Download - Sectional Conflict Intensifies (1848- 1860) 10 Events Leading to the Civil War Chapter 10
Sectional Conflict Intensifies (1848-1860)
10 Events Leading to the Civil WarChapter 10
Slavery and the Westward Expansion
Section 1
1. Popular Sovereignty
• Senator Lewis Cass of Michigan proposed the idea of popular sovereignty – allow the people in the territory/state to decide if it would be free or slave– Many people felt this would be a democratic way
of deciding on the issue
• Abolitionists will argue that it denied African Americans their right to be free – choice.
2. Compromise of 1850
• Discovery of gold in CA – Settlers called 49ners– CA applied for statehood (skipped territorial status
because of the number of settlers in CA)– CA wanted to be a free state, but it would make the
South a minority in the Senate & feared slavery & states’ rights would be limited.
• Southern response to the possible upset of the balance of power = Secession– Withdrawing from the Union– Considered an act of treason
2. Compromise of 1850
• Henry Clay = “Great Compromiser”– Solved the MO issue; proposed 8 resolutions to
solve the new crisis—the expansion of slavery– He needed support of John C. Calhoun – Calhoun
believed the Northern hatred of slavery threatened to destroy the South
– South needed to defend 2 rights: (1) return of fugitive slaves, (2) guarantee balance of power
– Honorable solution = secession
2. Compromise of 1850
• President Taylor – unsupportive of the compromise resolutions of Clay– Taylor dies, Fillmore takes over – he is supportive of
the resolutions
• Senator Stephen Douglas from Illinois takes on the fight of the aging Clay & divides the resolutions into smaller parts so they are passed
• Compromise of 1850 will temporarily quell the increasing tensions
Mounting Violence
Section 2
3. Uncle Tom’s Cabin
• Published in 1852; written by Harriet Beecher Stowe– Sold 300,000 copies– Uncle Tom = runaway slave; Simon Legree = slaveholder– The book will change the North’s view of African
Americans and slavery• Book persuaded those not moved by rational arguments• Book was banned in the South – Stowe accused of writing
falsehoods & distortions
4. Fugitive Slave Act
• Sworn statement of a white person needed to take the “runaway” back to the South
• African Americans did not have the right to a trial or to testify in court
• Commissioners - awarded $10.00 for siding with the slave holder & $5.00 if the African America was free
• Federal marshals could deputize citizens & force them to look for escaped slaves– Northerners refused to help, but were threatened to be
sent to jail
5. Underground Railroad & Harriet Tubman
• Fugitive Slave Act punished those who helped runaway slaves by fining them $$, but Northerners & African Americans still operated the Underground Railroad– Informal but organized– Members called conductors & gave runaway slaves
food, shelter, and money to start a new life in the North– Harriet Tubman, most famous conductor– The RR will deepen the South’s mistrust of the North
Crisis Deepens
Section 3
6. Kansas-Nebraska Act
• Kansas & Nebraska – first experiment with popular sovereignty
• Nebraska is one large territory & Stephen Douglas wanted to organize it.– In order for popular sovereignty to work, the
Missouri Compromise would need to be repealed so that Nebraska could be a slave state.
– Douglas knew if a repeal was made, it would divide the country, but he still wanted to open the Nebraska Territory.
6. Kansas-Nebraska Act
• Douglas misjudged the anti-slavery feelings in the North
• Proposed to divide the territory into 2 territories– North – Nebraska – Free (in theory)– South – Kansas – Slave (in theory)
• Kansas-Nebraska Act passed in May 1856– Kansas – fighting for the extension of slavery– “Bleeding Kansas” – min-Civil War• Pro & Anti Slavery; temporary settlers to vote• 200 died, $2 million of property destroyed
7. Dred Scott Decision
• President James Buchannan takes office in 1857– Suggests that Supreme Court should decide on the issue
of slavery in the territories• South thought it would favor slavery – majority of justices
from South• Dred Scott v. Sandford
• Dred Scott was a slave in Missouri – his master took him to a free state & abolitionists argued he should sue for his freedom– Case went to the Supreme Court, Chief Justice Rodger B.
Taney presided
7. Dred Scott Decision
• The Supreme Court ruled that African Americans were not citizens & did not have the right to sue in court
• Supreme Court ruled that the federal government could not prohibit slavery in the territories – Supported by the South, condemned by the North
The Union Dissolves
Section 4
8. John Brown’s Raid
• John Brown – abolitionist who wanted to “break the jaws of the wicked” – the slaveholders
• Harper’s Ferry, Virginia: he planed to take over an arsenal & start an insurrection– Brown & 18 followers, but Marines from Washington,
DC stopped Brown & he was captured 36 hours later• Sentenced to death• Became a martyr for abolitionist cause – strengthened
cause
9. Lincoln’s Election to the Presidency
• Election of 1860– Lincoln – Republican, Douglas – Northern
Democrats, Bell – Constitutional Union, Breckinridge – Southern Democrat
• South upset with raid at Harper’s Ferry – saw election of 1860 as a turning point – North would try to arm slaves & start a rebellion
• Lincoln – abolitionist – victory for the North – Southerners threatened & secession only option
10. Session & the CSA
• South Carolina becomes the first state to secede from the Union in 1860
• By Feb 1861, six other states secede:– Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Texas,
and Louisiana• Federal government tries to compromise, but all
attempts fail.
• Delegates meet in Montgomery, AL – new nation – Confederate States of America
10. Session & CSA
• The CSA Created a constitution that guaranteed slavery
• First president of the CSA – Jefferson Davis– Only serves 6-year term
• Lincoln decides to re-supply Ft. Sumter – located near Charleston, SC– Jefferson did not want this to happen because the fort
was in a Confederate state– He knew if he fired on the supply ship it would start a
war
Fort Sumter
• Davis asked Lincoln to turn over Ft. Sumter to the Confederacy & not re-supply the ft. – “NO”
• Confederates began firing on the fort – Major Robert Anderson defended the fort– Confederates fired for 33 hours, until Anderson
surrendered– The Civil War begins!
Seccession
• Upper South secedes – Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina
• Capitol of the CSA is moved to Richmond, Viriginia