Chapter 4 Themes:

• Slavery divides the nation. • North and South enter a long and destructive civil

war that ends slavery. • African Americans briefly enjoy full civil rights, but

new laws discriminate against them.

The Union in Peril

Theme - Disagreements over slavery heighten regional tensions and leads to the breakup of the Union.

Section 1 – The Divisive Politics of Slavery

Distinct Regions• Geography & Climate• Religious & Cultural Differences• Slavery

Controversy over Slavery Worsens

• Southern plantation economy relies on enslaved labor• Industrialized North does not depend on slavery• South tries to spread slavery in West • North’s opposition to slavery intensifies, tries to stop its spread

Differences Between North & South

Statehood for California• Issue of slavery in territories led to heated debates in Congress• California applies for statehood as free state in 1849 • California Constitution forbids slavery; angers South• Under Missouri Compromise, part of California was below

Compromise line; arguably a slave state

Slavery in the Territories

Slavery in the Territories The Compromise of 1850

• Slave state Texas claims eastern half of New Mexico Territory• Southern states threaten secession—withdrawal from Union• Compromise of 1850 has provisions for both sides• “Appeasement” policies• California becomes free state; tougher fugitive slave law

enacted• Popular sovereignty, or vote, decides slavery issue in NM,

Utah• Took a great deal of time, political negotiations, to pass.

Protest, Resistance, and Violence Fugitive Slave Act

• Slaves denied trial by jury; helpers fined and imprisoned• Northerners defy Act, help send slaves to safety in Canada

The Underground Railroad• Abolitionists develop Underground Railroad—escape routes

from South• Conductors hide fugitives in secret tunnels and false quarters• Once they reach the north, they are out of control of their

owners. Many flee to Canada.• Harriet Tubman (former slave) is conductor on 19 trips to free

African Americans

Protest, Resistance, and Violence Uncle Tom’s Cabin

• Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe increases protests• Novel stressed not just

politics, but also the moral struggle of slavery.

Protest, Resistance, and Violence Tension in Kansas and Nebraska

• Kansas, Nebraska territories north of line for Missouri compromise, closed to slavery• Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854: Repeals Missouri compromise,

established popular sovereignty for remaining territories.

“Bleeding Kansas”• Proslavery settlers from Missouri cross border to vote illegally

in Kansas • Fraudulent victory leads bloody violence in Kansas

Violence in the Senate• Charles Sumner (Massachusetts Senator) verbally attacks

slavery, singles out Andrew Butler (proslavery Senator from South Carolina) – Speech “The Crime Against Kansas”• Preston S. Brooks, Butler’s nephew, assaults Sumner on Senate

floor with a cane.

Slavery Divides Whigs• Democrat Franklin Pierce elected president in 1852• Kansas-Nebraska Act completed downfall of Whigs• Northern, Southern Whigs split over slavery in territories• Know-Nothing party also split by region over slavery

New Political Parties Emerge

The Free-Soilers’ Voice• Free-Soilers fear slavery will drive down wages of white

workers, not all “abolitionists.”• Liberty party is also anti-slavery

The New Republican Party• Republican Party forms in 1854; oppose slavery in territories• Democrat James Buchanan elected president (1856);

secession averted• Republican candidate was John C. Fremont

The Dred Scott Decision• Dred Scott, a slave taken to free

territory by owner, claims freedom• Supreme Court denies appeal;

Scott has no legal rights, not a citizen• North angry; South reads ruling

as guaranteed extension of slavery

Conflicts Lead to Secession

Conflicts Lead to Secession Lincoln-Douglas Debates

• 1858 Senate race between Senator Stephen Douglas (Democrat) and Abraham Lincoln (Repubican) • Lincoln is underdog – challenges Douglas to a debate

• Douglas wants popular sovereignty to decide if state is free or slave• Lincoln considers slavery

immoral; wants constitutional amendment• Douglas wins debate, but

his position creates divisiveness amongst Democrats.

Harper’s Ferry• John Brown leads group to arsenal to start slave uprising

(1859)• Troops put down rebellion; Brown is tried, executed

Conflicts Lead to Secession

Lincoln Is Elected President• 1860, Lincoln beats 3 candidates, wins no southern electoral

votes• Democrats are split over slavery issue

Southern Secession• 7 states secede after Lincoln’s victory; form Confederacy in

1861: South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas. (4 more join confederacy later)• Former senator Jefferson Davis elected president of

Confederacy• Will the north allow succession without a fight?