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Honors U.S. History
Mr. Irwin
12/7/15
Name:
Week 14
Period:
Lecture 13
Slave or Free – Abolitionism & Congressional Debates Over New States
1820 -1858
Slavery or Abolition:
By the 1820s, abolition, the movement to free American slaves had taken hold. More
than 100 anti-slavery societies had cropped up. Some proposed that the U.S. “re-settle”
the African Americans back to Africa. Other abolitionists demanded that the African
American slaves remain in the U.S. and be set free. At the same time, the United
States was expanding westward under the concept of “Manifest Destiny.”
SLAVERY AND ABOLITIONISM
Two Well Known Abolitionists:
William Lloyd Garrison:
One of the most radical white abolitionists, a young editor, and active in religious reform
in Massachusetts.

Was the editor of an antislavery paper in 1828.

Three years later, he started his own paper, The Liberator, to deliver a more hard
line demand for the immediate emancipation of slaves.

Garrison’s radical beliefs included the philosophy that any means necessary should
be used to abolish slavery.
Frederick Douglass:
An African American who escaped from slavery and became an abolitionist.

He was known to be an eloquent speaker. William Lloyd Garrison once heard
Douglass, as the result, he began sponsoring Douglass to appear and speak at
various antislavery rallies.

Like Dr. Martin Luther King, who would come to prominence during the Civil Rights
movement 150 years later, Douglass hoped that abolition could come about without
violence.
Plantation Life:
In most instances, slavery was characterized by hard work and harsh conditions,
although there were exceptions. Even though there were households that treated their
slaves pretty well, slaves were considered chattel, or property, and under slavery, they
would never be able to attain a status of respect or equality.
Common Slave Jobs:
House servants, cooks, farm hands or field workers, livery workers.
Nat Turner’s Slave Rebellion:
One of the most well known of the many slave “rebellions.” In August 1831, Turner and
more than 50 followers attacked four plantations and killed about 60 whites. Eventually,
Turner along with many of his group were captured and hanged.
This incident caught the attention of much of the nation. It both frightened and outraged
slave owners. American reaction was split. As the result of the Turner Revolt,
abolitionists began to step up their efforts of advocacy of abolition, while many slave
owners became harsher with their slaves. Various states passed new more strict laws
concerning runaway slaves.
Underground Railroad:
Women had a societal role that excluded them from many business environments.
They had their “place” in what, at this time, was a male dominant society. Women had
no voting rights. Women got involved in a variety of activities, such as social & religious
groups and clubs. As the result, many women became advocates of change relating to
a variety of issues, including women’s rights and the abolition of slavery.
Harriet Beecher Stowe:
Author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin, first published in 1852 – Many northern women read this
book, which is fiction, but based upon many of the atrocities that took place under
Southern slavery.
Dred Scott Decision 1857
In 1857, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the now famous lawsuit of Scott v. Sanford. In
this case, Missouri slave Dred Scott, was suing his new and current master, John
Sanford for his freedom. Scott had been a slave owned by U.S. military Doctor, John
Emerson. Upon Mr. Emerson’s death, ownership of Scott was transferred to Mr.
Sanford, who was the brother of the now widowed Mrs. Emerson.
When Dr, Emerson had been alive, he had traveled to, and spent considerable time in
the free state of Illinois and the free territory of Wisconsin, bringing his slave Dred Scott,
with him, when he made these trips. The basis of Scott’s lawsuit was that he had lived
for extended periods of time in these free areas, and he therefore should be granted
“free man” status.
The Supreme Court ruled against Dred Scott on the following basis:
1. Any person descended from Africans, whether slave or free, were not U.S.
citizens, and therefore, they could not bring a lawsuit to federal court.
2. Being in a free territory did not make a slave free.
3. The Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protected property. Since slaves
were considered someone else’s property, the Court’s position was that it should
not act to deprive a man of his property.
The Dred Scott ruling increased North-South tension.
WESTWARD EXPANSION – MANIFEST DESTINY
& THE SLAVE STATUS OF NEW TERRITORIES
Manifest Destiny:
First appearing in a newspaper, Manifest Destiny was a 19 th century statement/belief
that it was part of God’s plan that the United States would inevitably expand westward
to the Pacific Ocean and into Mexican and Native American territory, in the process
(some recently published textbooks are describing manifest destiny, minus the
reference to God).
