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March 25, 1833 Letter from John C. Calhoun to Samuel Ingham

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March 25, 1833 Letter from John C. Calhoun to Samuel Ingham Historical Question: Utilizing the strengths and weaknesses present in the Union and Confederacy, create a multi-part strategy for victory in the Civil War for the Union and Confederacy. (CP, Honors) Historical Question: Through an investigation of political, cultural and military factors of the United States during the Antebellum Era (1820-1860) design a plan of action for the Union and Confederacy to be victorious in the Civil War which is able to accentuate strengths while limiting weaknesses. (AP, IB) Source A: John Calhoun letter to Samuel Ingham (March 25, 1833) Calhoun, J. C. (1833, March 25). Letter, 1833 March 25, J. C. Calhoun to Samuel D. Ingham, page 2-5 [Letter to Samuel D. Ingham]. This source is part of a letter sent from John C. Calhoun to Samuel D. Ingham on March 25, 1833 regarding the doctrine of consolidation passed by Congressmen Daniel Webster and Louise McLane aided by the influence of President Andrew Jackson. March 25, 1833 Letter from John C. Calhoun to Samuel Ingham "But though we have gained ground, much yet remains to be done, in order to guard against the approach of despotic power. Though the protective system is substantially put down, we have in its place the force act; a measure, which sticks more directly at the principles of our Government, than any which has ever been adopted. It was passed in fact by the join influence of Webster & McLane aided by the influence of Jackson, with the express intention of establishing the doctrine of consolidation. … I think, the South will rally against it, on the old [Democratic] Republican ground, and, I trust, that there will be sufficient aid from other sections, to erase it with disgrace from among the acts of the Government. We must establish beyond controversy the sovereignty of the State, with the right of practically asserting their reserved powers, or our system will end in the most odious despotism. It is what all, who love freedom, of every section, may agree in; and contending for it, will present the broad lines of distinction between the [Democratic] Republican, and federal party - the lovers of freedom and the lovers of powers." Guiding Questions: 1. What is the primary concern of John C. Calhoun in this letter to Samuel Ingham in 1833? 2. When John C. Calhoun speaks about the South rallying against “the doctrine of consolidation”, is he referring to the use of warfare or political action? 3. What weakness of the North (and future Northern Republicans) is John C. Calhoun identifying in 1833? 4. How could the future Confederacy exploit the ideology of “consolidation” that was supported by Northern politicians, Daniel Webster (Massachusetts) and Louis McLane (Delaware)? South Carolina Department of Education | Office of Standards and Learning in partnership with the University of South Carolina 2018 Historical Question: Utilizing the strengths and weaknesses present in the Union and Confederacy, create a multi-part strategy for victory in the Civil War for the Union and Confederacy. (CP, Honors) Historical Question: Through an investigation of political, cultural and military factors of the United States during the Antebellum Era (1820-1860) design a plan of action for the Union and Confederacy to be victorious in the Civil War which is able to accentuate strengths while limiting weaknesses. (AP, IB) Source B: Abraham Lincoln - Cooper Union Address (February 27, 1860) Lincoln, A. (n.d.). Cooper Union Address. Retrieved July 27, 2018, from http://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/cooper.htm (Annotation) Abraham Lincoln Speech - Cooper Union Address - New York, New York - February 27, 1860 In October 1859 Abraham Lincoln accepted an invitation to lecture at Henry Ward Beecher's church in Brooklyn, New York. The carefully crafted speech examined the views of the 39 signers of the Constitution. Lincoln noted that at least 21 of them -- a majority -- believed Congress should control slavery in the territories, rather than allow it to expand. Thus, the Republican stance of the time was not revolutionary, but similar to the Founding Fathers, and should not alarm Southerners, for radicals had threatened to secede if a Republican was elected President. Lincoln set out to use the speech to speak of the Founding Fathers and to speak directly to Democrats and Republicans in the months prior to the 1860 Election. This source is an excerpt of the speech given by Abraham Lincoln on February 27, 1860. Excerpt of Abraham Lincoln's Cooper Union Address (February 27, 1860) "A few words now to Republicans. It is exceedingly desirable that all parts of this great Confederacy shall be at peace, and in harmony, one with another. Let us Republicans do our part to have it so. Even though much provoked, let us do nothing through