Download Life in Georgia during the Civil War

Life in Georgia during the Civil War
The stories of the Civil War that focus on men in battle are told elsewhere. The human suffering
that was a result of the war is unimaginable in the United States today. The typical family farm in
North Georgia has only the family members working the land (slaves were a luxury these farmers
could not afford). Each member has jobs for which they were responsible, even the children.
Take one or two people out of the family, many fighting a war that they frequently opposed, and
what was difficult becomes almost impossible.
The people of North Georgia survive for almost two years before the war moves to their farms
and villages. Getting mail was a problem, especially after 1863. With many of their resources
supporting the war machine, supplies become scarce. The price of flour rises to forty dollars a
barrel before the end of 1862 and $125 a barrel by the end of the war. Salt is $125 dollars per
bag. There was no coffee at any price because Union ships are blockading the coast since the
early days of the war. And Confederate currency is rapidly becoming worthless. The euphoria that
spreads over Georgia after the first few victories quickly wears off as life becomes more difficult.
An interesting phenomena develops in the state, what the papers call "women seizures." While
these events occur in a number of areas, one of the best-documented cases happens in Marietta,
Georgia. A Negro, driving a wagon from the cotton mill at Sweetwater Creek sees a group of
women standing by the side of the road. This group stops the man and his cart, making off with
several bales of yarn before sending the
Negro on his way unharmed.
In 1864 the inflation that tears at the fabric
of southern culture is replaced by roving
bands of cavalry and infantry, both Blue and
Gray, who take what little remains including
cattle, horses, and food. Farmers wives fear
for their safety. One wrote "They steal our
Almost worthless by the time this 100 dollar note
pigs and horses during the day, what will
was issued (April, 1864), Confederate currency
they steal at night?" Some turn to prostitution continued its downward spiral for another year.
to get money to purchase food. And as the
warriors leave, the villages and farms glow from the fires that have been set by the bluecoats.
Internal politics are frequently highlighted by rifts between the states rights government of
Georgia clashing with the Confederate government. Joseph E. Brown tries to maintain control of
the state militia and opposes impressment, the taking war materials from frequently unwilling
donors. In 1864, with the massive build-up of Union troops in the area around Chattanooga,
Brown considers approaching the Federal Government with a peace offer.
Pro-Union sentiment in North Georgia causes many problems for the government. Desertions
from the Confederate Army increase dramatically as North Georgia falls under Federal control. A
peace movement in the western part of the state gains popularity in 1864. Cherokee and Pickens
counties remain strong Union outposts throughout the war.
The story was much different in Northeast Georgia. Pro-Union sentiment runs high before the war
(Union County is named in honor of the Unionists during the Nullification Crisis thirty years
earlier), however, they were harder to find once the war started. Anarchy prevails over much of
the land. Armed men on horses control large amounts of the area. Governor Brown occasionally
sends cavalry into the area, but they are largely ineffective.
Shortly before William Tecumseh Sherman's March to the Sea, the Union general communicates
a peace offer to Brown on three separate occasions. Surrender the Georgia Militia and the men
under his command will stay on the roads and purchase food. Brown feels the situation is
hopeless and nearly capitulates. Only a last minute communiqu� from Jefferson Davis convinces
him not to surrender.
The end of the war brings no peace for the people. Subjugated by their oppressors, the
Georgians are invaded by hoards of hungry Rebels returning home. Fear of the price the Yankee
victors would extract pervades the society and the word "Reconstruction" enters the vocabulary,
but that is another story.
Additional links of interest
The Blue and Gray Trail
Northwest Georgia saw more blood shed in a shorter period of time across a strip of land
a scant 10 miles wide and 90 miles long.
A Chonology of Reconstruction
Reconstruction in North Georgia
North Georgia History
On the Blue and Gray Trail:
North Georgia before the Civil War
While prosperous planters controlled antebellum Georgia, for the most part north
Georgia was home to farmers and merchants. These men had little time for leisure
or academics and were overly middle-class. In the northern part of the state, only in Athens and
Rome did an aristocracy form, and it was composed of a few planters and merchants. Among
whites the illiteracy rate was 20 percent.
