Civil War Catalysts: The Demise of the Second and the Rise of the Republican Party.

By Olivia Nail-Beatty The Whig Party

● Major party opposing the Democratic party from 1834-1854.

● Developed to oppose Jackson and the Democrats.

● The Whigs were federalists and favored government support as well as controls placed by the government over moral issues such as slavery and temperance. Demise of the second party system

● The second party system was that of the Democrats and the Whigs.

● In the 1850s the slavery debate destroyed the Whig party.

● The Compromises about slavery made in the 1850s, especially the fugitive slave law, split the party.

● was a presidential candidate of 1852 who would be the final presidential candidate of the Whigs.

○ He gained southern support through enforcing the fugitive slave law

○ In this, he alienated antislavery Whigs

○ This party crumbled under the division

● The party completely dissolved with the addition of Nebraska and Kansas into the Union. Kansas-Nebraska ● Created by America’s manifest destiny to expand westward.

Act ● Kansas and Nebraska territories were founded.

● The Act was passed by Congress in 1854 after much debate. ● The Missouri compromise of 1820 added Missouri as a slave state and also prohibited The Kansas-Nebraska Act slavery passed north of latitude 36°30′N and the Missouri (except for Missouri). Compromise ● The south was upset at the addition of Kansas and Nebraska as territories because they were in northern territories which made them free of slavery.

● Needing the support from the south, Kansas and Nebraska were made states with the compromise that they would have popular sovereignty.

● Popular Sovereignty: states can vote for whether or not they want to allow slavery.

● The northerns were then disstressed that this would negate the Missouri Compromise.

● This conflict led to... Bloody Kansas. ● After Congress passed the Kansas- Nebraska Act, it was up to the the settlers of this new territory to decide if they should allow slavery.

● Emigration was promoted by both proslavery and antislavery faction resulting in violence between the Bloody Kansas sides. ● Missourians began to cross border lines to vote on the subject and to try to prevent the northerners voting by using violence.

● There were many extremely violent conflicts between the faction during this time partially because strong supporters on each side had weaponry. Lecompton Constitution

● In order to join the Union, each state was required to write a state Constitution.

● Two were written in Lecompton, Kansas:

○ One “with slavery” if Kansas should become a slave state

○ One “without slavery” if Kansas should become a free state — the Lecompton Constitution.

● Antislavery supporters boycotted the referendum of statehood.

● Without the support of this majority, Kansas was forced to petition to enter the Union as a slave state with the Lecompton Constitution.

● Congressional leaders, who were mainly supporters of popular sovereignty, refused to accept the Lecompton Constitution as the wishes of the majority of Kansas’s population.

● State officials held a new referendum in which the Lecompton constitution was overwhelmingly rejected. Kansas is free

● Eventually, the antislavery settlers outnumbered the proslavery emigrants and Kansas entered the union as a free state in 1861.

● The north then had more states than the south with Kansas becoming one of the most Republican states.

● This created a huge divide in the country between southern slave states, and northern free states.

● The addition of these territories and Bloody Kansas can be considered the most important events in leading the country to civil war. The formation of the ● The absorbed most of the remains of the Whig party that had third party system: completely crumbled after Bloody The Republican Party Kansas. ● In the north, antislavery alliances formed called…

○ Anti-Nebraska

○ Fusion

○ People’s

○ Independent

○ REPUBLICANS

■ First called this at a rally at a church is Ripon, Wisconsin

● They wanted to prevent the spread of slavery. Republicans and Know-Nothings

● Succeeded in breaking down the Whigs

● But… in 1855 it was unclear who would become the dominant opposing party of the democrats.

● It seemed as though the Know-Nothing party would prevail, but the slavery issue split them along the sectional lines.

● This issue prevented them from becoming dominant and the Republicans were able to surge ahead and become the dominant party of the north.

● Anti-slavery Know Nothings went into the Republican party. Kansas-Nebraska Act and Results

https://youtu.be/oWww0YIf-JE ● Dred Scott was an African American slave owned by Dr. John Emmerson.

● Scott accompanied Emmerson on his travels.

○ They lived in Missouri

■ A slave state

○ They traveled to Illinois

Dred Scott ■ A free state

○ Then to the Wisconsin territory

■ In which slavery had been completely outlawed

○ Back to Missouri where his owner died.

● Scott then sued for his freedom in a Missouri lower court on the grounds that he had lived in free territories for a long time. ● After the Missouri supreme court decided he would remain a slave, Scott appealed to the U.S. Supreme court.

● A decision was made on March 6, 1857 by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney.

● The decision stated that Scott would The Dred-Scott remain a slave because as an African American he was not entitled to sue a Decision court of law.

● The decision also stated that neither free nor enslaved blacks were citizens and that they had rights under the U.S. Constitution.

● The Supreme Court also ruled that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional because Congress did not have the power to interfere with private property, and therefore slaves in federal territories. What was the impact?

● Northerners and Republicans were appalled at this decision.

○ They were completely against the morality of this decision

○ Because it ruled that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional this meant that slavery could be permitted in the northern states

● Abolitionists increased their efforts while proslavery supports just became more firm and unyielding in their views. The country was more split than ever. Dred-Scott Decision

https://youtu.be/c3-bKpfGR7I Lincoln-Douglas Debates

● Lincoln challenged Douglas to a series of 7 debates.

