By: Ms. Susan M. Pojer Horace Greeley HS Chappaqua, NY The 1850s: Road to Secession By: Ms. Susan M. Pojer Horace Greeley HS Chappaqua, NY

Problems of Sectional Balance in 1850 California statehood. Southern “fire-eaters” threatening secession. Underground RR & fugitive slave issues: Personal liberty laws Prigg v. Pennsylvania (1842)

Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811 – 1896) So this is the lady who started the Civil War. -- Abraham Lincoln

Uncle Tom’s Cabin 1852 Sold 300,000 copies in the first year. 2 million in a decade! South was Furious & banned this Awakened the evils of slavery

Uncle Tom’s Cabin, 1852

The Contest for Kansas 1855 election day hordes of Southerns from MO crossed into KS help make it a salve state Free Soilers hated this so set up own govt. in Topeka KS 2 Govt ‘s to choose from one illegal free govt in Topeka the other fraudulent (slavery in Shawnee KS In 1856 a group of Pro-Slavery rednecks shot up and burnt part of Lawrence KS & started violence

Border “Ruffians” (pro-slavery Missourians) “Bleeding Kansas” Border “Ruffians” (pro-slavery Missourians)

John Brown: Madman, Hero or Martyr? Mural in the Kansas Capitol building by John Steuart Curry (20c)

John Brown Pottawatomie Creel Massacre May 1856 Chopped up & killed 5 pro-slaveryites The South was outraged by such violence The North shocked that Brown went so far & very upset with his actions

1857 KS wants to apply for statehood KS erupted into off and on violence until it merged w/ the Civil War in 1861 1857 KS wants to apply for statehood Pro-Slaveryites proposed the “Lecompton Constitution” – only allowed to vote on a constitution w/ or w/o slavery Also it protected owners who already had slaves) hmmm Angry Free Soilers were upset and did not vote President James Buchanan (1856) supported this Constitution = this will doom the democratic party

Douglas was furious with this fraudulent vote and demanded a fair revote Wanted true popular sovereignty & threw away his southern support

“The Crime Against Kansas” His speech sparked violence in Congress when he was beat almost to death by Brooks! Sen. Charles Sumner (R-MA) Congr. Preston Brooks (D-SC)

Birth of the Republican Party, 1854 Northern Whigs. Northern Democrats. Free-Soilers. Know-Nothings. Other miscellaneous opponents of the Kansas-Nebraska Act.

1856 Presidential Election √ James Buchanan John C. Frémont Millard Fillmore Democrat Republican Whig

1856 Election Results

Dred Scott v. Sanford, 1857 A slave who’s master took him North to free territories After his master’s death he sued for his freedom from his new master in won in a MO Court BUT . . His new master appealed to the Supreme Court & won

Dred Scott v. Stanford Justice Roger B. Taney made the ruling stating: No Slave could be a citizen Congress is not allowed to outlaw slavery b/c that would go a/g 5th amendment (congress is not allowed to take Property away from citizens w/o due process) The court then said that the MO compromise had been unconstitutional all along

North’s Reaction Inflamed millions of abolitionists even those who did not care before The South clearly had advantages by 1857: Supreme Court President Constitution on its side

What caused the Panic of 1857?? What were its affects on the nation? CA Gold Rush caused Inflation Over-Growth of Grain Over Speculation in Lands & Railroads The North was hard hit South Rode it out with flying colors Higher tariff rate

The Lincoln-Douglas (Illinois Senate) Debates, 1858 A House divided against itself, cannot stand.

Stephen Douglas & the Freeport Doctrine Popular Sovereignty? No matter how the Court rules the people should be allowed to vote slavery in or out!

John Brown’s Raid on Harper’s Ferry, 1859

1860 Presidential Election √ Abraham Lincoln Republican John Bell Constitutional Union 1860 Presidential Election Stephen A. Douglas Northern Democrat John C. Breckinridge Southern Democrat

Republican Party Platform in 1860 Non-extension of slavery [for the Free-Soilers. Protective tariff [for the No. Industrialists]. No abridgment of rights for immigrants [a disappointment for the “Know-Nothings”]. Government aid to build a Pacific RR [for the Northwest]. Internal improvements [for the West] at federal expense. Free homesteads for the public domain [for farmers].

1860 Election: 3 “Outs” & 1 ”Run!”

1860 Election: A Nation Coming Apart?!

1860 Election Results

Crittenden Compromise: A Last Ditch Appeal to Sanity Senator John J. Crittenden (Know-Nothing-KY)

Secession!: SC Dec. 20, 1860

Fort Sumter: April 12, 1861