Ch.15, Sec.1 – Growing Tensions Between North & South

1. North and South Take Different Paths Ch.15, Sec.1 – Growing Tensions Between North & South - the Northern economy was based on manufacturing & industry, whereas the Southern economy was based on plantation farming using slave labor - most Southern whites did not own slaves, but they still supported slavery because it kept them off the bottom of society

2. Antislavery and Racism Ch.15, Sec.1 – Growing Tensions Between North & South - Northern abolitionists believed slavery was unjust and also could eliminate their jobs and hurt them economically - most Northern whites were racists by modern standards: whites did not want to live, work, or go to school with blacks - in most states, even free African Americans could not vote!

3. - slaveholders were absolutely determined to defend slavery and their way of life at all costs! Ch.15, Sec.1 – Growing Tensions Between North & South

4. The Wilmot Proviso Ch.15, Sec.1 – Growing Tensions Between North & South - slavery issues came back into public life after we gained land from Mexico in 1846 - most northerners believed the South wanted to extend slavery into these new lands - however, Pennsylvania Representative, David Wilmot proposed the Wilmot Proviso which outlawed slavery in these territories - even though the law was not passed, it divided Congress & created new political parties David Wilmot

5. - the Wilmot Proviso helped to create the Free-Soil Party, a political party dedicated to stopping the expansion of slavery Ch.15, Sec.1 – Growing Tensions Between North & South - politicians could no longer ignore slavery

6. Controversy over Territories Ch.15, Sec.1 – Growing Tensions Between North & South - after the Gold Rush, California had enough residents to apply for statehood and became a free state in 1850 - with California admitted into the Union as a free state, the slave states would become the minority in Congress - Jefferson Davis, a senator from Missouri, warned this would destroy the balance of power in Congress Jefferson Davis

7. The Compromise of 1850 Ch.15, Sec.1 – Growing Tensions Between North & South - California could not gain statehood without the approval of Congress, but Congress was divided over the issue - behind the scenes, statesmen led by Kentucky Senator Henry Clay (who helped to create the Missouri Compromise) came up with a plan to settle the California problem: Henry Clay

8. 1. To please the North, California would be admitted as a free state, and the slave trade would be abolished in Washington D.C. Ch.15, Sec.1 – Growing Tensions Between North & South 2.To please the South, Congress would not pass laws regarding slavery for the rest of the territories won from Mexico, and Congress would pass a stronger law to help slaveholders recapture runaway slaves.

9. - many felt they gave up too much in this plan, but they also wanted to preserve the Union Ch.15, Sec.1 – Growing Tensions Between North & South - the job of winning passage of the plan fell to Senator Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois - by the end of September, Douglas succeeded and the plan, now known as the Compromise of 1850, became law - the compromise would not bring peace & sectional tensions amongst Americans would continue! Stephen A. Douglas