Chapter 17: Manifest Destiny and Its Legacy

-The Accession of “Tyler Too”

-Newly elected President Harrison to be controlled by Whigs.
-Whigs (Henry Clay and Daniel Webster in particular) out of luck. President Harrison
died of pneumonia 4 weeks after entering office.
-New president was John Tyler, a Virginia gentleman.
-Whigs were pro-bank and pro-protective tariff. Tyler did not agree.

-John Tyler: A President Without a Party

-Financial reform included law to end independent treasury system that was signed by
Tyler. Also, bill sent in by Clay for “Fiscal Bank”.
-“Fiscal Bank” would establish new Bank of the United States.
-The new bank was vetoed.
-Whigs wanted extreme and offensive tariff that was vetoed.
-Revised and took out dollar-distribution scheme and lowered to 32% on dutiable
goods. Tyler now signed bill.

-A War of Words with Britain

-Many hated Britain at this time. Remembered Anglo-American wars and Federalists
were dying out.
-War of Words began with magazines taking jabs at the countries
-America became a borrowing nation during this time with so much to build. England
was able to lend and when the Panic of 1837 broke out, Englishmen became angry with
Americans.
-War was close when turmoil erupted in Canada in 1837. Americans took up arms and supplied
themselves.
-McLeod freed after establishing alibi for attack on steamer, Caroline. If U.S. executed him for
the raids on the ship, it would mean war according to London Foreign Office.
-In 1841, British officials in Bahamas offered asylum to 130 Virginia slaves who rebelled and
captured American ship, Creole.

-Manipulating the Maine Maps

-Maine had territory on northern and eastern borders. This land was shared by British.
-British determined to build road westward from Halifax to Quebec. It was to run
through disputed Maine territory.
-1842: Britain sent Lord Ashburton to negotiate with Daniel Webster. Came up with Ashburton-
Webster Treaty, which gave more land north of Maine and readjustment of Canadian borders to U.S.
and Quebec to Britain.
-With readjustment of border came Mesabi iron ore from Minnesota

-The Lone Star of Texas Shines Alone

-Texas made treaties with Holland, France, and Belgium in case Mexico ever attacked again to
reclaim land. This was because Texas was outnumbered and it was expensive to arm.
-Britain wanted independent Texas to check on American expansionism. Texas also had the
potential for cotton.

-The Belated Texas Nuptials

 -James K. Polk won 1844 election with expansionist ideals. Democrats made a mandate to make
Texas the 28th state.
-Mexicans felt Americans had despoiled Mexico of Texas
-It soon became obvious that this was not true and that Mexico would not have been able
to reclaim land, anyway.

-Oregon Fever Populates Oregon

-Magnificent wilderness that stretched to the 54° 40’ line and started at California.
-Spain, Russia, Britain, and United States all and claims in land. Britain and United States
wanted it the most. Britain wanted north of Columbia River.
-Americans had stronger hold with larger population in area.
-2000 mile Oregon Trail became a popular path of travel in the 1840s.

-A Mandate (?) for Manifest Destiny

-Candidates in 1844: James K. Polk-an unknown chosen because Democrats were indecisive.
Henry Clay-well-known Whig who had ran twice before
-Polk had been Speaker of the House of Representatives for four years and Governor of
Tennessee for two terms. He was also sponsored by Andrew Jackson and became known as
“Young Hickory”.
-Strongly advocated idea of “Manifest Destiny”, which said that the United States was to expand
and gain as much land as possible across the continent.
-Clay became known as a “corrupt bargainer” and the “Great Compromiser”. Favored annexing
Texas but at the same time favored postponement. Indecisiveness cost him the election.

-Polk the Purposeful

-Sought to lower tariffs. Robert J. Walker, Secretary of the Treasury lowered from 32% to 25%
despite complaints.
-Followed by strong economic and good times
-Tried to settle Oregon dispute even though many had cooled down about expanding. Also tried
to acquire California.
-British came up with treaty that would separate claims at the 49th parallel excluding Vancouver.
-Many angry that not all of Oregon was included, but Senate accepted it.

