Chapter 20:Drifting Toward Disunion
AP US Unit 6
Authors Attack Slavery
You can read either of these for extra credit!
HarrietBeecher
Stowe(1811 – 1896)
So this is the lady who started the Civil War. -- Abraham Lincoln
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
1852
Sold 300,000 copies inthe first year.
2 million in a decade!
The Impending Crisis of the South (1857)
• Written by Hinton R. Helper• Republished by the anti-slavery movement
in 1859 when it gained a following• Said slavery hurt the economy of the South,
especially the poor, non-slaveholding whites
Bleeding Kansas
John Brown Part 1
Kansas• Both Northern and Southern groups financed the
immigration of pro or anti slavery people to Kansas– The South had assumed that Nebraska would be free
and Kansas slave and was angry when they found out that anti-slavery voters were moving into Kansas
• On election day in 1855, “border ruffians” from Missouri crossed the line to vote in Kansas, swinging the vote pro-slavery
• The abolitionists cried fraud and declared their own government…now Kansas had two
John Brown• Abolitionist and slightly crazy
• Had at least 20 kids• Led the attack on
Pottawatomie Creek in May 1856– In response to the
burning of Lawrence by pro-slavery forces
• Became known for his violence against slavery
John Brown and Bleeding Kansas
The Lecompton Constitution• Pro-slave forces had enough of a majority for a
vote on the constitution– Vote for the constitution with or without slavery– Even if voted for without, there was still a provision to
protect slavery that was already there
• Anti-slave forces boycotted the polls and the constitution passed with slavery
• When the LC Constitution went before Congress, Douglas refused to have this semi-popular sovereignty and championed a resolution to have the ENTIRE constitution put to a vote– It failed and Kansas remained a territory until 1861
“The Crime Against Kansas”
Senator Charles Sumner(R-MA)
Congressman Preston Brooks
(D-SC)
In response to attacks against his cousin,
Senator Andrew Butler (D-SC)
Bleeding Kansas
• Death Runs Riot from Ken Burns The West
1856 Election
1856 Presidential Election1856 Presidential Election
James Buchanan John C. Frémont Millard Fillmore Democrat Republican Whig / American• Buchanan beat Pierce for the Dem nomination because he was Kansasless• Fremont was a soldier and explorer: Free speech, free press, free soil, free men,
Fremont!• Fillmore got the remnants of the Whigs and the anti-immigrant explosion of
1854-1856
1856Election Results
Birth of the Republican Party Northern Whigs
Northern Democrats
Free-Soilers
Know-Nothings
Other miscellaneous opponents of the Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Dred Scott Decision
Dred Scott v. Sanford, 1857•Dred Scott lived for
5 years with his master in Illinois and Wisconsin Territory – free territory•He sued for his
freedom with the backing of abolitionists
Dred Scott v. Sanford, 1857• Chief Justice Taney (from
Maryland) declared– Because a slave was
property, they could be taken anywhere in the US and be kept as a slave• 5th Amendment protected
property rights
– Slaves were also not citizens and therefore could not sue in court
Effects of Dred Scott
• Compromise of 1820 and any bans on slavery had been unconstitutional all along
• Republicans and abolitionists felt that this decision was made solely because the majority of the court was from the South
The South Feels Good About Itself
The Panic of 1857• Causes:– Inflation• Gold• Wheat production
– Overspeculation in Western Land• Again
• Effects:– Panic, closing of businesses, unemployment– North suffered more than the South• South felt that this proved that cotton and the southern
economy was king– Pro-homestead feelings in the North• Homestead Act passed in 1860 – but vetoed by Buchanan,
passed by Lincoln in 1862– Tariff of 1857 and its lower rates was attacked by
Republicans
The Lincoln Douglas Debates
The Lincoln-Douglas Debates, 1858
A House divided against itself, cannot stand
Illinois Senate Debates
PopularSovereignty?
