DOCSLIB.ORG

Chapter #18: Renewing the Sectional Struggle – Big Picture Themes 1

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Chapter #18: Renewing the Sectional Struggle – Big Picture Themes 1 Chapter #18: Renewing the Sectional Struggle – Big Picture Themes 1. The main question facing the nation was, “Will new lands won from Mexico have slaves or be free?” 2. The answer to the question was hammered out in the Compromise of 1850. It said California was to be free, popular sovereignty (the people decide) for the rest of the lands. 3. A tougher fugitive slave law was a major concession to the South, but it wasn’t enforced. This angered the Southerners. 4. The North—South rift was widened with the Kansas-Nebraska Act. It repealed the Missouri Compromise which had kept the peace for a generation. In it’s place, popular sovereignty opened the Great Plains to potential slavery. Whereas the slave-land issue had been settled, now it was a big question mark. IDENTIFICATIONS: Stephen Douglas Stephen Douglas took over for Henry Clay in the Compromise of 1850. Clay could not get the compromised passed because neither party wanted to pass it as a whole since they would be passing things for the opposite party as well as their own. Douglas split the compromise up to get it passed. Franklin Pierce Franklin Pierce was elected president in the 1852 election as the second Democratic "dark horse." He was a pro-southern northerner who supported the Compromise of 1850 and especially the Fugitive Slave Law. He also tried to gain Cuba for the South as a slave state, but was stopped because of Northern public opinion after the incident in Ostend, Belgium. He also supported the dangerous Kansas-Nebraska Act pushed for by Senator Douglas. He was succeeded in 1856 by James Buchanan. Zachary Taylor Commander of the Army of Occupation on the Texas border. On President Polk’s orders, he took the Army into the disputed territory between the Nueces and Rio Grande Rivers and built a fort on the north bank of the Rio Grande River. When the Mexican Army tried to capture the fort, Taylor’s forces engaged in is a series of engagements that led to the Mexican War. His victories in the war and defeat of Santa Ana made him a national hero. John C. Calhoun leading politician and political theorist from South Carolina during the first half of the 19th century. Calhoun began his political career as a nationalist and proponent of protective tariffs; later, he switched to states' rights, limited government, nullification and free trade. He is best known for his intense and original defense of slavery as a positive good, for his promotion of minority rights, and for pointing the South toward secession from the Union. Matthew C. Perry He was the military leader who convinced the Japanese to sign a treaty in 1853 with the U.S. The treaty allowed for a commercial foot in Japan which was helpful with furthering a relationship with Japan. Henry Clay Dubbed the "Great Compromiser," he brokered important compromises during the Nullification Crisis and on the slavery issue, especially in 1820 and 1850, during which he was part of the "Great Triumvirate" along with his colleagues Daniel Webster and John C. Calhoun. He was viewed as the primary representative of Western interests. Free-Soil Party The Free-Soil Party was organized by anti-slavery men in the north, democrats who were resentful at Polk's actions, and some conscience Whigs. The Free-Soil Party was against slavery in the new territories. They also advocated federal aid for internal improvements and urged free government homesteads for settlers. This Free-Soil Party foreshadowed the emergence of the Republican party. Fugitive Slave Law a law passed just before the Civil War also called the "Bloodhound Bill", slaves who escaped could not testify in their behalf and were not allowed a trial by jury. If the judge in the case freed the slave they would receive five dollars, if not they would get ten dollars. Those found helping slaves would be fined or jailed. This added to the rage in the North. Harriet Tubman was an African-American abolitionist, humanitarian, and Union spy during the American Civil War. After escaping from slavery, into which she was born, she made thirteen missions to rescue more than 70 slaves using the network of antislavery activists and safe houses known as the Underground Railroad. She later helped John Brown recruit men for his raid on Harpers Ferry, and in the post-war era struggled for women's suffrage. Compromise of 1850 This compromise signed by Millard Fillmore deals with disputed territory, and the controversy of whether California should join. The results were that California joined as a free state, and what was left of the Mexican Cession land became New Mexico and Utah, and did not restrict slavery. The compromise benefited the North more than the South. Ostend Manifesto The Ostend Manifesto took place in 