The Road to War

Major Events leading to the American Civil War

Missouri Compromise (1820)

Missouri Compromise (1820)

Drafted by Henry Clay of KY

Missouri enters as a slave state

Maine enters as a free state

The # of free and slave states remains equal– thus, the # of Senators free and slave remain equal

Line drawn through Louisiana Territory at 36 latitude: slavery would be allowed in new states only below this line

Missouri Compromise (1820)

Compromise of 1850

The Missouri Compromise was successful for about 30 years

Recall: with the discovery of GOLD in California in the late 1840s that thousands of people rushed to CA in hopes of striking it rich

The population of California grew so rapidly that by 1850 it had applied to join the country as a state

Since the MO Compromise line was drawn only through the Louisiana Territory, the question became: would CA enter as a free or slave state? (either way, CA would upset the balance in the Senate)

Compromise of 1850

Recall: the U.S. had recently provoked Mexico into war and had won a significant amount of land with the Treaty of Guadalupe

Hidalgo to end the

Mexican American

War

Wilmot Proviso

David Wilmot wished to stop all slavery from existing in the new territory

Showed the growing sectionalism in the country

The country was divided over :

Slavery, tariffs, war, internal improvements, in general states rights

Popular Sovereignty

Many believed the population in the territory should make that decision

Established citizens knew that the decision about the spread of slavery could change the course of the country

Slavery was a huge issue

FREE -SOILERS

This political party was committed to stopping the spread of slavery into the new territories

Martin Van Buren was their first candidate to run for president in 1848

Whig candidate Zachary Taylor (war hero) won the election

Compromise of 1850

Like the MO Compromise, this compromise was drafted by Henry Clay of KY

California entered as a free state

The rest of the Mexican Cession land (NM and UT territories) would be open to slavery

The slave trade was ended in the nation’s capital (Washington, D.C.)– but slave owners there could keep their slaves

A stricter fugitive slave law was enacted– obligating Northerners to return runaway slaves to Southerners

Fugitive Slave Act A result of the 1850 Comp. Arguably most detrimental law enacted towards

blacks. Background: (reasons for law)

– Northern abolitionists (white and black) encouraged escapees to come North.

– Southern “slave catchers”– Nine Northern states created personal liberty laws;

laws that would not cooperate with federal recapture efforts.

– Southerners were enraged at Northerners – North = legal and personal rights denied– South = illegal infringement of property rights

During the Comp. of 1850, Southerners demanded strong federal law.

The Fugitive Slave Law – Dramatically increased power of

slave owners to catch escaped slaves

– Slave owners had support of federal authority

• Accused slaves were allowed a trial, but not to testify

– The law imposed federal penalties on those who…

• Assisted or protected escaped slaves

• Did not cooperate in their return

Compromise of 1850

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

In 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe (a northern abolitionist woman) published a novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Although fiction, the novel depicted the cruelties of slavery

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Stowe’s novel was widely popular in the North– and sparked outrage in the South

In 1862 (during the War) Stowe met President Lincoln who supposedly remarked that she “was the little lady who made this big war.”

Section 2

Trouble in Kansas

Election of 1852

Democrats: Franklin Pierce (agreed to support the Compromise of 1850)

Whig: Winfield Scott (war hero that was not sold on Compromise of 1850)

Franklin Pierce won

Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854) The Kansas-Nebraska

Act is an example of political “wheeling-and-dealing”

Illinois Senator Stephen Douglas supported building a railroad to connect the Eastern U.S. to the Pacific Ocean

He wanted the railroad to run from Chicago through the Louisiana Territory

Southerners wanted the railroad to originate in a Southern city and not Chicago

Douglas fashioned a deal: If the Southerners agreed to let the railroad run from Chicago then Douglas would help overturn the ban on slavery above the MO Compromise line

Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)

In 1854, Congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act

The remainder of the Louisiana Purchase land (all of it north of the MO Compromise line) would be divided into 2 territories: Kansas Territory and Nebraska Territory

