Chapter 13 Summary: Give Me Liberty - An American History PDF

Chapter 13: A House Divided Fruits of Manifest Destiny What were the major factors contributing to U.S. territorial expansion in the 1840s? Continental Expansion  Nation’s territorial expansion = slavery became central topic of politics  1840-1860, 300,000 moved west to Oregon and Cali...

Chapter 13: A House Divided Fruits of Manifest Destiny What were the major factors contributing to U.S. territorial expansion in the 1840s? Continental Expansion  Nation’s territorial expansion = slavery became central topic of politics  1840-1860, 300,000 moved west to Oregon and Cali  Mexico border up to Utah—didn’t stop Americans from settling there The Mexican Frontier: New Mexico and California  Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821 o Nearly as big as U.S (2/3 the population) o Isolated and sparsely populated o California linked to US by trade  1846, Alfred Robinson published Life in California and suggested annexation of California The Texas Revolt  Texas—1st part of Mexico to be settled by large number of Americans o Tejanos: non-Indian, Spanish population in Mexico  Spanish government agreed to let American’s colonize it to develop the region o Idea presented by Moses Austin (Connecticut born farmer) o Moses died—1820, son Stephan received large land grant o Stephan resold smaller plots to Americans as 12 cents per acre  1830, Mexico annulled land contracts and barred future emigration from US o Americans + Mexican elites (happy about economic boom Americans brought) demanded greater autonomy within Mexico o Mexico abolished slavery—but allowed Americans to bring their slaves  Antonia Lopez de Santa Anna: The military leader who, in 1834, seized political power in Mexico and became a dictator. In 1835, Texans rebelled against him, and he led his army to Texas to crush their rebellion. He captured the missionary called the Alamo and killed all of its defenders, which inspired Texans to continue their resistance and Americans to volunteer to fight for Texas. The Texans captured Santa Anna during a surprise attack, and he bought his freedom by signing a treaty recognizing Texas’s independence. o Sent army in 1835 to impose central authority  Texas Revolt: The 1830s rebellion of residents of the territory of Texan—many of them American emigrants— against Mexican control of the region o Rebels (Americans + Mexican elite) formed provisional government o March 6, 1836—Santa Anna’s army stormed the Alamo killing 187 people o April—forces under Sam Houston (former TN governor) forced Santa Anna to recognize Texas as independent o 1837—Texas Congressed called for Union with US  President Van Buren put this off so to not add another slave state The Election of 1844  President John Tyler revived idea of Texas annexation in hopes of o Rescuing his failed administration o Securing southern support for re-nomination in 1844 1 310 8  o John C. Calhoun presented idea to divide Texas into several states to strengthen southern power  Henry Clay, former president Van Buren + Whig and Democratic leaders met at Clay’s plantation and agreed NOT to annex Texas to prevent a war with Mexico  Clay nominated for Whig party  James K. Polk nominated for Democratic party o Former TN governor o Close association to Andrew Jackson (still most popular Democratic figure) o Called for “reannexation” of Texas (implied it was part of Lousiana Purchase) o Called for “reoccupation” of all of Oregon o 1st “dark horse” candidate  Polk defeated Clay by 2% margin o If James G. Birney didn’t run as Liberty Party candidate (16,000 votes) Clay would have won  March 1845—days before Polk’s inauguration, Texas declared part of United States The Road to War  Polk assumed presidency with clear set of goals o Reduce the tariff (ENACTED) o Reestablish the independent Treasury system (ENACTED) o Settle dispute over Oregon ownership (ACCOMPLISHED IN AGREEMENT WITH BRITAIN) o Bring California into Union  Polk tried to purchased California—Mexico refused to negotiate o Spring 1846—Polk planned military action o Soldiers entered region between Nueces River and Rio Grande (land claimed by both countries)  When fighting inevitably broke out, Polk declared war claiming Mexico had spilled blood on American soil The War and Its Critics  Mexican War: Controversial war with Mexico for control of California and New Mexico, 1846-1848; the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo fixed the border at the Rio Grande and extended the US to the Pacific Coast, annexing more than a half-million square miles of Mexican territory o 1st conflict fought primarily on foreign soil + occupied a foreign capital o Majority of Americans supported war—idea of manifest destiny  Opposed by some in North who feared expansion would also expand slavery  Henry David