Lesson 15.2: The Crisis Deepens

Essential Question What impact did the Fugitive Slave Act have on the slavery debate?

Vocabulary fugitive: one who runs away of escapes. defendant: one who is accused of a crime or sued in a court of law. popular sovereignty: people deciding for themselves - the majority make the rules repeal: to do away with or cancel officially.

1815 1825 1835 1840 1850 1820 Missouri Compromise drawing the line at 360 30’ 1846 Beginning of the Mexican American War 1846 Wilmot Proviso wanted to ban slavery in territory won from Mexico. Where We Are 1848 Gold discovered at Sutter’s Mill in California 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ending the War giving America the Mexican Cession 1850 Compromise of 1850 admitted California and set up new fugitive slave laws.

What We Already Know… Disagreements over slavery led to increased tensions between the North and the South.

What We Already Know… California’s request for statehood led to Henry Clay’s Compromise of 1850. Mayflower Compact = self rule

What We Already Know… The Compromise of 1850 contained a controversial new fugitive slave law. Mayflower Compact = self rule

Fugitive Slave Act: 1. People accused of being fugitives could be held without an arrest warrant. 2. Instead of a jury trial, a federal commissioner ruled on each case. 3. The commissioner received five dollars for releasing the defendant and ten dollars for turning the defendant over to a slaveholder.

Fugitive Slave Act: The law also penalized officials who did not arrest an alleged runaway slave, and made them liable to a fine of $1,000 ($28,000 in today’s money.)  Any person aiding a runaway slave by providing food or shelter was subject to six months imprisonment and a $1,000 fine. Mayflower Compact = self rule

Fugitive Slave Act: Southerners believed slaves were property and should be returned. Northerners realized that, by supporting the Fugitive Slave Act, they were supporting slavery. Should they obey the law and support slavery, or should they break the law and oppose slavery?

Fugitive Slave Act: During this time Southern slave catchers roamed the North, sometimes capturing free African- Americans instead of runaway slaves.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin Harriet Beecher Stowe, along with her brother were active abolitionists who helped runaway slaves and actively campaigned against slavery. Outraged by the Fugitive Slave Act she wrote “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” in 1852 which dramatically portrayed slavery as brutal and immoral.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin The novel includes dramatic scenes, such as the dangerous escape of a slave named Eliza and her baby across the frozen Ohio River. The book was criticized by Southerner’s as being inaccurate .

Uncle Tom’s Cabin Uncle Tom's Cabin was the best-selling novel of the 19th century and helped fuel the abolitionist cause in the 1850s. Legend has it that when President Lincoln met Stowe he said, “So this is the little lady who started the great war.”

Get your whiteboards and markers ready!

Which of the following is NOT true of the Fugitive Slave Act ? A. It allowed fugitive slaves to be arrested without warrants. B. It placed fines on people who helped runaway slaves escape. C. It required that Northerners return runaway slaves to their masters. D. Fugitives had no right to a jury trial. E. Officials were paid $5 for returning a slave to their master and $10 for releasing a slave.

Why did Northerners resent the Fugitive Slave Act? A. The act had been passed without any input from Northerners. B. They didn’t believe black fugitives should have a right to a jury trial. C. If they obeyed or enforced the act, they would be supporting slavery. D. The act would lead to higher taxes in the North.

How did Uncle Tom’s Cabin influence national politics? A. It increased abolitionist feeling in the North. B. It led many western states to prohibit free blacks from settling within their borders. C. It caused Southerners to become angry over the lies they said it told about slavery. D. All of the above. E. A and C only. F. A and B only.

Kansas - Nebraska Act The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, opening new lands for settlement. The act was designed by Senator Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois. The idea was to open up many thousands of new farms and make feasible a Midwestern Transcontinental Railroad.

Kansas - Nebraska Act Hoping to ease tension over the slavery issue, Douglas included popular sovereignty - each state would decide for itself if it were to be a free state or a slave state.

