1. Slavery Divides the Nation, 1820–1861
The American Nation
Chapter 16
Slavery Divides the Nation, 1820–1861 .

2. Chapter 16: Slavery Divides the Nation, 1820–1861
The American Nation
Chapter 16: Slavery Divides the Nation, 1820–1861
Section 1: Slavery in the Territories
Section 2: The Compromise of 1850
Section 3: The Crisis Deepens
Section 4: The Republican Party Emerges
Section 5: A Nation Divides

3. Slavery in the Territories
Chapter 16, Section 1
What was the purpose of the Missouri Compromise?
Why did conflict arise over the issue of slavery in the western territories?
Why was the Free-Soil party founded?

4. The Missouri Compromise
Chapter 16, Section 1
In 1819, there were 11 free states and 11 slave states. Representation in the Senate was evenly balanced between the North and the South.
Missouri wanted to join the Union as a slave state. That would give the South a majority in the Senate.
Henry Clay proposed the Missouri Compromise.
Missouri would join the Union as a slave state.
Maine would join the Union as a free state.
Congress drew an imaginary line across the southern border of Missouri at latitude 36º30´N. Slavery would be permitted in the Louisiana Purchase south of that line.

5. The Issue of Slavery in the West
Chapter 16, Section 1
The Problem
As a result of the Mexican War, the United States acquired a vast amount of land. The Missouri Compromise applied only to the Louisiana Purchase, not the new western lands.
The Argument
North:
Congressman David Wilmot of Pennsylvania called for a law to ban slavery in any territories won from Mexico. This proposal was known as the Wilmot Proviso.
South:
Southern leaders said Congress had no right to ban slavery in the West.
The Outcome
The house passed the Wilmot Proviso, but the Senate defeated it. The argument continued.

6. The Issue of Slavery in the West
Chapter 16, Section 1
Abolitionists
Slavery should be banned throughout the country. It is morally wrong.
Southern slaveholders
Slavery should be allowed in any territory. Slaves who escape to the North should be returned.
Other views
The Missouri Compromise line should be extended all across the Mexican Cession. Any state south of the line could allow slavery.
States carved out of the Mexican Cession should decide the slavery issue by popular sovereignty; that is, voters in a new territory should decide for themselves whether or not to allow slavery.

7. The Founding of the Free-Soil Party
Chapter 16, Section 1
In 1848, slavery became an important election issue for the first time.
Many northern Democrats and Whigs opposed the spread of slavery.
They did not speak up because they did not want to lose southern votes. Also, they feared the slavery issue would split the nation.
In 1848, antislavery members of both parties formed the Free-Soil party. Only a few members were abolitionists. The party’s main goal was to keep slavery out of the western territories.

8. Section 1 Assessment The main purpose of the Missouri Compromise was
Chapter 16, Section 1
The main purpose of the Missouri Compromise was
a) to abolish slavery in all of the Louisiana Purchase.
b) to allow slavery in all of the Louisiana Purchase.
c) to keep the Union from splitting.
d) to keep slavery out of the Mexican Cession.
People who favored popular sovereignty argued that
a) voters in a new territory should decide whether to allow slavery there.
b) the Missouri Compromise line should be extended across the Mexican Cession.
c) slavery should be banned completely everywhere in the country.
d) slavery should be allowed everywhere in the country.
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9. Section 1 Assessment The main purpose of the Missouri Compromise was
Chapter 16, Section 1
The main purpose of the Missouri Compromise was
a) to abolish slavery in all of the Louisiana Purchase.
b) to allow slavery in all of the Louisiana Purchase.
c) to keep the Union from splitting.
d) to keep slavery out of the Mexican Cession.
People who favored popular sovereignty argued that
a) voters in a new territory should decide whether to allow slavery there.
b) the Missouri Compromise line should be extended across the Mexican Cession.
c) slavery should be banned completely everywhere in the country.
d) slavery should be allowed everywhere in the country.
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10. The Compromise of 1850 Why did the slavery debate erupt again in 1850?
Chapter 16, Section 2
Why did the slavery debate erupt again in 1850?
What was the impact of the Compromise of 1850?
How did Uncle Tom’s Cabin affect attitudes toward slavery?