Thoreau jailed in Massachusetts for refusing to pay taxes to protest war o On Civil Disobedience—essay defending his actions o Abraham Lincoln, Whig Illinois Congressman questioned Polk’s claim of “Mexican’s spilling blood”  Raised concerns regarding president’s power to “make war at pleasure” Combat in Mexico  60,000 volunteers enlisted in Polk’s war  June 1846---band of American insurrectionists (a person who takes arms against constituted authority) proclaimed California as free from Mexican control o Named Captain John C. Fremont ruler  June 1846—General Stephen W. Kearney occupied Santa Fe without resistance  February 1847—Taylor defeated Santa Anna’s army at Battle of Buena Vista  February 1848—Mexico and US agreed to Treat of Guadalupe Hidalgo o Confirmed annexation of Texas and ceded California, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, and Utah to US  Region that had been united for centuries was split o Divided families and severed trade routes 2 310 8   Mexican Cession: Treaty guaranteed to Mexican “male citizens” in the new territory “the free enjoyment of their liberty and property” and “al the rights of Americans o Designed to protect property of Mexican landowners in California  Original residents of area went from Spaniards, to Mexicans, to Americans and had to adjust as immigrants would have The Texas Borderland  Anglos: white settlers from East o In search of land they expelled some Mexicans—including former allies  Tejanos o Confined to unskilled agricultural or urban labor o Some women took advantage of American laws and divorced husbands  During Civil War, some avoided draft by claiming Mexican citizenry Race and Manifest Destiny  1840s—territorial expansion came to be seen as proof of innate superiority of the “Anglo-Saxon” race  John O’ Sullivan in Democratic Review: “Race” was the “key” to the “history of nations”  Annexation of all of Mexico failed in some part because its large, nonwhite Catholic population was unfit for citizenship in a republic  Texas Constitution adopted after independence: o Protected slavery o Denied civil rights to Indians and blacks o “Spanish” Mexicans were considered “white”  Mixed Mexican and Indian origins were “too Mexican” for democratic self-government o New Mexico not allowed to become sate until 1912 because white immigration lagged Gold-Rush California  Most of 1840s, 5x as many Americans emigrated to Oregon than to California  January 1848—gold discovered in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains at a sawmill owned by Swiss immigrant Johann A. Sutter  Gold Rush: The massive migration of Americans into California territory in the late 1840s and 1850s in pursuit of gold, which was discovered there in 1848 o Non-Indian population went from 15,000 to 360,000 in 8 years o Gold-rush migrants were mostly young men o Women ran restaurants and boarding houses and worked as laundresses, cooks, and prostitutes  1860, men outnumber women 3 to 1 o Mining competition worsened racial conflicts  White miners organized extralegal groups that expelled Mexicans, Chileans, Chinese, French, and Indians o State imposed $20/mo. Tax on miners—drove many out of state o Gold seekers  Took Indian communities  Murdered thousands  Sold orphans and vagrants into slavery (although slavery was illegal in California) Opening Japan  Mexican war ended with US taking trade harbors in San Diego and San Francisco o 1848-1860, trade with China triples  Commodore Matthew Perry: US naval officer who negotiated the Treaty of Kanagawa in 1854. That treaty was the first step in starting a political and commercial relationship between the US and Japan 3 310 8 A Dose of Arsenic Why did the expansion of slavery become the most diverse political issue in the 1840s and 1850s?  The entrance of slavery into the heart of American politics dissolved the strongest force for national unity—the 2-party system The Wilmot Proviso  Wilmot Proviso: Proposal to prohibit slavery in any land acquired in the Mexican War; defeated by southern senators, led by John C. Calhoun of South Carolina, in 1846 and 1847 o 1846, Congressman David Wilmot of Pennsylvania proposed prohibiting slavery from all new territory acquired from Mexico  Supported by northerners, Whigs, and Democrats  Opposed by southerners o Measure passed House—even with more populous North o Measure failed Senate—even with balance between slave and free states  Free Soil Party: Political organization formed in 1848 to oppose slavery in the territory acquired in the Mexican War; nominated Martin Van Buren for president in 1848. By 1854 most of the party’s members had joined the Republican Party o 1848 election:  Free Soil Party: Martin Van Buren—wanted to end slavery in new territory  Democrats: Lewis Cass—slavery decision should be made by the new settlers of territory (“popular