Chapter 15: The Coming Crisis

1. Chapter 15: The Coming Crisis Mr. Logan Greene AP United States History West Blocton High School

2. Chapter Objectives • Why did the issue of slavery in the territories cause so much controversy? • What were the causes and consequences of political realignment in the 1850’s? • Why was Lincoln elected in 1860? • Why could the political system not fix the secession crisis?

3. Slavery in the Territories • As the country added territory the debate over the extension of slavery extended • Congress was racked with questions about slavery with four proposals: • Outright exclusion • Extension of Missouri Compromise line to the Pacific • Popular sovereignty (territory decides) • Protection of slave owner property (even if few were in the territory)

4. Wilmot Proviso • Immediately upon war being declared with Mexico the question was posed on what to do with acquired territory • The Wilmot Proviso was put forth by David Wilmot of Pennsylvania during the war and stated that no territory from Mexico should allow slavery • The proviso passed 50 times in the House of Representatives but failed every time in the Senate

5. Question for Thought • Why would the proviso consistently pass the House of Representatives but fail in the Senate?

6. The Election of 1848 • With the election of 1848 both sides sidestep the slavery issue (to volatile) • The Democrats put forth Lewis Cass who advocated Popular Sovereignty (allowing the territories themselves to vote on the issue and decide) • The Whigs select war hero Zachary Taylor and ignore the issue • Taylor (from Louisiana) wins giving the country its first Lower South President

7. The Compromise of 1850 • Taylor is immediately hit with controversy • California gold was discovered in 1848 causing an influx of settlement and by 1849 California was ready to join the Union • The issue deadlocked the Congress as the South saw California and New Mexico entering as free states and destroying their ability to deadlock the Senate (15 free states and 15 slave states) • Henry Clay wrote one final compromise

8. The Compromise of 1850 • The Compromise of 1850 and the debate over it put the Great Triumverate of Henry Clay (KY), John C. Calhoun (SC), and Daniel Webster (MA) in the spotlight for the final time • Admit California as a free state • New Mexico and Utah decide by popular sovereignty • End the slave trade in Washington DC • Reinforce the Fugitive Slave Act

10. Compromise of 1850 • At first the proposal died in the Senate; however, a young senator named Stephen Douglas kept it alive • Douglas engineered a majority for the compromise supported by new President Millard Fillmore (Taylor died in 1850 of a stomach illness)

12. The Fugitive Slave Act • The strengthening of the Fugitive Slave Act now made it law for people in the North to help slave catchers from the South find and return fugitive slaves • This bolstered abolitionism in the North as it brought the slave question and commonly the brutality of slavery to their door • This also led to the increase of the Underground Railroad which helped slaves escape to Canada

13. Uncle Tom’s Cabin • Harriet Beecher Stowe published the book Uncle Tom’s Cabin in 1851 • The story of a southern plantation Stowe’s book catapulted to a huge success as it showed the “reality” of plantation life • Stowe’s book which focused on the lives of slaves gave characters and personalities for abolitionists to attach too and added fuel to the flames of the debate in the North

14. Question for Thought • Abraham Lincoln later commented upon meeting Harriet Beecher Stowe, “So you’re the little lady who started this great big war?” What did he mean by that?

15. The Election of 1852 • The election of 1852 was not at all close as Democrat Franklin Pierce won a landslide victory; however, the election brought forth many key issues in the political system: • The Whig party was done as a national force • The Democratic party was splitting upon sectional lines as Northern and Southern democrats disagreed on key points • Americans were losing faith in the political party system

16. Pierce • Franklin Pierce was a bad president when the country was in desperate need for a great leader • He was an inexperienced alcoholic who was emotionally unstable and a weak leader • Although hungry for expansion he refused to address key domestic issues

17. Kansas-Nebraska Act • Stephen Douglas wanted a transcontinental railroad • The issue was to do this he had to go through the unincorporated Kansas-Nebraska territory • Passing the law would require setting up territorial governments for the area and bring up the slavery issue….again

18. Kansas-Nebraska Act • The Kansas-Nebraska Act set aside the territory into two territories with popular sovereignty to decide (the thinking that Kansas would go slave and Nebraska free) • However, since this allowed slaves to enter the territory it broke the Missouri Compromise • Northerners reacted with pure rage • However, Pierce supported it and it passed

