Road to Civil War: 1850s

• The study notes cover the Mexican-American War, the California Gold Rush, the Compromise of 1850, the Kansas-Nebraska Act, Bleeding Kansas, violence in Congress, the Dred Scott Decision, John Brown's Raid, the Election of 1860, Secession, and the lead-up to the Civil War.

Background on Mexico

• By 1821, Mexico was newly independent and struggling financially.
• The country operated under a rigid social hierarchy.
• Its constitution established 14 states, including Texas and California.
• Due to sparse population, Mexico sold land at low prices (300 acres for 12 cents an acre) with requirements to convert to Catholicism and become Mexican citizens.
• Mexico attempted to ban slavery and immigration in 1830 but failed.
• By 1836, Americans formed the dominant population in Mexico.
• Santa Anna became president in 1834 and established a military dictatorship, leading to state rebellions and the establishment of the Republic of Texas.
• Texas sought annexation into the U.S., but concerns over war with Mexico and adding a slave state delayed this.
• Santa Anna's capture in 1835 led to treaties recognizing Texas's independence, later repudiated by the Mexican government.
• Polk convinced Congress to annex Texas to the Rio Grande, leading Mexico to sever diplomatic ties with America in 1845.
• Polk sent General Zachary Taylor to the Rio Grande, where a skirmish in April 1846 led to the U.S. to declare war on Mexico.

Impacts of the Mexican-American War

• The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 ended the war, establishing the Rio Grande as the boundary between Mexico and the U.S.
• Mexico ceded a vast amount of territory including present-day California, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and parts of Colorado and Wyoming.
• The U.S. paid Mexico $15 million and agreed to honor the rights of former Mexican citizens.
• 30% of American troops died, $75-100 million was spent, and political cooperation deteriorated.
• The Wilmot Proviso, an amendment to a bill, proposed to prohibit slavery in any new territory acquired from Mexico.
• Southern militants argued that slaves were property and their right to traffic them should be protected.
• The debate shifted from Whigs/Dems to North vs. South based on the slavery issue.

New Territories & Sectional Tensions

• Both Whigs and Democrats tried to avoid addressing the issue of slavery during the Election of 1848.
• Democrats nominated Lewis Cass (Michigan).
• Zachary Taylor (Louisiana), a war hero, won the election.
• The Free Soil Party emerged, advocating for no slavery in the new territories.
• Free-soil ideology viewed slavery as against American ideals and saw the South as anti-progress.

California Gold Rush

• In January 1848, James Marshall found gold in the Sierra Nevada foothills.
• By 1852, the area's population surged to 220,000, leading to labor shortages elsewhere.
• The Gold Rush attracted international immigrants, including the Chinese.
• People recklessly abandoned jobs and families to seek gold in California.
• Early society in California struggled due to its overwhelmingly male population.
• The Gold Rush led to mistreatment of natives; with "Indian Hunters" killing natives and laws facilitating indentured servitude.
• Very few prospectors found gold or were able to claim land to search.
• Many immigrants remained in California, creating a diverse region.
• Conflicts over gold overlapped with racial tensions.
• Taylor wanted to admit new territories as sovereign states to remove the issue of slavery from the government’s hands.
• California created an anti-slavery Constitution and sought statehood in December 1849.
• New Mexico also applied for statehood, but Congress declined both due to rising tensions around slavery.

Efforts to Abolish Slavery

• Congress declined as it didn’t want to upset the free state and slave state balance.
• There was resistance by Southerners to efforts to abolish slavery in D.C.
• Personal liberty laws in the North hindered the return of fugitive slaves.

Clay’s Omnibus Bill

• Introduced to the senate on January 29, 1850.
• Proposed admitting California as a free state and abolishing slave trade in D.C.
• Proposed a more effective fugitive slave law.
• Proposed creating territorial governments in new territories without restrictions on slavery.
• Veteran congressmen argued based on nationalism and compromise, but Clay’s bill was rejected after 6 months.
• Younger congressmen like William H. Seward (NY), Jefferson Davis (Mississippi), and Stephen A. Douglas (Illinois Democrat) took center stage in the debate.
• William H. Seward opposed compromise and believed abolition to be a priority.
• Jefferson Davis defended slavery based on economics.
• Stephen A. Douglas wanted sectional gain and railroad construction in Illinois.
• Following Taylor’s death, Millard Fillmore became president.

Compromise of 1850

• Douglas broke up the Omnibus Bill into separate measures for individual votes.
• Support gained by linking bills to bond sales and railroad construction.
• California was admitted as a free state
• New Mexico and Utah were admitted for popular sovereignty.
• The fugitive slave act was reinforced.
• Citizens were required to assist in slave capture.
• Commissioners got 10forreturningaslave,and10 for returning a slave, and 10forreturningaslave,and5 for setting them free.

Election of 1852

• Franklin Pierce, the Democrat candidate, won the election.
• Many Whigs backed free-soiler John P. Hale.
• Northern opposition to the Fugitive Slave Laws (cemented by the Compromise of 1850) intensified while Pierce avoided the topic of slavery.

Young America Movement

• The Young America movement saw global expansion of American democracy as a way to divert attention from slavery.
• The Ostend Manifesto, a document from U.S. envoys in Ostend, Belgium to Pierce encouraged the seizure of Cuba.
• Northerners accused the government of conspiring to add a new slave state.