sovereignty”)  Whig Party: Zachary Taylor (Mexican War hero and Louisiana sugar planter)—WON o Former president and son of a former president abandoned their parties to run on a Free Soil platform  Showed that antislavery sentiment had spread far beyond abolitionists The Free Soil Appeal  Many Northerners resented southern domination of the federal government o Preventing the creation of new slave states appealed to those who favored policies such as the protective tariff and government aid to internal improvements o Ability to move to new western territories = economic betterment—only alternative to permanent economic dependence for American workers o If plantations got new territory, Northern migration would be blocked o Free Soil Platform of 1848 called for  Barring slavery from west  Federal government to provide free homesteads to settlers in new territories  View of Southern leaders o Barring slavery violated their equal rights as members of the Union o Slavery must expand or it would die out o Admission of new free states would overturn political balance—South would become minority Crisis and Compromise  1848 remembered as the “springtime of nations”—time of democratic uprisings against monarchies of Europe and demands by ethnic minorities for national independence o Great Britain—Chartist movement (massive demonstrations of democratic reforms) o France—replaced monarchy with republic o Hungary—proclaimed independence from Austria o Italy and Germany (divided into several states)—patriots demanded national unification 4 310 8   Compromise of 1850: Complex compromise devised by Senator Henry Clay that admitted California as a free state, included a stronger fugitive slave law, and delayed the determination of the slave status of the New Mexico and Utah territories o Slave trade, not slavery itself, would be abolished in nation’s capital o Stringent Fugitive Slave Law—slaves must be returned to Southern owners o Slavery status left to local white inhabitant’s decisions in remaining territories from Mexico o US would pay off Texas’ massive debt that it accumulated while independent The Great Debate  Debate on Compromise of 1850 o Daniel Webster, MA—willing to abandon Wilmot Proviso and adopted new fugitive slave law if it kept sectional peace o John C. Calhoun, SC—rejected compromise (North must yield or Union would die) o William H. Seward, NY—rejected compromise [Law of morality (against slavery) was above Constitution] o President Zachary Taylor—insisted all Congress needed to do was admit California to Union  Died suddenly 7/9/1850  Millard Freeman, NY—New president  Supported Clay’s compromise  Secured adoption of Compromise of 1850 The Fugitive Slave Issue  Fugitive Slave Act: 1850 law that gave the federal government authority in cases involving runaway slaves; aroused considerable opposition in North o Allowed federal commissioners to determine alleged fugitive slave’s fate without trial by jury o Prohibited local authorities from interfering with capture o Required citizens to assist in capture when called upon o South usually supported state’s rights, but this law contradicted that (allowed federal government to override local authority)  This is how important slavery was to the south  Law reinvigorated the Underground Railroad—fugitives with abolitionist allies violently resisted recapture o 1851, slave named Jerry rescued from jail in Syracuse, NY o 1851, owner attempting recapture was killed in Christiana, PN o 1855 and 1856, Sydney Howard Gay, recorded over 200 fugitive slaves dispatched to New York and Canada by train from Philadelphia  Refugees seeking liberty in foreign land (Canada) challenged the image of the US as an asylum for freedom Douglas and Popular Sovereignty  Compromise of 1850 (temporarily) restored sectional peace and party unity o 1852 presidential election—Democrat Franklin Peirce won over Whig Winfield Scott on platform that recognized the Compromise as a final settlement of slavery controversy  Stephen A. Douglas introduced bill to provide territorial governments for Kansas and Nebraska o Hoped a transcontinental railroad through Kansas and Nebraska to aid western development  South opposed this idea (organization of new free territories)—it could disrupt sectional balance o Popular Sovereignty: Program that allowed settlers in a disputed territory to decide the slavery issue for themselves most closely associated with Senator Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois  Principle applied in hopes of satisfying South  Believed this offered a middle ground between extremes of North and South 5 310 8 The Kansas-Nebraska Act  Kansas-Nebraska Act: 1854 law sponsored by Illinois senator Stephen A. Douglas to allow settlers in newly organized territories north of the Missouri border to decide the slavery issue for