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The Nation Splits Apart
The Main Idea
By 1850 the issue of slavery dominated national politics, leading to
sectional divisions and, finally, the secession of the southern
states.
Reading Focus
• What was the abolition movement?
• How did the issue of slavery influence expansion in the 1850s?
• How did other sectional conflicts influence national politics in the
1850s?
• What was Abraham Lincoln’s path to the White House?
• How and why did the South secede and form the Confederacy?
Life as an Enslaved Person
• Enslaved African Americans were denied their most basic right —
freedom. They had no choice but to work whenever the slaveholder
demanded it.
• Most enslaved people lived on farms or plantations in the South, doing
farm work, hard labor, or servant duties in the household.
• In cities, enslaved people worked in mills, offices, and homes; they
also worked in the mines and in forests as lumberjacks.
• Enslaved people mostly lived in intolerable conditions
–
Poor food and shelter
–
Non-existent medical care
–
Possibility of separation from family
• Despite this, many found comfort in community, culture, and religion.
Anti-Slavery Efforts in the South

Some African Americans in the South were freemen, or African Americans who had been
emancipated.

These men and women faced legal and social discrimination, yet still played a large role in
anti-slavery activities.

Many freemen helped enslaved people escape, and many bravely spoke out for freedom for
all African Americans.

In 1831 the deadliest slave uprising in American history took place. Nat Turner and his
accomplices killed dozens of whites before the uprising was put down by a local militia.

Other enslaved African Americans chose to attempt escape, trying to reach the free states
of the North, Canada, or Mexico.
•
Over the years, a constantly changing network of escape routes
developed called the Underground Railroad. Sympathetic whites and
freemen provided help to escaping slaves. Harriet Tubman, who
escaped slavery herself, helped many on their journey to freedom.
The Abolition Movement in the North
• The number of enslaved people trying to escape increased in the
1830s, possibly encouraged by an anti-slavery movement in the
Northern states.
• The Second Great Awakening’s focus on morality caused many
Northerners to see slavery as wrong and ungodly.
• Many joined reform societies to stop slavery
• 1833: William Lloyd
Garrison founded
the American AntiSlavery Society.
• It was the first
group to call for an
immediate end to
U.S. slavery.
• In five years, had
over 1,500 chapters
in the North.
• Many abolitionists
were women.
• Sarah and Angela
Grimké, daughters
of a Southern
slaveholder, were
abolitionists.
• They moved to the
North to support
abolition and
women’s rights.
• Frederick
Douglass, who
escaped slavery,
was a leading
abolitionist.
• He published an
1845 biography,
Narrative of the
Life of Frederick
Douglass.
Opposition to Abolition
• Though the majority of white southerners did not own
enslaved people, the minority who did found abolition
outrageous, as if it were an attack on their livelihood and,
to some, their religion.
• Slaveholders argued that slavery was essential to cotton
production, which was a powerful argument even in the
North, because cotton accounted for 55% of American
exports.
• In fact, most Northerners supported slavery as well, since
freedom for slaves meant more competition for jobs.
• Still, the pressure to abolish slavery in the U.S. was
undeniable.
Kansas, Expansion, and Slavery

In Kansas, the government left the issue of slavery for the residents to decide,
though there were widely differing opinions.

During the 1850s, several violent battles took place between pro-slavery and antislavery forces, including the Marais des Cygnes Massacre, when a gang of 30 proslavery men gunned down 11 anti-slavery settlers and killed five.

So much violence took place that the area was called “Bleeding Kansas,” and the
North and South realized that Kansas would play a leading role in deciding the
slavery issue in America.

Victory in the Mexican War raised an important question about U.S. expansion. As
new states formed and joined the Union, would they allow slavery?

In Congress, only perfect balance between slave and anti-slave states meant equal
representation for both sides.
The Compromise of 1850

Adding California to the Union as an anti-slavery state would shift the balance of
power in Congress toward the North.

In January 1850 Kentucky Senator Henry Clay introduced a plan to preserve the
balance of power, sparking long debates.

After months of debate, Congress passed the Compromise of 1850, which admitted
California as a free state, set the Texas-New Mexico border, outlawed slave commerce
in the nation’s capital, and made slavery a popular sovereignty issue in Utah and New
Mexico.
One provision, the Fugitive Slave Act, made it a crime to aid
runaway slaves and allowed the arrest of escaped slaves. Many
northerners actively broke this law, which angered slave owners.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin, an anti-slavery book by Harriet Beecher Stowe, became a huge
success despite Southern outrage.
The Kansas-Nebraska Act

A proposed railroad to link California with the rest of the nation caused conflict.