Stephen Douglas and the Freeport Doctrine• Made during the debates• Douglas said that if a
community in a territory didn’t want slavery, they should elect sheriffs who wouldn’t allow it
• His solution to Dred Scott• Fractured the Democratic
Party into North and South
John Brown is Back! Harper’s Ferry
Also known as why you should tell other people if you want them to
join your revolution…
John Brown and Harper’s Ferry
• John Brown, with 20 followers, decided to stage a slave rebellion in Virginia in October, 1859– Would seize an arsenal to
arm the slaves– Didn’t advertise very well
• Was trapped inside the arsenal and captured by the US Marines under Lt. Colonel Robert E. Lee
• Was tried and convicted of treason
John Brown and Harpers Ferry• John Brown was hanged on
December 2, 1859• Instead of fading into oblivion:– He became a martyr for
abolitionists with violent leanings
– He became the stereotype of Northerners that southerners feared
• Brown caused the southern militia system to be reinvigorated – further assisting in making the South comfortable for secession
Political Changes
Democratic Party in 1860
• Southern democrats broke off and nominated John C. Breckinridge (KY) with a platform of slavery in the territories and the annexation of Cuba
• Northern democrats nominated Stephen Douglas (IL) with a platform of popular sovereignty and the enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act
The Constitutional Union Party in 1860
• The Constitutional Union Party (Do Nothing or Old Gentleman’s Party) nominated John Bell (TN) with a platform of “The Union, The Constitution, and the Enforcement of Laws”
The Republican Party in 1860• The Republican Party nominated Abraham
Lincoln (IL). Seward was best known but had made too many inflammatory speeches. Platform appealed to all non-slavery groups:
Group Appealing Part of Platform
Free Soilers No Slavery in Territories
Northern Manufacturers Protective Tariff
Immigrants No abridgement of rights
Northwest Transcontinental Railroad
West Internal improvements from the feds
Farmers Free Homesteads
1860 Election Results
The Election of 1860• Lincoln won with a majority of electoral votes
but only 40% of the popular votes. • He wasn’t even on the ballot in 10 southern
states.• Even though this angered the South they still
controlled 4/5 of the Supreme Court and the Republicans did not control Congress.
• Also the slave states had the numbers to override any amendment and an amendment was necessary to outlaw slavery
Secession
South Carolina finally snapped
Secession• South Carolina, true to its word, seceded within 4
days of Lincoln’s election. • Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana,
and Texas joined within 6 weeks. • 4 more states would join after Sumter.• The first 7 would meet in Montgomery, Alabama
in February 1861 to establish the Confederate States of America– Jefferson Davis became the president of the
Confederacy
Secession!: SC left on Dec. 20,1860
Southern Reasoning for Secession
• Tired of being attacked– Underground Railroad, John Brown– Abolitionists and Free Soilers
• Felt unrepresented politically when Lincoln got elected
• Thought North wouldn’t attack– Especially because the South thought that the
North was too dependent on cotton to attack
• Felt that they were the second American Revolution
Secessionitis
Last Minute Ideas to Prevent a War
Buchanan’s Plan…or Not• President Buchanan (until March 4, 1861)
maintained a “wait and see” policy. • Neither Constitution nor precedent helped him
decide what to do and he thought the small army was more needed in the West.
• Also, he thought that not going to blows meant the possibility of reconciliation.
• It worked out better for the North when the South attacked first, because prior to that many Northerners didn’t want a war
The Crittenden Amendments (another of those things that didn’t pass but is still important)
• James Henry Crittenden (KY) came up with a plan: The Crittenden Amendments. – Under these, slavery in the territories would be
prohibited north of 36°30’ and allowed south of it. When they became states they could choose.
• Lincoln turned this down since he had been elected to keep slavery out of the territories and he thought it would force America’s expansionism to take over southern regions to make more territories.
That Last Page You Didn’t Read…
Historiography
Historiography• Nationalist School: late 19th C James Rhodes: all about slavery and
preserving the union• Progressives: early 20th C Charles and Mary Beard: inherent economic
differences – 2nd American Revolution moved power to the businesses and away from planters
• Post WWI: James Randall and Avery Craven unnecessary war (like WWI)• Neo-nationalist: Post WWII Allan Nevins and David Potter: irreconcilable
differences in morality, politics, culture, social values, and economy eroded the ties between the sections and set them on the path to war
• Paranoia: Foner and Genovese: each side saw their way of life being threatened
• Party Politics: Destruction of Whigs and breakdown of Jacksonian party system tore apart the last thing that was holding the country together
• Ethnocultural School: Michael Holt, Late 20th century: Breakdown of parties because before parties had agreed NOT to talk about slavery and had ended up agreeing on most other things. After that slavery was the only issues left