Starting in the 1830's an economic boom spurred
growth throughout much of the north Georgia
area. Railroads began to move cargo in the area in
1833 and the state completed a Chattanooga to
Atlanta (formerly Marthasville) link in 1850.
Textile mills sprang up across the area as the
Map of North Georgia Railroads
railroads were built. A severe depression following
Thanks to the farsightedness of Wilson
the Panic of 1837 and stretching into the mid-
Lumpkin and others, by 1850 Georgia had the 1840's delayed the growth of the area, but by 1860
best rairoad system in the deep south. In the Georgia had 1200 miles of track and the best rail
northern part of the state, the Georgia Central system in the deep South.
RR cut across the state, meeting the Western
and Atlantic in Atlanta. The WARR ran from
Although largely regarded as an agricultural area,
the Chattahoochee to Chattanooga. Spurs
North Georgia also had numerous tanneries,
connected Rome and Athens to the main line.
brickworks, and iron foundries. Gold, discovered
in 1828 in present-day White County and later in
the area around Dahlonega (Lumpkin County), supported mining operations that were so
productive that the United States built a mint in the town in 1838. Iron, clay, coal and marble were
also taken from the ground.
Large cotton mills developed in Roswell and in Manchester The larger cities of the time included
Ringgold, a warehouse district south of Chattanooga (History of Chattanooga), Cassville, a major
cultural center until destroyed by Sherman during the War for Southern Independence, and
Athens, home to the University of Georgia.
Slavery in North Georgia
Many misconceptions exist about the institution of slavery in North Georgia. One is that a
significant number of North Georgians owned slaves. The most accurate figure is about 7% of
North Georgians owned slaves at the time of the Civil War. That percentage was significantly
lower (3%) in the mountains of North Georgia, and higher in the eastern piedmont area (almost
10% in some places). Only in the larger cities of Rome, Athens, and Lawrenceville did ownership
exceed 10%. Slaves were a sign of wealth. Most slaves were owned by planters and, to a much less
extent, professionals.
In coastal Georgia and on the piedmont plantations most menial tasks were performed by black
slaves. In the mountains of north Georgia similar tasks were completed by the large amount of
Scot and Irish farmers, displaced during the brutal Panic of 1837. These workers, who lack a title,
are sometimes called indentured servants, however, they lacked a term of service. Cherokee who
were left behind during the Trail of Tears were also used to complete the tasks that a black slave
might perform in coastal and piedmont areas of Georgia.
Georgia had been slave-free until 1750 when Joseph Habersham and two pastors pushed for
admitting slaves to the fledgling colony. Habersham, a teacher, later became acting governor of
the state in the early 1770's. Although a number of Cherokee (most notably Chief James Vann,
Major Ridge, and John Ross) owned slaves, introduction of black slavery to North Georgia was
much slower than to the eastern coast of the state. Generally, settlers did not farm the land here
until after 1830, and there were large areas that were not farmed.
The economy expands
Sir Godfrey Barnsley was one of the richest men in north
Georgia. His palatial estate near present-day Adairsville,
Georgia is now a an inn and golf club (Barnsley Gardens).
Margaret Mitchell based the character Rhett Butler in Gone
With the Wind (Books:Hard cover, Paperback, Video:VHS,
DVD) on Mr. Barnsley. Other wealthy north Georgians
include Farish Carter, for whom the city of Cartersville is
named, and Asa Prior, founder of Cedartown.
An economic boom that started shortly before the
completion of the Western and Atlantic Railroad in 1850
carried north Georgia into the war. The economic downturn
in 1857 did not have a lasting effect on most residents.