1820 - The Missouri Compromise:
In 1819, Congress began debating the admission of Missouri as a state. The underlying
issue was slavery. Several members of Congress objected to admitting Missouri as a
slave state because they were concerned that this would increase the power of
Southern states in the U.S. Senate. Southern members of Congress countered this
argument by stating that the U.S. government had no right to dictate to the states
regarding slavery.
After months of heated debate, in 1820, Congress reached what is now called the
Missouri Compromise. Under this compromise, Missouri would be allowed to enter the
U.S. as a slave state, and Maine would be allowed to enter the U.S. as a free state.
This arrangement maintained the balance in Congress between slave and free states.
Congress further agreed that as the United States expanded westward, states north of
36 Degrees, 30 minutes north latitude would enter as free states, and states entering
below that latitude would enter as slave states.
The Austin Colony of East Texas:
In 1822, Stephen F. Austin established a colony of Americans in East Texas, which at
that time was Mexican territory. The Mexican government had granted Austin
permission to set up this colony under what was called the impresario system. As the
impresario of the colony, Austin was supposed to screen settlers for suitability to live in
and follow the laws of Mexico. The settlers would have to be free of criminal
background, and agree to follow the laws of Mexico.
Between 1822 – 1835, the Austin Colony grew from a few hundred settlers, to more
than 30,000. Generous land grants were available, but in order to be eligible for the
land, one had to adopt the Catholic faith, which was the national religion of Mexico.
Furthermore, under the constitution of Mexico, slavery was not allowed. Many of the
American settlers who moved into the Austin colony were southerners, and they brought
their slaves with them. This put them the colony in conflict with Mexican law.
The Texas War For Independence:
General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna declared himself Dictator of Mexico, and took
self-rule away from Texas. The mostly Americans living in the area, resisted the orders
of Santa Anna, and armed clashes took place, the most notable ones being the Battles
of the Alamo, Goliad, and the Battle of San Jacinto. In 1836, Texas declared itself an
independent republic. Although the Texans lost severely at the Alamo, and Goliad,
Sam Houston and a band of Texans were able to organize and defeat General Santa
Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto.
Houston and his men captured Santa Anna at San Jacinto. They gave the Mexican
general an offer to spare his life, if in return, he would sign a document granting the
independence of the Republic of Texas, and then retreat back to Mexico City. Santa
Anna, signed the document and retreated, per the agreement.
Texas Statehood:
Although Texas had gained its independence from General Santa Anna in 1836, the
independence had been granted under duress, and it is likely that the Mexican dictator
believed that he would one day re-take Texas for Mexico. Texas was unable to sustain
itself, financially, and only existed on its own for ten years. It then looked to the United
States, for annexation. The U.S. accepted Texas’ request for statehood, and ias the
result, n 1845, Texas became the 28th U.S. state.
The U.S. War With Mexico 1846 - 1848:
General Santa Anna had warned the U.S. that annexing Texas would be the equivalent
to declaring war on Mexico. Nevertheless, the U.S. was expansion minded, and
actively sought to stretch contiguously, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Disagreement
over the new border between the U.S. and Mexico caused border skirmishes in 1846.
At the request of President James Polk, Congress declared war against Mexico in that
same year. Generals Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott, along with Captain John C.
Fremont were deployed to the west. When Captain Fremont arrived in California (which
at that time was Mexican territory), he found that some American settlers had recently
claimed California. Fremont took U.S. control of California from there, and this event is
known as the Bear Flag Revolt (named after the flag that the settlers had created which
pictured a grizzly bear and a lone star).
In addition to California, the U.S. took control of New Mexico. General Scott captured
the Mexican port city of Veracruz, and then marched a 10,000 man army all the way to
Mexico City. As the result, Santa Anna was forced to give up and accept defeat. The
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo officially ended the war in early 1848.
The Congressional Debates Over Slavery:
Between 1820 – 1854, as the U.S. expanded westward, Congress passed a series of
acts that related to the slave status of new territories and the admission of new states.
The issue of slavery was a central theme that ran through the Missouri Compromise of
1820, the Compromise of 1850, and the Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854. A specific
