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SECTION 1 The Debate over TEKS 1A, 6D, 7B, 7C, 7D, 8B, 17B, Slavery 24A, 26A, 26B

What You Will Learn… If YOU were there... Main Ideas You live in a crowded neighborhood in City in 1854. 1. The addition of new land in the West renewed disputes Your apartment building is home to a variety of people—long-time over the expansion of slavery. residents, Irish immigrants, free African Americans. One day federal 2. The tried to solve the disputes over marshals knock on your door. They claim that one of your neighbors slavery. is a fugitive slave. The marshals say you must help them find her. If 3. The Fugitive Slave Act caused more controversy. you don’t, you will be fined or even sent to jail. 4. Abolitionists used antislavery literature to promote opposition. What would you tell the federal marshals?

The Big Idea Antislavery literature and the Building Background Some reform movements of the 1800s annexation of new lands intensi- fied the debate over slavery. drew stubborn and often violent opposition. This was especially true of the abolitionist movement. Pro-slavery supporters fought for laws to protect slavery and extend the slave system. These laws were a threat Key Terms and People to African Americans in the North. popular sovereignty, p. 476 Wilmot Proviso, p. 476 sectionalism, p. 477 Free-Soil Party, p. 477 New Land Renews Slavery Disputes secede, p. 478 The added more than 500,000 square miles of land as Compromise of 1850, p. 479 a result of winning the Mexican-American War in 1848. The addi- Fugitive Slave Act, p. 479 , p. 480 tional land caused bitter debate about slavery. The Missouri Com- Uncle Tom’s Cabin, p. 481 promise of 1820 had divided the Louisiana Purchase into either Harriet Beecher Stowe, p. 481 free or slave regions. It prohibited slavery north of latitude 36°30' but let Missouri become a slave state. In the 1840s President James K. Polk wanted to extend the 36°30' line to the West coast, dividing the into two parts—one free and one enslaved. Use the graphic organizer online Some leaders, including Senator of Michigan, encour- to take notes on the sequence of aged popular sovereignty, the idea that political power belongs to events in the debate over slavery the people, who should decide on banning or allowing slavery. and the effects of each. Regional Differences about Slavery Some northerners wanted to outlaw slavery in all parts of the Mexi- can Cession. During the war, Representative offered the Wilmot Proviso , a document stating that “neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall ever exist in any part of [the] territory.”

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Free States Upsetting the Balance Illinois Iowa The admission of could upset Michigan the balance of power Northern free states New Hampshire New Jersey in the Senate. 30 senators New York California + 2 senators Rhode Island Vermont Wisconsin Southern slave states 30 senators Slave States Arkansas Delaware geography Kentucky skills INTERPRETING MAPS Louisiana Region How could the admission of California as a slave state Maryland or a free state upset the balance between North and South? Mississippi Missouri North Carolina South Carolina The northern-controlled House passed the The California Question Texas document, but in the Senate, the South had The caused such rapid more power. The Wilmot Proviso did not population growth that California applied to pass. Before this time, politicians had usually join the Union as a state instead of as a terri- supported the ideas of their political parties. tory. But would California enter the Union as State boundaries appear dashed due to printer problems. California as a Free State However, the Wilmot Proviso spurred a debate a free state or a slave state? ah06se-c14map003a that showed growing sectionalism, or favoring Middle School – American History Most Californians opposedMapQuest.com/HRW slavery, which the interests of one section or region over the had been illegal when the state wasF2 - part11/02/04 of interests of the entire country. Approved 12/01/04 . Also, many forty-niners had come To attract voters, the Democrats and the from free states. But if California became a Whigs did not take a clear position on slav- free state, the balance between free and slave ery in the presidential campaign of 1848. In states would change, favoring the free states. The Impact response, antislavery northerners formed a In the South, an imbalance was unaccept- Today new party, the Free-Soil Party, which sup- able. “We are about permanently to destroy Small parties ported the Wilmot Proviso. They worried the balance of power between the sections,” are today called that slave labor would mean fewer jobs for said Senator of Mississippi. He “third parties.” white workers. Party members chose former They often and many other southerners did not want receive support president as their can- California to enter the Union as a free state. from voters who didate. The new party won 10 percent of disagree with the the popular vote, drawing away votes from Reading Check Drawing Inferences policies of the two major parties Democrat Lewis Cass. Whig candidate Zach- Why did sectionalism in the United States increase on a specific ary Taylor won a narrow victory. in the late 1840s? issue.

