The 1850s: Road to Secession

Compromise of 1850

Compromise of 1850 Henry Clay’s compromise rejected by Senate but Douglas had the items passed by introducing them individually Supported by President Millard Fillmore after Taylor’s death and Calhoun’s death California admitted as free state Utah & New Mexico territories decide about slavery No slave trade in Columbia but slavery not abolished Strict fugitive slave law

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! Slavery as a moral struggle

Uncle Tom’s Cabin, 1852

The “Know-Nothings” [The American Party] Nativists. Anti-Catholics. Anti-immigrants. 1849  Secret Order of the Star-Spangled Banner created in NYC.

1852 Presidential Election √ Franklin Pierce Gen. Winfield Scott John Parker Hale Democrat Whig Free Soil

1852 Election Results

Kansas-Nebraska Act, 1854

Kansas-Nebraska Act Nebraska & Kansas north of Missouri Compromise line Jan. 1854 Douglas bill to create Nebraska & Kansas allowing popular sovereignty in both, thus repealing the Missouri Compromise Passed with the help of President Franklin Pierce (elected 1852)

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

Bleeding Kansas Mar 1855 Kansas held territorial elections Election fraud elects proslavery candidates who enact proslavery acts Rival government in summer 1855 for abolitionists Proslavery group sacks abolitionist town of Lawrence

“The Crime Against Kansas” Sumner anti-slavery speech made fun of Andrew Butler Butler’s nephew, Brooks beat Sumner with a cane Southerners applauded Sen. Charles Sumner (R-MA) Congr. Preston Brooks (D-SC)

John Brown: Madman, Hero or Martyr? antislavery fanatic Revenge sack of Lawrence by killing 5 in Pottawatomie Creek Triggered many incidents with over 200 killed Mural in the Kansas Capitol building by John Steuart Curry (20c)

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

Dred Scott was a slave from Missouri Moved to Wisconsin for 4 years with owner Returned to Missouri & owner died Scott sued for freedom since he had lived in a free territory

SUPREME COURT DECISIONS: Q: Was Scott a U.S. citizen with the right to sue? A: NO Q: Did living in a free territory make Scott a free man? A: NO Q: Did Congress have the right to outlaw slavery in any territory? A: NO

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

Stephen Douglas & the Freeport Doctrine Popular Sovereignty – each state should choose whether to allow slavery

Abraham Lincoln: • Lincoln believed that slavery was evil and should be kept out of the territories. • African Americans were guaranteed “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”, as stated in the Declaration of Independence.

Douglas Wins the Senate Seat Douglas (Democrat) wins Lincoln gains public attention and support Leads to Lincoln’s win in the 1860 presidential election

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

John Brown’s Raid Abolitionists attack Harpers Ferry, Virginia to seize the federal arsenal Colonel Robert E. Lee & US Marines captured Brown Brown tried for treason & hung Dec. 1859 Northerners call Brown a martyr Southerners begin to call for secession from the union

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 Nor. 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