Missouri Compromise: Expansion and Slavery

• Expansion after the Louisiana Purchase and the War with Mexico caused tensions over slavery and its expansion, leading to a decline in nationalism.

Missouri's Application (1819)

• The balance of free and slave states was the central issue.
• At the time there were 11 free states and 11 slave states, leading to tensions over Missouri potentially becoming a slave state.

The Missouri Compromise (1820)

• Maine was admitted as a free state and Missouri as a slave state.
• Henry Clay proposed the compromise.
• Jesse Thomas’s Amendment banned slavery north of Missouri’s southern border (36°30’).
• The compromise preserved the balance in the Senate.

Tallmadge Amendment (1819)

• James Tallmadge Jr. proposed that no new enslaved people could be brought into Missouri.
• He also proposed that children of enslaved people be freed at age 25.
• It passed in the House but was rejected in the Senate.

Missouri's State Constitution Controversy

• The constitution banned free African Americans from entering Missouri, which nearly derailed statehood.

The Wilmot Proviso (1846)

• David Wilmot proposed that slavery be banned in territories gained from Mexico.
• This led to outrage in the South due to the perceived threat to slavery.

The Calhoun Resolutions (1847)

• John C. Calhoun proposed that slavery was property and emphasized state sovereignty.
• He also discussed the threat of secession.
• Though the resolutions failed, the divide between the North and South deepened.

Popular Sovereignty

• Lewis Cass proposed that people in new territories should decide whether to allow slavery.
• Northerners hoped the territories would be settled by free states.

The Free-Soil Party (1848)

• The party was founded by Northern Whigs, anti-slavery Democrats, and abolitionists.
• It opposed the expansion of slavery into new territories.
• Zachary Taylor (Whig) was elected president in 1848, opposed by the Free-Soil Party.

Summary

• The Missouri Compromise and Wilmot Proviso contributed to sectional divide over slavery.
• The Free-Soil Party and popular sovereignty further complicated the debate.

Day 2: Abolitionists

Early Antislavery Movements

• Gradualism involved ending slavery slowly to allow the Southern economy to adjust.
• Colonization involved sending freed African Americans to Liberia through the American Colonization Society, which was founded in 1816.

Radical Shift to Abolition (1830s)

• David Walker advocated violence to end slavery.
• William Lloyd Garrison led the movement with his newspaper, The Liberator.
• Garrison founded the American Anti-Slavery Society, which had over 250,000 members by 1838.

Women in Abolition

• Sarah and Angelina Grimké were early speakers for both abolition and women's rights.
• Sojourner Truth, a former enslaved woman, advocated for both abolition and women's rights.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852)

• Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote the book.
• It focused on a Black man enslaved in the South, whose suffering ignited debates over slavery.

Frederick Douglass

• He escaped slavery in 1838 and became an influential abolitionist and writer.
• He founded the newspaper The North Star.

Split in the Abolitionist Movement

• There was disagreement between radicals like Garrison and moderate abolitionists.
• The American and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society was formed by moderate abolitionists.

Violence Against Abolitionists

• Elijah P. Lovejoy was murdered in 1837 for publishing anti-slavery materials.
• Southern states fought to suppress abolitionist literature.

Compromise of 1850

• The compromise aimed to relieve North-South tensions over slavery.
• California was admitted as a free state.
• The Fugitive Slave Act was strengthened.
• Popular sovereignty was introduced for Utah and New Mexico territories.
• The slave trade was abolished in Washington, D.C.
• Texas gave up land for financial aid.

Day 3: Responses to Abolitionism

Violence Against Abolitionists

• Northern mobs attacked abolitionists.
• Southern backlash included censorship and violence against abolitionist materials.

Personal Liberty Laws

• Northern states passed laws to protect free African Americans from being unlawfully captured under the Fugitive Slave Act.

Reaction in the South

• Slavery was a foundation of the Southern economy and society.
• Nat Turner’s Rebellion in 1831, led by an enslaved preacher, killed 50 white people, causing panic in the South.
• Southern defenses of slavery argued it was a "necessary evil" and a "positive good" for the economy.

Gag Rule in Congress

• The gag rule silenced petitions and discussions about slavery, which infuriated abolitionists.

Mobs and Violence Against Abolitionists

• Abolitionist leaders regularly faced physical attacks and censorship.

Impact of Abolition

• Abolitionism deepened tensions, leading to violence and suppression, eventually contributing to the Civil War.

Day 4: Nat Turner

Nat Turner’s Rebellion (1831)

• Nat Turner, an enslaved preacher, led a revolt in Virginia, killing over 50 white people.
• This caused panic in the South, leading to harsh retaliation against African Americans.