1854. A group of southerners met with Spanish officials in Belgium to attempt to get more slave territory. They felt this would balance out congress. They tried to buy Cuba but the Spanish would not sell it. Southerners wanted to take it by force and the northerners were outraged by this thought. Kansas-Nebraska Act The Kansas-Nebraska Act, set forth in 1854, said that Kansas and Nebraska should come into the Union under popular sovereignty. Senator Stephen A. Douglas introduced it, and it pushed the country even closer the Civil War. GUIDED READING QUESTIONS: The Popular Sovereignty Panacea Know: Mexican Cession, Fire-eaters 1. What were the advantages and disadvantages of popular sovereignty? Political Triumphs for General Taylor 2. Why was the Free-Soil party formed? Was it important? Explain. Deadlock and Danger on Capitol Hill Know: William H. Seward, Higher Law 3. How did William Seward contribute to the tension between North and South in 1850? Breaking the Congressional Logjam Know: Compromise of 1850 4 . What factors led to the acceptance of the Compromise of 1850? Defeat and Doom for the Whigs 5. What was important about the election of 1852? Expansionist Stirrings South of the Border Know: William Walker, Commodore Matthew C. Perry 6. Explain the Ostend Manifesto, and what consequences it had. Congress Legislates a Civil War 7. What were the effects of the Kansas-Nebraska Act? .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Senators You Have to Know John C. Calhoun –
    Senators You Have To Know John C. Calhoun – South Carolina / serving terms in the United States House of Representatives, United States Senate and as the seventh Vice President of the United States (1825–1832), as well as secretary of war and state. Democrats After 1830, his views evolved and he became a greater proponent of states' rights, limited government, nullification and free trade; as he saw these means as the only way to preserve the Union. He is best known for his intense and original defense of slavery as something positive, his distrust of majoritarianism, and for pointing the South toward secession from the Union. Nullification is a legal theory that a state has the right to nullify, or invalidate, any federal law which that state has deemed unconstitutional. The theory of nullification has never been legally upheld;[1] rather, the Supreme Court has rejected it. The theory of nullification is based on a view that the States formed the Union by an agreement (or "compact") among the States, and that as creators of the federal government, the States have the final authority to determine the limits of the power of that government. Under this, the compact theory, the States and not the federal courts are the ultimate interpreters of the extent of the federal government's power. The States therefore may reject, or nullify, federal laws that the States believe are beyond the federal government's constitutional powers. The related idea of interposition is a theory that a state has the right and the duty to "interpose" itself when the federal government enacts laws that the state believes to be unconstitutional.
    [Show full text]
  • Missouri Compromise (1820) • Compromise Sponsored by Henry Clay
    Congressional Compromises and the Road to War The Great Triumvirate Henry Clay Daniel Webster John C. Calhoun representing the representing representing West the North the South John C. Calhoun •From South Carolina •Called “Cast-Iron Man” for his stubbornness and determination. •Owned slaves •Believed states were sovereign and could nullify or reject federal laws they believed were unconstitutional. Daniel Webster •From Massachusetts •Called “The Great Orator” •Did not own slaves Henry Clay •From Kentucky •Called “The Great Compromiser” •Owned slaves •Calmed sectional conflict through balanced legislation and compromises. Missouri Compromise (1820) • Compromise sponsored by Henry Clay. It allowed Missouri to enter the Union as a Slave State and Maine to enter as a Free State. The southern border of Missouri would determine if a territory could allow slavery or not. • Slavery was allowed in some new states while other states allowed freedom for African Americans. • Balanced political power between slave states and free states. Nullification Crisis (1832-1833) • South Carolina, led by Senator John C. Calhoun declared a high federal tariff to be null and avoid within its borders. • John C. Calhoun and others believed in Nullification, the idea that state governments have the right to reject federal laws they see as Unconstitutional. • The state of South Carolina threatened to secede or break off from the United States if the federal government, under President Andrew Jackson, tried to enforce the tariff in South Carolina. Andrew Jackson on Nullification “The laws of the United States, its Constitution…are the supreme law of the land.” “Look, for a moment, to the consequence.
