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 It repealed the Missouri Compromise which had kept the peace for a generation.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?