20. Question for Thought • What was the danger of the Kansas-Nebraska Act?

21. Bleeding Kansas • With its fertile soil and position adjacent to slave states Kansas was poised to become a slave state • Both slave and free supporters started campaigns to bring settlers to the area on their side • Eventually, this broke out into armed conflicts known as Bleeding Kansas • This showed the country the fight over slavery was getting out of hand

22. The Republican Party • As some Northerners pushed for reform a new party emerged: the Republicans • The Republicans pushed for social reforms backed by strong state and central government • They were opposed to the South and to slavery in general but especially ANY extension of slavery • To Southerners the Republicans were the embodiment of evil

23. The Election of 1856 • The election of 1856 was one of the oddest of American history • Franklin Pierce was ignored • The Democrats, completely disjointed, chose James Buchanan who had been abroad for years and thus “safe” • The Republicans nominated John C. Fremont • Buchanan won a close race that frightened Southerners as the two year old abolitionist Republicans almost squeaked out a victory

24. The Dred Scott Case • Dred Scott was a slave owned by a travelling surgeon • Scott sued his master for his freedom on the basis he had been carried to a free state • The case reached the Supreme Court

25. Question for Thought • How would YOU have decided the case of Dred Scott v. Sanford?

26. Dred Scott v. Sanford • Roger Taney the Chief Justice from Maryland ruled with a five justice majority (all from slave states) dismissed Scotts case on the grounds that Scott not only could not sue because he was not a citizen but also the fact that he went into slave state did NOT make him free • The South hailed the decision while the North seethed with protest boosting support for the Republicans

27. Lecompton Constitution • Buchanan still reeling from the Dred Scott decision now had to deal with Kansas • Kansas still had no legitimate government • As proslavery and profree forces flooded Kansas a vote was held which was narrowly won by proslavery settlers; however it showed inconsistencies • Despite this proslavery politicians wrote the Lecompton Constitution which supported slavery

28. Lecompton Constitution • The constitution was sent to Washington • Buchanan supported it as a “legitimate” document • Congress vehemently voted it down • Kansas remained an unorganized territory for the time being

29. Lincoln v. Douglas • During 1858 a small senatorial battle gained national attention • Douglas the experienced “little warrior” faced off against Republican newcomer Abraham Lincoln the “Illinois Rail-splitter” • The debate showed national issues such as popular sovereignty and slavery • Douglas believed slavery to be an issue of what the white people wanted while Lincoln believed it to be morally wrong • Douglas won but Republicans had found their voice in the young Lincoln

30. John Brown • In 1859 an incident highlighted the growing veracity of the slavery issue • A northern abolitionist John Brown launched a raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia with the hope of causing a slave uprising • Brown was captured and executed • The raid sent fear and anger through the south as they saw the possibilities of “militant abolitionists”

31. The Election of 1860 • The election of 1860 hung over one of the most volatile periods in history • The Democrats split and nominated two men John C. Breckenridge from the South and Stephen Douglas from the North • The Republicans ran Abraham Lincoln • The Constitutional Union party formed by former Whigs ran John Bell

32. Question for Thought • Why was it dangerous for the Democrats to allow their party to split?

33. The Election of 1860 • The south threatened secession if Lincoln triumphed • Lincoln won in a landslide victory despite Breckenridge carrying the south completely • Stephen Douglas knew this was going to happen and had already travelled to the South to plead with southern leaders to remain in the Union

34. Secession • South Carolina quickly called for and passed secession on the platform that the South had lost all political influence in the country • By February 1861 Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas followed suit • In February all seven states met in Montgomery, Alabama and formed the Confederate States of America and named Jefferson Davis president

35. The Period After Secession • Buchanan stood by and did nothing as Lincoln waited to assume the presidency in April • Buchanan never attempted to intervene as Congress fell apart with Southern states leaving • He hoped the South would simply “come to its senses” • Lincoln viewed secession as illegal and hoped the upper south would stay in the Union • Like most he believed if the Upper South stayed the Lower South would return

36. Fort Sumter • Fort Sumter was a union fort in South Carolina • After secession the South Carolina legislate ordered its surrender • The fort refused and on April 12 the south opened fire • Lincoln called for 100,000 volunteers to join the Army and put down the rebellion • Virginia, North Carolina, Arkansas, and Tennessee reacted by seceding and joining the Confederacy • The Civil War had begun

37. Chapter Objectives • Why did the issue of slavery in the territories cause so much controversy? • What were the causes and consequences of political realignment in the 1850’s? • Why was Lincoln elected in 1860? • Why could the political system not fix the secession crisis?