US History - Events Leading to the Civil War PDF

I. The Missouri Compromise -1819 - 11 free/11 slaves states -Missouri - application to join Union - slave state *would give South majority in Senate, North opposed -Maine applies for statehood Senator Henry Clay - Missouri Compromise of 1820...

I. The Missouri Compromise -1819 - 11 free/11 slaves states -Missouri - application to join Union - slave state *would give South majority in Senate, North opposed -Maine applies for statehood Senator Henry Clay - Missouri Compromise of 1820 1. Missouri joins Union as a slave state 2. Maine - free state 3. Congress draws an imaginary line at latitude 36 30' N - southern border of Missouri Except for Missouri, all territories above line are free of slavery. Slavery permitted south of the line. *only applied to the Louisiana Purchase* II. Slavery in the West -1848 Mexican War ends which added land in the west...slavery? A. Wilmot Proviso -David Wilmot - Congress PA - ban slavery in western territory (won from Mexico) -passed House, not Senate B. Views 1. abolitionists - ban slavery 2. southern slave-holders 1- allowed in all territories 2- demanded slaves be returned from North 3. extend Missouri Compromise line to the Pacific 4. popular sovereignty - create own gov't -voters decide on slavery in new territories III. The Free Soil Party -Dem and Whigs opposed slavery spreading -did not take a stand - would lose support of the South -1848 - anti slavery members of both meet in Buffalo, NY founded the Free Soil Party - *keep slavery out of western territories* 1848 presidential campaign - *slavery issue* ban Free Soilers - former Pres Martin Van Buren pop. sov.Democrats - Lewis Cass - Michigan didn't take Whigs - Zachary Taylor (Mexican War) a stand *slave owner **Taylor won the election** Free Soil - 10% of pop vote  13 seats in Congress **slavery is a national issue** I. The Slavery Debate Erupts Again A. California's Impact 1. 1849-CA wants to join the Union - free state 2. Would upset the balance (15/15) 3. May cause Oregon, Utah, New Mexico to join as free states 4. Southerners may secede from the Union? 5. North - CA should be free - most is north of the Missouri Compromise line B. Views in Congress 1. Henry Clay - "The Great Compromiser" -North and South should compromise - nation could break apart 2. Senator John C. Calhoun (SC) -no compromise -slavery in all western territories -fugitives be returned to owners - property -if couldn't agree South would use force to leave Union 3. Daniel Webster (MA) -save Union, separation=civil war -compromise - North return fugitive slaves II. Compromise of 1850 -Calhoun died -Clay ill - Stephen Douglas (Illinois) continued 1. CA - free state 2. New Mexico and Utah are territories - popular sovereignty 3. Bans slave trade - Washington, DC 4. Fugitive Slave law 5. Settles border dispute - Texas & New Mexico Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 -required all citizens to catch runaway slaves -special courts (no jury trial) Northerners felt part of the slave system I. Kansas-Nebraska Act -Senator Stephen Douglas -Nebraska Territory - 2 territories - Kansas and Nebraska -popular sovereignty - issue of slavery -supported by southern leaders and President Franklin Pierce -Utah and New Mexico - already had popular sovereignty -slave owners from Missouri would move to Kansas-slave state too -opposed by northerners - north of Missouri Compromise line - slavery banned in Kansas and Nebraska -saw this as a "criminal betrayal of persons rights" -slavery could spread to freed areas (30 years) **this would repeal the Missouri Compromise** II. Crisis Turns Violent -pro and anti slavery forces sent to Kansas - fight for control 1. farmers - cheap land, few owned slaves 2. abolitionists - sent +1,000 from New England 3. proslavery from Missouri - Border Ruffians A. Two Governments 1855 - Border Ruffians voted illegally (four times more people voted in Kansas than lived there). 1. *pro slavery legislature - passed laws supporting slavery 2. anti slavery refused to accept - elected own govt =CHAOS "Bleeding Kansas" This violent summer resulted in hundreds of deaths. Newspapers called this “Bleeding Kansas.” B. Bleeding Kansas 1. 1856, Lawrence - anti slavery town- raided by proslavery -destroyed homes, press of Free Soil newspaper 2. John Brown - abolitionist- God sent him to punish supporters of slavery -rode through Pottawatomie Creek-murdered 5 proslavery men -Led to more violence I. The Republican Party -wanted to keep slavery out of the western territories -few abolitionists (wanted to end slavery in the South) A. Election of 1856 1. Republican - John C. Fremont 2. Democrat - James Buchanan (PA) "Northern man with southern principles." (gives him voters from north and south) 3. American/Know-Nothing Former President Millard Fillmore -Buchanan won -Fremont (Rep) - No southern states, but 1/3 of popular vote (33%) Why is this significant? How has it changed since the election of 1848? Dred Scott v. Sanford Dred Scott had been enslaved in Missouri (slave state) Later he moved with his owner to Illinois and then Wisconsin Territory where slavery was banned After they returned to Missouri, Scott’s owner died. Antislavery lawyers argued that Scott was a free man because he had lived in a free territory The case eventually reached the Supreme Court The Court’s ruling further increased the tension between the North and South, pro-slavery and antislavery Americans. 1. The Court ruled that Scott could not file a lawsuit because, as an enslaved person, he was not a citizen. The Court’s written decision clearly stated that slaves were considered property. 2. Congress did not have the power to outlaw slavery in any territory. **The Court’s ruling meant that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional** John Brown's Raid 1859 - radical abolitionist -led a group including 5 African Americans to Harper Ferry, VA to raid a federal arsenal (gun warehouse) and lead a slave revolt -Brown captured, 10 killed -guilty of murder and treason, hanged -led to further division between North and South -seen as a martyr by some northerners (someone who gives up their life for their beliefs) -Abraham Lincoln, a Republican, challenged Democrat Stephen Douglas for his seat in the Senate - Illinois. -Series of seven debates -Slavery was an important issue Douglas - popular sovereignty Lincoln - did not believe in "perfect equality" between blacks and whites. **Did believe slavery was morally wrong. Lincoln was opposed to slavery in the territories. He was not an abolitionist - he did not want to interfere with slavery in the states where it already existed. Douglas won the election. Debates showed Lincoln strongly opposed the expansion of slavery and he was known nationally. -Lincoln wins the election - his name was not even on the ballot in 10 southern states -Northerners outnumbered and outvoted southerners -Many southerners felt that the South no longer had a voice in the national government - an abolitionist in the White House Secession -On December 20, 1860, South Carolina became the first state to secede. By the end of February, 1861 Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas had seceded. -The seven states formed the Confederate States of America. -Jefferson Davis became president of the Confederacy.