themselves; fury over the resulting appeal of the Missouri Compromise on 1820 led to the violence in Kansas and to the formation of the Republic Party o Kansas and Nebraska were directly in path of westward expansion o Slavery prohibited in Kansas and Nebraska under terms of Missouri Compromise  Douglas’s bill would repeal Missouri Compromise  Antislavery Congressmen issued the Appeal of the Independent Democrats—convinced northerners that southern leaders were planning on bringing slavery to west o Became law in 1854  Democratic Party—unity shattered  Whig Party—unable to develop unified response, collapsed  South: became solidly Democratic  North: Whigs augmented by disgruntled Democrats formed new Republic Party  Dedicated to preventing further expansion of slavery The Rise of the Republican Party What combination of issues and events fueled the creation of the Republican Party in the 1850s? The Northern Economy  Rise of Republican Party reflected underlying economic and social changes o Completion of Market Revolution o Mass immigration from Europe  1843-1857—explosive economic growth o Completion of railroad network  4 great trunk railroads linked eastern cities with western farming and commercial centers  Economic integration of Northwest and Northeast created groundwork for political unification in the Republican Party o Majority of Northern workforce no longer labored in agriculture  Industrial manufacturing in 2 major areas  1. Along Atlantic Coast—Boston to Philadelphia to Baltimore  2. On and near Great Lakes + inland cities Buffalo, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Chicago  Coal mining and iron manufacturing grew rapidly (driven by railroad expansion) The Rise and Fall of the Know-Nothings  Know-Nothing Party: Nativists, anti-Catholic third party organized in 1854 in reaction to large-scale German and Irish immigration, the party’s only presidential candidate was Millard Fillmore in 1856 o Hostile towards immigrants, especially Catholics o Dedicated to  Preserving political office for native-born Americans  Resisting “aggressions” of Catholic Church that undermined public school system o Took 1854 elections in MA—governor, all state’s Congressmen, + state legislature o Opposed  Kansas-Nebraska Act—“Anti-Nebraska” coalitions of voters emerged  Slavery  Sale of liquor 6 310 8 The Free Labor Ideology  Republican Party—a coalition of antislavery, Democrats, northern Whigs, Free Soilers, and Know-Nothings opposed to the further expansion of slavery o Glorified North as home of progress, opportunity, and freedom  Slavery v. free labor o North offered each laborer the opportunity to move up to status of land-owning farmer or independent craftsman  Thus, achieving economic independence essential to freedom o Slavery gave rise to social order consisting of degraded slaves poor whites with no hopes of advancement, and idle aristocrats o If slavery was to move west, northern free laborers would be barred and chances of social advancement would be diminished  Republicans insisted that slavery just be kept out of territories so free labor could flourish  Republicans were not abolitionists o Wanted to stop expansion of slavery, not end it where it existed “Bleeding Kansas” and the Election of 1856  “Bleeding Kansas”: Violence between pro- and antislavery settlers in the Kansas Territory, 1856 o 1854 and 1855, hundreds of proslavery Missourians crossed Kansas border and cast fraudulent ballots  President Franklin Pierce recognized legitimacy of proslavery legislature  Settlers from free states established rival government o Civil War broke out in Kansas  May 1856, proslavery mob burned free-soil buildings and pillaged private homes  SC representative Preston Brookes beat antislavery senator Charles Sumner of MA unconscious  1856 election: o Republican Party: Chose John C. Fremont as candidate  Drafted platform opposing slavery expansion o Democrats: Chose James Buchanan as candidate (was British minister and had no ties to Kansas- Nebraska Act)  Drafted platform on principle of popular sovereignty o Know-Nothing Party: Chose ex-resident Millard Fillmore as candidate  1856 election made it clear that section lines were back o One major party destroyed, another weakened, a new one had risen and devoted to North The Emergence of Lincoln What enabled Lincoln to emerge from the divisive party politics of the 1850s?  