Antebellum ExpansionAntebellum Expansion

Unit IVAUnit IVA

AP United States HistoryAP United States History

Fundamental Questions

►Was the onset/cause of the Civil War solely on the issue of slavery or was it a series of circumstances?

►What is the historical basis and precedence of the sectional conflict between the North and South?

Democracy in America (1840)

► Frenchman Alexis de Tocqueville originally set to examine prison systems in U.S.

►Thesis: the success of republicanism/representative democracy in U.S. and America preserving the balance between liberty and equality Individualism

►Equal opportunity broke old traditions of social hierarchy Lead to development of new “aristocracy” based

on industry►Religion most significant political institution

to preserve democratic principles

Second Party System (1828-1854)

► National political campaigns and spoils system galvanize political parties

► Democrats: states’ rights laissez-faire and free trade Expansionism Pro-slavery equal opportunity South and West working class Andrew Jackson, Martin van Buren,

James K. Polk► Whigs:

American System strong federal government Mixed on slavery social conservatives New England, Northerners upper and middle class

professionals Henry Clay

► Rise of Third Parties► Anti-Masonic Party:

issue party concerned about Freemasons

promoted economic nationalism and social conservatism

introduced party conventions

► Liberty Party: abolitionist party

► Free Soil Party: Against expansion of

slavery in new territories

Election of 1840► Democrat

Martin Van Buren (NY) suffers from poor economy

► Whigs nominate General William Henry Harrison

► Harrison dies a month later

► Tyler assumes office and pursues Democrat policies

Manifest DestinyManifest Destiny

►Away, away with these cobweb tissues Away, away with these cobweb tissues of the rights of discovery, exploration, of the rights of discovery, exploration, settlement,… [The American claim] is settlement,… [The American claim] is by the right of our by the right of our manifest destinymanifest destiny to overspread and to possess the whole to overspread and to possess the whole of the continent which Providence has of the continent which Providence has given us for the development of the given us for the development of the great experiment of liberty… - John L. great experiment of liberty… - John L. Sullivan, Sullivan, Democratic ReviewDemocratic Review, 1845, 1845

American Progress

Justification for Manifest Destiny

►Empire of Liberty►Safeguard and expand the agricultural

character of the American (yeoman farmer) Misery of industrialization and urbanization

►Ulterior motive or smoke screen for the expansion of slavery Annexation of Texas

►Providence - God’s will►Economical expansion

Feed the eastern industries Preserve trade markets for farmers Asian markets

►Expansion of “civilization”

Efficiency of Manifest Destiny► Infrastructure

Telegraph and communication

Canals and roads Railroads

►Trails Oregon Trail Santa Fe Trail Spanish Trail Mormon Trail

Texas► American settlement

Fueled by Manifest Destiny Encouraged by Mexican

government► empresarios

► Texas Revolution (1836) Mexico, Texas, and slavery Santa Anna’s policies The Alamo (Feb-Mar 1836) Sam Houston and Battle of

San Jacinto (Apr 21, 1836)► Annexation of Texas by U.S.

North opposes and South desires

Major campaign issue in 1844 Polk persuades joint resolution

and to deal with Mexican reaction to annexation

Expansion and Possible Wars

►Webster-Ashburton Treaty (1842) Boundary dispute settled with Britain regarding

British Canada and Maine, also Minnesota area U.S. wins land rich in iron ore deposits

►Oregon Dispute between U.S. and Britain “54’ 40 OR FIGHT!” Treaty established border at 49th parallel (1846)

►Texas Nueces River or Rio Grande?