11. The Slavery Debate Erupts Again
Chapter 16, Section 2

12. The Slavery Debate Erupts Again
Chapter 16, Section 2
In 1849, there were 15 slave states and 15 free states. California asked to enter the Union as a free state.
If California entered the Union as a free state, the North would have a majority in the Senate. The South feared that Oregon, Utah, and New Mexico would also soon join the Union as free states.
Some southerners worried that they would be outvoted in the Senate. They said southern states should secede, or remove themselves, from the United States.
Northerners said that California should be allowed to enter the Union as a free state because most of the territory lay north of the Missouri Compromise line.

13. The Slavery Debate Erupts Again
Chapter 16, Section 2
Henry Clay of Kentucky
He pleaded for the North and South to reach an agreement and warned that the nation could break apart.
The Argument in the Senate
John C. Calhoun of South Carolina
He refused to compromise and insisted that slavery be allowed in the western territories.
He demanded that fugitive, or runaway, slaves be returned to their owners as lost “property.”
He said that if the North did not agree to these demands, the South would use force to leave the Union.
Daniel Webster of Massachusetts
He felt that slavery was evil, but the breakup of the United States would be worse.
He warned against civil war, a war between people of the same country.
He thought that northerners should be forced to return fugitive slaves.

14. The Compromise of 1850 Compromise of 1850
Chapter 16, Section 2
Admits California as a free state
Upholds popular sovereignty in New Mexico and Utah
Compromise of 1850
Settles Texas/New Mexico border dispute
Bans slave trade in Washington, D.C.
Includes Fugitive Slave Act

15. The Compromise of 1850
Chapter 16, Section 2

16. Impact of the Compromise of 1850
Chapter 16, Section 2
Provisions of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850
All citizens must help catch runaway slaves.
People who let fugitives escape could be fined $1,000 and jailed.
Special courts would handle cases of runaways. There would be no jury trials. Judges would receive $10 for sending an accused runaway to the South and $5 for setting someone free.
Response to the Fugitive Slave Act
Some judges sent African Americans to the South whether or not they were runaways.
The act enraged antislavery northerners. It made them feel as if they were part of the slave system.
Tensions remained high because neither side got what it wanted.

17. Uncle Tom’s Cabin What is Uncle Tom’s Cabin?
Chapter 16, Section 2
What is Uncle Tom’s Cabin?
Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote a novel called Uncle Tom’s Cabin to show the evils of slavery and the injustice of the Fugitive Slave Act. The book tells the story of Uncle Tom, an enslaved African American noted for his kindness and piety.
How did people react to Uncle Tom’s Cabin?
Northerners
Southerners
Northerners could no longer view slavery as a political problem for Congress to settle. More and more northerners now saw slavery as a moral problem facing every American.
Southerners claimed that the book did not give a true picture of a slave’s life.

18. Section 2 Assessment
Chapter 16, Section 2
Which one of the following statements was NOT a part of the Compromise of 1850?
a) California was admitted to the Union as a free state.
b) The slave trade ended in Washington, D.C.
c) Southern states that objected to the compromise could secede peacefully.
d) A strict fugitive slave law required northerners to return runaway slaves.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin affected attitudes toward slavery because it
a) described the cruelty of slavery.
b) showed that most slaveholders acted as kind guardians.
c) argued that northerners didn’t really know what slavery was like.
d) explained why northerners should return fugitive slaves.
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19. Section 2 Assessment
Chapter 16, Section 2
Which one of the following statements was NOT a part of the Compromise of 1850?
a) California was admitted to the Union as a free state.
b) The slave trade ended in Washington, D.C.
c) Southern states that objected to the compromise could secede peacefully.
d) A strict fugitive slave law required northerners to return runaway slaves.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin affected attitudes toward slavery because it
a) described the cruelty of slavery.
b) showed that most slaveholders acted as kind guardians.
c) argued that northerners didn’t really know what slavery was like.
d) explained why northerners should return fugitive slaves.
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20. The Crisis Deepens What was the goal of the Kansas-Nebraska Act?
Chapter 16, Section 3
What was the goal of the Kansas-Nebraska Act?
Why did violence erupt in Kansas and in the Senate?
What impact did the Dred Scott case have on the nation?

