Chapter 6 the America Revolution

Chapter 15 – The Growing Crisis

Section 1 I. Governing the New Western Lands a. The Constitution gave the government the power to regulate or end slavery where it already existed b. New lands from Mexico strain the US because the issue of whether or not the territories would be free or slave and whether the government or the states would make that determination c. The California Gold Rush (1848-1849) i. James Marshall finds gold at his employers sawmill ii. Would-be miners rush in almost overnight iii. The thousands of people who would go to California from all over the nation (about 80,000) would be called Forty-Niners 1. Enough people for statehood iv. The Forty-Niners would come by 3 routes 1. Covered wagon across the country 2. Ship to Panama, across Panama by land, then ship to California 3. Some took a trip around South America, very expensive v. Miners worked in very cold streams for hours at a time, very few people became wealthy vi. Some found wealth in other ways 1. Levi Strauss for example (Read page 423) d. The population also changed as people came from all over i. China, Europe, Hawaii, Australia and Latin America 1. Tens of thousands of Chinese came to California by 1880 2. Because of the large numbers, many camps passed laws against the Chinese a. Ex. $20.00 monthly fee for foreign miners b. Much prejudice c. Physical attacks and new laws ended the influence of Mexicans and other minorities d. Also, blacks, both free and slave, stirred resentment in California i. Some blacks bought their freedom by working the mines ii. Many whites objected to working next to blacks in the mines e. The Free-Soil Movement i. A Pennsylvania Rep. introduced a proviso, a condition in the form of an amendment on a bill, to a bill creating a fund for purchasing land from Mexico 1. It would have outlawed slavery on any lands acquired from Mexico 2. Votes were mainly territorial rather than political party based in nature a. Northerners tended to vote for it, Southerns voted against it 3. It passed through the house but died in the Senate 4. The movement that spread out from this combined racial prejudice with resistance to the spread of slavery a. Those that took this view were called Free-Soilers i. They didn’t want white workers to have to compete with slave labor 5. In the coming election, the Free-Soilers chose Martin Van Buren as their candidate (he was an ex-president). The Whigs chose Zachary Taylor (a slave holder who refused to commit on the issue and ran without a platform). The Democrats Lewis Cass who called for popular sovereignty, or squatter sovereignty, allowing voters who live in a territory to decide the issue of whether or not to allow slavery there a. Zachary Taylor wins f. Forging a compromise i. Taylor advises California to hold a constitutional convention to apply for statehood (allowing them to decide whether to enter as a free or slave state). ii. California applies to become a free state 1. Southerners upset because it will tip the 15 to 15 slave/free state balance 2. This begins serious negotiations and compromises iii. John C. Calhoun speaks for the South and argues: 1. South should be given equal rights in the territories 2. The North should stop its attacks on slavery 3. Calls for a constitutional amendment to protect Southern representation in Congress. iv. Daniel Webster speaks for the North and states: 1. Blasted the idea of secession 2. Does not attack slavery (upsets his antislavery supporters) v. Compromise of 1850 1. Consists of 4 parts: a. California becomes a free state (North happy) b. Any land from Mexico would be free to decide whether they wanted to be a free or slave state by popular sovereignty c. Slave trade is banned in Washington, D.C. (North happy) d. Adopted a stricter Fugitive Slave Law, requiring all states to help return runaway slaves (South happy) vi. Although this crisis was averted, the question of slavery still wasn’t answered

Section 2 I. The Failure of Compromise a. The success of the Compromise of 1850 was short lived i. The North hated the strengthened Fugitive Slave Law ii. War was becoming a possibility b. Resistance to the Fugitive Slave Law i. Abolitionists were unhappy with the law 1. Threatened free blacks as well as slaves 2. Judges received $10 for deciding an accused runaway was a salve but only $5 for deciding that they were free 3. Denied a trial by jury and the right to testify in their own defense 4. Required citizens to help in capturing runaway slaves 5. If you helped a runaway slave, you could be fined $1,000 and sent to jail for 6 months 6. They felt that the law forced them to accept slavery 7. Thought that it was unconstitutional 