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Chapter #19: Drifting Toward Disunion – Big Picture Themes 1

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Chapter #19: Drifting Toward Disunion – Big Picture Themes 1 Chapter #19: Drifting Toward Disunion – Big Picture Themes 1. Uncle Tom’s Cabin drove a wedge between the Northerner and Southerner. The South cried foul saying it gave a view of slavery that was too harsh and unrealistic, but it cemented each section’s feelings on the issue. 2. Kansas became the battleground over slavery. Since slavery there was to be decided by popular vote, each side passionately fought for their position. Bloodshed resulted. 3. The Supreme Court’s Dred Scott decision was huge. It said that Congress or a legislature cannot outlaw slavery in the territories. Effectively then, all new lands were possible slave lands. 4. A financial panic in 1857 added to the chaos and uncertainty. 5. Abe Lincoln arrived on the scene. Although he lost to Stephen Douglas for Illinois Senate, he made a name for himself there. 6. In 1860, Abe Lincoln won a very sectional race for president over 3 other candidates. The South had promised to leave the union if Abe won. He won, and the South indeed seceded. IDENTIFICATIONS: The Impending Crisis of the South A book written by Hinton Helper. Helper hated both slavery and blacks and used this book to try to prove that non-slave owning whites were the ones who suffered the most from slavery. The non-aristocrat from N.C. had to go to the North to find a publisher that would publish his book. George Fitzhugh The most influential propagandist in the decade before the Civil War. In his Sociology for the South (1854), he said that the capitalism of the North was a failure. In another writing he argued that slavery was justified when compared to the cannibalistic approach of capitalism. Tried to justify slavery. John Brown John Brown was a militant abolitionist that took radical extremes to make his views clear. In May of 1856, Brown led a group of his followers to Pottawattamie Creek and launched a bloody attack against pro-slavery men killing five people. This began violent retaliation against Brown and his followers. This violent attack against slavery helped give Kansas its nick name, "bleeding Kansas". Charles Sumner He was an unpopular senator from Mass., and a leading abolitionist. In 1856, he made an assault in the pro-slavery of South Carolina and the South in his coarse speech, "The Crime Against Kansas." The insult angered Congressmen Brooks of South Carolina. Brooks walked up to Sumner's desk and beat him unconscious. This violent incident helped touch off the war between the North and the South. Dred Scott Scott was a black slave who had lived with his master for five years in Illinois and Wisconsin territory. He sued for his freedom on the basis of his long residence in free territory. The Dred Scott court decision was handed down by the Supreme Court on March 6,1857. The Supreme Court ruled that Dred Scott was a black slave and not a citizen. Hence, he could not sue in a federal court. Abraham Lincoln Nicknamed "Old Abe" and "Honest Abe"; born in Kentucky to impoverished parents and mainly self-educated; a Springfield lawyer. Republicans chose him to run against Senator Douglas (a Democrat) in the senatorial elections of 1858. Although he loss victory to senatorship that year, Lincoln came to be one of the most prominent northern politicians and emerged as a Republican nominee for president. Although he won the presidential elections of 1860, he was a minority and sectional president (he was not allowed on the ballot in ten southern states). John Crittenden A Senator of Kentucky, that fathered two sons: one became a general in the Union Army, the other a general in the Confederate Army. He is responsible for the Crittenden Compromise. This augments the fact that the war was often between families, and its absurdity. Kentucky and other states were split up between the Union and Confederacy, and both in the North and South sent people to the other side. This makes it clear that the war is primarily over slavery. “Bleeding Kansas” Kansas was being disputed for free or slave soil during 1854-1857, by popular sovereignty. In 1857, there were enough free-soilers to overrule the slave-soilers. So many people were feuding that disagreements eventually led to killing in Kansas between pro-slavery and anti- slavery forces. American or “Know-Nothing” Party Developed from the order of the Star Spangled Banner and was made up of nativists. This party was organized due to its secretiveness and in 1865 nominated the ex-president Fillmore. These super-patriots were anti-foreign and anti-Catholic and adopted the slogan "American's must rule America!" Remaining members of the Whig party also backed Fillmore for President. Panic of 1857 The California gold rush increased inflation; speculation in land and railroads "ripped economic fabric"; hit the North harder than South because the South had cotton as a staple source of income; the North wanted free land from the government; drove Southerners closer to a showdown; caused an increase in tariffs; gave Republicans an issue for the election of 1860. Lincoln-Douglas Debates Lincoln challenged Stephen Douglas to a series of 7 debates. Though Douglas won the senate seat, these debates gave Lincoln fame and helped him to later on win the presidency. These debates were a foreshadowing of the Civil War. Freeport Doctrine (1858) The Freeport Doctrine occurred in Freeport, Illinois during the debates of Lincoln and Douglas for senator. This was a question that Lincoln asked Douglas that made Douglas answer in such a way that the South would know that he was not truly supporting them. Harper's Ferry Raid Occurred in October of 1859. John Brown of Kansas attempted to create a major revolt among the slaves. He wanted to ride down the river and provide the slaves with arms from the North, but he failed to get the slaves organized. Brown was captured. The effects of Harper's Ferry Raid were as such: the South saw the act as one of treason and were encouraged to separate from the North, and Brown became a martyr to the northern abolitionist cause. Constitutional Union Party A political party in the United States created in 1860. It was made up of conservative former Whigs who wanted to avoid disunion over the slavery issue. These former Whigs (teamed up with former Know-Nothings and a few Southern Democrats who were against disunion to form the Constitutional Union Party). Its name comes from its extremely simple platform, a simple resolution "to recognize no political principle other than the Constitution...the Union...and the Enforcement of the Laws." GUIDED READING QUESTIONS: The North-South Contest for Kansas Know: Beecher's Bibles, Border Ruffians 1. What went wrong with popular sovereignty in Kansas? Kansas in Convulsion Know: John Brown, Pottawatomie Creek, Lecompton Constitution 2. What was the effect of "Bleeding Kansas" on the Democratic Party? "Bully" Brooks and His Bludgeon Know: Charles Sumner, Preston Brooks 3. What was the consequence of Brook's beating of Sumner in the North? The South? The Dred Scott Bombshell Know: Dred Scott, Roger B. Taney 4. Why was the Dred Scott decision so divisive? The Financial Crash of 1857 5. How did the Panic of 1857 make Civil War more likely? The Great Debate: Lincoln versus Douglas Know: Freeport Doctrine 6. What long term results occurred because of the Lincoln-Douglas debates? John Brown: Murderer or Martyr Know: Harper's Ferry, Robert E. Lee 7. Why were the actions of one man so important in the growing conflict between North and South? The Disruption of the Democrats Know: John C. Breckenridge, John Bell 8. What happened when the Democratic Party attempted to choose a candidate for the presidency in 1860? The Collapse of Compromise 9. What was the Crittendon Compromise and why did it fail? Farewell to Union 10. What advantages did southerners see in secession? Who did they compare themselves to? .
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