Georgia and the Civil War
Barnsley Gardens
Slavery in Georgia timeline
Causes of the Civil War
by Randy Golden
exclusively for About North Georgia
...and they [Yankees] are marked ... with such a perversity
of character, as to constitute, from that circumstance, the
natural division of our parties
Thomas Jefferson
Some say simplistically that the Civil War was fought over slavery. Unfortunately, there is no
"simple" reason. The causes of the war were a complex series of events, including slavery, that
began long before the first shot was fired. Competing nationalisms, political turmoil, the definition
of freedom, the preservation of the Union, the fate of slavery and the structure of our society and
economy could all be listed as significant contributing factors in America's bloodiest conflict.
Complaints of Georgians
Many of the problems Georgians saw more than one hundred fifty years ago are being reiterated
today. The "oppressive" federal government. High taxes(tariffs before the war). A growing
government unwilling to listen to law abiding citizens. Sound familiar? They were complaints
levied from 1816 on in Georgia.
Constitutional Questions
People argued about the meaning of the Constitution since its infancy. From a legal standpoint,
the document defines the relationship between the people of the United States and the federal
government, detailing the powers and responsibilities of each. In 1828 Vice-president John C.
Calhoun said if a state felt a federal law extended beyond the Constitutional rights of the
government that state had the right to ignore(or "nullify") the law. This concept dated back the
Articles of Confederation. President Andrew Jackson felt the federal government was the highest
authority(Article VI, Section 2) and the states had to abide by its law.
Tariffs and the Nullification Crisis
As industry in the North expanded it looked towards southern markets, rich with cash from the
lucrative agricultural business, to buy the North's manufactured goods. However, it was often
cheaper for the South to purchase the goods abroad. In order to "protect" the northern industries
Jackson slapped a tariff on many of the imported goods that could be manufactured in the North.
When South Carolina passed the Ordinance of Nullification in November 1832, refusing to collect
the tariff and threatening to withdraw from the Union, Jackson ordered federal troops to
Charleston. A secession crisis was averted when Congress revised the Tariff of Abominations in
February 1833.
The rhetoric changes
However, the political climate changed during this "Nullification Crisis." Designations of States
Rightist, Pro-Union, loose or strict constructionalist became more important than Whig or
Democrat. In North Georgia when John Thomas, a local politician, was asked what to name a
new county he said, "Name it Union, for none but Union-like men live here." Most of the northern
tier of Georgia counties remained pro-Union until the outbreak of war almost 30 years later. From
this point on factional politics would play an increasing part in the division of a country.
Economic changes affect society
The Panic of 1837 and the ensuing depression began to gnaw like a hungry animal on the flesh
of the American system. The disparity between northern and southern economies was
exacerbated. Before and after the depression the economy of the South prospered. Southern
cotton sold abroad totaled 57% of all American exports before the war. The Panic of 1857
devastated the North and left the South virtually untouched. The clash of a wealthy, agricultural
South and a poorer, industrial North was intensified by abolitionists who were not above using
class struggle to further their cause.
The breakdown of the political system
The ugliness of the political process quickly began to show as parties turned upon themselves
and politics on a national level were more like local Georgia politics. Feuds and fights in political
arenas were common. From 1837 until 1861 eight men became president, but no man served
more than a single term in office. One sitting president was not renominated by his own party and
another withdrew his name after being nominated. New political parties were created with names
like Constitutional Union, American, Free-Soilers and Republican. In Georgia, Democrats were
strong, but factional fighting broke the party along pro-Union and States Rights lines.
With the disintegration of the Whig party in the early 1850's the political turmoil increased. Howell
Cobb, former Speaker of the House, molded pro-Union Democrats, mostly from North Georgia,
with former Whigs to grab the governorship in 1851. His attempts to help slaves fell on the deaf
ears of our state legislature. Although Georgia began to prosper during his first year the coalition
fell apart as the Democrats reunited. The increasing power of the West and self-serving
politicians like Stephen A. Douglas churned the political environment as the North and South
battled for philosophic control.