-Misunderstandings with Mexico

-Polk determined to get California.
-This was difficult due to poor relations with Mexico
-After Texas became part of U.S., Mexico recalled foreign minister and had
before been forced to pay $3 million default payments.
-U.S. sent John Slidell to Mexico City to buy California for $25 million. Mexicans refused to
see him.
-American Blood on American (?) Soil
-Frustrated Polk prepared for a showdown.
-On Jan. 13, 1846, he ordered 4000 men under Zachary Taylor to march from Nueces
River to Rio Grande. This was done to be near Mexican Troops and show them America
would not fool around.
-April 25, 1846-Polk heard Mexican troops marched over Rio Grande border and killed 16
Americans. Polk now wanted a declaration of war.
-Politicians wanted to know the exact spot of fighting before entering war.
-Polk pushed and war was declared, beginning the Mexican-American War.
-The Mastering of Mexico
-Polk thought that by defeating Mexico, he could gain California and end the war. Santa Anna
claimed that if he were allowed back in Mexico, he would end the war and give California to the
U.S. He lied to the United States.
-Operations in the southwest were lead by Stephen W. Kearny and John C. Fremont. They were
successful in their advances.
-Zachary Taylor fought into Mexico, reached Buena Vista. He proceeded to fight off 20,000
Mexicans with only 5,000 American troops.
-General Winfield Scott led troops into Mexico City by September 1847.

-Fighting Mexico for Peace

-Polk sent Scott’s invading Army and Nicholas P. Trist to arrange for an armistice for $10,000.
-Santa Anna took bribe for himself and used it to strengthen defenses.
-Trist refused to leave and negotiated the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in February 1848. This
gave the U.S. all land above Rio Grande from Texas to California. The U.S. only paid $15
million.
-Some say this much was paid to make up for the war Mexico couldn’t win.

-Profit and Loss in Mexico

-Most of the 13,000 dead soldiers in the war were killed by disease. Robert E. Lee and Ulysses
S. Grant gained war experience for the Civil War.
-Countries feared yet respected the U.S. for its lack of mistakes and strong fighting.
-More land was now disputed over slavery. More ammo for Civil War.
-Wilmot Proviso stated slavery could not exist in any of the territories taken from Mexico.
Passed by House of Reps. twice, but never the Senate.
-Civil War became known in Mexico as Santa Anna’s revenge since land taken from Mexicans
was a major cause of the Civil War.
 Chapter 18: Renewing the Sectional Struggle Outline