Day 5: Political Parties

Early Parties

• The Federalist Party (1790s-1820s), led by Alexander Hamilton, favored a strong central government, industry, and pro-British policies.
• The Democratic-Republican Party (1792-1834), led by Thomas Jefferson, supported limited government, agrarian society, and pro-French policies.

Jacksonian Democrats (Democratic Party)

• Andrew Jackson founded the party in 1828.
• The party focused on populism, states' rights, and opposing federal economic intervention (e.g., Bank of the United States).
• Its support base included Southern and Western farmers and urban immigrants.

Whig Party (1833-1854)

• Henry Clay and Daniel Webster favored a strong federal government and internal improvements.
• The party disbanded over slavery issues, and many members joined the Republican Party.

Know-Nothing Party (1850s)

• The party focused on nativism and anti-immigration, particularly anti-Catholic sentiment.

The Free-Soil Party (1848-1854)

• The party opposed the expansion of slavery into western territories.
• Its motto was "Free Soil, Free Speech, Free Labor, Free Men."
• It set the stage for the Republican Party.

Southern and Northern Divisions

• Southern Democrats were pro-slavery and focused on states’ rights and defense of Southern interests.
• Northern Democrats focused on popular sovereignty but believed in compromise.
• Conscience Whigs were an anti-slavery faction of the Whig Party.

Republican Party (Founded 1854)

• The party was formed by anti-slavery Whigs and Northern Democrats.
• The party's ideology was anti-slavery, pro free labor, and pro internal improvements
• Abraham Lincoln's election in 1860 triggered secession.

Day 6: Demographics

Enslaved African Americans

• This population was subject to forced labor, feared separation, and had no rights.
• Their ideology revolved around resistance and hope for liberation.

Freed African Americans

• Though legally free, they faced widespread discrimination.
• Their ideology centered on abolition, equality, and civil rights.

White Southern Plantation Owners

• They derived wealth from enslaved labor and focused on agriculture.
• Their ideology supported slavery as a “positive good.”

Native Americans

• They were forcibly moved westward, resulting in land loss and displacement.
• Their ideology focused on sovereignty and resistance.

White Abolitionists

• White Abolitionists advocated for immediate abolition.
• Their ideology focused on equality and civil rights.

Immigrants

• Immigrants focused on economic opportunities in the North, and they were wary of slavery.

American Industrialists

• American Industrialists experienced economic growth in the North and opposed slavery due to competition with free labor.

Southern and Northern Women

• Southern women supported slavery and focused on domestic roles.
• Northern women engaged in abolitionism and women's rights.

Day 7: Compromise of 1850

Key Constitutional Principles:

• Federalism involves the division of power between the federal government and states.
• Separation of Powers divides government into three branches: Legislative, Executive, and Judicial.
• With popular sovereignty, the people hold the power to decide on issues like slavery in new territories.

Key Quotes:

• Fugitive Slave Clause (Article IV, Section 2) stated that any person held to service or labor in one state, escaping into another, shall be delivered up on claim of the party to whom such service or labor may be due.
• The Fugitive Slave Clause required the return of runaway slaves even in free states and strengthened by the Fugitive Slave Act in the Compromise of 1850, it caused tension between North and South, especially in Northern states that resisted enforcement.
• The Tenth Amendment declares that any powers not delegated to the U.S. by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.
• The Tenth Amendment supports state rights over federal control; it was key in debates over popular sovereignty in new territories. Southern states argued they had the right to allow slavery, while the North wanted federal restrictions.

Key Concepts:

• Popular Sovereignty: Territories could vote on whether to allow slavery; it was used as a compromise to avoid federal intervention.

Causes of the Compromise of 1850:

• The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848) officially ended the Mexican-American War, resulting in the acquisition of new territories and creating conflicts over whether they should allow slavery.
• California's population growth because of the Gold Rush led to its desire to become a state, but the question arose of whether it would be free or slaveholding.

The Compromise of 1850:

• The Compromise of 1850 comprised a series of laws designed to ease tensions between the North and South over slavery and territorial expansion; Henry Clay crafted it to maintain the Union.

Key Provisions:

• California was admitted as a free state.
• The Fugitive Slave Act was strengthened.
• Popular sovereignty was applied to Utah and New Mexico territories.
• The slave trade was abolished in Washington, D.C.
• Texas gave up land for financial aid.

Fugitive Slave Act of 1850:

• The law required runaway slaves to be returned to their owners, even if they were in a free state.
• The act sought to protect the property rights of slave owners and ensure the return of runaway slaves.
• Federal agents and local law enforcement enforced the act, and violators faced penalties.
• The act was highly controversial, leading to civil disobedience and the passage of "personal liberty laws" in the North to protect runaway slaves.

