In the late 1800’s compromise between pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces became almost impossible – Alabama and Missouri apply for statehood as slave states. Congress did not question Alabama being a slave state because it was located far south, surrounded by other slave states and it would balance the slave and free states. BUT….. Most of Missouri lay north of where Ohio River flows into Mississippi. Slavery banned on eastern side of Mississippi River – Alabama and Missouri apply for statehood as slave states. Congress did not question Alabama being a slave state because it was located far south, surrounded by other slave states and it would balance the slave and free states. BUT….. Most of Missouri lay north of where Ohio River flows into Mississippi. Slavery banned on eastern side of Mississippi River.

 Issue: Missouri applied for statehood as a slave state. Northerners favored / opposed this because Southerners favored / opposed this because … It would upset the balance of free and slave states in the Senate. There would be more slave states than free states in the Senate. opposed favored

Bill to make Missouri a state came before Congress, Representative James Tallmadge of NY proposed an amendment. It said… Missouri could join the Union but only as a free state! Guess who was happy? Bill to make Missouri a state came before Congress, Representative James Tallmadge of NY proposed an amendment. It said… Missouri could join the Union but only as a free state! Guess who was happy? Northerners – It would stop the spread of slavery into the Louisiana Territory

 “ What right did Congress have to decide whether a new state should be free or slave?”  According to the theory of state’s rights, favored by many Southerners, Congress had no power to impose its will on a state. Southerners believed that if Missouri were admitted as a free state, the North would have the votes in Congress to end slavery!!

 Issue: The Tallmadge agreement proposed that Missouri be admitted as a free state. Northerners favored / opposed this because… Southerners favored / opposed this because … It would stop the spread of slavery into the Louisiana Territory. If Missouri were admitted as a free state, the North would have the votes in Congress to end slavery favored opposed

 During the 1830s abolitionists flooded Congress with anti-slavery petitions. Congress kept saying they had no power to interfere with slavery in the states.  Abolitionists asked for slavery to be banned in the nation’s capital of Washington D.C.  Rather than confront the issue Congress voted to table (set aside indefinitely) all anti-slavery petitions  Abolitionists called this action the “gag rule” because it silenced all congressional debate over slavery.

The Missouri Compromise  Missouri entered the Union as a slave state.  Maine entered the Union as a free state.  Congress drew a line at 36 30’ across the Louisiana Territory. Slavery was permitted south of that line and prohibited above it.

 Issue: Abolitionists wanted to end slavery in Washington D.C but Congress refused to consider anti-slavery petitions Northern abolitionists were pleased/angered because Southerners were pleased/ angered because… pleased angered They wanted slavery to be outlawed in the nation’s capital. They wanted no limitations placed on slavery.

 Individual slaves continued to rebel by running away to freedom in the North. These fugitives were often helped in their escape by sympathetic people in the North.  To slave owners these Northerners were no better than bank robbers. They saw slaves a a valuable piece of property.  Slaveholders demanded Congress pass a fugitive slave law to help them recapture their property.

 Issue: Some northerners assisted fugitive slaves. Northerners accepted / condemned this practice because Southerners accepted/ condemned this practice because … They felt slavery was wrong. They felt runaway slaves were lost property. accepted condemned

 Issue: The Wilmot Proviso states slavery would not be allowed in the Mexican Cession. Northerners favored / opposed this amendment beause Southerners favored / opposed this amendment because … They wanted to prevent the expansion of slavery into territories. They felt Congress had no right to tell slaveholders where they could take their property. favored opposed

 For the next three years, Congress debated what to do about slavery in the territory gained from Mexico.  Southerners wanted all the the Mexican Cession open to slavery  Northerners wanted it all closed  California applies for statehood as a free state. However, this would upset the balance

 Issue :California applied for admission as a free state. Northerners favored/ opposed admitting California as a free state because Southerners favored/opposed admitting California as a free state because It would create more free states than slave states in Congress. It would make the slave states a minority in Congress. favored opposed

 California was admitted as a free state.  New Mexico and Utah were organized as territories open to slavery.  The slave trade ended in Washington, D.C.  A strong fugitive slave law was passed. What Actually Happened ?

 A person arrested as a runaway slave had no legal rights. Many ran away to Canada instead of risk being caught and sent back to their owners.  Act stated anybody who assisted a slave in escaping could be jailed.  Northerners refused to support the act.  Of the tens of thousands of fugitives living in the North during the 1850’s, only 299 were ever returned to their owners.