Election of 1844

► Democrats nominate James K. Polk over Tyler Tyler could split the

party Expansion platform

► Texas, Oregon

► Whigs nominate Henry Clay

► Liberty Party may have spoiled election for Whigs

Mexican-American War (1846-1848)

► Thornton Affair (4/24/1846) and declaration of war

► War Plan and Execution John Fremont in California Stephen Kearny in New

Mexico Zachary Taylor in Texas Winfield Scott in Veracruz

and Mexico City

► Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848) Rio Grande as Texas border Mexican Cession (California

and New Mexico)► $15 million and assumption

of claims against Mexico

Mexican Cession

Mexican-American War and Sectionalism

►Whigs oppose war and treaty as attempt to expand slavery; Democrats want even more territory

►Wilmot Proviso (1846) Texas as slave state and Mexican Cession

lands as free Passed House, but died in Senate

Election of 1848► Whigs nominate

war hero Zachary Taylor Slaveowner and

vague on slave issues

► Democrats nominate Lewis Cass Split over slavery

► Free Soil Party nominates Martin van Buren Splits Democrats

► Millard Fillmore assumes office after Taylor dies in 1850 Will be the last Whig

president

Maintaining the Balance and Peace

► In 1812, there were 9 free states and 9 slave states►Afterwards, the admission of states became more

paired up in order to preserve the balance Missouri and Maine in 1820 Texas (1845) and Wisconsin (1848)

►Gag Rule House of Representatives institutes a prohibition of

discussing and debating slavery in late 1830s and early 1840s

►With the admission of California in 1850, the balance continued to favor the free states until the Civil War By 1859, there would be 19 free states and 15 slave

states

California Gold Rush► January 24, 1848 at Sutter’s Mill in

northern California President Polk confirmed gold in Dec.

1848► Discovery of gold led to massive

influx of settlers and immigrants Forty-Niners Mostly came by sea since trails were

dangerous San Francisco

► Before gold… 5,000 in 1848; after gold… 25,000 in 1850

► Gold rush led to quick statehood of California in 1850 despite being acquired in 1848

Compromise of 1850► Henry Clay’s brainchild

Admit California as free state Mexican Cession into Utah Territory and New Mexico

Territory; decide slavery by popular sovereignty Disputed territory between Texas and New Mexico and assume

$10 million Texas debt Reinforced Fugitive Slave Law - supported by Daniel

Webster Slave trade abolished in D.C.

► Stephen A. Douglas’s (D) Efforts Vote and pass each provision separately

► Seen as an overall political victory for union and both political parties

► Calhoun and some Southern states oppose “I trust we shall persist in our resistance [to the admission of

California] until the restoration of all our rights, or disunion, one or the other is the consequence. We have borne the wrongs and insults of the North long enough.” - John C. Calhoun

Compromise of 1850

Fugitive Slave Law► Enforcement of capturing

and returning escaped slaves Hunted down recent and

earlier fugitives

► Right to trial by jury denied► Special Commission

$10 for those finding for slaveholder

$5 for those finding for fugitive

► Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe Fueled anti-slavery sentiment

in the North

Sectionalism and Expansion► Ostend Manifesto (1852)

Secret negotiation to purchase Cuba from Spain

Failed due to public awareness and sectional conflict►Northerners viewed it as

southern attempt to expand slavery

► Gadsden Purchase (1853) $10 million for land to build

railroad Debate over slavery slowed

negotiations and showed how slavery gripped the politics and nation

Result of Manifest Destiny

Slavery and Literature

► Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe Moral and emotional

argument against slavery► Impending Crisis of the

South by Hinton Helper (1857) Empirical analysis of

economic impact of slavery on the South

► Sociology for the South (1854) by George Fitzhugh Capitalism and liberalism

virtually enslaved the lower classes

Slavery not only for black but also poor whites

► Cannibals All! (1857) by George Fitzhugh Southern slaves lived

more productive and healthier lives than Northern wage workers

Underground Railroad► Established as a

network of stations to help slaves escape into the North or Canada Fugitive Slave Law

forced escaped slaves to venture for Canada

► Mostly run by free blacks and fugitive slaves Harriet Tubman and

Box Brown► Abolitionists and

white supporters Few white families in

South assisted Slave catchers

knowledge

Election of 1852

► Democrats nominate Franklin Pierce Compromise

choice “dark horse”

candidate “Doughface”