8. Hard to enforce in the North a. Vermont passes personal liberty laws i. Made it difficult for slave owners to capture fugitives ii. Helped runaways get lawyers and released them from jail b. Black and white abolitionists attempted to rescue captured slaves c. Uncle Tom’s Cabin i. Written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, a ministers daughter ii. About the evils of slavery iii. Angered Southerners 1. They asked in response what of factory owners iv. Northerners bought 300,000 the first year d. Sectional Divisions Increase i. Kansas-Nebraska Act 1. Stephen Douglas wanted to expand the nation by organizing Nebraska and Kansas for statehood in a bill 2. They would enter as free states because their lines were above the 30 degree line set by the Missouri Compromise a. Southerners liked the idea because people would move to Kansas and make it a slave state, breaking the Missouri Compromise b. Slavery would be decided in the states by popular sovereignty c. Passes Congress in 1854 i. Northerners upset because it violated the Missouri Compromise ii. Broke compromise by giving something to the South without anything to the North iii. Douglas believes that this isn’t a problem because he felt few people in those territories would support slavery and thus they would eventually become free states d. Broke the spirit of the Compromise of 1850 i. Opinion becomes split upon sectional lines ii. Whig party collapses iii. Democratic party becomes divided (and would eventually split into the democrats and republicans) 3. Know-Nothings a. Against Roman Catholicism b. Originally the Order of the Star Spangled Banner but when asked about their organization they would respond, “I know nothing” c. Also called the American party d. Appealed to native born people fearing working competition for lower wages e. Also, it was the only opposition to the Democrats f. Goal was to cut immigrant voting strength and keep foreigners in their place i. Wanted to exclude Roman Catholics from public office ii. Wanted a 21 year waiting period before one could apply for citizenship 4. Republican Party a. Split from the Democratic party b. Made up of Free-Soilers, some northern Democrats and antislavery Whigs i. Represented the North c. Experienced politicians led the Republicans d. Said slavery was a bigger threat than immigration, to guarantee free labor e. Goal to stop further spread of slavery e. “Bleeding Kansas” i. Popular sovereignty allowed the Republicans to keep the issue of slavery alive in Kansas ii. To control whether it would be a free or slave state, free-soilers and slaveholders both rushed to the state iii. Some settlers (antislavery) were given money and support to move there; the first to arrive though were slaveowners iv. Many people came from Missouri to Kansas just to vote, illegal 1. Proslavery forces took control of the Congress a. Passed laws upholding slavery b. Made it a crime to criticize or act against slavery 2. Antislavery forces formed their own legislature 3. Fighting breaks out amongst the two forces a. Proslavery forces burn homes, destroy newspaper presses and other property in the antislavery capital in Lawrence, Kansas b. John Brown leads a revenge raid on a proslavery settlement in Pottawatomie Creek i. God called him to carry out war against slavery ii. Killed 5 proslavery settlers in cold blood c. Starts a small war with 200 people being killed before federal troops arrive i. In the US Senate, Charles Sumner (Mass.) is attacked by Congressman Preston Brooks (S.C.) because Sumner gave a speech condemning the South for spreading slavery to the West ii. Brooks hit him in the head with a cane, dazing and blooding him d. Northerners hail Sumner as a antislavery champion and the Southerners hail Brooks as a hero v. Great hatred has now grown between the 2 sections of the country

Section 3 I. A House Divided a. Several events from 1856-1860 drove the North and South further apart b. Election of 1856 i. No candidates from the deeper South ii. Republicans chose John C. Freemont, a Western explorer and Mexican war hero 1. Platform - free soil in Kansas and federal prohibition of slavery in the territories iii. Democrats chose James Buchanan from Pennsylvania 1. Platform – support of popular sovereignty in the territories iv. American Party (minor 3rd party) chose Millard Fillmore 1. Platform – compromise between the North and South v. Really 2 separate races, one in the North and one in the South 1. Buchanan had support in both the North and South while the other two candidates each had support in only one or the other 2. Buchanan wins the election 3. Republicans have a very good showing for only being 1 year old (winning in 11 of 16 free states) c. Dred Scott case i. Involved a slave who was taken to a free territory for 5 years by his owner but then returned to Missouri ii. When his owner died, a lawyer charged that since he lived in a state where slavery was outlawed he could sue for his freedom iii. Decision 1. No black, free or slave, could be a citizen of the United States 2. Blacks could not sue in federal court 3. Slaves were protected property under the due process of law (legal actions carried out according to rules that protect people and their interests fairly) and thus slave owners could take their “property” anywhere in the nation without restriction 4. Ruled that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional because Congress deprived slave owners of their right to property 5. Congress did NOT have the constitutional right to prohibit slavery in the territories, rather it had a duty to protect property, slaved, in the territories a. Southerners supported and applauded the Supreme Court decision b. Northerners called the judgment “wicked and false judgment” d. Lincoln-Douglas Debates i. Lincoln (republican choice for Senate) – “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.” 1. Self-educated, spent on the Kentucky frontier 2. Skillful lawyer and honest politician 3. Few people knew of him but many knew Stephen Douglas 4. Had a direct and plain political style, opposed Mexican War, did not favor ending slavery in existing slave states but did want to stop its spread. 5. Tried to convince voters that Douglas couldn’t be relied upon to oppose the extension of slavery, Douglas supported the Kansas-Nebraska Act and questioned his stand on slavery ii. Douglas said that Lincoln’s moral opposition to slavery implied a belief in racial equality 1. Lincoln replied that he would give slave the fruits of their own labor but would deny them citizenship iii. Combined to cover almost 10,000 miles by train, riverboat and carriage 1. Met to debate at 7 locations always drawing huge crowds iv. Freeport, Illinois 1. Lincoln’s questions about popular sovereignty made it difficult for Douglas 2. Douglas was asked how it would work because Dred Scott allowed slave holders to take their slaves anywhere a. Douglas responded that it was up to a state to enforce slavery through slave codes, if a state didn’t want slavery it wouldn’t approve the laws b. Becomes known as the Freeport Doctrine i. Hurts chances with southern voters because he admitted that people in a territory might keep slavery out 3. Lincoln’s moral issue with slavery earned him a Republican bid a. He thought that the only way to prevent slavery was to oppose the enslavement of people on moral grounds b. He wanted people to think of slavery simply as right or wrong c. “It is the eternal struggle between these two principles –right and wrong – throughout the world. They are the two principles that have stood face to face from the beginning of time; and will ever continue to struggle.” v. Lincoln loses the election by a narrow margin, but the republicans found a candidate for the 1860’s e. Raid on Harper’s Ferry i. John Brown led a small army to the town of Harper’s Ferry on Oct. 16, 1859 1. 18 men (including 5 free blacks) took weapons and munitions from the federal arsenal 2. He expected slaves to rise up and revolt against the South a. Instead it enraged local citizens 3. Held onto a fire-engine house until it was stormed by marines led by Robert E. Lee 4. 10 men of Brown’s men were killed, 7 townspeople and soldiers were killed 5. Dec. 2, 1859, Brown and his remaining followers were found guilty of treason and hung ii. Reaction to his raid were mixed 1. Most people were stunned 2. Most Northerners condemned it as a work of a fanatic 3. Some abolitionists held him up as a martyr 4. Many Southerners thought that Brown was just a small part of a huge plot to stir up slave rebellion a. Some would crack down on Northerners in the South and stepped up control of their slaves b. Many Southerners searched for Northerners who they were sure were going to stir up slave rebellions c. Formed groups to watch slaves so they wouldn’t rebel d. More and more Southern leaders pointed that secession was the only way to protect “Southern rights”