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Compromise of 1850 1. California would enter the Union as a free state. Senator of Kentucky had helped 2. The rest of the Mexican Cession would to settle the Missouri crisis of 1819–20 and be federal land. In this territory, popular the of 1832–33 by propos- sovereignty would decide on slavery. ing compromises. He now had another plan 3. Texas would give up land east of the to help the nation maintain peace. His ideas upper Rio Grande. In return, the gov- were designed to give both sides things that ernment would pay Texas’s debts from they wanted: when it was an independent republic. 4. The slave trade—but not slavery— Primary Source would end in the nation’s capital. Speech 5. A more effective fugitive slave law The Seventh of March Speech would be passed. On March 7, 1850, Daniel Webster spoke on the floor of the Clay’s plan drew attack, especially regard- Senate in favor of the Compromise of 1850. ing California. Senator William Seward of I hear with distress and anguish the word New York defended antislavery views and “secession.” Secession! Peaceable secession! Sir, Webster is wanted California admitted “directly, with- upset by talk of your eyes and mine are never destined to see the out conditions, without qualifications, and miracle. The dismemberment [taking apart] of secession. without compromise.” However, Senator this vast country without convulsion! The break- John C. Calhoun of South Carolina argued ing up of the fountains of the great deep with- out ruffing the surface! Who is so foolish, I beg Webster is say- that letting California enter as a free state ing that just as every body’s pardon, as to expect to see any such would destroy the nation’s balance. He it is impossible thing? . . . There can be no such thing as peaceable to move water warned people of issues that would later secession. in the ocean start the Civil War. Calhoun asked that the without making —quoted in Daniel Webster: The Completest Man, slave states be allowed to secede —formally edited by Kenneth Shewmaker waves, it is impossible for withdraw—from the Union. states to peace- ANALYSIS fully secede. skill ANALYZING PRIMARY SOURCES Why did Webster support the Compromise of 1850?

Henry Clay introduced the Compromise of 1850 on the Senate floor.

Daniel Webster spoke eloquently in support of the compromise.

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In contrast, Senator Daniel Webster of Fugitive Slave Act Massachusetts favored Clay’s plan: The newly passed Fugitive Slave Act made it “I wish to speak today, not as a Massachusetts a crime to help runaway slaves and allowed man, nor as a Northern man, but as an Ameri- officials to arrest those slaves in free areas. can . . . I speak today for the preservation of the Slaveholders were permitted to take sus- Union. Hear me for my cause. ” pected fugitives to U.S. commissioners, who —Daniel Webster, quoted in Battle Cry of Freedom by James M. McPherson decided their fate.

Webster criticized northern abolitionists and Details of the Fugitive Slave Act southerners who talked of secession. Slaveholders could use testimony from A compromise was enacted that year and white witnesses, but enslaved African Amer- seemed to settle most disputes between free icans accused of being fugitives could not and slave states. It achieved the majority of testify. Nor could people who hid or helped Clay’s proposals. With the Compromise of a runaway slave—they faced six months in 1850, California was able to enter the Union jail and a $1,000 fine. Commissioners who as a free state. The rest of the Mexican Ces- rejected a slaveholder’s claim earned $5 sion was divided into two territories—Utah while those who returned suspected fugi- and New Mexico—where the question of tives to slaveholders earned $10. Clearly, whether to allow slavery would be decided the commissioners benefited from helping by popular sovereignty. slaveholders. Texas agreed to give up its land claims in New Mexico in exchange for financial aid from Reactions to the Fugitive Slave Act the federal government. The compromise out- Enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act began lawed the slave trade in the District of Colum- immediately. In September 1850—the same bia and established a new fugitive slave law. month the law was passed—federal marshals Reading Check Analyzing How was Texas arrested African American James Hamlet. affected by the Compromise of 1850? They returned him to a slaveholder in

Primary Source

Speech Southern View of the Compromise of 1850 John C. Calhoun from South Carolina wrote a speech saying that the proposed compromise did not go far enough to satisfy Agitation the South. means “unrest.”

I have, senators, believed from the first that the agitation of the“ subject of slavery would, if not prevented by some timely John C. Calhoun and effective measure, end in disunion . . . The South asks for was weak and near justice, simple justice, and less she ought not to take. She has death. He had his no compromise to offer but the Constitution, and no conces- Calhoun believes speech in support sion or surrender to make. of slavery read ” the South’s position to the Senate for was supported by him. ANALYSIS the Constitution. skill ANALYZING PRIMARY SOURCES Why did Calhoun urge southern senators to vote against the compromise?

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Primary Source

Photograph A Fugitive Slave ­Convention Gerrit Smith orga- nized the convention. The Fugitive Slave Act enraged abolition- ists. To protest the new law, they held many meetings to publicly denounce it. One such meeting was held in 1850 in the small town of Cazenovia in central New York, a center for abolitionist activity. About 2,000 people—including many former slaves— attended the convention. They listened to speeches, made plans, and raised their voices for freedom. This photo was a point of pride for the delegates, but it also was used by opponents of the movement as a symbol of the poor morals of abolitionists: Not only were whites allowed to mix with African Americans, but women and men were allowed to mix as well. This angered Frederick Douglass many people. spoke to the crowd.