► Whigs nominate Winfield Scott Conscience

Whigs Cotton Whigs

The Death of Compromising?► The Compromise of

1850 was the last major debate of the Great Triumvirate

► The Great Triumvirate was no more by 1852 John C. Calhoun died in

1850 Henry Clay and Daniel

Webster died in 1852►Stephen Douglas,

William Seward, Jefferson Davis become the next generation of political leaders in Congress

Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)

►Stephen Douglas’s attempt to build a transcontinental railroad in central U.S. out of Chicago needed Southern support

►Kansas-Nebraska Act Separate Nebraska Territory into Nebraska and

Kansas Each territory voted for slavery based on popular

sovereignty► Legacy

Douglas won his railroad and Southern support Dissolved the Missouri Compromise’s 36’ 30 line Signaled end of the Whig Party Led to rise of the Republican Party

End of Second Party System

►Whigs split among northern and southern factions

►Democrats dominated government►Social and political tensions led to

third parties Know Nothing Party Free Soil Party Republican Party

The Republican Party► Founded in 1854 in Wisconsin as reaction to

Kansas-Nebraska Act and Fugitive Slave Law►Coalition of Free Soil and anti-slavery Whigs

and Democrats Abolitionists found indirect support in Republicans

►Members mostly included northern and western moderates

►Platform: Increasingly against expansion of slavery Protective tariffs Homestead Act/sale of federal lands Funding for transcontinental railroad

Election of 1856► Democrats

nominate Pennsylvanian James Buchanan as safe bet “Doughface”

► Republicans have strong showing for sectional party Nominate John

Fremont► Attested to

growing sectionalism and conflict between North and South

Bleeding Kansas (1854-1861)

► Kansas Territory settled by two groups: anti-slavery Midwesterners and pro-slavery settlers from Missouri

► Establishment of different types of governments led to further fighting and deaths

► President Pierce and the federal government did little to suppress the violence

Brooks-Sumner IncidentMay 22, 1856

► Senator Charles Sumner (MA) criticized administration and other Senators for Bleeding Kansas, Slave Power ‘Crime Against Kansas’

Speech► Rep. Preston Brooks

(SC) defends his uncle by caning Sumner

► Northern politicians ask for censure while Southerners applaud Brooks

Lecompton Constitution (1857-1858)

► Kansas legislature attempts to draft constitution for U.S. admission

► Bitter and embarrassing fight to determine free state or slave state status

► President Buchanan pushes pro-slavery Lecompton Constitution to Congress Despite Kansas vote to not

enter as a slave state► Legacy

Republicans viewed it as another conspiracy of pro-slavery forces and Democrats/doughfaces

Douglas’s opposition and Buchanan’s efforts split the Democrats

Scott v. Sandford (1857)Dred Scott Decision

► No citizenship for blacks► Slaves as property► Missouri Compromise is

unconstitutional► “[Blacks] had for more than a

century before been regarded as beings of an inferior order, and altogether unfit to associate with the white race, either in social or political relations, and so far unfit that they had no rights which the white man was bound to respect.” – Chief Justice Roger Taney

Panic of 1857►Causes

Decline in European purchase of agricultural goods

Decline in grain prices Ohio Life Insurance and Trust Co.

fails Overspeculation and railroad

company failures Dred Scott Decision

►Northern banking and industries, Great Lakes region hit hard while Southern cotton farming not much affected Senator James Hammond (D-SC) –

“Cotton is King Speech”►Mudsill Theory

Lincoln-Douglas Debates (1858)► “A house divided against

itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free.” – Abraham Lincoln

► Douglas stated Lincoln’s moral position against slavery denotes racial equality

► Freeport Doctrine Douglas affirms popular

sovereignty in wake of Dred Scott if voters and legislatures refuse to enact slave codes