Impact of the Fugitive Slave Clause vs. Fugitive Slave Act of 1850:

• Both documents aimed to return escaped slaves to their owners.
• The Fugitive Slave Clause (Article IV, Section 2) lacked enforcement mechanisms, while the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 created detailed procedures and federal enforcement, causing widespread tension, particularly in the North.

Day 8: Bleeding Kansas

Key Figures:

• Stephen A. Douglas, an Illinois senator, introduced the Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854), supporting popular sovereignty, which allowed settlers to vote on slavery in new territories. This act repealed the Missouri Compromise.
• President Franklin Pierce supported the Kansas-Nebraska Act and popular sovereignty, but he failed to act decisively during the violence in Kansas, worsening sectional tensions.
• John Brown was a radical abolitionist who believed in using violence to end slavery; he led the Pottawatomie Massacre (1856), killing five pro-slavery settlers in Kansas.
• Charles Sumner, an anti-slavery senator, delivered the "Crime Against Kansas" speech, criticizing pro-slavery forces. He was beaten by Preston Brooks on the Senate floor.
• Preston Brooks, a South Carolina congressman, physically attacked Sumner on the Senate floor, symbolizing the violent defense of slavery.

Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854):

• Stephen A. Douglas proposed it, creating the territories of Kansas and Nebraska and allowing settlers to decide on slavery through popular sovereignty. The Act repealed the Missouri Compromise, which had banned slavery north of the 36°30′ parallel.

Responses to Bleeding Kansas:

• The Massachusetts Emigrant Aid Society, a Northern group, funded anti-slavery settlers to move to Kansas.
• Border Ruffians were Pro-slavery Missourians who illegally voted in Kansas to influence the decision on slavery.

The Violence of Bleeding Kansas:

• In the Sack of Lawrence (1856), pro-slavery forces attacked the town of Lawrence, burning buildings and looting.
• During the Pottawatomie Massacre (1856), John Brown and his followers killed five pro-slavery men in retaliation for the violence in Kansas.
• In the Battle of Osawatomie (1856), John Brown's forces were defeated, but the battle solidified his image as a radical abolitionist.

Impact of Bleeding Kansas:

• The violence contributed to the formation of the Republican Party in 1854, which was anti-slavery.
• The violence of Bleeding Kansas acted as a precursor to the Civil War, deepening the divide between North and South.

Day 10: Election of 1856

Candidates:

• Republicans: Ran John C. Fremont, who advocated for the containment of slavery.
• Democrats: Ran James Buchanan, who was largely uninvolved in the Kansas-Nebraska Act and was sympathetic to the South.
• Know-Nothing Party: Had no clear stance on slavery but sought to limit immigration.

Election Results:

• James Buchanan won the presidency, but his failure to address the growing violence in Kansas led to further sectional tensions.
• The Republican Party emerged as a major political force in the North.

Day 11: Dred Scott Decision (1857)

The Case Background:

• Dred Scott was an enslaved man who sued for his freedom after being taken to free territories by his owner.

Supreme Court's Ruling:

• It was ruled that Dred Scott was not a U.S. citizen and therefore couldn't sue.
• The Court also ruled that Congress could not prohibit slavery in the territories.

Impact:

• The ruling deepened divisions between North and South, invalidating the concept of popular sovereignty and increasing tensions over slavery.

Day 12: Lincoln-Douglas Debates (1858)

Key Issues:

• Douglas supported popular sovereignty, where territories decided the issue of slavery.
• Lincoln opposed the expansion of slavery, viewing it as a moral issue that should not be allowed to spread into new territories.

The Freeport Doctrine:

• Douglas argued that despite the Dred Scott decision, slavery could still be excluded from territories through local laws.
• Lincoln rejected popular sovereignty, arguing that it couldn't maintain national unity.

Outcomes:

• Douglas won the Senate seat, but Lincoln gained national attention, emerging as a key anti-slavery leader.

Day 13: Election of 1860

Key Candidates:

• Abraham Lincoln (Republican) opposed the expansion of slavery.
• Stephen Douglas (Northern Democrat) supported popular sovereignty.
• John C. Breckinridge (Southern Democrat) supported the expansion of slavery.
• John Bell (Constitutional Union) wanted to preserve the Union without a clear stance on slavery.

Election Results:

• Lincoln won the presidency with 180 electoral votes, but only 40% of the popular vote. His victory led to Southern states seceding from the Union, starting with South Carolina in December 1860.

Secession & the Confederacy:

• Southern states formed the Confederacy, with Jefferson Davis as president, signaling the start of the Civil War.