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Chapter 18 p.390-397. Renewing the Sectional Struggle. The Popular Sovereignty Panacea.
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Chapter 18 p.390-397 Renewing the Sectional Struggle
The Popular Sovereignty Panacea The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the Mexican-American War, but it started a whole new debate about the extension of slavery, with Northerners rallying around the Wilmot Proviso (which proposed that the Mexican Cession lands be free soil) and the Southerners rejecting it. In 1848, Polk, due to tremendous overwork and chronic ailments, did not seek a second term. The Democrats nominated General Lewis Cass, a veteran of the War of 1812, a senator and diplomat of wide experience and considerable ability, AND the originator of popular sovereignty. Popular Sovereignty is the idea that issues should be decided upon by the people (specifically, as it applied to slavery), stating that THE PEOPLE in the territories should decide to legalize it or not – vote by vote – NOT the government. It’s basically what we would call a “referendum” today. • It was a compromise between the extremes of the North and the South, and it was generally popular as it adhered to the idea of self-determination which Americans had grown accustomed to.
Political Triumphs for General Taylor The Whigs nominated General Zachary Taylor, the hero of Buena Vista in the Mexican War, a man with absolutely no political experience, but who was extremely popular (again, think of the “star complex” - ie. Arnold Schwarzenegger). AND, of course, the Whigs avoided all controversial issues in his campaign and focused only on his popularity. Disgusted antislavery Northerners organized the Free Soil Party, a party committed to the Wilmot Proviso (against the extension of slavery in the new territories), federal aid for internal improvements, and free government homesteads for settlers. -This party appealed to people angry over the half-acquisition of Oregon, people who didn’t want blacks in the new territory, as well as “conscience Whigs” who condemned slavery on moral grounds. - The Free Soilers argued that slavery would cause more costly wage labor to wither away if the work was being done for free! - The Free-Soilers nominated former president Martin Van Buren. And again, neither major party dared discuss or take a stand on the slavery issue, and Taylor won narrowly.
“Californy Gold” • In 1848, gold was discovered in California, and thousands flooded into the state, thus blowing the lid off of the slavery issue and creating turmoil in the Taylor administration. • Seemingly overnight, California had already populated to the point where it could become a state! But to be free or slave? THAT was the question that haunted Washington…. • Most people didn’t “strike it rich,” and, as a result, there was vast lawlessness without a properly organized territory. • As a result, California (privately encouraged by the president) drafted a constitution and then applied for free statehood, thus bypassing the usual territorial stage and avoiding becoming a slave state.
Sectional Balance and the Underground Railroad • In 1850, the South was very well off: • They had a Southerner as president (Taylor) • a majority in the cabinet and on the Supreme Court • and equality in the Senate - meaning that its 15 states could block any proposed amendment that would outlaw slavery. Still, the South was worried. • The balance of 15 free states and 15 slave states was in danger with the admission of free California (which would indeed destroy the equilibrium). • Plus, other states (even those below the 36’ 30” parallel) might follow California in as free states, too!
Sectional Balance and the Underground Railroad (cont.) • The South was also agitated about Texas’ claims on disputed territory and the prospect of the abolishment of slavery in Washington D.C., in effect, having a piece of non-slavery land right in the middle of slave-holding Virginia and Maryland. • Finally, the Underground Railroad, a secret organization that took runaway slaves north to Canada, was taking more and more slaves from the South. • Harriet Tubman gained fame by helping slaves escape to Canada, ultimately freeing more than 300 slaves during 19 trips to the South. • To combat this, the South demanded a stricter fugitive slave law be passed by Congress.
Twilight of the Senatorial Giants It all came to a head in 1850. The South was confronted with catastrophe when California demanded admission as a FREE state. The three Senatorial giants – Clay of the West, Webster of the North, and Calhoun of the South (the “Great Triumvirate” or the ‘Immortal Trio”as they’ve become to be known) met together for one last time to engineer a compromise. Henry Clay, AKA “The Great Compromiser,” now 73 years old, urged concession from both the North and the South (the North for a fugitive slave law, the South for a free California) Clay was seconded by Stephen Douglas, the “Little Giant” who was a fine upcoming young senator – the next generation, so to speak.
Stephen Douglas (“The Little Giant”) Tending to Henry Clay During the Compromise of 1850
Twilight of the Senatorial Giants • Southern spokesman John C. Calhoun, dying of tuberculosis, pleaded for states’ rights, for slavery to be left alone, for the return of runaway slaves, the restoration of the rights of the South as a minority, and the return for political balance. • Interestingly, as it was later revealed, he had in mind an utterly unworkable, yet intriguingly desperate, scheme of electing two presidents, one from the North and one from the South, each wielding a veto. • Northerner Daniel Websterproclaimed that the new land could not hold slaves anyway, since it couldn’t cultivate cotton, etc… and his famous Seventh of March speech helped move the North to compromise. • As a result of the popular speech, though, Webster was also proclaimed a traitor to the North by abolitionists, since he had called for ignoring the slavery subject – though only on the grounds for keeping the peace between North and South.
Deadlock and Danger on Capitol Hill • A new group of politicians, the “Young Guard,” seemed more interested in purifying the Union rather than patching it up. • Interestingly, this “Young Guard” was very similar to the “first young guard” of Clay, Webster, & Calhoun some 40 years earlier: brash, cocky, and quick to judge – before their experience quickly gained them much needed caution and wisdom. • William H. Seward, a young senator from New York, was flatly against concession and hated slavery, but he didn’t seem to realize that the Union was built on compromise. • Seward famously claimed that Christian legislators must adhere to a “higher law” and not allow slavery to exist; this holier-than-thou attitude might have cost him the 1860 presidential election – much as Clay’s self-righteous posturing likely denied him the presidency after 3 attempts. • President Taylor also appeared to have fallen under the influence of the “higher law,” vetoing every compromise sent to him by Congress. WOULD there be compromise?......or WAR?