I. The Popular Sovereignty Panacea

1. “Fire-Eaters”- passionate southerners who opposed northern abolitionists.
2. General Lewis Cass- Leader of Democratic National Convention at Baltimore.
A. Father of “Popular Sovereignty.”
3. Popular Sovereignty- doctrine that stated that the sovereign people of a territory should
themselves determine the status of slavery.
A. Comfortable compromise between the abolitionist bid for a ban on slavery
in the territories and southern demands that Congress protect slavery in the
territories.
II. Political Triumphs for General Taylor
1. Zachary Taylor- won president over Henry Clay.
A. Distrusted by antislavery men in North.
2. Free Soil Party- Advocated federal aid for internal improvements and by urging free
government homesteads for settlers.
A. Attracted industrialists miffed at Polk’s reduction of protective tariffs.
B. Attracted “conscience Whigs”, who opposed slavery on moral grounds.
C. Condemned slavery not so much for enslaving blacks but for destroying
the chances of free white workers to rise up from wage-earning
dependence to the esteemed status of self-employment.
III. “Californy Gold”
1. California Gold Rush- Few struck it rich, many more broke than when they had started.
A. California struggled with erecting an adequate state government.
B. California = free state.
IV. Sectional Balance and the Underground Railroad
1. The fifteen slave states could easily veto any proposed constitutional amendment.
2. Underground Railroad- “freedom train.”
A. Runaway slaves fled southern plantations through hiding in the houses of
whites and black abolitionists.
B. Harriet Tubman- Rescued over 300 slaves.
V. Twilight of the Senatorial Giants
1. “Immortal Trio”- Clay, Calhoun, and Webster.
2. Clay’s view- Urged that the North and South both make concessions and that the North
partially yield by enacting a more feasible fugitive-slave law.
3. Calhoun’s view- Leave slavery alone, return runaway slaves, and give the South its right
as a minority.
4. Webster’s view- Urged all reasonable concessions to the South, including a new
fugitive-slave law with teeth.
VI. Deadlock and Danger on Capitol Hill
1. Young Guard- New leaders that had not grown up with the Union.
2. William H. Seward- Strong antislaveryite who came out unequivocally against
concession.
A. Christian legislators must obey God’s moral laws well as man’s mundane
law.
B. “Higher Law”- Higher than the Constitution.
VII. Breaking the Congressional Logjam
1. Millard Fillmore takes presidency after Taylor dies unexpectedly.
 A. Gladly signed series of compromises that caused 7 months of heated
debate in Congress.
2. Mid-1850s- assemblage of southern extremists met in Nashville, Tennessee.
A. Took a strong position in favor of slavery but condemned the compromise
measures then being hammered out in Congress.
3. A second Era of Good Feelings finally dawned.
VIII. Balancing the Compromise Scales
1. North got the better deal in the Compromise of 1850- South urgently needed more slave
territory to restore the “sacred balance.”
2. Fugitive Slave Law of 1850- “the Bloodhound Bill”- Fleeing slaves could not testify in
their own behalf, and they were denied a jury trial.
3. “Personal Liberty Laws”- denied local jails to federal officials and otherwise hampered
enforcement.
IX. Defeat and Doom for the Whigs
1. Franklin Pierce- Prosouthern northerner. Dark-horse candidate.
2. Winfield Scott- Ablest American general of his generation.
A. Pierce beat Scott in 1952 election- marked death of Whig party.
X. President Pierce the Expansionist
1. “Slavocrats”- lusted for new territory after the Compromise of 1850 seemingly closed
most of the lands of the Mexican Cession to the “peculiar institution.”
2. William Walker- Gains control of Nicaragua- instantly makes it a slave state.
3. Clayton-Bulwer Treaty- stipulated that neither America nor Britain would fortify or
secure exclusive control over any future isthmian waterway.
XI. Coveted Cuba: Pearl of the Antilles
1. Sugar-rich Cuba- Prime objective of Manifest Destiny (most desired slave territory).
2. Black Warrior- American ship seized by Cuba.
3. Ostend Manifesto- Document that urged the administration offers $120 million for
Cuba.
XII. Pacific Railroad Promoters and the Gasden Purchase
1. Feasible land transportation was imperative. Railroad is best solution to reach such states
as California and Oregon.
2. Gadsden Purchase- $10 dollars for part of Mexico.
A. Easier to build Southern Pacific Railroad.
XIII. Douglas’s Kansas-Nebraska Scheme
1. Stephen A. Douglas-Longed to break the North-South deadlock over westward
expansion and stretch a line of settlements across the continent.
2. Kansas-Nebraska Scheme- Nebraska split into Nebraska and Kansas. Under popular
sovereignty, Nebraska became a free state and Kansas a slave state.
XIV. Congress Legislates a Civil War
1. Kansas-Nebraska Act wrecked two compromises: 1820 and 1850.
2. Republican Party- moral protest against the gains of slavery.
Not allowed South of Mason-Dixon line.
 Chapter 19:Drifting Toward Disunion

“A house against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently held slave
and half free.”

I. An important literary work was published

1. Harriet Beecher Stow’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin opened the world to the harsh realties of slavery
in 1852

2. Her book influenced people internationally and British citizens renounced slavery and
prevented themselves from a civil war

II. Kansas depute

1. Southerns support on the Compromise of 1850 left them in complete and utter rage over the
Northerns migration into Kansas.

2. The election of 1855 declared Kansas a slave state

Violent affairs were initiated by a group of proslavery raiders who attacked Lawrence in 1856

III. Kansas in Convulsion

1. In May of 1856 five individuals who were assumingly found as pro slavery activists were
murdered by an insane man by the name of John Brown and his followers at Pottawatomie
Creek. Such an account was seen as a brutal shock to all and changed pro slavery activists to a
speedy retaliation.

2. The Lecompton Constitution was issued once Kansas maintained enough citizens for
statehood in 1857. The decision to vote for the constitution would be made either “with slavery”
or “without slavery”; then end resulted with Kansas approving the constitution with slavery
intact.

3. Buchanan had triumph over Franklin Pierce in Washington and his views were Cleary set
towards the South and in support of the Lecompton Constitution.