By the time Buchanan was elected(1856) the country was divided on many issues, including
slavery. Former Governor Cobb spoke in the North as a moderate Southerner for Buchanan and
served on his cabinet. Over the next 4 years Cobb changed from pro-Union to secessionist. A
similar process occurred across much of Georgia. In 1860 the state was equally divided between
secessionist and pro-Union.
A concise history of slavery
At Jamestown, Va. in 1611 a group of Scottish women and children were sold as slaves. 7 years
later in Jamestown the first Africans were sold in slavery. From 1611 until 1865 people from
virtually every society on earth were sold into slavery in North America. Citizens in each of the
thirteen colonies enslaved people, but slavery was viewed as a southern institution after the early
1800's. Along the coastal areas of the South a majority of the slaves were black. In some inland
areas whites and Native Americans outnumbered black slaves. Slavery is still legal in the United
States as a criminal punishment, but is not practiced.
In 1789 Georgians, as did much of the rest of the country, saw slavery as a dying institution. Eli
Whitney's stolen modification of the cotton gin(1793) created a greater demand for slaves, so
rather than "wither on the vine" the institution prospered. The Northwest Ordinance, adopted in
1787 banned the practice in the Northwest Territories. In 1798 Georgia forbid further importation
of slaves and the Constitution allowed Congress to outlaw importation of slaves in 1808, which
they did. Over the next 40 years lesser skirmishes were fought over slavery including the
Compromise of 1820. In North Georgia slavery was not widespread and a majority of the slaves
were of Native American, Scottish or Irish descent.
Slaves often spoke of "our cotton" or "our cattle". The only item they would concede was the
master's carriage. Trusted slaves were permitted to go to town unescorted. Others suffered
horribly. Conditions in northern factories were as bad or worse than those for a majority of the
slaves, but it would be 40 years after the war when they were properly addressed.
Beginning in the late 1840's the conflict over slavery began to boil over. The Compromise of 1850
contributed heavily to the split in Georgia's Democratic Party. On a national scale David Wilmot,
Lloyd Garrison, and Harriet Beecher Stowe enflamed the abolitionists. James G. Birney and
Theodore Weld were more effective against slavery. The Dred Scot decision, Kansas-Nebraska
Act, and harsher Fugitive Slave Laws gave the South some redress.
The new Republican Party became a home to the alienated abolitionists. Although they
totaled less than 3% of the population at large, they formulated the Republican platform to
include the abolition of slavery as a plank. The party then nominated Abraham Lincoln for
president. Few gave him any chance of success, but 3 other candidates split the popular
vote and Lincoln won. Convinced that Lincoln would ruin the South economically, possibly
by freeing the slaves, the heartland of the South withdrew from the Union. Shortly thereafter
the upper south joined them. The attack on Fort Sumter launched America's bloodiest
conflict.
So what caused the war?
The United States had been moving towards a fractured, divisive society for a number of years.
Cultural and economic differences served to widen the rift. Battles among North, South, and West
grew more heated, especially after 1850. Politicians and the judiciary sent conflicting signals
trying to appease each of the groups involved, yet all remained dissatisfied. Georgians saw a
federal government controlled by Northern industrialists who were unresponsive to the problems
of their state. Tariffs paid by Georgians bought improvements in northern and western states.
Now the federal government, they thought, was going to take away personal property without
compensation, a clear violation of their Fourth Amendment rights.
The South was wrong to assume Lincoln intended to free the slaves. He had never advocated
action to abolish slavery nor did he speak out against the Illinois rules prohibiting blacks from
testifying against whites. The true abolition candidate, Gerrit Smith of New York drew few votes.
In his inaugural address Lincoln made it clear he would not interfere with slavery where it existed.
Even though he made this speech after the South seceded he left the door open for their return.
During the war
Southerners abolished the African slave trade in the Confederate Constitution. In the North
"Preserve the Union" was the battlecry and Lincoln quoted "...a house divided shall not stand..."
from the Bible. In fact the Emancipation Proclamation(1862), a foreign affair ploy, cost
Republicans control of the legislature that November. A year later Lincoln restated why the war
was fought when he said, dedicating a cemetery at Gettysburg "..for those who here gave their
lives that this nation might live." During the Draft Riots in New York City 88 blacks were lynched.