 Issue : The Fugitive Slave Law caused bitterness between the North & the South Northerners were satisfied/dissatisfied with the way the Fugitive Slave Law was enforced because … Southerners were satisfied/dissatisfied with the way the Fugitive Slave Law was enforced because … dissatisfied They were asked to help slave catchers. Northerners refused to obey it.

 A novel By Harriet Beecher Stowe that brought the horrors of slavery to the public.  Parts of the book were published in an abolitionist newspaper  Plays based on the book toured the country

Issue: The book Uncle Tom’s Cabin told the story of a slave and his master. The book was popular / unpopular I the north because … The book was popular/ unpopular in the South because … unpopular popular It aroused powerful emotions against slavery. It turned people against slavery

 Act passed in 1854 and created two new territories, Kansas and Nebraska. It also abolished the Missouri Compromise by leaving it up to the settlers themselves to vote on whether to permit slavery in the two territories. This policy is called popular sovereignty.

 After the Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed settlers poured into Kansas. Most were farmers,but some settlers moved to Kansas to either support or oppose slavery. This struggle over slavery soon turned violent. he conflict in Kansas destroyed millions of dollars worth of property, froze agriculture, and cost many lives.

 Issue 3: The Kansas-Nebraska Act states that the issue of slavery in those territories would be decided by popular sovereignty. Both pro-slavery & anti-slavery forces rushed to the territories to vote. Northerners were pleased/unhappy about the act because … Southerners were pleased/unhappy about the act because … pleased unhappy It overturned the Missouri Compromise & allowed slavery north of the 36°30’ in the Louisiana Territory. They could take slaves into the Louisiana Territory.

 In 1857 the slavery controversy shifter from Congress to the Supreme Court.  Years earlier a slave named Dred Scott had traveled with his owner to Wisconsin, where slavery was banned.  When he returned to Missouri, Scott went to court to win his freedom, arguing his stay in Wisconsin had made him a free man.

 1. As a slave, was Dred Scott a citizen who had the right to bring a case before a federal court?  2. Did his time in Wisconsin make him a free man?  Chief Justice Taney hoped this case would settle the slavery controversy once and for all so….

 He asked the court to consider 2 more questions…  1. Did Congress have the power to make any laws concerning slavery in the territories?  2. And, if so, was the Missouri Compromise a constitutional use of power?

 March 6, 1857  By a vote of 5-4, the court had decided that Scott could not sue for his freedom in a federal court because he was not a citizen. Nor, could he become a citizen  Second, Rejected the argument that his stay in Wisconsin had made him a free man. Slaves are property. The fifth amendment says property cannot be taken without due process and that banning slavery is the same as taking property.

 Issue: The Dred Scott Case. Scott was a slave who believed his trip to Wisconsin made him a free man. Northerners probably believed he was free/because… Southerners probably believed he was because… still a slave free He had lived in a free territory They felt slave owners should have the right to take their slaves anywhere.

 Congress cannot ban slavery in the territories.  Scott could not sue for his freedom in a federal court because he was not a citizen, nor could any African American ever become an American citizen.  Scott’s stay in Wisconsin did not make him a free man because the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional

 Lincoln vs. Stephen Douglas in the Senate race.  Douglas believed the country could survive being half free and half slave.  Lincoln disagreed stating that slavery was a moral issue not a legal issue.  Lincoln lost the Senate race but the debates made him a national figure and brought the moral issue of slavery to the public stronger than ever.

 Issue: During the Lincoln Douglas Debates, positions regarding slavery were made clear. Lincoln, representing the opinion of the North, felt slavery was a moral issue because… Douglas, representing the opinion of the South, felt slavery as a legal issue because… legal moral He felt slavery was wrong He felt slavery was settled through the Dred Scott Decision

 Issue: John Brown attacked the arsenal at Harper’s Ferry to get weapons for a slave rebellion Some northerners were after Brown’s raid because Southerners were fearful about Brown’s raid because upset They considered Brown a hero Slave rebellions might spread throughout the South fearful

 Election of 1860 and secession  The election showed just how divided the country had become  The Republicans were united behind Lincoln  Democrats were divided: Northern Democrats supported Stephen Douglas Southern Democrats supported John Breckinridge The Constitutional Union party elected John Bell

 Issue: Abraham Lincoln elected President Northerners were happy about the election because Southerners were unhappy about the election because happy Lincoln was opposed to the spread of slavery They has lost most of their political power unhappy