Chapter 18 & A Chunk of Chapter 19 Road to the Civil War Chapter 18 & A Chunk of Chapter 19

Popular Sovereignty Principle that the people of a territory should have the right to determine if that territory would have slaves or not Fits with democratic principles Might spread slavery

Slavery in 1850 Texas wants more land President Taylor owns slaves Cotton is highly profitable The Underground Railroad

Compromise of 1850 Preserves the Union Fugitive Slave Law in effect California a free state Texas gives up land claims, gets cash Rest of Mexican Cession territory open to popular sovereignty

Election of 1852

Pierce’s Presidency Sought to aggressively expand the United States, especially slave-holding areas Gadsden Purchase, Cuba/Ostend Manifesto Opened Japan William Walker in Nicaragua

Gadsden Purchase

Kansas-Nebraska Act Allowed for Popular Sovereignty in Kansas & Nebraska Territories Threw Compromise of 1820 out the window That land had already been set aside as free Stephen Douglas thought he was acting on behalf of Americans

The Tragedy of Douglas By the time we get to 1854, Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, and John C. Calhoun are all dead Those three Senatorial Giants basically held the country together Douglas was no Clay

Uncle Tom’s Cabin “The book that started the Civil War” Written by Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852 Novel about the cruelty of slavery Widely read in the North; turned public opinion against slavery