After the war
Phil Sheridan, George Armstrong Custer and others adapted very quickly from killing rebels to the
genocide of Native Americans. The South was "reconstructed" for the next 87 years. Southerners
formed "brotherhoods" that featured white robes, lynchings and unanimous support for
Democratic candidates in the South and West. Confederate General John B. Gordon, reputed
leader of this Ku Klux Klan, was elected governor of Georgia. Blacks struggled for nearly one
hundred years to gain legal and economic equality.
For a Northern Perspective on why the Civil War was fought, see Causes of the Civil War
Related Pages
Antebellum North Georgia
Secession
The story of Georgia's secession from the United States of America
This Hallowed Ground
An introduction to The Blue and Gray Trail
Civil War in Georgia
A look at life on the home front in war-torn Georgia.
Other pages of interest
Howell Cobb
The only man to be considered for the Presidency of two countries, Cobb was governor of
Georgia, Speaker of the House, and a noted Confederate general.
John B. Gordon
One of the Bourbon Triumvirate, Gordon sucessfully returned to Washington as Senator
and led the state as governor.
Causes of the Civil War - A Northern
Perspective
It is true that the single, simple answer to the question "What caused the Civil War?" is slavery,
but the causes of The Civil War are by no means simple, and saying slavery caused the Civil War
is somewhat akin to saying the invention of the printing press caused the Enlightenment. While
the two are inextricably tied together, and one probably would not have happened without the
other, the invention of the printing press was not the only element that contributed to The
Enlightenment.
The same can be said about the Civil War. Without slavery, the divisions that split our nation
probably would not have occurred, but slavery was not the only cause of the war. Lincoln himself
distanced the country from the slavery issue, proclaiming "A House Divided..." in 1858. It was a
theme he would repeat throughout his Presidency.
Ultimately, these divisions began as our Nation was being created. The U. S. Constitution was a
document hammered out by compromise - sometimes over slavery, sometimes over the right to
bear arms, sometimes over the establishment of a state-sanctioned religion. Compromise,
however, did not seem to be completely effective. Each interest group came away winning
something and losing something.
By 1820, Southerners had long ago given up on maintaining a majority in the House of
Representatives. The growth of the industrialized North meant the distribution of seats in the
House was in their favor. When the Compromise of 1820 was worked out Missouri entered the
Union as a slave state and Maine entered the Union as a free state preserving the balance of
slave states to free states in the Senate. The preservation of the Union came at a price for
Southerners. They were tacitly agreeing that the Senate had the right to make laws regarding
slavery.
As population in the North swelled, population in the South it remained stagnant. The Northern
economy manufactured goods it wanted to sell abroad, but more importantly, at home. The South
was a good market for these manufacturers. Flush with cash from the sale of cotton, the South
represented a prime, albeit small market. Northern manufacturers wanted tariffs imposed on
imported foreign goods that could be made in the United States to ensure that the South bought
northern goods. The agrarian South demanded almost a "status quo" government which left them
alone while dealing with other problems. Northerners looked to the government for help with
immigration, population and competition. Frequently the two goals of the regions were at direct
odds with each other.
In 1824 the regionalism developing in the country finally struck Presidential politics. John Quincy
Adams, Andrew Jackson, Henry Clay and George Crawford ran for President that year, the first
time in 12 years that a Presidential candidate had serious opposition. Adams represented the
North, Crawford the Deep South, Clay the mid-West and Jackson the developing region known
as the West. In the Election of 1824 the regional rift was so deep that the the election ended up in
the House of Representatives, where Adams won, at least according to Jackson's supporters, by
making a "Corrupt Bargain" to gain the Presidency (Adams actually won because a major target
of the Jackson campaign were the party regulars, who tipped the House of Representatives in
Adams' favor).