21. The Kansas-Nebraska Act
Chapter 16, Section 3
The Problem
The Compromise of 1850 dealt mainly with the Mexican Cession, and not with the lands that were part of the Louisiana Purchase.
Provisions of the Kansas-Nebraska Act
Nebraska Territory was to be divided into two territories—Kansas and Nebraska.
The settlers in each territory would decide the issue of slavery by popular sovereignty.
The argument for the act
Many people thought the act was fair because the Compromise of 1850 had applied popular sovereignty in New Mexico and Utah.
Southerners hoped slave owners from Missouri would move into Kansas and make Kansas a slave state.
The argument against the act
The Missouri Compromise already banned slavery in Kansas and Nebraska. In effect, the Kansas-Nebraska Act would overturn the Missouri Compromise.
Northerners protested by challenging the Fugitive Slave Act.

22. The Kansas-Nebraska Act
Chapter 16, Section 3

23. Violence Erupts in Kansas
Chapter 16, Section 3
Kansas settlers were to settle the slavery issue by popular sovereignty. Proslavery and antislavery settlers fought for control of Kansas. Abolitionists brought in settlers from New England. Proslavery settlers also moved into Kansas, and proslavery bands from Missouri—Border Ruffians—often rode across the border into Kansas.
In 1855, Kansas held elections. Border Ruffians voted illegally, helping to elect a proslavery legislature. Antislavery settlers refused to accept the legislature and elected their own governor and legislature. Kansas had two governments.
A band of proslavery men raided the town of Lawrence, destroying homes and smashing the press of a Free-Soil newspaper.

24. Violence Erupts in Kansas (continued)
Chapter 16, Section 3
Abolitionist John Brown led a band to the town of Pottawatomie Creek and killed five proslavery settlers there.
The killings at Pottawatomie Creek led to more violence. Both sides engaged in guerrilla warfare, or the use of hit-and-run tactics. Newspapers started calling the territory “Bleeding Kansas.”

25. Violence Erupts in the Senate
Chapter 16, Section 3
Charles Sumner of Massachusetts was the leading abolitionist senator. In one speech he denounced the proslavery legislature of Kansas and viciously criticized his southern foes, especially Senator Andrew Butler of South Carolina.
A few days later Butler’s nephew, Congressman Preston Brooks, marched into the Senate chamber and with his cane beat Sumner until he was unconscious.

26. The Dred Scott Case What was the Dred Scott Case?
Chapter 16, Section 3
What was the Dred Scott Case?
Dred Scott filed a lawsuit, that is, a legal case brought to settle a dispute between people or groups. Dred Scott had been enslaved in Missouri. He moved with his owner to Illinois and then to the Wisconsin Territory, where slavery was not allowed. Scott with his owner returned to Missouri. When his owner died, Scott claimed that because he had lived in a free territory, he had become a free man. The case reached the Supreme Court as Dred Scott v. Sandford.
What did the Supreme Court decide?
Scott could not file a lawsuit because, as an enslaved person, he was not a citizen.
Slaves were considered to be property.
Congress did not have the power to outlaw slavery in any territory. This decision meant the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional.

27. What impact did the Dred Scott Case have?
Chapter 16, Section 3
White southerners
White southerners were overjoyed. The decision meant that slavery was legal in all territories.
What impact did the Dred Scott Case have?
African American northerners
Northern African Americans condemned the ruling and asked whites to join their efforts to end slavery.
White northerners
White northerners were shocked. They had hoped that if slavery were kept to the South, it would eventually just die out. Now, slavery could spread.

