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Chapter 13

The Union in Peril


1848-1861
Introduction
• Shit, this is a long one =/
The Free-Soil Movement
• Free-Soilers believed that the western frontier
should be kept white-only
• During the election of 1848, the Free Soil
party came into existence
• Main idea was to prevent the further spread
of slavery, but not to completely remove it
Southern Position
• In general, the southerners twisted the
Constitution to their own designs, claiming
that by abolishing slavery, the government
was taking away their property
Popular Sovereignty
• Lewis Cass brought about the idea of letting
the people who live in the territory decide on
the issue of slavery. This was known as
Popular Sovereignty
The Election of 1848
• Democrats
– Lewis Cass
• Whigs
– General Zachary Taylor
• Free-Soil Party
– Martin Van Buren
• Taylor was victorious
The Compromise of 1850
• Thought up by Henry Clay
– California entered as a free state
– Utah and New Mexico formed out of the ashes of
the Mexican Secession, and Popular Soveriegnty
imposed
– The traffiking of slaves was banned in DC
– The Fugitive Slave Law was created
Fugitive Slave Law
• Slaves who escaped from the south and
looked for protection in the north were
hunted down and given back to their owners
• People who assisted the fugitive slaves were
fined greatly
The Underground Railroad
• Harriet Tubman helped over 300 slaves escape
to Canada or the northern states
Literature on Slavery
• Uncle Tom’s Cabin
– Conflict between slave (Tom) and his evil white master Simon
Legree
– The south banned this book
• Impending Crisis of the South
– Used statistics to show that slavery was bad in general for the
economy
– The south banned this book as well. Go figure.
• Southern Reaction (Not a book)
– Preached that slavery was supported in the bible
– Claimed that bonds developed between slave and master
– Reacted by accusing the capitalist system of being worse than
slavery
Effects of Law and Literature
• Did nothing but turn the two parts of the
nation further against eachother
The Election of 1852
• Whigs
– General Winfield Scott
– Internal improvements supporter
• Democrats
– Franklin Pierce
– Won all states but four
The Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)
• The Nebraska territory was split into two
states: Kansas and Nebraska
• Went against the Compromise of 1820
New Parties
• Know-Nothing party
– Formed by aggression toward Protestants and
immigrants
– Served only to weaken the Whig party slightly, as
no president was ever elected
• Republican party
– Made up of remnants of the Free-Soil party, and
abolitionist Whigs and Democrats
– Felt that slavery was justified as long as it stayed
in the south
The Election of 1856
• Republican
– John Fremont
– Stop the spread of slavery
• Know Nothings
– Millard Filmore
• Democrats
– James Buchanan
• Buchanan won the election
Extremists and Violence
Bleeding Kansas
• Stephen Douglas
– Expected slavery to end peacefully and quietly
• Pro-slavery citizens in the states next to
Kansas moved into Kansas, for the sole
purpose of winning that state for the south
• Fighting erupted (State-wide) between anti-
slavery advocates and slavery advocates, and
the state was cristened ‘Bleeding Kansas’
The Caning of Charles Sumner
• This paragraph really does deserve a slide all
to itself. How freakin’ boss.
• After a particularly emphatic and passionate
speech against slavery, Congressman Preston
Brooks beat Sumner over the head with a
cane
Constitutional Issues
Lecompton Constitution
• A proslavery constitution was submitted from
Kansas, and Buchanan approved it
• This pissed many people off, and the
document was later destroyed by anti-slavery
settlers
Dred Scott vs. Sandford
• Dred Scott was a slave who had lived in
freedom for two years. When he was
returned to his slave state, he sued for his
freedom
• He was shot down (Figuratively), because
– African Americans were not citizens and were not
allowed to sue
– The court could not take away the property of
citizens
The Road to Secession
John Brown’s Raid at Harpers ferry
• John Brown tried to take the federal arsenal at
Harpers Ferry with the help of slaves
• Robert E. Lee captured, charged, and executed
them
The Election of 1860
• The Breakup of the Democrats
– Stephen Douglas was the favorite, but the south
rejected him. The south nominated John C.
Breckinridge, and Douglas was nominated by the
north.
• Republican Nomination of Lincoln
• Fourth Political Party
– The Constitutional Union Party
• John Bell of Tennesse
• Election Results
– Lincoln was elected without any votes from the south
The Secession of the Deep South
• In December 1860, South Carolina seceded.
• Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana,
and Texas followed them
• The Confederate States of America were formed
in Februrary 1861
• The CSA was the same as the USA, besides the
fact that the government had less power to
impose tariffs and restrict slavery
• Jefferson Davis and Alexander Stephens served as
President and Vice President, respectively
Crittenden Compromise
• Senator John Crittenden proposed a
compromise with the south that would give
them the absolute rights to hold slaves, but
Lincoln would not give it to theme

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