    [Show full text]
  • The Spirit of Honorable Compromise
    The past is never dead. It's not even past NOT EVEN PAST Search the site ... The Spirit of Honorable Compromise Like 27 Tweet by H. W. Brands When Benjamin Franklin left the Constitutional Convention in September 1787, he was approached by a woman of Philadelphia, who asked what the deliberations of Franklin and his colleagues had given the young nation. “A republic,” he said, “if you can keep it. Henry Clay was ten years old that summer. He didn’t learn of Franklin’s challenge till later. But when he did, he discovered his life’s work. Clay and others of the generation that followed the founders confronted two problems in particular–two pieces of public business left unnished in the founding. The rst was the awkward silence of the Constitution on the fundamental question of the federal system: when the national government oversteps its authority, how is that government to be restrained? Must the states obey laws they believe to be unconstitutional? Put most succinctly: where does sovereignty ultimately lie–with the states or with the national government? The second problem was the contradiction between the equality promised by the Declaration of Independence and the egregious inequality inherent in the constitutionally protected institution of slavery. Thomas Jefferson’s assertion that “all men are created equal” was not repeated in the Constitution, but it provided the basis for American republican government, which the Constitution embodied and proposed to guarantee. Slavery made a mockery of any claims of equality. Privacy - Terms For forty years Clay wrestled with these challenges. In the golden age of Congress, when the legislative branch retained the primacy intended for it by the founders, the silver- tongued Kentuckian had no equal for adroitness and accomplishment in the Capitol.
    [Show full text]
  • The Coming Crisis, the 1850S 8Th Edition
    The Coming Crisis the 1850s I. American Communities A. Illinois Communities Debate Slavery 1. Lincoln-Douglas Debates II. America in 1850 A. Expansion and Growth 1. Territory 2. Population 3. South’s decline B. Politics, Culture, and National Identity 1. “American Renaissance” 2. Nathaniel Hawthorne a. The Scarlet Letter (1850) 3. Herman Melville a. Moby Dick (1851) 4. Harriet Beecher Stowe a. Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1851) III. Cracks in National Unity A. The Compromise of 1850 B. Political Parties Split over Slavery 1. Mexican War’s impact a. Slavery in the territories? 2. Second American Party System a. Whigs & Democrats b. Sectional division C. Congressional Divisions 1. Underlying issues 2. States’ Rights & Slavery a. John C. Calhoun b. States’ rights: nullification c. U.S. Constitution & slavery 3. Northern Fears of “The Slave Power” a. Sectional balance: slave v. free D. Two Communities, Two Perspectives 1. Territorial expansion & slavery 2. Basic rights & liberties 3. Sectional stereotypes E. Fugitive Slave Act 1. Underground Railroad 2. Effect of Slave Narratives a. Personal liberty laws 3. Provisions 4. Anthony Burns case 5. Frederick Douglass & Harriet Jacobs 6. Effect on the North D. The Election of 1852 1. National Party system threatened 2. Winfield Scott v. Franklin Pierce E. “Young America”: The Politics of Expansion 1. Pierce’s support 2. Filibusteros a. Caribbean & Central America 3. Cuba & Ostend Manifesto IV. The Crisis of the National Party System A. The Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854) 1. Stephen A. Douglas 2. Popular sovereignty 3. Political miscalculation B. “Bleeding Kansas” 1. Proslavery: Missouri a. “Border ruffians” 2. Antislavery: New England a.