The Edmonson sisters, Mary (left) and Emily, tried to escape from slavery but were captured. Abolitionists later purchased their freedom.

ANALYSIS skill ANALYZING PRIMARY SOURCES Why would the abolitionists want a photograph of their convention?

Maryland, although he had lived in New Most northerners opposed to the Act York City for three years. peacefully resisted, but violence did erupt. Thousands of northern African Americans In 1854 Anthony Burns, a fugitive slave from fled to Canada in fear. In the 10 years after Con- Virginia, was arrested in Boston. Abolition- gress passed the Fugitive Slave Act, some 343 ists used force while trying to rescue him fugitive slave cases were reviewed. The accused from jail, killing a deputy marshal. A federal fugitives were declared free in only 11 cases. ship was ordered to return Burns to Virginia The Fugitive Slave Act upset northern- after his trial. Many people in the North, ers, who were uncomfortable with the com- particularly in Massachusetts, were outraged. missioners’ power. Northerners disliked the The event persuaded many to join the aboli- idea of a trial without a jury. They also dis- tionist cause. approved of commissioners’ higher fees for returning slaves. Most were horrified that Reading Check Drawing Conclusions some free African Americans had been cap- What concerns did northerners have about the tured and sent to the South. Fugitive Slave Act?

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Antislavery Literature SUMMARY AND PREVIEW The United Abolitionists in the North used the stories of States experienced increasing disagree- fugitive slaves like James Hamlet and Anthony ment over the issue of slavery. The Com- Burns to gain sympathy for their cause. Slave promise of 1850 and the Fugitive Slave Act narratives also educated people about their tried to address these disagreements with hardships. legislation. In the next section you will Fiction also informed people about the read about another disputed law concern- evils of slavery. Uncle Tom’s Cabin, the anti- ing slavery, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and slavery novel written by Harriet Beecher the violence it sparked. Stowe, spoke out powerfully against slavery. Stowe, the daughter of Connecticut minister Lyman Beecher, moved to Ohio when she was 21. There she met fugitive slaves and Section 1 Assessment ONLINE QUIZ learned about the cruelties of slavery. The Reviewing Ideas, Terms, and People Fugitive Slave Act greatly angered Stowe. She 1. a. Describe What ideas did the Free-Soil Party promote? decided to write a book that would educate b. Predict What are some possible results of the growing northerners about the realities of slavery. sectional debate over slavery? Uncle Tom’s Cabin was published in 1852. c. Explain How did the Mexican Cession affect politics The main character, a kindly enslaved African in the United States? American named Tom, is taken from his wife 2. a. Describe What were the major points of the and sold “down the river” in Louisiana. Tom Compromise of 1850? becomes the slave of cruel Simon Legree. In a b. Contrast What differing opinions emerged toward Henry rage, Legree has Tom beaten to death. Clay‘s proposed compromise? What were the opinions of ­Daniel Webster and John C. Calhoun? The novel electrified the nation and 3. a. Identify What were the effects of the Fugitive Slave Act? sparked outrage in the South. Louisa McCord, b. Draw Conclusions Why did some Americans believe the a famous southern writer, questioned the “foul Fugitive Slave Act was unfair? imagination which could invent such scenes.” 4. a. Identify What are three examples of antislavery literature? Within a decade, more than 2 million b. Elaborate Do you think literature was an effective tool copies of Uncle Tom’s Cabin had been sold against slavery? Why or why not? in the United States. The book’s popularity Critical Thinking caused one northerner to remark that Stowe 5. Evaluating Review your notes on the debate over slavery. and her book had created “two millions of Then evaluate how the Compromise of 1850, the Fugitive abolitionists.” Stowe later wrote A Key to Slave Act, and antislavery literature affected the slavery Uncle Tom’s Cabin to answer those who had debate. Use a graphic organizer like the one below. criticized her book. The impact of Stowe’s book is suggested by Compromise of Fugitive Antislavery 1850 Slave Act Literature her reported meeting with in 1862, a year after the start of the Civil War. Lin- coln supposedly said to Stowe that she was “the Slavery Debate little lady who made this big war.” Her book is still widely read today as a source of informa- Focus on Writing tion about the harsh realities of slavery. 6. Taking Notes on the Debate over Slavery Make some Reading Check Identifying Cause and Effect notes on the Wilmot Proviso, the Free-Soil Party, the Compro- Why did abolitionists use antislavery literature to mise of 1850, and the Fugitive Slave Act. Decide how your promote their cause, and what effect did it have on character feels about each of these. How do the Compromise the slavery debate? of 1850 and the Fugitive Slave Act affect your character?

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