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Unraveling the Crisis: Slavery Compromises and Political Turmoil in Antebellum America

Explore the tumultuous period leading to the Civil War, from the Missouri Compromise to the Election of 1860. Learn about key events such as the Compromise of 1850, Bleeding Kansas, Lincoln-Douglas Debates, and the impact of the Dred Scott Decision. Witness the rise of new political parties and the violent clashes that defined the era.

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Unraveling the Crisis: Slavery Compromises and Political Turmoil in Antebellum America

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  1. Slavery in the Territories

  2. Missouri Compromise • Missouri entered as a slave state • Maine entered as a free state • No slavery above the 36° 30´ line • (Except MO itself)

  3. Missouri Compromise (1820)

  4. Compromise of 1850 • Californians requested statehood in 1850 as a free state • Fear of upsetting the fragile balance of free and slave states • Henry Clay of Kentucky proposed a plan • Sought a middle ground • 5 separate laws

  5. Compromise of 1850 • Congress would admit California as free state • People of N.M. and Utah would decide • Congress would abolish the sale of enslaved people, but not slavery, in D.C. • Texas would give up claims to N.M. for $10 million • Fugitive Slave Act • All citizens of the U.S. ordered to assist in the return of escaped slaves • Would deny a jury to escaped slaves

  6. Debating the Compromise • The “great and primary” cause of the crisis was that the North now had “the exclusive power of controlling the government.” - South Carolina’s John C. Calhoun • How so? North had larger population, more seats in House and more votes in the electoral college

  7. Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854) • Stephen Douglas of Illinois proposed creation of two new territories • People in territories would be permitted to decide whether slavery would be allowed • Both territories would be above 36 30’N • A repeal of the Missouri Compromise? • Attempt to please both North and South

  8. Changes in Political Parties • By end of 1850s, Whig party had largely disappeared • Unhappy with its leaders’ compromises on slavery • Rise of American Party (“Know Nothings”) • Promoted nativism • Republican Party (1854)

  9. “Bleeding Kansas” • Free-soilers sent to Kansas from Northeast • Many proslavery settlers crossed into Kansas to vote illegally • By 1855, Kansas had antislavery capital at Topeka and slavery capital at Lecompton • Tensions led to violent raids and counter-raids that won the territory the grim nickname

  10. Election of 1856 • Democratic candidate James Buchanan • Supported compromise of 1850 • Republican candidate John Fremont • First republican • First to run in opposition to slavery

  11. Buchanan Wins • Northern President (PA) with Southern sympathies • Pledged to his supporters in South that he would stop “the agitation of the slavery issue” in the North

  12. Violence Reaches Congress…Literally • 1856, Senator Charles Sumner (MA) gave speech “Crimes Against Kansas” • Criticized Stephen Douglas (IL) and Andrew Butler (SC) • Butler’s nephew (Preston Brooks) brutally beat Sumner with a cane

  13. Dred Scott Decision (1857) • Scott v. Sandford • Scott, enslaved man in Missouri, filed suit against his owner • Argue he and his wife had once lived in free territories/states where slavery was illegal

  14. Court, under Chief Justice Roger Taney • Ruled 7 to 2 against Scott • Scott (and all slaves) are not citizens • Living in free territory doesn’t make you free • Congress did not have the power to ban slavery anywhere (private property)

  15. Lincoln / Douglas Debates (1858) • “A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved-I do not expect the house to fall-but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other.” – Lincoln, Speech in Springfield, 1858

  16. Lincoln Douglas Debates (1858) • Illinois Senate race • Stephen Douglas (“Little Giant”), Democrat • Slavery in new states should be determined by ‘popular sovereignty’ • Avoid angering South • Abraham Lincoln, Republican • Stop spread of slavery • Says Blacks should have basic human rights, but doesn’t advocate social, political or economic equality

  17. John Brown (1859) • John Brown attacks Harpers Ferry, VA to incite slave uprising • Robert E. Lee, then a Federal Army Colonel, leads troops to capture Brown • John Brown is hanged • The South becomes obsessed with security

  18. Election of 1860 • Democrats Split • Southern Democrats – Breckenridge • Northern Democrats – Douglas • Constitutional Union Party – John Bell • Republican Party – Abe Lincoln • Lincoln carries every northern state but New Jersey (split w/ Douglas)

  19. Last Effort for Compromise December 18, 1860 • Crittenden Compromise (Kentucky Senator) • Constitutional amendment to guarantee right for southern states to maintain slavery • Reinstate Missouri Compromise line, extend it across country • Rejected by Republicans

  20. Frederick Douglass’ Escape

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