    [Show full text]
  • The Great Triumvirate: Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and John C. Calhoun
    Essential Civil War Curriculum | David S. Heidler and Jeanne T Heidler, The Great Triumvirate | October 2015 The Great Triumvirate: Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and John C. Calhoun By David S. Heidler and Jeanne T. Heidler Beginning in the War of 1812, Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and John C. Calhoun achieved a national prominence that endured for more than four decades. As they rose in fame, they personified the regions that quarreled over expansion, finance, foreign policy, and slavery. Webster, who originally represented New Hampshire and then Massachusetts in the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, reflected a New England Yankee’s promotion of merchant trade and rejection of slavery. The South Carolinian Calhoun personified the South’s gradual transformation from staunch nationalism after the War of 1812 to the belligerent sectionalism that caused all the trouble during the 1850s. Henry Clay was from Kentucky, which at the time made him a westerner, and he too mirrored his section’s role in the unfolding national strife. The West was seen as a potential counterweight by North and South as the two sections sought to prevail politically in Congress. When they quite literally took the argument outside and began shooting at each other, the West became the decisive military counterweight for the Union. It was fitting, for through it all Henry Clay had been the most consistent nationalist of the three. Over the course of his long career, he refused to tolerate anything that threatened the Union. Because these three wielded often irresistible political influence during the sectional crises that led to the Civil War, their careers are linked to the catastrophe despite their having died roughly a decade before secession brought on the conflict.
    [Show full text]
  • The Rise of Mass Democracy: 1820-1840
    AP U.S. History: Unit 4.2 Student Edition The Rise of Mass Democracy: 1820-1840 I. The "New Democracy" Use Space Below for Notes A. By the 1820s, politicians made an increased effort to appeal to the voting masses. 1. Most high offices were still held by wealthy citizens. 2. Change in emphasis: a. Jeffersonian democracy: the people should be governed as little as possible; gov’t for the people b. Jacksonian democracy: government should be done directly by the people. This idea underlay Jackson’s spoils system in the 1830s. B. The New Democracy was based on universal white manhood suffrage rather than property qualifications: the common man now became more influential. 1. Between 1812 and 1821, 6 new western states granted universal manhood suffrage 2. Between 1810 and 1821, 4 eastern states significantly reduced voting requirements. However, by 1860 only New England still allowed African Americans to vote in the North. 3. South was last region to grant universal white manhood suffrage. 4. New voters demanded politicians that would represent common peoples' interests. 5. Frederick Jackson Turner: "The Significance of the Frontier on American History" (1893) Thesis: Existence of cheap unsettled land in the West created a frontier society that shaped the American character—more democratic and egalitarian. C. Rise of workingmen’s parties 1. Laborers in the east formed organizations that demanded free education for their children, a 10-hr work day, and an end to debtor’s prisons. 2. Some groups became violent (especially during Panic of 1837) II. Causes of the New Democracy A.
    [Show full text]
  • Full Text of the Ostend Manifesto
    THE OSTEND MANIFESTO Aix-la-Chapelle, October 15, 1854 Sir: The undersigned, in compliance with the wish expressed by the President in the several confidential dispatches you have addressed to us, respectively, to that effect, have met in conference, first at Ostend, in Belgium, on the 9th, 10th, and 11th instants, and then at Aix-la- Chapelle, in Prussia, on the days next following, up to the date hereof. There has been a full and unreserved interchange of views and sentiments between us, which we are most happy to inform you has resulted in a cordial coincidence of opinion on the grave and important subjects submitted to our consideration. We have arrived at the conclusion, and are thoroughly convinced, that an immediate and earnest effort ought to be made by the government of the United States to purchase Cuba from Spain at any price for which it can be obtained, not exceeding the sum of $ (this item was left blank). The proposal should, in our opinion, be made in such a manner as to be presented though the necessary diplomatic forms to the Supreme Constituent Cortes about to assemble. On this momentous question, in which the people both of Spain and the United States are so deeply interested, all our proceedings ought to be open, frank, and public. They should be of such a character as to challenge the approbation of the world. We firmly believe that, in the progress of human events, the time has arrived when the vital interests of Spain are as seriously involved in the sale, as those of the United States in the purchase of the island, and that the transaction will prove equally honorable to both nations.