28. Section 3 Assessment
Chapter 16, Section 3
After Congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act, violence broke out in Kansas because
a) the Kansas-Nebraska Act backed up the Missouri Compromise.
b) a congressman from Kansas beat up a senator from Nebraska.
c) proslavery and antislavery forces were battling to gain control of the Kansas territory.
d) slave owners tried to return Dred Scott to slavery.
One reason the Supreme Court’s Dred Scott decision shocked some Americans was because the decision declared that
a) Congress could outlaw slavery in any territory.
b) northern African Americans could ask northern whites for help to end slavery.
c) slaves were property in the same way that horses and sheep were property.
d) Dred Scott was a second-class citizen.
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29. Section 3 Assessment
Chapter 16, Section 3
After Congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act, violence broke out in Kansas because
a) the Kansas-Nebraska Act backed up the Missouri Compromise.
b) a congressman from Kansas beat up a senator from Nebraska.
c) proslavery and antislavery forces were battling to gain control of the Kansas territory.
d) slave owners tried to return Dred Scott to slavery.
One reason the Supreme Court’s Dred Scott decision shocked some Americans was because the decision declared that
a) Congress could outlaw slavery in any territory.
b) northern African Americans could ask northern whites for help to end slavery.
c) slaves were property in the same way that horses and sheep were property.
d) Dred Scott was a second-class citizen.
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30. The Republican Party Emerges
Chapter 16, Section 4
Why did the Republican party come into being in the mid-1850s?
What events lay behind the rapid emergence of Abraham Lincoln as a Republican leader?
How did Americans react to John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry?

31. The Republican Party Emerges
Chapter 16, Section 4
Who formed the Republican Party?
A group of Free-Soilers, northern Democrats, and antislavery Whigs
Why did they form a new party?
They believed that neither the Whigs nor the Democrats would take a strong enough stand against slavery.
What was the goal of the party?
Its main goal was to keep slavery out of the western territories. A few Republicans hoped to end slavery in the South as well.

32. How Abraham Lincoln Became Leader of the Republican Party
Chapter 16, Section 4
Abraham Lincoln was born in Kentucky. Later, he lived in Indiana and Illinois.
Lincoln opened a store in Illinois. He studied law and entered politics.
He served eight years in the state legislature and one term in Congress.
He opposed the Kansas-Nebraska Act, so he ran for the Senate in 1858.
During the Senate campaign, he debated Stephen Douglas seven times.
Lincoln: Slavery is wrong. African Americans are entitled to all the natural rights in the Declaration of Independence, so slavery should not extend to the territories. However, it can remain in the states where it already exists.
Douglas: The slavery question should be settled by popular sovereignty.
Douglas narrowly won the election. However, during the campaign, Lincoln became known throughout the country.

33. The Impact of John Brown’s Raid
Chapter 16, Section 4
In 1859, John Brown led followers, including five African Americans, to Harpers Ferry, Virginia. He planned to raid a federal arsenal, or gun warehouse.
Brown took over the arsenal. He expected that would inspire a slave uprising, but none took place.
Troops killed ten raiders and captured Brown. He was tried for murder and treason, or actions against one’s country.
Brown gave a moving defense of his actions. Nevertheless he was found guilty and sentenced to death. John Brown was hanged.
To many northerners, John Brown became a martyr because he was willing to give up his life for his beliefs.
White southerners were outraged at the northern response. Many southerners became convinced that the North wanted to destroy slavery and the South along with it.