Four years later Jackson defeated Adams, starting the only two-term Presidency between the
Compromise of 1820 and the Civil War. During Jackson's first term, the Nullification Crisis began
the first talk of secession in the South. Believing it had the right to "nullify" an act of Congress,
South Carolina overturned the Tariff of 1832. Jackson warned the errant state that it had no such
right and sent troops to Charleston to make certain the Tariff was collected. A crisis was averted
when a compromise was reached in the Senate, courtesy of Henry Clay.
Replacing Calhoun as Vice-President on the 1832 ballot was Martin Van Buren. Elected
President in 1836, by the time the Election of 1840 came around Democrat Van Buren had
alienated large portions of the electorate. The Panic of 1837 spawned the worst economic
depression in United States history. Van Buren then used the panic/depression to institute
banking changes that many viewed as ill-advised. Van Buren was blamed for the Panic of 1837
and faced stiff competition in the election of 1840 from William Henry Harrison, a Whig war hero.
Harrison won the election of 1840, which also featured abolitionist James Birney running on the
Liberty Party ticket.
Since the Compromise of 1820 the abolitionist movement had been slowly gaining momentum
and Birney managed to gather more than 6,000 votes. Still, abolitionist speakers frequently faced
pro-slavery crowds at Northern engagements because people did not understand the plight of the
slave. Many, especially the poor, viewed abolition in a negative light because freed slaves would
be in competition for what few jobs were available to them.
The first pro-abolition weekly publication, Genius of Universal Emancipation appeared shortly
after the Compromise of 1820. David Walker's Appeal, probably the most radical of all abolitionist
documents, was published in September, 1829. Walker was a free black who had been a slave.
Other papers followed including Lloyd Garrison's The Liberator and North Star by another former
slave, Frederick Douglass.
By the Election of 1844 Birney had expanded his pro-abolition vote to more than 80,000, in spite
of his failure to campaign. Some scholars attribute this growth to the Second Great Awakening.
John Tyler, who replaced Harrison after his untimely death a month after his inauguration, was
kicked out of the Whig party for vetoing a national bank bill shortly after becoming president.
Unable to lead a Whig ticket, the President without a party tried to form a third-party. Although
unsuccessful, Tyler created the issue that defined this election: the Annexation of Texas as a
slave state. Martin Van Buren, the leading Democratic candidate, was so out of step with the
party that they turned to James Polk, who wasn't officially running, on the ninth ballot. Polk won
the general election, defeating perennial Whig loser Henry Clay. Over the next four years there
would be a dramatic change in America.
The entry of Texas as a slave state set off a string of protests throughout the North. Soon,
Northern representatives united behind the Wilmot Proviso, which outlawed slavery in any
territory acquired from Mexico in the Mexican American War. Suddenly, Democrats and Whigs
were disregarding party lines and voting based on their region on questions regarding slavery.
In the Election of 1848 Birney's abolitionist votes went to Martin Van Buren and the new Freesoil
Party. Van Buren racked up more 10% of the national vote, which is astonishing since he wasn't
on the ballot in the South. Slavery divided the two major parties along pro-slavery and "popular
sovereignty" lines.
Once again, the balance of power in the Senate became an issue with the proposed admittance
of California as a free state in 1850. With the House of Representatives crossing party lines to
vote pro-abolition, Southerners were deeply concerned about the balance of power in the Senate.
Once again, Henry Clay, John Calhoun, Daniel Webster and others hammered out the
Compromise of 1850, gaining the admittance of California as a free state (for Northerners) while
strengthening Fugitive Slave laws for Southerners. Although in the end the Southerners
supported the compromise, 9 Deep South states held the Nashville Convention to determine a
course of action if the Compromised passed. It was the Nashville Convention that invigorated talk
of secession in the South.