4. A fair election was fought for by senator Stephen Douglas after disregarding his southern
support and in the resulting verdict recognized the Lecompton Constitution “voted on as a
whole”.

5. It appeared that the “Whigs” had lost and the Republicans were sectional. With the
Democratic part in a complete division, the outlook was an end to the remaining national party.
IV. “Bully” Brooks and His Bludgeon

1. “Bleeding Kansas” was an issue that spilled into Congress: Senator Charles Sumner was a vocal
antislaveryite, and his blistering speeches condemned all slavery supporters.

2. Congressman Preston S. Brooks decided that since he couldn’t challenge Sumner to a duel, he’d beat
the senator with a cane like a dog, which is just what he did until his cane broke; nearby senators did
nothing but watched, and Brooks was cheered on by the South.

3. However, the incident touched off fireworks, as Sumner’s “The Crime Against Kansas” speech was
reprinted by the thousands, and it put Brooks and the South in the wrong.

V. “Old Buck” versus “The Pathfinder”

1. In 1856, the Democrats had chosen James Buchanan, someone untainted by the Kansas-Nebraska Act
and a person with lots of political experience, to be their nomination for presidency against Republican
John C. Fremont, a fighter in the Mexican-American War.

2. Another party, the American Party, also called the “Know-Nothing Party” because of its secrecy, was
organized by “nativists,” old-stock Protestants, who nominated Millard Fillmore.

i. These people were anti-Catholic and anti-foreign and also included old Whigs.

3. The campaign was full of mudslinging, which allegations of scandal and conspiracy.

4. Fremont was hurt by the rumor that he was a Roman-Catholic.

VI. The Electoral Fruits of 1856

1. Buchanan won because there were doubts about Fremont’s honesty, capacity, and sound judgment.

2. Perhaps it was better that Buchanan won, since Fremont was not as strong as Lincoln, and in 1856,
many people were still apathetic about slavery, and the South could have seceded more easily.

VII. The Dred Scot Bombshell

1. On March 6, 1857, the Dred Scot decision was handed down by the Supreme Court.

i. Dred Scot had been a slave whose master had taken him north into free territory, where he had lived
for many years. After his master’s death, he sued for his freedom from his new master, claiming that he
had been in free territory. The Missouri Supreme Court agreed, freeing him, but his new master
appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which overruled the decision.

2. Chief Justice Taney said that no slave could be a citizen of the U.S. in his justification

3. The case inflamed millions of abolitionists against slavery and even though who didn’t care against it.

i. In effect, he ruled that the Missouri Compromise had been unconstitutional: Congress had no right to
ban slavery from the territories.
4. Northerners complained; Southerners were inflamed by northern defiance, and more tension built.

VIII. The Financial Crash of 1857

1. Psychologically, the Panic of 1857 was the worst of the 19th century, though it really wasn’t as bad as
the Panic of 1837.

2. The panic was caused by inflation and overgrowth of grain and nowhere to export it.

3. The North was especially hard hit, but the South rode it out with flying colors, seemingly proving that
cotton was king and raising their egos.

4. Also, in 1860, Congress passed a homestead act that would provide 160 acres of land at a cheap price
for those who were less fortunate, but it was vetoed by Buchanan.

i. This plan, though, was opposed by the northeast, which had long been unfriendly to extension of land
and had feared that it would drain its population even more, and the south, which knew that it would
provide an easy way for more free soilers to fill the territories.

5. The panic also brought calls for a higher tariff rate, which had been lowered to about 20% only
months before.

IX. An Illinois Rail-Splitter Emerges

1. In 1858, Senator Stephen Douglas’ term was about to expire, and against him was Republican
Abraham Lincoln, an ugly fellow who had risen up the political ladder slowly but was a good lawyer
and a pretty decent debater.

X. The Great Debate: Lincoln versus Douglas

1. Lincoln rashly challenged Douglas, the nation’s most devastating debater, to a series of seven debates,
which the senator accepted, and despite expectations of failure, Lincoln held his own.

2. The most famous debate came at Freeport, Illinois, where Lincoln brought this scenario: if the people
had a territory voted slavery down, would they be right, despite the Supreme Court saying that they
could not do so?

i. Douglas replied with his “Freeport Doctrine,” which said that no matter how the Supreme Court ruled,
slavery would stay down if the people voted it down; the people had the power.