Illinois senator Stephen A. Douglas thought that a northern route would make
Chicago an urban center.

He proposed organizing the western lands into two territories, Nebraska, and
Kansas.

To win southern support, he suggested dropping the Missouri Compromise’s
ban on slavery, in favor of popular sovereignty, where residents vote to
decide on the issue.

In May 1854 the Kansas-Nebraska Act became law, which outraged
northerners, weakened the Democrats, and destroyed the Whig Party.

Soon after, northern Whigs joined the Free-Soil Party and other anti-slavery
parties to found the Republican Party.
Sectional Conflicts in Kansas

In Lawrence, Kansas, a sheriff's posse attacked anti-slavery newspapers and burned buildings in
what is known as the Sack of Lawrence.


In response, John Brown, an abolitionist, and others killed five pro-slavery settlers on
Pottawatomie Creek in Kansas.
Before Kansas could apply for statehood, voters had to approve a constitution to allow or ban
slavery.

To win votes, both sides raised money and organized to bring in more settlers.

Fraud and violence marked early elections. Armed pro-slavery Missourians crossed into
Kansas to vote.

By 1856 Kansas had two governments— one for slavery and one against.

In 1857 a pro-slavery convention tried to push through a pro-slavery Kansas constitution, the
Lecompton constitution, which allowed slavery and excluded freed slaves from the Bill of
Rights. It was not ratified.

Kansas was eventually admitted as a free state, which deepened sectional divisions.
Events Spark National Political Conflict
Election of 1856
•
The nation was
divided on
presidential
candidates.
•
Democrats nominated
James Buchanan, a
former senator.
•
The New Republican
and American Parties
nominated others.
•
Democrats won by
characterizing
Republicans as
extremists on slavery.
Dred Scott
Decision
• Buchanan had
pledged not to
interfere with
slavery where it
existed.
• Dred Scott, a
slave who lived on
free soil, sued for
freedom.
• The Court ruled
that the 5th
Amendment
protected slave
owners’ rights.
John Brown’s Raid
• Abolitionist John
Brown planned a
raid on the U.S.
arsenal to get
guns for a slave
revolt.
• U.S. Marines
stormed the
arsenal and
captured Brown
and his followers.
• They were tried for
treason and
executed, though
many northerners
thought Brown
was a hero.
Abraham Lincoln Rises
Lincoln’s Upbringing
• Lincoln was born in 1809 in a one-room cabin near Louisville, Kentucky.
• Lincoln’s family was very poor, held no slaves, and opposed slavery. They
moved to the Indiana Territory in 1816.
• In 1828 he got a job on a riverboat from Indiana to New Orleans, and there
had his first contact with slavery at a New Orleans slave auction.
Lincoln’s Early Political Career
• Lincoln moved to New Salem, Illinois, and ran for state legislature.
• He won a seat in the Illinois General Assembly and studied law at home.
• He married Mary Todd, the daughter of a Kentucky slaveholder.
• In 1846 he was elected to Congress, and proposed the radical idea of
“compensated emancipation,” or paying slave owners to free their slaves.
• Lincoln campaigned for successful Whig Party presidential candidate Zachary
Taylor, and was upset that he was not given the position he was promised.
• He resigned from Congress in 1849 and went home to Illinois to practice law.
However, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which allowed all residents to vote on
slavery, sparked him to reenter politics as a Republican.
Debates and Election
The Lincoln-Douglas Debates

Lincoln defeated Stephen A. Douglas in
the Senatorial race.


•
The Election of 1860

In his acceptance speech, he called the
U.S. “a house divided against itself” on
the issue of slavery.
Two years later, Lincoln and Douglas ran
against each other for president, facing
hard battles.

National news attention about the
speech led to the Lincoln-Douglas
debates.
The Democrats were divided and split
completely, as southern Democrats walked
out of the nominating convention.

The remaining Democrats nominated
Douglas, and southern Democrats elected
John Breckenridge.
During the debates:
–
Lincoln challenged Douglas on
popular sovereignty.

Southern moderates started their own
party, the Constitutional Union Party.
–
In the Freeport Doctrine, Douglas
said people could stop slavery by
refusing to pass laws allowing it.

The Republicans chose Lincoln because his
abolitionist views were strong but
moderate.
–
Lincoln called slavery immoral but
denied proposing racial equality.