James Buchanan—staunch believer in Union o Committed himself to pacifying inflamed sectional emotions o Failed miserably The Dred Scott Decision  Dred Scott v. Sanford: 1857 US Supreme Court decision in which Chief Justice Roger B. Taney ruled that Congress could not prohibit slavery in the territories, on the grounds that such a prohibition would violate the 5 th Amendment rights of slaveholders, and that no black person could be a citizen of the US o 1830s Scott has accompanied his owner, Dr. John Emerson of Missouri, to  Illinois—slavery been prohibited by the Northwest Ordinance of 1787  Wisconsin—slavery prohibited by Missouri Compromise 7 310 8  o Scott sued for his freedom—residence in free states made him free o Supreme Court ruling:  Only whites could be citizens of the US  Regarding Wisconsin residency—Congress had no power under Constitution to bar slavery from territory in the first place  Missouri Compromise (repealed by the Kansas-Nebraska Act) + any measure interfering with southern rights to bring slaves into western territories = unconstitutional  In effect, declared the Republican platform of restricting slavery’s expansion unconstitutional  In effect, also undermined Douglas’ doctrine of popular sovereignty o If Congress lacked power to prohibit slavery in territory, how could a territorial legislature created by Congress do so? o President Buchanan—slavery existed in all territories by virtue of the Constitution  1858, his administration attempted to admit Kansas as a slave state under Lecompton Constitution  Drafted by pro-southern convention  Not submitted for popular vote o Violated popular sovereignty  Douglas formed alliance with Republicans to block attempt  Southern Democrats convinced they could not trust their party’s most popular northern leader (Douglas) Lincoln and Slavery  Douglas faced competition in reelection to Illinois Senate by Lincoln o Lincoln served 4 terms as a Whig in state legislature o Lincoln served 1 term in Congress in 1847-1849  Lincoln gave voice to central values of emerging Republican Party and northerners o Combined morals of abolitionists with respect for order and the Constitution of more conservative northerners o Expansion of slavery would extinguish “love of liberty” and America’s special mission to be a symbol of democracy for the entire world o Blacks were equal in their “natural right” to the fruits of their labor The Lincoln-Douglas Campaign  Lincoln: “A house divided against itself cannot stand” o Americans must choose between slavery and free  Lincoln-Douglas Debates: Series of senatorial campaign debates in 1858 focusing on the issue of slavery in the territories; held in Illinois between Republican Abraham Lincoln, who made a national reputation for himself, and incumbent Democratic senator Stephen A. Douglas, who managed to hold on to his seat o Clashing definitions of freedom  Lincoln—freedom = opposition to slavery  Believed that “inalienable rights” were to all men, not just those of European decent  However, he still opposed giving Illinois blacks right to vote or serve on juries and believed colonization was the best solution to slavery and racial issues  Douglas—essence of freedom lay in the local-government and individual self-determination  Argued that popular sovereignty was not incompatible with Dred Scot decision o Although territorial legislatures could no longer exclude slavery directly, all they needed to do was refrain from giving the institution legal protection o Illinois sharply divided 8 310 8   Southern Illinois, settled from South, voted Democratic  Northern Illinois, voted Republican o Douglas won by a thin margin John Brown at Harpers Ferry  Harpers Ferry, Virginia: Site of abolitionist John Brown’s failed raid on the federal arsenal, October 16-17, 1859; Brown became a martyr (person killed for their beliefs) to his cause after his capture and execution o During Civil War in Kansas, Brown traveled to territory o He and his followers murdered 5 proslavery settlers on Pottawatomie Creek o Next 2 years, raveled through North and Canada—raised money and followers for war against slavery o October 16, 1859, he and 21 men seized Harpers Ferry, VA o Surrounded by General Robert E. Lee o Placed on trial for treason against state of Virginia o Governor Henry A. Wise ordered him executed turning him into martyr of the North o Raid and execution further widened sectional lines The Rise of Southern Nationalism  Secessionists: Southerners who viewed their region’s prospects as more favorable outside the Union than with it o To remain in the Union meant to accept “bondage” to the North o An independent South could become the foundation of a slave empire  Bring in Caribbean, Cuba, other West Indian islands, Mexico and parts of Central America o Spoke of southward expansion o 1854, Pierre Soule of Louisiana (American ambassador for Spain) persuaded ministers to Brittan and France to join him in signing the Ostend Manifesto  Called on US to purchase or seize Cuba (slavery still legal) from Spain o William Walker led series of “filibustering” expeditions in Central America  Filibusters: act in obstructive manner to legislature, usually by talking at length to stall  By early 1860s, 7 states of Deep South demanded the Democratic