Topic 17 Coming of the Civil War

Who were the abolitionists and what did they believe?

While many people n the northern states did not like slavery and wanted to prevent its spread, only a minority wanted to eliminate it where it already existed. These activists were known as abolitionists, and most others considered them extremists who would lead the United States into a war. The Second Great Awakening boosted abolitionism

William Lloyd Garrison

Theodore Dwight Weld

American Anti-slavery Society

Frederick Douglass

While most abolitionists lobbied and protested, some actively sought to help slaves escape. They coordinated the so-called “Underground Railroad.”

The Underground Railroad revolved around secret “conductors” and established routes

Harriet Tubman

As the 1850s began, what did the two established political parties believe about the issue of slavery, and how did slavery affect the Second Political Party System?

Since most people in the South supported slavery and most in the North did not, both the Whigs and Democrats tried to avoid the issue initially. To take a strong stand was to risk losing a national constituency.

With abolitionism growing, some supported the American Colonization Society, which hoped to resettle blacks back to Africa

Liberia

In the North many people began to call for a prohibition against slavery in any new territories. This began to weaken the Whig Party, which was stronger in the North. Finally some Whigs split and formed a third party, the Free-Soil Party. Free-Soil Party

As the 1850s continued, the Free Soil Party began to adopt a platform broader than just slavery and incorporated much of the Whig economic agenda. They then called their party the Republican Party. This weakened the Whig Party further

Also weakening the Whig Party was an anti-immigrant third party known as the American Party, commonly called the Know-Nothing Party. Since most of the anti-immigrant sentiment was aimed at new Catholic arrivals, which tended to settle in the North, the Know-Nothing Party further weakened the Whig Party

As the Whig Party disintegrated and the Democratic Party tried to remain silent on the issue of slavery, many pro-slavery southerners took a more ardent stance for slavery. To allow slavery to extend westward, they insisted, was to end slavery everywhere. If slavery could not extend into the new territories as the new Republican party insisted, then the new states there would all be “free” and could vote out slavery everywhere, even where it already existed.

Southern Arguments in defense of slavery: Slavery in Bible Slaves weren’t ready for independence. They would be uncontrollable and hurt each other Slaves were better off than northern free white laborers Slaves supported Southern society, which was more refined and better (think chivalry) than cheap, dirty, anything-goes Northern society

To try to stave off the disintegration of the Democratic Party, Democratic Illinois Senator Stephen Douglas pushed the idea of Popular Sovereignty. This would let the people in the new territories themselves decide whether to have slavery or not

When, as we will see, Popular Sovereignty did not work, the Democratic Party was left as mostly a Southern party while the North became mostly Republican. The Second Political Party System had effectively devolved into two regional parties and the stage was set for a war between the two regions.

As the 1850s progressed, what attempts at compromise were made in regard to the issue of slavery and how and why did they fail?

As noted previously, the issue of slavery and the western territories had first arisen as early as 1820 with the Missouri Compromise. This kept the issue at bay until the United States won the Mexican American War in 1848 and gained all the Southwestern territories

David Wilmot proposed the Wilmot Proviso, prohibiting slavery in any of the new territories Southerners were outraged.

California could become a free state but in the other territories there would be popular sovereignty or no federal prohibition against slavery

The Compromise of 1850, the last of Henry Clay’s compromises, also prohibited slavery in the nation’s capital in exchange for a stronger fugitive slave law. It finally paid off Texas’ debt in exchange for Texas ceding some of its western land claims to New Mexico Territory.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

Pottawatomie Massacre

John Brown

“Bleeding Kansas”

In 1856, South Carolinian Congressman Preston Brooks attacked Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner after Sumner gave an anti-slavery speech.

Dred Scott

Roger Taney

Dred Scott Case

Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln-Douglas Debates

Harriet Beecher Stowe

Harper’s Ferry Virginia

John Brown

Firehouse where Brown was captured

John Brown’s hanging

Robert E. Lee

1860 Election Stephen Douglas (northern Democrats) JC Breckinridge (southern Democrats) Abraham Lincoln (Republicans)

South Carolina’s secession convention

Six deep South states then voted to join South Carolina and secede from the United States

They formed the Confederate States of America with its capital in Montgomery, Alabama

Fort Sumter

Fort Sumter after shelling

Fort Sumter today

After Ft. Sumter, Lincoln called for troops and the four upper South states seceded and joined the Confederacy. The capital was moved to Richmond, Virginia. Five states remained in the union allowing slavery.