THE UNION IN PERIL: CAUSES OF THE CIVIL WAR CHAPTER 10 Section 4 Slavery and Secession Why did the South secede?

Reasons why Pro or Anti-Slavery Lecompton Constitution Slavery and Secession Pro or Anti Slavery Reasons why Pro or Anti-Slavery Dred Scott decision Lecompton Constitution Debate Douglas; Debates Lincoln; Debates Harpers Ferry John Brown’s Hanging Election of Lincoln Secession

Dred Scott Decision - 1857 HISTORICAL CONSEQUENCES: Dred Scott lives in Illinois and Wisconsin for 5 years – free states. He argues he has become free by living there. Supreme Court, led by Roger B. Taney, decides Slaves cannot sue in court b/c they are not full citizens Slaves are private property, govt. cannot take away property w/o due process HISTORICAL CONSEQUENCES: Kansas-Nebraska Act, Missouri Compromise, and Compromise of 1850 are now UNCONSTITUTIONAL!!!

Dred Scott v Sanford, March 1857 “The question is simply this: Can a negro, whose ancestors were imported into this country, and sold as slaves, become a member of the political community formed and brought into existence by the Constitution of the United States, and as such become entitled to all the rights, and privileges, and immunities, guarantied by that instrument to the citizen? One of which rights is the privilege of suing in a court of the United States in the cases specified in the Constitution....” “It is impossible, it would seem, to believe that the great men of the slaveholding States, who took so large a share in framing the Constitution of the United States, and exercised so much influence in procuring its adoption, could have been so forgetful or regardless of their own safety and the safety of those who trusted and confided in them.... “ “Upon the whole, therefore, it is the judgment of this court, that it appears by the record before us that the plaintiff in error is not a citizen of Missouri, in the sense in which that word is used in the Constitution; and that the Circuit Court of the United States, for that reason, had no jurisdiction in the case, and could give no judgment in it. Its judgment for the defendant must, consequently, be reversed, and a mandate issued, directing the suit to be dismissed for want of jurisdiction.” http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h1532.html

Lecompton Constitution Debate- 1857 President Buchanan, a Southerner, endorses the pro-slavery constitution (the Lecompton Constitution) of Kansas. Kansas is now a Free-soiler state by 10 to 1!!! Stephen Douglass, a Democrat, sees this as a gross violation of popular sovereignty, and gets Congress to authorize a new referendum (=vote) in Kansas. Kansas passes a anti-slavery constitution under the new vote. Douglass’ actions tear the Democratic party into two: Northern Dems and Southern Dems.

Lincoln-Douglas Debates - 1858 Stephen Douglass and Abe Lincoln run for same Senate seat for Illinois. Lincoln challenges Douglass to 7 open-air debates. KEY ISSUE: slavery in the territories Douglass = popular sovereignty should decide the issue (slavery will loose and whither away) Lincoln = slavery will not wither away, but must be stopped from spreading. Lincoln points out that popular sovereignty made irrelevant by Dred Scott v. Sanford. Douglass counters with Freeport Doctrine, suggests that states/people can “work around” or ignore the ruling.

John Brown and Harpers Ferry October 16, 1859 – John Brown and 18 men attempt to seize the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry. Their intent = start a slave rebellion in Virginia. They fail. Stopped by local militia and Col. Robert E. Lee’s US marines. Brown is tried for treason in a VA court and hung on Dec. 2, 1859. Brown becomes a martyr to Northern Abolitionists. South believes Northern abolitionists are trying to start slave rebellions. More talk of secession.

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John Brown (1800-1859) was an abolitionist who took direct action to free slaves by force. Following his raid on the arsenal at Harpers Ferry, in mid-October 1859, he was convicted of treason, conspiracy, and murder. One of the most controversial abolitionists, Brown was regarded by some as a martyr and by others as a common assassin. … Ralph Waldo Emerson said that Brown's death would "make the gallows as glorious as the cross." This image shows a heroic Brown … as he walks to his execution on December 2, 1859. John Brown, The Martyr New York: Currier and Ives, 1870 http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/african/afam007.html#jbrown

Election of 1860 Republicans hold their national convention in 1860. Everyone expects Sen. Seward to be nominated. Seward, however, has made too many aggressive anti-slavery remarks. Lincoln-Douglas Debates introduce Lincoln to the nation, and he is nominated instead. Democrats are split into North and South, weakening the party. Know-nothings and others form the Constitutional Union Party, which takes away votes from the Dems Lincoln wins the election.

South Secedes Lincoln wins every Northern state and NOT ONE Southern state. Southerners feel they have lost their voice in the national government. To protect their states’ rights they secede. Dec. 20, 1860 South Carolina secedes, followed by Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Florida and Texas. These 7 form the Confederate States of America. President Buchanan does NOTHING. The Nation waits: What will Lincoln do when he takes office?

WHY DID THE SOUTH SECEDE? CHRONOLOGICAL 1787 1861 MOST RESPONSIBLE: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.