Lecture 20- The Road to War I (04-23) PDF

Lecture 20- The Road to War I I. Issue of Slavery in the West: a. Was slavery to be allowed in new territories acquired from Mexico? i. Texas- definitely going to be a slave state ii. Problem of upsetting the balance of free states to slave states b. Election of...

Lecture 20- The Road to War I I. Issue of Slavery in the West: a. Was slavery to be allowed in new territories acquired from Mexico? i. Texas- definitely going to be a slave state ii. Problem of upsetting the balance of free states to slave states b. Election of 1848: i. Extension of slavery the signature issue in the 1848 Presidential campaign- although no party wanted to make it an issue. 1. Both Whigs and Democrats needed votes in North and South- so neither had anything to gain by taking a stand on slavery- which would alienate one area or another. ii. Whigs nominate Zachary Taylor: 1. Slaveholder- appealed to south 2. War Hero- appealed everywhere 3. Deliberately vague platform iii. Democrats nominate Lewis Cass: 1. Forced by northern end of party to take a stand on the issue of slavery in the territories. 2. Advocated “Popular Sovereignty”- let people in territories decide on slavery. a. Appeased Northern and Southern Democrats b. Democrats avoided having to take a definitive stance. iv. Free-Soil Party: Formed by anti-slave Democrats and some anti-slave Whigs 1. Want to stop extension of slavery to new territories 2. Nominate Martin Van Buren for President v. Taylor elected President: 1. Free-Soil party wins no states- but does well enough to show that there was a growing number of people who wanted to stop expansion of slavery c. Compromise of 1850: i. 1850: 15 slave states & 15 free states ii. Taylor had plan for dealing with slavery in new territories: 1. Realized, as a slave-owner, the need in the south to preserve slavery. His answer for this preserving slavery as an institution was by not provoking free states by trying to extend slavery. 2. Bar slavery in California & New Mexico territories. iii. Southern Opposition: 1. Nashville Convention- June 1850: 9 southern states met to discuss situation. a. Some in the south beginning to call for Secession iv. Other Concerns over Slavery: 1  1. North wanted to abolish slavery in District of Columbia 2. South unhappy with fugitive slave laws- felt they were not being enforced in North. v. Henry Clay’s “Omnibus” Bill: Clay came up with an alternate proposal for dealing with the new territories 1. Admission of California as a “Free State” 2. Division of rest of territory into two new territories: New Mexico and Utah a. Slavery to be decided by Popular Sovereignty 3. Slave trade abolished in District of Columbia 4. More aggressive fugitive slave law: 5. “Omnibus” Bill including all proposals introduced to Congress in January 1850 a. Debated for 6 months b. Henry Clay, Daniel Webster argued for bill c. John C. Calhoun argued against it. d. Uncertainty over passage- President Taylor had promised to veto it. 6. President Taylor died- July 9th 1850: a. Succeeded by Millard Fillmore b. Signed bill into law September 17 1850 7. Reaction to the “Compromise”: a. Pulled the country from the brink of coming apart. South threatening secession if slavery was totally excluded from new territories b. Compromise left open possibility of slavery being approved in New Mexico & Utah d. Enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Law: Proved distasteful to North. i. Alleged fugitives had no right to trial ii. Fugitive arrested only on testimony of claimant iii. Financial-incentive for court-appointed commissioners to return fugitive to slavery 1. $10 if ruled for slave owner 2. $5 if ruled for fugitive slave iv. Applied to fugitives who had escaped decades before- could be returned to slavery v. Effect on Northern Public Opinion: 1. Northerners saw that slavery was a national problem- not just a southern one. 2. They were complicit in the maintenance of slavery 3. Heightened the tensions between North and South e. Uncle Tom’s Cabin-1852: i. Harriet Beecher Stowe ii. Brought home to northerners the horrors of slavery and of the Fugitive Slave Act. 2  iii. Impact: 1. Sold 1.2 million copies by 1853 2. Adapted into plays that were viewed by millions more 3. Helped turn opinion in North against slavery- especially with working class who had not been in favor of abolition 4. Put a human face on slavery 5. Fueled tensions between North and South f. Election of 1852: i. Winfield Scott- Whig Candidate ii. Franklin Pierce- Democratic Candidate 1. Pierce won election g. Kansas-Nebraska Act: Dealt with organization of Nebraska Territory (last remaining part of Louisiana Purchase unsettled) i. Senator Stephen Douglas’s Ambitions: 1. “Little Giant” 2. Ardent Expansionist- wanted to expand across