Section 4 I. The Gathering Storm a. Before the election the nation seemed on the verge of splitting apart i. Many Southerners felt that the election would determine the South’s future b. The Election of 1860 i. At their first planning session before the elections, Democrats began to break apart, the Northern Democrats wanted to block slave codes and when they did, the Southern Democrats left the meeting 1. The remaining Democrats then adopt a platform of popular sovereignty but don’t select a candidate ii. At their next session, Northerners favored Stephen Douglas who supported popular sovereignty, and again lots of Southern Democrats left. 1. When the Southern Democrats met, they nominated John Breckinridge whose platform was federal protection for slavery in the territories 2. Thus, slavery issue had split the Democratic party lessening their strength for the upcoming election iii. Republicans choose Abraham Lincoln as their candidate 1. He was a moderate on slavery 2. Came from Illinois which was pivotal for votes 3. He was a success story that could be played to the media and voters iv. Republican platform was written to swing the North 1. High tariffs to protect industry 2. Promised free homesteads, federal grants of land to live and farm on, for those who wanted to settle there and to support the transcontinental railroad. 3. The immediate halt to the spread of slavery v. Lincoln, whose name isn’t even on Southern ballots, wins the election 1. Southerners view him as a threat to their interest c. Two Views of America i. Social and cultural differences divided the North and the South 1. Ministers are split on the issue by section of the country 2. Authors write based upon their place in America 3. Southerners didn’t use books from the North nor did they continue to go to colleges in the North a. They wouldn’t even use Northern products 4. Northerners believed in hard work and thrift and thought the Southerners lazy and extravagant 5. Southerners saw Northerners as money-grubbing liars and believed that plantation owners rose above the cutthroat wheeling and dealings that the Northerners used 6. Northerners argued that freedom was impossible in a society that enslaved people and the Southerners believed that for a majority to be free some must be enslaved. d. The Union Broken i. South Carolina votes to leave the Union on Dec. 20, 1860 1. Said the Constitution allowed states the right to secede from the Union ii. By Feb. 1861, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas also leave iii. On Feb. 4, 1861, these states meet to form the Confederate States of America and using the US Constitution as a guide, draw up a plan of government in just one week 1. Guarantees the right to own slaves 2. Required the government to pass proslavery laws for the territories 3. Stressed rights of individual states 4. Limited the powers of the central government 5. Elect Jefferson Davis as president a. Plantation owner who was a member of Congress and a former Secretary of State e. Last Efforts at Compromise i. John Crittenden of Kentucky took one last shot at compromise 1. His idea was to extend the Missouri Compromise line all the way to the Pacific Ocean a. Would protect slavery in the Southwest b. Prohibited the government from abolishing or regulating slavery in the states 2. Some Republicans were for it if it saved the union but Lincoln said NO! a. He figured that the South would spread slavery into Cuba and Central America b. Thought it betrayed the voters to voted for him ii. At his inauguration, Lincoln says “Intelligence, patriotism, Christianity and a firm reliance on Him who has never yet forsaken this favored land, are still competent to adjust in the best way all our present difficulty” 1. To the South he said “You can have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the government, while I shall have the most solemn one to preserve, protect and defend it”…”We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies.” f. Attack on Fort Sumter i. Lincoln laid any starting of a war all on the Confederate 1. The government would only protect/defend any forts or installations not already in Confederate hands 2. Fort Sumter was the only important post being held by federal forces in Confederate territory (at the entrance to Charleston Harbor) 3. Lincoln and his cabinet decide not to reinforce the fort but to send supplies and provisions a. The Confederates see this as a hostile act and decide to take action b. Led by General Pierre Beauregard, Confederates opt to open fire on the fort before supplies arrived c. Union troops still refused to surrender d. Confederates shell the fort for 40 hours damaging the fort but causing no deaths i. Union Major Robert Anderson has no choice but to surrender 4. First Confederate victory but they had assumed responsibility by firing the first shot 5. On April 15, 1861, Lincoln calls on volunteers, for a 3 month basis, to put down the rebellion in the South a. Many Americans thought this would be a short war b. Forced states in the upper South to make a decision to join the Confederacy or stay with the Union ii. The War has begun!