3. Douglas won, but more people voted for Abe, so he won the moral victory.

XI. John Brown: Murderer or Martyr?

1. John Brown now had a plan to invade the South, seize its arms, call up on the slaves to rise up and
revolt, and take over the South and free it of slaves, but in his raid of Harper’s Ferry, Virginia, the slaves
didn’t revolt, and he was captured and convicted of treason and sentenced to death.
2. Brown, though insane, was not stupid, and he portrayed himself as a martyr against slavery, and when
he was hung, he instantly became a martyr for abolitionists; northerners rallied around his memory.

3. The South was happy, but abolitionists were infuriated by his execution (they conveniently forgot
about his violent past)

XII. The Disruption of the Democrats

1. After failing to nominate a candidate in Charleston, South Carolina, the Democrats split into North
and South, and at Baltimore, the Northern Democrats nominated Stephen Douglas for president while
the Southern Democrats chose John C. Breckinridge.

2. Meanwhile, the “Know-Nothings” chose John Bell of Tennessee.

XIII. A Rail-Splitter Splits the Union

1. The Republicans, sensing victory against their split opponents, nominating Abraham Lincoln, not
William Seward.

2. Their platform had an appeal to every important non-southern group: for free soilers it proposed non-
extension of slavery; for northern manufacturers, a protective tariff; for the immigrants, no abridgement
of rights; for the West, internal improvements at federal expense; and for the farmers, free homesteads.

3. Southerners threatened that Lincolns election would result in Southern secession.

4. Lincoln wasn’t an outright abolitionist, since as late as February 1865, he had still favored cash
compensation for free slaves.

5. Abe Lincoln won despite not even being on the ballot in the South.

XIV. The Electoral Upheaval of 1860

1. Lincoln won with only 40% of the popular vote, and had the Democratic Party been more organized
and energetic, they might have won.

2. The Republicans did not control the House or the Senate, and the South still had a five to four
majority in the Supreme Court, but the South still decided to secede.

XV. The Secessionist Exodus

1. South Carolina had threatened to secede if Lincoln was elected president, and now it went good on its
word, seceding in December of 1860.

i. Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas followed in the next six weeks.

2. The seven seceders met in Montgomery, Alabama in February of 1861 and created the Confederate
States of America, and they chose Jefferson Davis as president.
3. President Buchanan did nothing to force the confederacy back into the Union, partly because the
Union troops were needed in the West and because the North was still apathetic toward secession; they
felt that it was better that the South had seceded.

XVI. The Collapse of Compromise

1. In an attempt at compromise (again), James Henry Crittenden of Kentucky proposed the Crittenden
amendments, which would ban slavery north of the 36°30’ line and would leave the issue in territories
south of the line up to the people; also, existing slavery south of the line would be protected.

2. Lincoln opposed the compromise, which might have worked, because his party had preached against
the extension of slavery, and he had to stick to principle.

3. It also seems that Buchanan couldn’t have saved the Union no matter what he could have done.

XVII. Farewell to Union

1. The seceding states did so because they feared that their rights as a slaveholding minority were being
threatened, and were alarmed at the growing power of the Republicans, plus, they believed that they
would be unopposed despite what the Northerners claimed.

2. The South also hoped to develop its own banking and shipping, and to prosper.

3. Besides, in 1776, the 13 colonies had seceded from Britain and had won; now the South could do the
same thing.
20: Girding for the War: The North and the South (1861-1865)