platform pledge protect slavery in all territories not yet admitted to Union as states o Northern Democrats could not accept this o “Fire Eaters”: Southern Democratic Nationalists hoped to split Democratic party and the country and form an independent southern Confederacy The Election of 1860  Democratic Convention met in April 1860 o Douglas supporters had majority but not 2/3 necessary for presidential nomination o Convention readopted platform of popular sovereignty  7 deep south states walked out o Northern Democrats: nominated Douglas  Popular sovereignty o Southern Democrats: nominated John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky  Slavery must be protected in western territories o Democratic Party, the last great bond of national unity, shattered  Republican Convention gathered in Chicago o Chose Lincoln as their candidate o Denied validity of Dred Scott decision o Reaffirmed opposition of slavery’s expansion o Added economic planks designed to appeal to a broad array of northern voters  Free homesteads in West 9 310 8   Protective tariff  Government aid in building a transcontinental railroad  In effect, 2 political campaigns took place in 1860 o North—Lincoln and Douglas were combatants o South—Douglas, Breckinridge, and John Bell of TN  John Bell’s Party: hastily organized Constitutional Union Party, a haven for Unionist former Whigs —adopted platform with a single pledge: to preserve the Constitution as it is (with slavery) and the Union as it was (without sectional discord)  Lincoln won election The Impending Crisis What were the final steps on the road to secession? The Secession Movement  Southern response to Lincoln’s victory o Feared the beginning of a long Republican rule o Slaveowners feared Republican efforts to extend their party into the South  Appeal to non-slaveholders—don’t accept permanent minority status o Deep South political leaders stuck to region’s independence  7 states seceded from the Union o 1st, South Carolina—highest population of slaves and long history of political radicalism  12/20/1860—legislature unanimously voted to leave Union  Declaration of the Immediate Causes of Secession—slavery issue was center of this crisis  1st and longest complaint: free states inference with fugitive slave return The Secession Crisis  President Buchanan denied states right to secede but also denied federal government’s right to use force against it  Senator John J. Crittenden’s of Kentucky (slave state) offered most widely supported compromise with a series of unamendable constitutional amendments o Guaranteed future of slavery in states it already existed o Extend the Missouri Compromise to the Pacific Ocean, dividing between slavery and free soil all territories o South saw these as too little, too late. North saw these as the only way to prevent Civil War  Lincoln opposed plan—they beat them south fair and square and they now the administration is being told they will be broken up because they will not surrender to those, they just beat o If they surrender, government and the US is over  Before Lincoln assumed office on March 4, 1861, the 7-seceding states: o Formed the Confederate States of America o Chose Jefferson Davis of Mississippi as their president o Adopted a constitution with some changes  President would serve a single 6-year term  Cabinet members (as in Britain) could sit in Congress  Explicitly guaranteed slave property both in states and any new territory they acquired And the War Came  In Lincoln’s inaugural address he rejected right of secession but denied any intentions of interfering with slavery in the states 10 310 8  o Did not mention retaking forts, arsenals, and customs houses the Confederacy had seized o He DID promise to “hold” remaining federal property in the seceding states  1st month of Lincoln’s presidency he o Avoided any action that might drive more states from the Union o Encouraged southern Unionists to assert themselves within the Confederacy o Sought to quite chatter in North for forceful action against secession o That if war broke out, that it would be the South who fired the first shot, not the Union  Fort Sumter: First battle of the Civil War, in which the federal fort in Charleston (SC) Harbor was captured by the Confederates on April 14, 1861, after two days of shelling o Lincoln notified SC’s governor that he planned to replenish the garrison’s food supply (troops stationed in a fort or town to defend it) o Davis viewed troops presence as offensive o Davis ordered batteries to fire on fort o April 14, commander surrendered o April 15, Lincoln proclaimed insurrection (violent uprising against government) existed in South  Called for 75,000 troops to suppress uprising  Civil War has begun o Within weeks, Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas joined Confederacy 11 310 8