The issue of slavery would be decided in both territories by popular sovereignty– the people in each territory would decide whether to be free or slave by voting on the issue

The KS-NE Act eliminated the MO Compromise line

Reaction to the Kansas-Nebraska Act: Opposition

Bleeding Kansas

Anti-slavery and pro-slavery people rushed to both Kansas and Nebraska so they could be counted in the vote

Violence broke out between the two factions

Bleeding Kansas In 1856, white

abolitionist (from New England) John Brown led a raid on a pro-slavery settlement in Kansas

In what became known as the Pottawatomie Creek Massacre, Brown and his sons murdered 5 pro-slavery men

Brown managed to evade capture and claimed he acted on the orders of God

Bleeding Congress

Blood was not only spilled in Kansas but on the floor of the Senate in Washington as well

The “Sumner-Brooks Affair” of 1856

What is this artist’s view of John Brown??

Section 3

Political Divisions

Republican Party

The Democrats and Whigs lost a considerable amount of support over the Kansas Nebraska bill

Whigs and Democrats in the north joined the Know-Nothing Party which fell apart after the 1854 election: Millard Fillmore

Democrats supported James Buchanan-quiet and non-confrontational

Republicans: John C. Fremont- anti slavery

The Dred Scott Case In 1857, the Supreme

Court ruled on the case involving a slave, Dred Scott, who had traveled to and lived in Illinois (free state) and Wisconsin (free territory)

Upon his master’s death, when he was transferred as property to his master’s widow, Scott sued in court for his freedom based on his having lived in free areas

The Supreme Court’s decision was a blow to abolitionists

The Court ruled that Scott was not a citizen– and neither was any African American (free or slave)

The Dred Scott Case

The Court further ruled that Scott was not free because he had traveled to free soil as property

Finally, the Court ruled that the MO Compromise ban on slavery was unconstitutional– Congress could not ban slavery in any territory

Lincoln Douglas Debates

Lincoln- Republican Douglas-Democrat Lincoln hoped to challenge the well-

known politician that stood for popular sovereignty

He was very impressive but not impressive enough, Douglas won the election for Illinois Senator and left Lincoln open to run for the presidency

Lincoln Quotes

I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the states where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so.

First Debate with Stephen Douglas in the Lincon-Douglas debates of the 1858 campaign for the US Senate, at Ottawa, Illinois

Those who deny freedom to others, deserve it not for themselves; and, under a just God, can not long retain it.

Letter to Henry L Pierce and others (6 April 1859)

Lincoln quotes

I am not, nor ever have been in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races. I am not nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will ever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality. ... And inasmuch as they cannot so live, while they do remain together there must be the position of superior and inferior, and I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race.

Fourth Lincoln-Douglas Debate (18 September 1858)

Freeport Doctrine

Douglas believes in popular sovereignty but the Dred Scott Decision found that land could not be FREE or SLAVE

Lincoln asked Douglas how he felt about this new enlightenment

Douglas replied that the people could enforce what laws they truly wanted

Section 4

Secession

Raid at Harper’s Ferry

Recall John Brown from the Pottawatomie Creek Massacre

Now in Virginia in 1859, Brown wanted to start a slave rebellion

He and a small group of men broke into the national arsenal at Harper’s Ferry to steal weapons to arm the slaves

U.S. Army troops under the leadership of Col. Robert E. Lee captured Brown and his men

Brown was convicted of treason and sentenced to death

1860 Election of Lincoln

4 candidates for President

Republican: Abraham Lincoln

Northern Democrat: Stephen Douglas

Southern Democrat: John C. Breckinridge (of KY)

Constitutional Union: John Bell

1860 Election of Lincoln Lincoln’s campaign

position on slavery: slavery could continue where it already existed BUT it could not expand into new states/territories

This position frightened Southerners

As a result of Lincoln’s election, Southern states begin to secede (break away from the U.S.)

SC is first, with 11 total states by 1861