    [Show full text]
  • Edition Chapter 18 Notes Renewing the Sectional Struggle
    The American Pageant th 15 Edition Chapter 18 notes Renewing the Sectional Struggle I. The Popular Sovereignty panache 1. Both parties (Democrats and The Whigs) had powerful support in the north and south. Politicians ignored the slavery issue for the most part. 2. Lewis Cass father of popular sovereignty was nominated for democrat president candidate. o Doctrine that stated that the sovereign people of a territory, should determine the status of slavery in the land themselves. o It was liked by the people because it was democratic and they could choose what was best for them. o Liked by Politicians because the slavery problem was now the people’s problem. o The only bad part was that that it might spread even more slavery. II. Political Triumphs for General Taylor 1. Zachary Taylor was nominated for Whig’s candidate; none of the candidates gave an opinion about slavery. o The free soil party was organized against slavery. “Free soil, free speech, free labor and free men”. It was run by Van Buren and he was their presidential candidate. 2. Taylor’s wartime popularity pulled the votes in his favor. o The free soil Van Buren diverted enough votes away from Cass to help Taylor. III. “Californy Gold” 1. The discovery of gold in California in early 1848 brought hordes of adventures. 2. A fortunate few “struck it rich” but many would have been better off staying at home. o The California gold rush attracted tens of thousands of people most of them criminals. It was a very dangerous place and there was lots of crime.
    [Show full text]
  • A New Nation Struggles to Find Its Footing
    The decades leading to the United States Civil War – the Antebellum era – reflect 1829, David Walker (born as a free black in North Carolina) publishes The concept of Popular Sovereignty allowed settlers into those issues of slavery, party politics, expansionism, sectionalism, economics and ‘Appeal to the Colored Citizens of the World’ calling on slaves to revolt. territories to determine (by vote) if they would allow slavery within modernization. their boundaries. “Antebellum” – the phrase used in reference to the period of increasing 1831, William Lloyd Garrison publishes ‘The Liberator’ Advocated by Senator Stephen Douglas from Illinois. sectionalism which preceded the American Civil War. The abolitionist movement takes on a radical and religious element as The philosophy underpinning it dates to the English social it demands immediate emancipation. contract school of thought (mid-1600s to mid-1700s), represented Northwest Ordinance of 1787 by Thomas Hobbes, John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The primary affect was to creation of the Northwest Territory as the first organized territory of the United States; it established the precedent by which the Antebellum: Increasing Sectional Divisions 1845, Frederick Douglass published his autobiography United States would expand westward across North America by admitting new The publishing of his life history empowers all abolitionists to states, rather than by the expansion of existing states. 1787-1860 (A Chronology, page 1 of 2) challenge the assertions of their pro-slave counterparts, in topics The banning of slavery in the territory had the effect of establishing the Ohio ranging from the ability of slaves to learn to questions of morality River as the boundary between free and slave territory in the region between 1831, Nat Turner’s Rebellion (slave uprising) and humanity.
    [Show full text]
  • 3Tic. T) Aliasy Cuba, and the Slection of 1856
    Qeorge <3tiC. T) aliasy Cuba, and the Slection of 1856 ISTORIANS have viewed Franklin Pierce's election to the presidency in 1852 both as a confirmation of the nation's H acceptance of the Compromise of 1850, securing sectional amity and balance, and as a mandate for the resumption of manifest destiny and expansion so vigorously pursued under James K. Polk.1 Yet within three years Pierce's policies and measures destroyed that sectional amity and all prospects of immediate expansionism, and nearly destroyed the Democratic Party which had elected him. The chief measures responsible for this turn of fortune were the Kansas- Nebraska Act and attempts to acquire Cuba. Numerous conserva- tive, "Old Fogey" Democrats entered the presidential field in 1855- 1856 to preserve the party by blocking Pierce's efforts to secure renomination. The major contenders included James Buchanan, William L. Marcy, Stephen A. Douglas and George M. Dallas of Philadelphia. Although the Kansas-Nebraska struggle destroyed the Demo- cratic Party's unity and working majority, it was Pierce's Cuban policies which revealed that collapse and prevented restoration of party harmony. Between 1853 and 1855, Pierce sought the acquisi- tion of Cuba, first, through filibuster and revolution, then through purchase, and, finally, by means of public threat. His shifting course l Among the better known works supporting this theme are: H. Barrett Learned, "William L. Marcy/' in Samuel F. Bemis, ed., American Secretaries of State and Their Diplomacy (New York, 1928), VI, 146-147; Albert K. Weinberg, Manifest Destiny (Baltimore, 1935), 182, 190, 200-201, 208-209; Henry H.