Territorial Legislation Compromise of 1850 Compromise of 1820 Free Slave Kansas - Nebraska Act Territory closed to slavery Territory open to slavery Not property of US

Kansas - Nebraska Act The Act only created more tension because it would potentially allow slavery north of the 360 30 parallel undoing a main portion of the Compromise of 1820. Obviously, Southerners supported the bill, but it angered opponents of slavery.

Bleeding Kansas Most Americans accepted that Nebraska was expected to become a free state. Settlers from both sided of the slavery issue flooded the Kansas territory to acquire lands and vote on the issue of slavery.

Bleeding Kansas At the time of the election in March 1855, there were more proslavery settlers than antislavery settlers in the territory. But the proslavery forces did not want to risk losing the election. Five thousand Missourians came and voted in the election illegally.

Bleeding Kansas As a result of the election, the official Kansas legislature was packed with proslavery representatives. Antislavery settlers boycotted the official government and formed a government of their own

Bleeding Kansas With political authority in dispute, settlers on both sides armed themselves. In May, a group of proslavery supporters attacked and sacked the headquarters of the anti-slavery anti-anti-slavery governor in Lawrence Kansas. This incident became known as the Sack of Lawrence.

Bleeding Kansas Seeking revenge for the sack of Lawrence, an extreme abolitionist named John Brown and seven other antislavery men murdered five of their proslavery neighbors as they slept at a cabin near Pottawatomie Creek.

Bleeding Kansas As news of John Brown’s attack (known as the Pottawatomie Massacre) spread, civil war broke out in Kansas… … a war that lasted three years giving the territory the name, “Bleeding Kansas.”

Violence in Congress In late May, 1856, Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts gave a rousing speech before the Senate. In very insulting terms, he attacked the pro-slavery forces in Kansas, the institution of slavery in general, and pro-slavery Senators such as Andrew Butler of South Carolina in particular

Violence in Congress Nearby, in the House of Representatives, South Carolina Congressman Preston Brooks got wind of Sumner’s speech. Senator Butler was related to Congressman Brooks, who angrily decided he must defend the honor of his family and of the South.

Violence in Congress Congressman Brooks went to the Senate chamber looking for Sumner. He found Sumner working at his desk and viciously beat Sumner unconscious with a cane. Many Southerners cheered Brooks’ defense of the South, but most Northerners were shocked at such violence in the Senate.

Violence in Congress “Bleeding Kansas” and “Bleeding Sumner” became rallying cries for antislavery Northerners, as well as for a new political party that was beginning to emerge.

Get your whiteboards and markers ready!

The issue of slavery was to be decided in Kansas and Nebraska .. A. by the Supreme Court. B. as part of the Compromise of 1863. C. on the basis of popular sovereignty, with each state’s residents voting on it. D. only after the residents have ratified their respective state’s constitutions.

The Kansas Nebraska Act was controversial because A. it required Congress to submit future requests for statehood to the Supreme Court. B. established the territories of Kansas and Nebraska which were not yet American possessions. C. banned slavery from lands gained form Mexico. D. repealed the Missouri Compromise and replaced it with popular sovereignty.

Bleeding Kansas was caused by violent clashes between A. white settlers and free slaves. B. pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces competing for control of the territory. C. European settlers and Native Americans. D. immigrant settlers and Mexican citizens who remained in the territory after the war with Mexico.

John Brown murdered five pro-slavery people in Kansas A. after pro-slavery led an assault against the federal arsenal in Topeka. B. after the Fugitive Slave Act was decided unconstitutional. C. as revenge for the pro-slavery headquarters in Lawrence, Kansas. D. after Congress turned down Kansas’ application for statehood. E. when his neighbors told too many personal yo’momma jokes.

Preston Books attacked Charles Sumner in the Senate because A. Brooks objected to Sumner’s position on popular sovereignty. B. because of Sumner’s inaccurate portrayal of Slavery in “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”. C. because Sumner’s speech went on and on, and it was the only way Brooks could shut him up. D. because Sumner made insulting remarks about the South, proslavery and Brooks’ relative.

A and B Discuss What do you think was the significance of the attack by Representative Preston Brooks on Senator Charles Sumner? Be prepared to share your answers.