Reaction in the North to the enhanced Fugitive Slave Laws saw the creation of the Underground
Railroad, where middle and upper class white "conductors" and former slaves moved slaves
north into Canada. In 1851 Harriet Beecher Stowe created a revolution with a revelation. Her
novel, Uncle Tom's Cabin was a surprising success. First published as installments in a
magazine, Stowe had done something all the abolitionist writers had failed to do -- Uncle Tom's
Cabin brought the plight of slavery to the common man in terms they could understand. Even
Abraham Lincoln understood the impact of Stowe's work: According to legend, he told her at a
meeting in 1862 "So you're the little woman who wrote the book that started this Great War!"
The Election of 1852 saw the self-destruction of the Whig Party with the election of Franklin
Pierce to the White House. The party had failed to come up with a national platform that could
attract both Northerners and Southerners and large-scale defections of its members into smaller,
more well-defined parties such as the Constitution-Union, Freesoil, and American (KnowNothings) Parties rang the death knell for the Whigs.
The Democrats continued to wield their "popular sovereignty" carrot to both the North and the
South. With the breakdown of the Whigs and the reduction of power of the slave states, almost
everybody thought that the expansion of the United States would reach breakneck speed.
Instead, it stalled because the South actively worked to limit expansion since it would mean more
free states entering the Union, minimizing the impact of the pro-slave votes. Many bureaucrats
were trying to push ahead with land sales, which were an important revenue source for the
government.
In 1854 the Democrats' "big tent" approach to politics began to tear. Stephen Douglas, chairman
of the powerful Committee on Territories, introduced the Kansas-Nebraska Act in the Senate.
Douglas, from Illinois, wanted to ensure Chicago became the lucrative hub of railroads to the
West. What he did, backed by the support of President Franklin Pierce, was create a small
regional war that fueled deep divisions in the country over the next 6 years.
Everybody simply assumed that Nebraska would be a free state and Kansas would be a slave
state when they joined the Union. To ensure Kansas would be admitted as a slave state,
slaveholders and "border ruffians" from Missouri moved across the border to "help" form a
government. Anti-slavery societies in New England also moved in and American newspapers
carried stories about "Bleeding Kansas." One of the immediate outcomes of Bleeding Kansas
was the formation of the Republican Party.
Although it would be correct to say that the Republican Party represented an amalgam of exWhigs and Freesoilers, the party incorporated many of the smaller groups that had sprung up
over the years including the Liberty Party. A number of Republicans were disenchanted
Democrats, unhappy with the concept of popular sovereignty. A key Republican plank was the
abolition of slavery, but much of the campaign of 1856 centered on the conflict in Kansas, where
popular sovereignty was proving to be a disaster. One reason Kansas was on everybody's
tongue was the vicious attack on Charles Sumner following his "Crime Against Kansas" speech.
One party whose supporters didn't join the Republicans, at least immediately, was the "KnowNothings." In 1856 this anti-immigrant party, known as the American Party on the ballot, ran
former Whig president Millard Fillmore for President. He did surprisingly well in the South,
drawing much of his support from pro-slavery Whigs who could not support the Republicans.
John C. Fremont, the Republican candidate, did not run in the South but did well in the North as a
vocal opponent of slavery.
James Buchanan won the Democratic nomination for President in 1856. The balloting had not
been as divisive as it had been in 1852-it only took 17 tries to select Buchanan, who benefited
from a outsider image, won the nomination in spite of the fact that a sitting President was running
(Pierce, from New Hampshire, had alienated many Northerners with a pro-Slavery stance and he
had supported Douglas's disastrous Kansas-Nebraska Act). Opposing him was the strongest
abolitionist to date, John C. Fremont. Buchanan won all but the northern tier of states, but was a
minority President, garnering less than 50% of the popular vote.
With little appreciation for the crisis that was developing in his midst, Buchanan sought to balance
his cabinet between pro-slave and abolitionist politicians, which had become a "litmus test" of the
era. One interesting selection was Howell Cobb, a pro-Union and pro-slavery former Governor of
Georgia as Secretary of Treasury. By the time of his resignation in 1861, Cobb had become a
strident secessionist, a change being reflected throughout the South.