Traps Douglas between choosing affirmation of Supreme Court decision to protect slavery and popular sovereignty

► Douglas elected to U.S. Senate for Illinois

John Brown and Harper’s Ferry

► John Brown was a radical abolitionist

► Famous/Infamous for exploits in Bleeding Kansas

► Attempts to lead a slave revolt by raiding federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry (1859)

► Federal troops lay siege and capture Brown who is executed by Virginia government

► Northerners condemn violence but honestly regret failure; Southerners feared insurrection from slaves and the North

► "I, John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away but with blood. I had, as I now think, vainly flattered myself that without very much bloodshed it might be done."

Election of 1860► Democrats fracture

Douglas secures nomination from moderates

Breckenridge selected by Southern Democrats

► Republicans solid under Lincoln Tariffs, infrastructure, no

expansion of slavery► Crittenden Compromise

Slavery legal south of 36’ 30; fails

► Electoral victory by Lincoln leads to secession South Carolina secedes in

December 1860 ► Confederate States of

America Established February 8,

1861 Will include South

Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, [FORT SUMTER], Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina

Union vs. Confederacy

Sectionalist PresidentsWilliam Henry Harrison - Whig

(1841)► War hero of Battle of Tippecanoe► Whigs portray him as a common man

Log Cabin and Hard Cider Tippecanoe and Tyler Too! Really came from a wealthy, slave-

owning family from Virginia

► Inaugural Address Cold and wet day Wanted to prove he was strong like

Jackson despite his critics Walked entire route and gave two hour

speech without hat or overcoat

► Death Contracts pneumonia and dies a month

later

Sectionalist PresidentsJohn Tyler - Whig

(1841-1845)► Born from Virginia

planter aristocracy► U.S. Senator

Supported Jackson’s war on the Bank, but supported South Carolina in Nullification Crisis

► Assumes presidency after Harrison’s death “His Accidency” and “His

Ascendency”► Fights against own Whig

party policies Cabinet resigns in protest Whig Party disavows him

Sectionalist PresidentsJames K. Polk - Democrat

(1845-1849)►Darkhorse candidate►Ardent expansionist

Believed in Manifest Destiny

Oregon - “54 40 or Fight!” Texas annexation Mexican-American War

►Mexican Cession

► Legacy Polk’s land acquisitions

stirred debate on slavery and disrupted the balance of free and slave states

Sectionalist PresidentsZachary Taylor - Whig

(1849-1850)► War hero of Mexican-

American War► Political novice and criticized

over intellect► Views on Slavery

Slaveowner Defender of South’s right to

slavery► But opposed to idea of

secession Against expansion of slavery in

new territories Disagreed with Compromise of

1850

► Died after a year in office

Sectionalist PresidentsMillard Fillmore - Whig

(1850-1853)► Assumes the presidency

after Taylor’s death► Enthusiastically signs

Compromise of 1850 Fugitive Slave Law bitterly

opposed by North Reluctantly supported by

Southerners

► Effect on Whig Party Policies lead to party

fracture and eventual dissolution►Conscience Whigs►Cotton Whigs

Sectionalist PresidentsFranklin Pierce - Democrat

(1853-1857)► Jackson Democrat from New

Hampshire► Ardent expansionist and

submissive to pro-slavery forces Supported Compromise of 1850 Signed the Kansas-Nebraska Act

► Supported pro-slavery Kansas settlers

► Barely addressed violence in Bleeding Kansas

Signed the Gadsden Purchase Ostend Manifesto - Cuba William Walker and Nicaragua

► Endorsed Walker’s filibuster efforts

Sectionalist PresidentsJames Buchanan - Democrat

(1857-1861)►Democrat from

Pennsylvania►Considered slavery evil,

but unwilling to challenge its legitimacy Supported Kansas-

Nebraska Act and Dred Scott decision

►Weak against growing secessionist threat and movement

Free and Slave States (1789-Free and Slave States (1789-1861)1861)