34. Section 4 Assessment
Chapter 16, Section 4
When the Republican party was formed in the 1850s, its main goal was to
a) attract southern support for popular sovereignty.
b) see to it that Abraham Lincoln became President.
c) end slavery in all states of the United States.
d) keep slavery out of the western territories.
During his campaign for the United States Senate in 1858, Abraham Lincoln argued that
a) African Americans were entitled to all of the natural rights listed in the Declaration of Independence.
b) each and every state should decide slavery for itself.
c) slavery should be decided in the western territories by popular sovereignty.
d) slavery should be ended in the South.
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35. Section 4 Assessment
Chapter 16, Section 4
When the Republican party was formed in the 1850s, its main goal was to
a) attract southern support for popular sovereignty.
b) see to it that Abraham Lincoln became President.
c) end slavery in all states of the United States.
d) keep slavery out of the western territories.
During his campaign for the United States Senate in 1858, Abraham Lincoln argued that
a) African Americans were entitled to all of the natural rights listed in the Declaration of Independence.
b) each and every state should decide slavery for itself.
c) slavery should be decided in the western territories by popular sovereignty.
d) slavery should be ended in the South.
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36. A Nation Divides
Chapter 16, Section 5
How did the electon of 1860 reflect sectional divisions?
How did the South react to the election results?
How did the Civil War begin in 1861?

37. The Election of 1860
Chapter 16, Section 5
The Democratic party split in two: Northern Democrat and Southern Democrat.
Northern Democrats nominated Stephen Douglas.
Southern Democrats nominated John Breckinridge.
Some Americans tried to heal the split by forming a new party, the Constitutional Union party.
The Constitutional Union party nominated John Bell.
The Republicans nominated Abraham Lincoln.

38. The Election of 1860
Chapter 16, Section 5

39. How the South Reacted to the Election of 1860
Chapter 16, Section 5
Many southerners thought that Lincoln’s election meant the South no longer had a voice in national government. They believed the President and Congress were against them.
Senator John Crittenden of Kentucky introduced a bill to extend the Missouri Compromise line to the Pacific. He proposed an amendment to the Constitution that would guarantee slavery south of the compromise line forever. His proposals received little support.
Other southerners believed secession was their only choice. On December 20, 1860, South Carolina became the first state to secede. By late February 1861, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas had followed.
At a convention in Montgomery, Alabama, the seven states formed a new nation, the Confederate States of America. Jefferson Davis became its president.

40. How the Civil War Began
Chapter 16, Section 5
When Lincoln took office, he warned that no state could lawfully leave the Union.
Jefferson Davis had already ordered Confederate forces to begin seizing federal forts in the South.
President Lincoln had to make a decision. Should he let Confederates take over federal property and look like he was admitting that states had a right to leave the Union? Or should he send troops to hold the forts and risk a war?
By April 1861, the Union held only four forts in the South. Food supplies at one—Fort Sumter in South Carolina—were running low. Lincoln notified the governor of South Carolina that he was going to ship food to Fort Sumter. He said he would not send troops or weapons.
The Confederates demanded that Fort Sumter surrender to them. The Union commander refused to give in. The Confederates opened fire. The Union troops ran out of ammunition and had to surrender.

41. Section 5 Assessment
Chapter 16, Section 5
To many southerners, Lincoln’s election meant southern states had to secede from the Union because
a) the Democratic party had split in two.
b) they believed that Lincoln’s election meant the South no longer had a voice in the national government.
c) they were looking for a way to compromise.
d) they wanted to save the Union.
The Civil War began when
a) Southern Democrats all voted for Breckinridge.
b) South Carolina seceded from the Union.
c) the Confederates fired on Fort Sumter.
d) Lincoln sent a shipload of weapons to Fort Sumter.
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42. Section 5 Assessment
Chapter 16, Section 5
To many southerners, Lincoln’s election meant southern states had to secede from the Union because
a) the Democratic party had split in two.
b) they believed that Lincoln’s election meant the South no longer had a voice in the national government.
c) they were looking for a way to compromise.
d) they wanted to save the Union.
The Civil War began when
a) Southern Democrats all voted for Breckinridge.
b) South Carolina seceded from the Union.
c) the Confederates fired on Fort Sumter.
d) Lincoln sent a shipload of weapons to Fort Sumter.
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