Nebraska Territory- thought it would be an issue that would unite the Democratic party 3. Transcontinental Railroad: a. Northern Route or Southern Route- political issue. Would benefit the North or South. b. Douglas wanted it to be the Northern Route- with Chicago, his hometown, as the eastern terminus ii. Douglas’s Plan: 1. Needed to organize Nebraska Territory in order to build railroad across it. 2. To win southern support for plan, Douglas needed to open territory up to slavery a. Was prohibited by Missouri Compromise- slavery prohibited North of 36’ 30 iii. Popular Sovereignty: Douglas wanted to apply it to Nebraska Territory iv. Kansas-Nebraska Act: 1. Split Nebraska Territory into two parts: a. Kansas Territory b. Nebraska Territory 2. Most people assumed Kansas would be slave because of its proximity to Missouri and Nebraska free- because of its proximity to Iowa. a. It depended on who made-up the majority of settlers- slave supporters or free supporters. 3. Unpopular in the North- saw it as a victory for the south and slave power. 4. Act is passed. 3  5. Repealed the Missouri Compromise- by potentially opening territory north of 36’ 30 to slavery h. Collapse of the Second American Party System: i. Compromise of 1850 & Kansas-Nebraska Act roused great passion on both sides 1. American politics becoming more volatile. 2. Slavery coming to dominate American politics a. Parties no longer able to dodge the issue 3. Second American Party System falls apart in the wake of Kansas-Nebraska a. Divides Whigs and Democrats along sectional lines. Northern Whigs and many Northern Democrats opposed Kansas-Nebraska, southern Whigs and Democrats approve of it. ii. Whigs Fall Apart: Not able to remain united as a party in the wake of Kansas-Nebraska iii. Know-Nothing Party: New party formed in early 1850’s 1. Evolved out of “Order of the Star-Spangled Banner”- formed in 1850. Nativist party 2. Nativism: Favoring natives, opposed to immigrants a. Rise of immigration in 1840’s and 1850’s- some Americans wanted to stop this immigration 3. Anti-Immigrant, Anti-Catholic: a. Thought only native-born Protestants should be elected to office b. Wanted immigrants to have to wait 21 years for citizenship, instead of 5 4. Secrecy: 5. Rise and Fall: a. 1854-Massachusetts election: i. Governorship, all Congressional seats and most seats in state legislature b. 1855- had organization in all states- 1,000,000 members c. 1856- party melted away i. To get southern support- had added a proslavery plank to their platform ii. Lost support in the north. iv. Republican Party: 1. Formed by those opposed to Kansas-Nebraska 2. Divided over slavery a. Some wanted to stop expansion of slavery b. Some were abolitionists c. Located totally in the North d. Not a lot of support at first- most northerners viewed the party as too radical. Two events 4  would gain the Republican party support in the North. i. “Bleeding Kansas”: Outbreak of violence in Kansas i. Basis- question of whether Kansas was to be slave or free territory. Question to be solved by Popular Sovereignty ii. Race for Kansas: Slave-supporters and Free-state supporters want to get more settlers in Kansas to decide its fate 1. New England Emigrant Aid Company- sponsored by abolitionists to get antislavery settlers to Kansas 2. Slave-supporters move in from neighboring Missouri iii. Lecompton versus Topeka: 1. Missouri Ruffians cross border to vote, illegally, in Kansas’s first territorial election- March 1855 2. Lecompton, Kansas, government- proslavery a. Based on fraudulent election 3. Topeka, Kansas, government- antislavery: a. Formed by those opposed to Lecompton government 4. Violence Erupts: a. “Sack of Lawrence”- May 1856 i. Lecompton government sent proslavery posse to attack Lawrence, free state stronghold ii. Burned several buildings and destroyed two free-state newspaper printing presses 5. John Brown’s Reprisal- May 1856: a. John Brown- fervent abolitionist b. In retaliation for Lawrence raid he and his sons murdered five men associated with the Lecompton Government. c. “Pottawatomie Massacre” j. Bleeding Sumner- May 1856: i. Senator Charles Sumner’s speech: “The Crime Against Kansas” 1. Attacked slavery and his fellow senators for aiding it. Personally attacked Senator Andrew Butler of South Carolina ii. Representative Preston Brooks, a relative of Butlers, “Caned” Senator Sumner repeatedly. 1. Sumner unable to return to the Senate until 1860. 2. Brooks a hero in South Carolina 3. Episode shows that politics becoming more radical and divisive k. Result of “Bleeding Kansas, Bleeding Sumner”: i. United North and rallied them behind Republican party 5 ii. Republicans attack “Slave Power” instead of the institution of slavery 1. Claim slave power out to destroy the liberties of Northern Whites 6