passion and ill temper. Even though the southern people will not so much as listen to us, let us calmly consider their demands, and yield to them if, in our deliberate view of our duty, we possibly can. Judging by all they say and do, and by the subject and nature South Carolina Department of Education | Office of Standards and Learning in partnership with the University of South Carolina 2018 of their controversy with us, let us determine, if we can, what will satisfy them. The question recurs, what will satisfy them? Simply this: We must not only let them alone, but we must somehow, convince them that we do let them alone." Guiding Questions: 1. What action(s) are Abraham Lincoln advocating Republicans should take? 2. How would you contrast Lincoln’s view of the South to that of the South’s view of Lincoln? 3. What actions had the South taken to this point that threatened the North and Republican ideals? 4. Why would the South not be convinced by the content of Abraham Lincoln’s speech? Why would the North not be convinced by the content of Abraham Lincoln’s speech? South Carolina Department of Education | Office of Standards and Learning in partnership with the University of South Carolina 2018 Historical Question: Utilizing the strengths and weaknesses present in the Union and Confederacy, create a multi-part strategy for victory in the Civil War for the Union and Confederacy. (CP, Honors) Historical Question: Through an investigation of political, cultural and military factors of the United States during the Antebellum Era (1820-1860) design a plan of action for the Union and Confederacy to be victorious in the Civil War which is able to accentuate strengths while limiting weaknesses. (AP, IB) Source C: James Henry Hammond - “Cotton is King” speech (March 4, 1858) Hammond, J. H. (n.d.). Speech of Hon. James H. Hammond. Retrieved July 27, 2018, from http://lincoln.lib.niu.edu/islandora/object/niu-lincoln:35455 (Annotation) Speech - James H. Hammond - "Cotton is King” James Henry Hammond (1807--1864) was a prominent South Carolina planter who served the state as United States Congressman (1835--1836), Governor (1842--1844), and United States Senator (1857--1860). This source is an excerpt of a speech given in open session of the United States Senate by James Henry Hammond in defense of slavery and the plantation system. Hammond also co-authored the Pro-Slavery Argument: As Maintained by the Most Distinguished Writers of the Southern States with Thomas Roderick Dew, William Harper and William Gilmore Simms during the Antebellum Era. Excerpt of James Henry Hammond's "Cotton is King" speech given in the United States Senate (March 4, 1858) "Without firing a gun, without drawing a sword, should they make war on us we could bring the whole world to our feet. The South is perfectly competent to go on, one, two, or three years without planting a seed of cotton. … I will not stop to depict what everyone can imagine, but this is certain: England would topple headlong and carry the whole civilized world with her, save the South. No, you dare not make war on cotton. No power on earth dares to make war upon it. Cotton is king." South Carolina Department of Education | Office of Standards and Learning in partnership with the University of South Carolina 2018 Guiding Questions: 1. According to Hammond, what value does cotton have to the South during the Antebellum Era? 2. How dependent on cotton is the industry of the North and Great Britain during the Antebellum Era? 3. What are the central concerns of the North at the time of Hammond’s “Cotton is King” speech? 4. What are the vulnerabilities of the cotton system implemented in the South during the Antebellum Era that could be exploited by the North? South Carolina Department of Education | Office of Standards and Learning in partnership with the University of South Carolina 2018 Historical Question: Utilizing the strengths and weaknesses present in the Union and Confederacy, create a multi-part strategy for victory in the Civil War for the Union and Confederacy. (CP, Honors) Historical Question: Through an investigation of political, cultural and military factors of the United States during the Antebellum Era (1820-1860) design a plan of action for the Union and Confederacy to be victorious in the Civil War which is able to accentuate strengths while limiting weaknesses. (AP, IB) Source D: 1863 Military Map of the United States (including Forts, Military Posts and Enlarged Southern Harbors) Johnson, A. J., Colton, J. H. & Johnson And Ward. (1863) Johnson's New Illustrated Steel Plate Family Atlas, With Descriptions, Geographical, Statistical, and Historical. New York: Johnson & Ward. [Map] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2006458040/. The source is one of the many maps of the United States by Alvin J. Johnson and his company Johnson and Ward, named for Johnson and a financial backer of the company, Benjamin P.
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