s Ferry
• Economic differences
• Election of 1860
Election of 1860
• April 1860 Democratic Convention in Charleston
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–
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–
–
–
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Bad location
South wants party to denounce PS
“fire-eaters”
Douglass expecting nomination, but trouble occurs
AL delegates walk out when party refuses to denounce PS
50 men follow (1/3 of delegates)
Can’t get enough votes at Convention
• Reconvene in Baltimore (Douglass)
• Party spilt . . . No way they will win
Republicans
• Chicago, IL
• Good chance of winning
• Platform
– No expansion of slavery
– High tariff
– Advocate Homestead Act- give land to those who
move to territories
• Candidate: Lincoln after 3 tries
Vote!! Vote!! Vote!!
• Election of 1860
• 4 candidates:
– John Breckinridge (S Dems)
– Stephen Douglas (N Dems)
– John Bell (Constitutional Union Party- wins
border states
– Lincoln (Rep)
•Wins most of votes
•40% of popular vote
Electoral Votes
South’s reaction
• Secession theory:
– Each state was a sovereign body until joining the
Union, they just agreed to give over some rights
– When gov’t breaks contract, they have the right to
leave
• What causes the South to believe the contract
has been broken??
– Lincoln’s election (tyranny)
• SC Holds the 1st state convention to decide
Dec. 1860
– Thought the energy would move to other states
– It does, but not all southerners were prosecession
• 3 groups of Southerners:
– Unionists- no right to leave
– Fire-eaters- radicals
– Cooperationist or conditional unionistsmajority
• Didn’t want to leave unless there’s an overt act by
the North
– Example: Alexander Stephens- wants to give Lincoln
a chance
Secession in order . . .
States
Date
Votes
SC
Dec. 20, 1860
169-0
MS
Jan. 9, 1861
84-15
FL
Jan. 10th
62-7
AL
Jan. 11th
61-39
GA
Jan. 19th
208-89
LA
Jan. 26th
113-17
TX
Feb. 1st
166-8
Georgia & Secession
Montgomery, AL
• February 1861
• 7 states meet to write a constitution
– Slavery allowed
– Secession forbidden
• Moderates in charge
• Jefferson Davis- president
• Alexander Stephens- VP
South Carolina
• All over South- start capturing arsenals
• South demands surrender of Fort Sumter
(Charleston)
– Robert Anderson pleads to Lincoln for help
• In March 1861, Lincoln makes a speech
– Won’t make the 1st shot
– Will protect federal laws & property
Fort Sumter
• Lincoln sends supplies and South refuses to
allow them
• PT Beauregard (S) advises Anderson to give up
– April 12th 4:30 pm 1st cannons fired
– April 14th Anderson surrenders
** Lincoln says this is an attack and calls for troops!
*** VA, AK, TN, & NC follow