● Took place in Illinois in 1858 between and Stephen A. Douglas.

○ Both wanted the position as Senator

● Lincoln was the Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate.

● Douglas was the current Democratic Party candidate.

● These debates were about whether or not slavery could be extended into free territories. Douglas v Lincoln

Douglas Lincoln

● In favor of popular sovereignty to allow ● A Federalist which meant he wanted more each state to make a decision about support from the government on the issue. slavery. ● Argued that the Dred-Scott ruling allowed ● He was in favor of allowing slavery. new territories which he strongly opposed.

● Spoke about the moral wrongs of slavery. ● Accused Lincoln as being an abolitionist (even northerners were still uncomfortable ○ Claimed that Douglas disregarded this. with blacks mixing with whites). ● Believed blacks were inferior to whites but still ● Accused Lincoln of having a hidden considered slavery immoral and against the intention to interfere with the governments democracy. of individual states. ● Believed the principles of equality set forth in ● Believed the nation could exist as being the Declaration of Independence should be half slave-owning and half slave-free. upheld in new territories.

● Believed the nation could not stand divided.

● Lincoln was viewed as a radical by the Democrats. Lincoln’s “A House Divided” Speech; June 16, 1858, at the Illinois Republican convention

Under the operation of that policy, that agitation has not only not ceased but has constantly augmented. In my opinion, it will not cease until a crisis shall have been reached and passed. "A house divided against itself cannot stand." I believe this government cannot endure, permanently, half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved; I do not expect the house to fall; but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other. Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread of it and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in the course of ultimate extinction, or its advocates will push it forward till it shall become alike lawful in all the states, old as well as new, North as well as South. -Abraham Lincoln

● This speech was made in 1858 by Abraham Lincoln addressing the Illinois Republican Convention.

● Lincoln tries to convey the need for government action in abolishing slavery Lincoln’s by emphasizing that the country can not exist in a divided state.

Speech ● This quotation from one of the Lincoln- Douglas debates illustrates Lincoln’s professional view as a Republican and a Federalist at the time on the slavery matter.

● Lincoln is appealing to his supporters so he is carefully speaking and highlighting key points that reveal his views on the matter and why they should be supported for the good of the citizens. What was the result?

● Douglas was reelected as the senator of Illinois.

● These debates made Lincoln a public figure and helped him win the 1860 presidential election.

● Lincoln helped publicize Republican ideas.

● Ideas about slavery were out in the open and questions about morality were dividing the country. The collapse of the Union and the start of the Civil war began with the Kansas-Nebraska Act ● Led to a further division between the northern and the southern states, and between proslavery supporters and antislavery supporters. ● Brought into question where slavery should be allowed and if it should be allowed at all. ● McPherson, James M. Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil Bibliography War Era. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988. Print.

● MISSOURI COMPROMISE, 1820. - Map of the United States showing the free and slave states and territories following the ● "Lincoln-Douglas Debates (1858)." American History, Missouri Compromise of 1820. ABC-CLIO, 2017, americanhistory.abc-clio.com/Search/ ● KANSAS-NEBRASKA MAP, 1854. - Detail of a map of the Display/254616. Accessed 7 Sept. 2017. United States showing the Kansas and Nebraska territories as they appeared following passage of the Kansas-Nebreska Act in 1854.. Fine Art. Britannica ImageQuest, Encyclopædia ● "Whig Party." American History, ABC-CLIO, 2017, Britannica, 25 May 2016. quest.eb.com/search/ americanhistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/253625. 140_1647586/1/140_1647586/cite. Accessed 8 Sep 2017. Accessed 25 Aug. 2017. ● Stephen Arnold Douglas. Photography. Britannica ImageQuest, Encyclopædia Britannica, 25 May 2016. ● "Bleeding Kansas." American History, ABC-CLIO, 2017, quest.eb.com/search/ 139_1919335/1/139_1919335/cite. Accessed 12 Sep 2017. americanhistory.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/ 253257. ● PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN, 1860. - An American cartoon Accessed 29 Aug. 2017. published, 1860. Fine Art. Britannica ImageQuest, Encyclopædia Britannica, 25 May 2016.quest.eb.com/ ● Avila, Rolando. "Dred Scott Decision." American History, search/140_1669559/1/140_ 1669559/cite. Accessed 17 Sep ABC-CLIO, 2017, americanhistory.abc-clio. com/Search/ 2017. Display/894331. Accessed 1 Sept. 2017. ● Lincoln-douglas Debate, 1858, The. Fine Art. Britannica ImageQuest, Encyclopædia Britannica, 25 May 2016.quest.eb. com/search/107_3351397/1/107_3351397/ ● Benson, Sonia, et al. "Lincoln-Douglas Debates." UXL cite. Accessed 17 Sep 2017. Encyclopedia of U.S. History, vol. 5, UXL, 2009, pp. 912-915. Student Resources in Context, link.galegroup.com /apps/doc/CX3048900359/SUIC? u=albu23958&xid=5c29a83d. Accessed 15 Sept. 2017.