Union in Peril: Kansas-Nebraska Act & Political Parties

• Union in Peril encompasses the period from 1820 to 1860.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

• The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 split the Nebraska territory in two.
• This act instituted popular sovereignty in these territories.
• It effectively repealed the Missouri Compromise.

Response to Kansas-Nebraska Act

• Northerners were outraged because it allowed slavery to spread into areas where it was previously outlawed.
• Divisions over slavery led to the demise of the Whig Party.
• Northerners formed the Republican party, based on the "free soil" movement.

Major Political Parties 1850-1860

• Free-Soil Party was established in 1848, with a major platform against the extension of slavery and supporting pro-labor policies.
• Know-Nothing Party, established in 1854 as the American Party, had a platform against immigration and against Catholics.
• The Whig Party, organized in 1834, supported pro-business policies but was divided on slavery.
• The Republican Party was established in 1854 and opposed the expansion of slavery into new territories.
• The Democratic Party, dating back to 1840, adopted "Democratic Party" as its official name and was characterized by states' rights and limited government, but was divided on the issue of slavery.

Bleeding Kansas

• In 1855, popular sovereignty was put to the test.
• Free-Soilers in Kansas voted against slavery.
• Thousands of pro-slavery residents from Missouri crossed the border to vote for slavery, and Kansas became designated as a slave state.
• From 1855-1856, a war began between Kansas and Missouri involving Northern Abolitionists versus Southern slave owners, resulting in civil war.
• Popular sovereignty ultimately failed as a result.

Events in Kansas

• Sack of Lawrence: A group of 800 pro-slavery men attacked the abolitionist settlement.
• John Brown, a white abolitionist, sought revenge for the Sack of Lawrence incident.
• Brown raided a pro-slavery settlement, killing five people.

Tensions Rise

• Sumner from Massachusetts gave a speech denouncing slave states.
• Brooks of South Carolina attacked Sumner with a cane.
• Both men were seen as heroes in their respective regions.
• Brooks resigned but was reelected, receiving new canes from people across the South.

Election of 1856

• The election of 1856 was the first time political parties represented regions of the country rather than the entire nation.
• Slavery became the most important political issue in American politics.
• Republicans lost the election but became cemented as the second major political party.

Scott v. Sanford

• In 1857, Dred Scott, an enslaved man, traveled with his master from Missouri (slave state) to free states before returning to Missouri.
• Scott believed that because he lived in free areas, he should be free and sued for his freedom.
• The case reached the Supreme Court.

Dred Scott v. Sanford: Ruling

• The Supreme Court ruled that Dred Scott had no right to sue because African Americans were not citizens.
• Congress did not have the power to stop slavery in western territories.
• The Missouri Compromise was deemed unconstitutional.
• Northern abolitionists were furious.

Lincoln Douglas Debates

• In 1858, Democrat Stephen Douglas ran against Republican Abraham Lincoln for the Illinois Senate.
• Lincoln argued that Congress must stop the spread of slavery, based on the free soil argument.
• Although Lincoln lost the Senate election, his arguments against slavery made him a popular national figure.

John Brown

• In 1859, John Brown led an unsuccessful raid on a federal armory at Harpers Ferry, VA, in an attempt to free slaves in a massive slave uprising.
• Brown was caught and executed.
• He was seen as a martyr by many Northerners.
• The South believed the North was using violence to end slavery.

Election of 1860

• Republican Abraham Lincoln ran against Northern Democrat Douglas, Southern Democrat Breckinridge, and Bell, who represented the Constitutional Union.
• Lincoln opposed the expansion of slavery.
• Douglas supported popular sovereignty.
• Breckinridge supported the expansion of slavery.
• Bell ignored the issue of slavery.
• Lincoln won the election without a single Southern vote because the Democratic vote was split between two candidates.

Election of 1860 Aftermath

• The South assumed slavery would be abolished.
• Began discussing seceding from the U.S.
• In December 1860, South Carolina became the first state to secede from the Union.
• In 1861, more southern states seceded, and the Civil War began between the North and South.