    [Show full text]
  • The Great Triumvirate
    2/12/2014 The Great Triumvirate Clay, Calhoun, & Webster Henry Clay “The Great Compromiser” John C. Calhoun • 1777 - Born in Hanover County, VA • 1782 - Born in in Abbeville, S.C. “Champion of States’ Rights” • 1797 - moved to Lexington, KY • 1811 – 1817 - House of Representatives – Member of War Hawks who called for war • 1806 – 1807 - U.S. Senate with Britain in 1812. • 1810 – 1811 - U.S. Senate • 1817-1825 Sec. of War for James Monroe – sought censure of Andrew Jackson for • 1811 –1814 - Speaker of the House overstepping his authority by invading Spanish Florida in 1818 • negotiated Treaty of Ghent • 1825 – 1829 - Vice-President for J.Q. Adams • 1815 – 1825 Speaker of the House • American System • 1829 – 1832 - Vice-President for Jackson • Missouri Compromise – issued Doctrine of Nullification, resigns in Dec 1832 • 1825 - 1829 Sec. of State for J.Q. Adams • 1832 – 1843 - U.S. Senate • 1831 – 1842 - U.S. Senate • 1844 – 1845 - Secretary of State for Tyler • created the compromise tariff to end – Completed the annexation of Texas the Nullification Crisis • 1845 – 1850 - U.S. Senate • 1849 – 1852 - U.S. Senate – Compromise of 1850 “In looking back, I see • Compromise of 1850 • argued to support slavery and the rights of nothing to regret and little “I’d rather be right than slave holders; died before the final votes on to correct.” • 1824, 1832, 1844 – Ran for President president” - Henry Clay the parts of the Compromise make it law. - John C. Calhoun Daniel Webster The Great Triumvirate • 1782 - Born in Salisbury, New Hampshire llll Henry Clay John C Calhoun “Defender of the Union” • Between 1812 • 1813 – 1817 - House of Representatives and 1850 had • 1816 - 1823 - Lawyer in Boston, MA more impact on – 1819 – McCulloch vs.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Cuba's History and Transformation Through the Lens of the Sugar Industry Claire Priest in Recent Years, the U.S. Media Has B
    Cuba’s History and Transformation through the Lens of the Sugar Industry Claire Priest In recent years, the U.S. media has been reporting widely on expanding Cuban tourism and on new entrepreneurialism in Havana and other tourist centers. Cuba’s tourism-related changes, however, are only one part of a larger transformation stemming from the many economic reforms initiated by Cuba’s government since Raúl Castro became President in 2008. Faced with unsustainable financial conditions, the Cuban government began offering limited opportunities for self-employment in the early 1990s. But in a massive shift, after country-wide open sessions for citizens to voice their suggestions, the government introduced The Guidelines of the Economic and Social Policy of the Party and the Revolution on April 18, 2011.1 The Guidelines lay out a new Cuban economic model designed to preserve socialism, while substantially downsizing government employment, broadening the private sector, and transforming the economy. The Guidelines are the Cuban equivalent of Gorbachev’s Perestroika, and Deng Xiaoping’s “Socialism with Chinese Characteristics.” An understanding of Cuba’s reform process will be essential to relations between the U.S. and Cuba in the years ahead. Indeed, in contrast to U.S.-centered interpretations, the Cuban rapprochement with the U.S. likely began as part of the Castro-driven reform agenda enacted to preserve the financial sustainability of the socialist government. This paper grows out of a research trip in June and July of 2015 which involved visiting twelve historic sugar mills (ingenios) in the Trinidad, Cienfuegos, and Sagua la Grande areas, talking to workers, residents, officials, and machinists, as well as an 1 See http://www.cuba.cu/gobierno/documentos/2011/ing/l160711i.html.
    [Show full text]