The Menace of Secession

1.Lincoln’s inaugural address- America cant be separated (north, south)
2.uncontested secession causes controversy
3.split of u.s. entice European imperialists
South Carolina Assails Fort Sumter
1.Fort Sumter in Charleston controlled by north need provision-south thought it was
reinforcement
2. Carolinians open fire on fort, conquering it
3.April 15 call states for 75,000 militiamen
4. April 19 -27 Lincoln blockade S. seaports
Brother’s Blood and Border Blood
1. Missouri, Kentucky, Maryland, Deleware, W. Virginia (mountain white” border
states (neither confederate or union)
2. Many states support slavery- Lincoln did not aggravate issue
3. Lincoln- war not of slavery but for unity
The Balance of Forces
1.South had advantage of fighting on own territory boost morale
2.Militarily south had best officers- Robert E Lee
3.Southeners boys built to fight- intimidate young yankees
4.South lacked supplies and poor economy
5. North control sea (blockading and allow trade)
6.North had more men
Dethroning King Cotton
1.South depend on foreign intervention- denied
2.Britain depend on south for cotton but became independent
The Decisivness of Diplomacy
1.Trent affair Unoin aggravate Britain
2.Alabama- Confederate boat supported by Britain, Britain compensate
3. Britain although neutral made ships for Confederates
4.Britain compensate 15.5 mill
President Davis vs. President Lincoln
1.President of South Davis-disliked and had overwhelming responsibilities
2. Lincoln faced less trouble- lead public opinion, popular
3. North had a successful government already set
Limitations on Wartime Liberties
1.Lincoln obtain arbitrary power until America unionized (stripped rights)
2. causing advantage over Davis (south not willing sacrifice rights)
Volunteers and Draftees: North and South
1.1.north army originally volunteers, but changed to drafting
2. unfair to poor, rich could buy out, cause uproar
3.Confederates more desperate took any male
Economic Stress of War
1.north obtain more wreath than Southdue to tarrifs
2. introduced paper money
3. borrowing money through bonds
4.South-participate in bonds but no high taxes
5. 9,000% inflation South 80% north
The North’s Economic Boom
1. Manufacturers and business people profited
2. Yankee played unfair in business world to make max profit
3. Technology saved labor
4. women played a vital role taking over men’s jobs
A crushed Cotton Kingdom
1. South suffocated by blockade and invasions
2. Transportation collapsed
4. South resourceful and women kept morale high with their strength
 21: The Furnace of Civil War (1861-1865)

Bull Run Ends the “Ninety-Day War”

1. 1861 union men plan attack on Confederates at Bull run
2. Union lost battle (shocked and surprised union of loss)
“Tardy George” McCellan and the Peninsula Campaign
1. McCellan commander of Potomac Army (overly cautious.believe army not ready)
2. Lincoln forced McCellan to attack Richmond 1862
3. Lincoln diverted Mcellans reinforcements to DC, losing battle
4. Union strategy (blockade coast, liberate slaves, capture capitol)
The War at Sea
1. Union set blockade
2. Confederates broke blockade
The Pivotal Point: Antietam
1. 2nd battle of Bull run Lee crushed Popes army
2. Lee then moved into Antietam Creek, Maryland
3. McCellan reinstated as commander, won battle due to pre notion of Lees plans
4. Jan 1, 1863 Lincoln gave Emancipation Proclamation, making the war “morale”
A Proclamation Without Emancipation
1. after proclamation Lincoln made little effort to free slaves
2. Proclamation made controversy in Union
3. Strengthed morale within Union
Blacks Battle Bondage
1. Blacks were now allowed in army
2. Blacks in the South fled when heard of Emancipation
Lee’s Last Lunge at Gettysburg
1. Lee lost his right hand man, “Stonewall” Jackson in battle (Chanellorsville VA) but
won battle
2. Battle at Gettysburg July 1-3 1863
The War in the West
1. Grant capture fort Henry, Donelson in Tennessee, securing the state in Union
3. Vicksburg-crucial place for Confederates; General Grant seized it and Port Hudson
4. This crippled the Confederacy
5. Same day victory for union in Gettysburg and Vicksburg
Sherman Scorches Georgia
1. General Sherman Sept 1864 captured Atlanta and burned the city
2. Then seized Savanaah then S. Carolina
The Election of 1864
1. Lincoln renomination was opposed
2. Running mate- Andrew Johnson
3. Atmosphere changed as North became victorious, Lincoln reelected
Grant Outlasts Lee
1. Grant becomes commander, strikes Richmond
2. Confedeacy try to make peace settlement but Lincoln would only settle for
union and emancipation
3. April 1865 Union capture Richmond
The Martyrdom of Lincoln
1. April 14, 1865 John Wilkes Booth, assassinated Lincoln
2. Proved to be a calamity for north and south
The Aftermath Of the Nightmare
1. 6 mill died in Civil War
3. $15 billion was spent