Download Chapter 10 The Union in Crisis (1846-1861)

Chapter 10 The Union in Crisis (1846-1861)
Section 1 Slavery, States’ Rights, and Western Expansion
Slavery Divides the Nation
Main Idea: From the nation’s earliest days, the issue of slavery divided
Americans. As the nation expanded, the problem became more pressing.
Southerners believed slavery should be allowed in the new western territories;
many northerners believed it should not.
The Election of 1848
Main Idea: In the 1848 presidential campaign, both Democrats and Whigs split
over the question of whether to limit the expansion of slavery. New political
factions emerged, with slavery at the center of debate.
A Compromise Avoids a Crisis
Main Idea: Henry Clay’s Compromise of 1850 offered concessions to both the
South and the North and suggested that popular sovereignty should decide the
slavery issue in the Utah and New Mexico territories.
Senate Adopts the Compromise of 1850
Main Idea: In an attempt to ward off division among the states, the Senate
adopted the Compromise of 1850. Though the legislation restored calm for the
moment, it carried the seeds of new crises to come.
Resistance Against the Fugitive Slave Act
Main Idea: The Compromise of 1850 was meant to calm the fears of Americans.
But one provision, the new Fugitive Slave Act, had the opposite effect. Black
Americans and abolitionists despised the law and organized to try to help
enslaved people to freedom through the Underground Railroad.
Section 2 A Rising Tide of Violence and Protest
The Kansas-Nebraska Act Undoes the Missouri Compromise
Main Idea: Although Congress meant well, its repeated attempts to resolve the
question of slavery resulted in a jumble of contradictory, and often
unenforceable, policies.
A Battle Rages in “Bleeding Kansas”
Main Idea: Kansas attracted not only farmers but settlers with political motives.
Violence erupted between abolitionists and proslavery settlers and eventually
spread to the Senate.
Section 3 Political Realignment Deepens the Crisis
The Shifting Political Scene
Main Idea: Traditionally, American political parties extended across sectional
lines. But starting in the 1840s, American politics increasingly reflected regional
tensions, especially over the issue of slavery.
Sectional Divisions Intensify
Main Idea: For many years, the North and South tried to ignore or patch over
their differences. But by the mid-1850s, the dispute over slavery caused sectional
differences to intensify.
The Lincoln-Douglas Debate
Main Idea: In 1858, Stephen Douglas and Abraham Lincoln held a series of
seven debates while competing for a seat in the U.S. Senate. Thousands of
Americans attended the Lincoln-Douglas debates and listened intently as the two
candidates presented opposing views of slavery and its role in America.
John Brown’s Raid
Main Idea: Abolitionist John Brown concluded that violence was the best way to
reach his goal of avenging the evil of slavery. In 1859, he and 21 followers seized
the federal arsenal in Harpers Ferry, Virginia. However, federal troops ended the
attack, and Brown was eventually executed.
Section 4 Lincoln, Secession and Crisis
The Election of 1860
Main Idea: The Election of 1860 was a turning point for the United States. The
election demonstrated that there were no longer any national political parties.
The North and South were now effectively two political entities, and there
seemed no way to bridge the gap.
The Union Collapses
Main Idea: Southerners were outraged that a President could be elected without
a single southern vote. In Southerners’ perception, the South no longer had a
voice in the national government. They decided to act by leaving the Union and
forming the Confederacy.
The Civil War Begins
Main Idea: The Confederates attacked Fort Sumter, hoping to seize it from Union
hands. Lincoln declared that “insurrection” existed and called for 75,000
volunteers to fight against the Confederacy.