The bitterness of the dispute over Kansas reached the floor of the Senate in 1856. Following his
Crime Against Kansas speech, Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner was attacked by South
Carolina House of Representatives member Preston Brooks on the floor of the Senate. Using a
light cane, Brooks brutally whipped Sumner. It would take three years for Sumner to recover. Proslavery "fireeaters" antagonized abolitionist Northern Senators with talk of "disunion" and pretty
soon the idea of compromise was on no one's mind. The effect of Bloody Kansas continued to
infiltrated everyday society.
Americans awoke to a society redefined by the Supreme Court on March 7, 1857. The day before
the court ruled that Dred Scott, a slave who had travelled extensively in the North) had no
standing to sue John Sanford (his current owner) for his freedom. The impact of the decision was
far-reaching. It stated that a black man who had lived in the North where slavery had been
abolished was still a slave and not a person. The South triumphed the decision while the growing
abolition movement in the North was repulsed. Many in the North now realized only the
Republicans could effectively deal with question of slavery.
Adding to the sectionalism, the Panic of 1857 had a much wider effect on the industrialized North
and the railroad-oriented West. In the North, warehouses began to pile up with unsold
merchandise forcing across-the-board layoffs. Demands for an increase in protective tariffs
continued to feed the sectionalism in Congress. In the West, over-expansion of the railroads
caused many to collapse, taking with them tens of thousands of land speculators. The West
wanted the government to support the failing railroads and banks.
Kansas' problems continued to boil over as free-staters and pro-slave forces repeatedly battled
over the question of popular sovereignty. At the start of 1858, Douglas and Buchanan began the
rift that would ultimately split the Democratic Party when Buchanan accepted the pro-slavery
Lecompton Constitution for Kansas statehood over the objections of Douglas. Buchanan yanked
all of Douglas's patron jobs and Douglas Democrats sided with Republicans to block Buchanan's
legislative agenda. During the Lincoln-Douglas debates Douglas alienated many Southerners
with remarks about slavery in territories (Freeport Doctrine). Although Douglas would win the
Senatorial election, he would pay dearly for the remarks in 1860.
Then in late 1859, the Kansas-Nebraska situation boiled over in the Eastern United States when
John Brown and 21 men (5 black, 16 white) took over the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry in an
attempt to forment a slave uprising. Those very words sent shivers up every slaveholder's spine.
With 40% of the South now black, and with black/white ratios on larger plantations exceeding 10
to 1, the fear of a slave revolt was a serious concern. Now John Brown, who had attacked proslavery towns in Kansas, was holding an arsenal waiting for slaves to join him. Colonel Robert E.
Lee was chosen to put down the revolt. Brown would be tried and executed before the end of the
year.
Election of 1860 saw Abraham Lincoln get elected when Northern and Southern Democrats
splintered into three parties. Dating back to 1856, the chasm that had formed over slavery broke
the Democratic Convention apart in 1860. The division was over Douglas's "popular sovereignty"
that had failed so miserably in Kansas. The South refused to back Douglas, walking out of
Democratic conventions in Charleston and Baltimore, and nominated Vice President John
Breckenridge for President. Breckenridge sought to preserve slavery in the states (not just the
South), ensure slavery as an option in the territories, and threatened secession if Lincoln was
elected. He even called the Southern Democrats the Disunion Party. Breckenridge won most of
the South.
John Bell was a major slaveholder who was also pro-Union. Drawing from pro-slavery Whigs who
could not join the Republicans and pro-Union Southern Democrats, Bell did well throughout the
South but managed to win only in Tennessee and Kentucky. Douglas seemed to be oblivious that
most people had dismissed his "popular sovereignty" concept. Majorities in the North and the
South resented the idea because of the problems it had caused in Kansas.
Abraham Lincoln touched the subject of slavery only briefly in his speeches and was always
certain to point out that he did not intend to abolish slavery where it already existed. He pushed
his Homestead Act and transcontinental everything to his constituents. With Lincoln's election,
the Deep South seceded.