Lincoln won the election in the North and
became president.
Southern Secession: Causes and Effects
• A week after Lincoln’s election, the South Carolina legislature called a
convention to consider leaving the Union.
• They decided for it, and the rest of the Lower South quickly followed,
including Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas.
• Four other states—Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas—also
threatened to secede.
• Though many southerners and even up to 40 percent of delegates opposed
secession, the decision was made by radicals at the convention.
• Northern reactions to secession varied, with some happy to lose the slave
states and others worried about the long-term effects.
Causes of Secession

The Compromise of 1850

The Kansas-Nebraska Act

The Lincoln-Douglas Debates

The Election of 1860
Effects of Secession

South Carolina fears a northerncontrolled government will act against
slavery and withdraws from the Union.

Several states follow, forming the
Confederate States of America.
The Confederacy is Born
• In February 1861, representatives of the seven seceded states met in
Montgomery, Alabama, to form a new nation. They wrote a constitution
that allowed slavery and guaranteed slave holder’s rights.
• They chose Jefferson Davis, a former U.S. Senator from Mississippi, as
president.
• They created an association of the states called the Confederate States
of America, or the Confederacy, which, problematically, lacked national
currency and official headquarters.
• The House and Senate sought ways to avoid war, including appointing
special committees to suggest possible solutions.
• One plan, the Crittenden Compromise, proposed new constitutional
amendments, including allowing slavery in some parts of America and
compensating slave holders for escaped slaves.
• The negotiations failed, as Lincoln’s presidency was a main reason for
secession. Lincoln privately opposed any extension of slavery, though he
promised in his inaugural speech not to interfere with slavery where it
already existed.
The Civil War
The Main Idea
The Civil War broke out following a Confederate attack on Fort Sumter,
leading to widespread fighting, heavy casualties, and the eventual
defeat of the Confederacy.
Reading Focus
• How did the Civil War begin, and what were some early battles?
• What was life like during the Civil War?
• How did continued fighting turn the tide of the war?
• What happened in the final phase of the war?
The Civil War Begins
• In 1861 Lincoln sent only non-military supplies to the struggling soldiers at Fort
Sumter, one of few Union-held places in the South.
• The Confederacy opened fire on Fort Sumter and the Civil War began.
• Lincoln called for volunteers to join the northern army and slave states in the Union
were forced to choose sides.
• Questions rose over border states such as Maryland and Missouri, which went to the
Union, and Kentucky, which went to the Confederacy.
• The North and South had different goals and advantages for war.
Northern Goals and Advantages


Goals:
Southern Goals and Advantages

Goals:

Preserve the Union

Preserve their way of life

Abolish slavery

Be left alone with slavery unchanged
Advantages:

Advantages:

Larger population

Nation’s best soldiers

More railroads

Cotton exports for foreign aid
Tactics, Technology, and Battle
Though the top generals of both sides were trained at West Point and knew
military tactics from the Mexican War, this Civil War was different for many
reasons:

Far deadlier weapons, including better rifles, machine guns, and exploding shells

The use of observation balloons and camouflage

Officers and government communicated quickly by telegraph.

Railroads moved large numbers of troops quickly
The Battle of Bull Run near Washington, D.C. was the war’s
first major battle. Untrained troops on both sides transformed
the battle to chaos and ended hopes for a short war.
Different Regions of the War
War in the East
War in the West

Gaining control of the Mississippi River
would split the Confederacy in two.



In early 1862 Union general Ulysses
S. Grant opened two major water
routes into the western Confederacy.
Grant moved South, winning a major
victory at the Battle of Shiloh in
Tennessee, but the fierce battle dashed
northern hopes that the rebellion would
collapse on its own.
A Union fleet under Admiral David
Farragut moved north along the
Mississippi, capturing New Orleans and
other river cities.

Union general George B. McClellan
delayed his attack on the Confederate
capital at Richmond.

Confederate general Robert E. Lee
lured Union forces to the Second Battle
of Bull Run in Virginia, and won.

Defeat in Virginia hurt northern morale,
so Lee wanted to invade Maryland,
hoping a victory on Union soil would
force northern surrender or gain
foreign trust and aid.