question which came up as each of these acts were debated was; Should a new
territory or state enter the U.S. as a free, or a slave state?
As you study each of these three acts of Congress, you will learn how, at first, Congress
attempted to decide the slave status of each new state, from Washington D.C., and how
eventually Congress shifted its approach by creating the concept of popular
sovereignty, thereby placing the slave determining decision-making into the hands of
the residents of the new territories and new states under consideration.
An in-depth analysis of the Congressional vote during this period, regarding new
territories and states, and the proposed slave status of each, clearly indicates that as
our country approached the critical year of 1861 (the beginning of the Civil War), the
country was deeply polarized into two very different views regarding the morality and
the necessity of the institution of slavery. Historians use the term sectionalism to
describe the condition in which a country contains distinct regions of dissimilarity. By
1861 the country was deeply divided between North and South.
Compromise of 1850:
Senator Henry Clay, of Kentucky proposed this compromise which had five elements to
it:
1. Congress would admit California into the U.S. as a free state.
2. The people of New Mexico and Utah would decide for themselves whether or not
to allow slavery in their states (this would be termed ”Popular Sovereignty”).
3. Congress would abolish the sale of slaves in Washington D.C.
4. Even though the sale of slaves would be abolished in Washington D.C., slavery
itself would still remain legal.
5. A Fugitive Slave Act would order all citizens of the U.S. to assist in the return of
escaped slaves.
California Statehood - 1850:
California became a state in large part, as the result of the California Gold Rush. The
newly acquired California territory had grown quickly, and by 1849, California had
applied for statehood.
The subject of California statehood caused much debate in Congress. At a time when
Congress was going to great lengths to keep the balance between the number of slave
and the number of free states equal, California represented a dilemma because half of
it was in the North while the other half of it was in the South. Most Northerners wanted
California to enter the U.S. as a free state. Southerners, on the other hand, wanted the
Missouri Compromise of 1820 to apply to California. If the Southerners were to get their
way, California would enter the U.S. as a slave state.
When California wrote its state Constitution, it stated that slavery was forbidden within
state boundaries.
Popular Sovereignty:
In 1854, Congress once again found itself embroiled in debate over new territory, and
what the slave status should be for two new territories being considered for statehood
(Kansas and Nebraska). Senator Stephen Douglas of Illinois proposed the concept of
popular sovereignty. The idea was that the residents of the territories being considered
for admission to the U.S. would vote to determine whether they wanted to be admitted
as free or slave states. Under this idea, the slavery decision would be in the hands of
the residents of the territories, not the U.S., Congress.
1854 - Kansas-Nebraska Act:
As indicated above, in 1854, when Kansas and Nebraska were being considered for
statehood, Illinois Senator Stephen Douglas introduced the Kansas-Nebraska Act.
Passage of the act would eventually create the two new states of Kansas and
Nebraska. Under the concept of popular sovereignty, the slave status of each of these
territories would be decided by a vote of the residents of each of these two territories.
Placing the decision making power into the hands of the residents of each of the two
U.S. territories was considered to be a new approach to determining the status of either
“slave or free.”
“Bleeding Kansas”
During the time that popular sovereignty was supposed to determine the slave status of
Kansas and Nebraska, the term “Bleeding Kansas,” appeared in newspapers as a vivid
portrayal of violence that was taking place in Kansas as the time to vote on the slavery
status approached.
Antislavery groups from the Northeastern part of the U.S. sent more than one thousand
people into Kansas (who became known as “free-soilers”), in an effort to tip the vote in
favor of establishing Kansas as a free state. Likewise, Southerners sent pro-slavery
people into Kansas, hoping to help to tip the vote in favor of establishing Kansas as a
slave state. Each section of the country (North and South) sent people to Kansas, to
pose as residents, and to cast (fraudulent) votes.
Initially, residents of Kansas as well as the residents of Nebraska were split on the
slavery issue. When the Civil War broke out in 1861, Kansas joined the Union (the
Northern States), and became a “free” state that same year. Nebraska did not take
sides during the Civil War, but a few years after the Civil War, Nebraska became a U.S.
state. By that time, slavery no longer existed in the United States.
End