Expansion Westward

• Fertile land drew prospective settlers who wanted natives displaced.
• Broad support existed for building a transcontinental railroad.
• Sectional divisions arose over the location of the Eastern station (North or South).
• James Gadsden secured a strip of land from Mexico (now part of Arizona and New Mexico) for $10 million.

Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)

• Introduced Nebraska, a large state north of the Missouri Compromise line.
• Its slave status was to be decided by popular sovereignty
• To appease southerners, the Missouri Compromise was repealed.
• Nebraska was split into Nebraska and Kansas, with Kansas more likely to become a slave state.
• The act divided Northern Democrats, leading to the birth of the Republican Party.

Bleeding Kansas

• Missourians inflated Kansas's population to vote in pro-slavery territorial legislature in Spring 1855 elections.
• Abolitionists created a constitution to petition Congress but were denounced by Pierce as traitors, leading to arrests and the burning of their headquarters.
• Pottawatomie Massacre (May 1856): John Brown led followers in murdering five pro-slavery settlers.
• The Know Nothing Party opposed immigration, seeking restrictive naturalization laws and literacy tests for voting.

Violence in Congress

• The Gag Rule stifled talks about slavery, preventing any mention of slavery on the floor; many Northerners believed this to be against free speech.
• The rise of the independent press (1850s) brought awareness to violence.
• Southerners were typically higher in numbers and more intimidating in Congress
• Northern politicians targeted for abuse
• Northerners wanted their candidates to fight back, and the Republican party grew in popularity.
• Rampant alcoholism fueled Southern violence.
• Fighting became sectional.
• Brooks vs Sumner (1856): Preston Brooks attacked Charles Sumner with a cane, causing severe injuries and turning Sumner into a martyr in the North.
• Galusha A. Grow attacked by Democrat Lawrence Keitt on the floor led to a brawl between Republicans and Democrats.

Election of 1856

• James Buchanan won the election as the Democrat candidate.
• Millard Fillmore was nominated by Know-Nothings but had little success.
• John C. Fremont was nominated by the Republicans.
• Buchanan’s presidency would be marked by indecisiveness.
• The Panic of 1856/7 led many northerners to shift Republican.

Dred Scott Decision

• Scott, a slave, sued for freedom based on his residence in free states.
• Initially declared free by a circuit court (1858).
• John Sanford appealed and won, arguing Scott couldn't sue because he wasn't a citizen.
• The Supreme Court agreed with Sanford, stating slaves were property and the federal government couldn't infringe on that right.
• Buchanan timidly endorsed the decision.

John Brown’s Raid (October 1859)

• Brown and followers seized a U.S. arsenal in Harpers Ferry, Virginia, hoping to spark a slave revolt.
• Were overpowered by locals and troops, and surrendered; those who didn’t die in the fight were hung.
• Many southerners falsely believed the raid had Republican support.
• Brown got respect from southerners due to his “southern honor” rhetoric.

Kansas Controversy

• Buchanan pushed for Kansas to be admitted as a slave state.
• Pro-slavery delegates created the Lecompton Constitution (1857), legalizing slavery.
• The Lecompton Constitution was rejected by voters, then again in a second round of voting.
• Kansas was admitted as a free state (1861).

The Rise of Lincoln

• Debates with Stephen A. Douglas increased his visibility.
• Lincoln morally opposed slavery
• Promoted the slippery slope argument
• Lincoln was not a full-blown abolitionist.
• Lincoln toured the North, backing Republicans and gaining support.

Election of 1860

• Republicans broadened appeal, supporting Whig measures (high tariffs, internal improvements, etc.), while backing popular sovereignty and free-soil ideology.
• Lincoln’s position on slavery was moderate
• Lincoln distanced himself from John Brown, seen as a frontiersman due to his roots in Illinois.
• Lincoln won by a clear majority due to Democrat divisions.
• A convention in Charleston (April) endorsed popular sovereignty but 8 Democrat states walked out.
• The 8 states formed the Southern Democratic Party, and nominated John Breckinridge.
• John Bell led the Constitutional Union Party.
• Showed sectional differences: Douglas and Bell got border states, Breckinridge got the Deep South, and Lincoln won all free states.

Secession and Buildup to War

• South Carolina voted to secede (December 20, 1860).
• Missouri, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas seceded shortly after.
• February 1861 - The Confederate States of America was established.
• Motivations for secession included state's rights, pro-slavery ideology and the perception of Northern dominance.
• Buchanan asserted that secession was illegal but inactionable.
• Senator John J. Crittenden proposed amendments guaranteeing slavery in slave states and D.C., but they were rejected by Republicans.

Lincoln’s Inaugural Address

• Firm but conciliatory, he wanted to prevent the Upper South from seceding
• He was Nationalistic.
• Emphasized that he was under oath to protect America; blamed the South.
• The Union is perpetual and secession is insurrectionary.
• He trusts in the Constitution, the freedom of America and elections.
• Emphasized the power of the people, and states seceded without popular consent which he saw as undemocratic.
• He urged patience for the situation to diffuse
• The Confederacy seized federal property, sparking the Fort Sumter Battle.
• Confederates bombarded Fort Sumter (April 12-13th, 1861), and Anderson surrendered on the 14th.

Goals and Advantages/Disadvantages going into war

• The Union wanted to win with minimal damage to retain Southern people and territory.

• The North had a more advanced industrial and manufacturing system with superior railroads, telegraph lines & canals.

• The North had a bigger army but with less enthusiasm and divisions over the war

• The South had the home ground advantage and experienced commanders.

• The South had slave labor to help in the war effort.