The Battle of Antietam, the bloodiest
of the war, was considered a Union
victory only because it stopped Lee’s
northern invasion.
African Americans during the Civil War
•
•
•
•
•
•
In the South, slave labor helped to provide the food necessary to feed the
Confederate army.
Thousands of slaves, however, escaped to join invading Union troops, and many
were hired.
As the fighting continued, some northerners wanted not only to preserve the
union but to punish the South for its slavery policies and free the slaves.
On January 1, 1863, President Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation,
freeing enslaved people in all areas that were in rebellion against the U.S.
Some northerners opposed the proclamation, others thought it did not go far
enough.
The proclamation encouraged freedmen to join Union forces, where almost
180,000 African Americans served in segregated units.
Conditions at War and at Home
•
•
•
Conditions for
Soldiers
The Home Front
Women and War
Most soldiers died not
from wounds but from
contagious diseases
and illness due to
poor sanitation and
polluted water.
• Southerners
suffered property
damage, food
shortages, and
inflation.
• Some women
disguised themselves
as men and enlisted
in the army, while
some worked as
spies.
Soldiers spent most
of their days in camp,
doing drills, writing
letters home, and
playing games.
Conditions were
terrible for prisoners
of war at
overcrowded camps
and prisons.
• The Confederacy,
started the first U.S.
draft and the North
followed, which
caused riots.
• Anti-war
demonstrators hurt
the Union war effort,
They were called
Copperheads by
critics and were
jailed without trial.
• Women took over
daily life at home, on
plantations, and in
factories.
• About 3,000 women
served in the Union
army as nurses
• Some women, such
as Clara Barton,
cared for the
wounded on
battlefields.
Fighting Continues
• The Civil War tore America apart, but it also had international effects.
– Union naval blockades stopped the South from trading with the world.
– When blockades became hard to cross southerners used blockade
runners, or low, sleek ships that took cotton to Caribbean ports for
transfer to Europe.
– Southerners made an ironclad ship that withstood cannon fire to break
through the blockade, but when the North built one also, the first
ironclad battle took place and changed naval warfare forever.
• Though most action was in the East, forces also clashed west of the
Mississippi River over natural resources, additional soldiers, and territory.
– Congress admitted Kansas, Dakota, Colorado, and Nevada territories as
free states, then they created Idaho, Arizona, and Montana territories.
– Lincoln appointed pro-Union officials to head the territories.
– He did not enforce the draft in the West, though many joined voluntarily.
• More than 10,000 Native Americans fought, many for the Union.
Three Major Battles
• After disastrous Union losses at Fredericksburg in December 1862,
Union forces were ready to fight again by spring.
• General Joseph Hooker was now in command, and he led three major
battles in 1862 and 1863.
Chancellorsville
•
Hooker planned to
take Richmond by
surprise.
•
Lee marched his
army west, leaving
some behind as a
distraction.
•
Lee ordered a
surprise attack and
won the battle.
Gettysburg
• Lee tried to invade
the North again.
• In this three day
battle, troops held
positions for two
days, until 15,000
Confederate troops
charged the center
lines and in the
battle lost most of
their troops. Lee
retreated to Virginia.
Vicksburg
• Meanwhile, Grant
took Vicksburg, a
Confederate
stronghold in
Mississippi.
• He shelled the city
for weeks, trying
to starve out
defenders, until
they surrendered.
The Final Phase
Campaigns of 1864
The Election of 1864

After major victories, the Confederacy won the
Battle of Chickamauga, but Grant rescued the
Union at Chattanooga.

While Sherman took Atlanta, the Democrats
chose popular General George McClellan as
their candidate.

Lincoln gave Grant control of all the Union
armies, and Grant moved the Army of the
Potomac further and further south, despite
heavy losses in the Battle of the Wilderness and
the Battle of Spotsylvania.

The Republicans chose Andrew Johnson, a
pro-Union Democrat, as Lincoln’s vice
president to help Lincoln’s wavering appeal.

The Emancipation Proclamation and high
casualties made the war unpopular and even
Lincoln expected to lose the election.

News of Sherman’s Atlanta capture shifted
public opinion, and Lincoln defeated
McClellan, allowing Congress to pass the
Thirteenth Amendment ending slavery.


After the Battle of Cold Harbor, Grant began a
siege of Richmond to cut supplies to the capital.
Then Union general Sherman invaded Georgia,
laid siege to Atlanta, closed railroad access to
the city, and forced Confederate general Hood’s
troops to abandon the city.
The War Ends
•
•
•
•
•
•
As Lincoln began his second term in March 1865, the war seemed nearly over. Lincoln
announced his intention to be forgiving to the South in order to build up the nation’s
strength.
After the election, Sherman’s troops marched across Georgia in “Sherman’s March to
Sea,” and burned much of Atlanta.
Sherman believed that striking at economic resources would help win the war. His
troops slaughtered livestock, destroyed crops, and looted homes and businesses.
Eventually Confederate leaders were forced out of Richmond, and and Lee surrendered
when he found his troops surrounded.
Lee and Grant met to negotiate terms of the Confederacy’s surrender, which were very
generous for such a long and bitter conflict: Lee’s troops were to turn over their
weapons and leave.
The North celebrated, but Lincoln’s assassination in 1865, before the official end of the
war, changed the course of American history.