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1820 -1860: Increasing Sectionalism & the Road to the Civil War ( Unit III , Segment 1 of 3 ). The Sectional Crisis. Essential Question : Was the Civil War inevitable?. Sectionalism in the Antebellum Era.
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1820-1860: Increasing Sectionalism & the Road to the Civil War (Unit III, Segment 1 of 3)
Essential Question: • Was the Civil War inevitable?
Sectionalism in the Antebellum Era “King Cotton” had transformed the South into a rural region with slavery, little manufacturing, & few railroads • From 1800-1860, the North & South became vastly different regions
Sectionalism in the Antebellum Era The North had industrial factories, cities, paid immigrant workers, railroads, & larger population • From 1800-1860, the North & South became vastly different regions
Sectionalism in the Antebellum Era These regional differences increased sectionalism -- placing the interests of a region above the interests of the nation • 1820-1850: Sectionalism was mild & resolved by compromise
Sectionalism: 1820-1850 The first major issue regarding slavery in the antebellum era focused on Missouri becoming a state in 1820: • Northerners & Southerners did not want to upset the equal balance of free & slave states in the Senate • Northerners did not want slavery to spread beyond the “Deep South” • Southerners did not think Congress had the power to stop slavery
Maine broke from Massachusetts & became a free state In 1820, Henry Clay negotiated the Missouri Compromise“The firebell in the night!” Missouri became a slave state Slavery was outlawed in all western territories above the latitude of 36°30'
Sectionalism: 1820-1850 In the 1830s, the issue of tariffs divided North & South • Southerners argued that tariffs benefited only the North & made manufactured goods too expensive • John C. Calhoun of SC attempted nullification & threatened secession • President Jackson fought this states’ rights argument
Texas was not annexed for 9 years because statehood would unbalance the number of free & slave states Sectionalism: 1820-1850 In the 1840s, westward expansion brought the issue of slavery up again: The addition of the Mexican Cessionafter the Mexican-American War gave Southerners hope that slavery would spread to the Pacific Ocean
Sectionalism: 1820-1850 • In 1850, California asked to enter the Union as a free state: • Southerners did not want more free states & wanted slavery to be allowed in the southwest territories • Northerners wanted to keep slavery out of the SW & wanted other laws to protect runawayslaveswho made it to freedom in the North
The Compromise of 1850 solved the sectional dispute between North & South The people of Utah & New Mexico could voteto allow or ban slavery (popular sovereignty) The slave trade ended in Washington DC A stronger Fugitive Slave Law was created that allowed Southerners to recapture slaves in the North California entered as a free state
The Compromise of 1850: Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, & John Calhoun
Sectionalism: 1820-1850 • From 1820 to 1850, sectionalism in America increased due to • Differences in regional economies& the use of slavery • Westward expansion & the entry of new states to the Union • Growing abolitionismin the North • But, each time a dispute threatened the nation, a compromisewas reached
Sectionalism in the Antebellum Era These regional differences increased sectionalism -- placing the interests of a region above the interests of the nation • 1820-1850: Sectionalism was mild & resolved by compromise • 1850-1856: The growth of abolitionism & westward expansion intensified the question of the “morality” of slavery
Sectionalism: 1850-1856 • Abolitionists & many Northerners despised the Compromise of 1850: • The Fugitive Slave Law allowed runaway slaves (& sometimes “free blacks”) to be recaptured & enslaved • Northerners formed vigilante committees to protect runaways • Abolitionism grew in the North
The Underground Railroad was a network of safe housesto help slaves escape to freedom Harriet Tubman made 19 trips South to lead 300 slaves to freedom through the Underground Railroad
Sectionalism: 1850-1856 • In 1852 Harriet Beecher Stowe published Uncle Tom’s Cabin • Depicted slavery as a moral evil • Became the best selling book of the 19th century • Inspired many in the North to join the abolitionist cause "So you're the little lady who started this great war!"
Sectionalism: 1850-1856 • In 1854, Congress passed Stephen Douglas’Kansas-Nebraska Act • The law used popular sovereigntyto give the residents of the territories the right to vote to determine slavery • To do this, Congress repealed (ended) the Missouri Compromise lineat36º30’inthewesternterritories
Sectionalism: 1850-1856 • Northerners were outraged by the Kansas-Nebraska Act: • Congress allowed slavery to spread into an area of the U.S. where slavery was already outlawed • Northerners formed the RepublicanParty in 1854 & became committed to the “free soil” movement
Sectionalism: 1850-1856 • Popular sovereignty failed to settle the slavery question in the West: • When a vote was held in Kansas in 1855 to decide on slavery, thousands of Missouri residents illegally voted • This illegal vote gave Kansas slavery when its residents voted against it • In 1856, a war began between Kansas & Missouri (“Bleeding Kansas”)
The vote revealed a pro-slavery victory which led to a violent civil war in Kansas “Bleeding Kansas” Thousands of pro-slavery Missouri residents crossed the border & voted for slavery Free-soilers from Kansas voted against slavery
Sectionalism: 1850-1856 • From 1850 to 1856, sectionalism in America increased due to: • The growth of abolitionism due to the Fugitive Slave Law, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, & the Kansas-Nebraska Act • The birth of regional (not national) political parties like the Republicans • Sectional tensions were becoming so bad that compromise was not an option
Sectionalism in the Antebellum Era These regional differences increased sectionalism -- placing the interests of a region above the interests of the nation • 1820-1850: Sectionalism was mild & resolved by compromise • 1850-1856: The growth of abolitionism & westward expansion intensified the question of the “morality” of slavery • 1856-1860: The slave issue became “irreconcilable” & led to the Civil War
Sectionalism: 1856-1860 • In 1857, a slave named Dred Scottsuedforhisfreedomaftertravelingwith his master from Missouri to Wisconsin • The Dred Scott case presented the Supreme Court with 2 major questions: • Does Congress have the power to decide on slavery in the territories? • Is the Missouri Compromise constitutional?
Sectionalism: 1856-1860 • In Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857), the Supreme Court ruled: • Dred Scott had no right to suebecause African Americans were not citizens • Congress did not have the power to stop slavery in western territories so the Missouri Compromise was ruled unconstitutional • Northern abolitionists were furious
Lincoln was unknown at the time, but during the campaign he argued that Congress must stop the spread of slavery (free soil argument) Sectionalism: 1856-1860 • In 1858, Democrat Stephen Douglas ran against Republican Abraham Lincoln for the Illinois Senate Lincoln lost the Senate election, but his argument against slavery made him a popular national figure
“A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free.”-- Abraham Lincoln, 1858
Sectionalism: 1856-1860 • In 1859, abolitionist John Brownled an unsuccessful raid on a federal armory at Harper’s Ferry, VA in an attempt to free slaves in a massive slave uprising • Brown was caught & executed • But he was seen as a martyr by many in the North • Southerners believed Northerners were using violence to end slavery
An Ill-fated Raid Raid on Harpers Ferry • October 1859 • John Brown / 20 men (5 African Americans) capture Federal Armory [Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now WV)] Goal: arm slaves / promote a slave rebellion “One man and God can overturn the universe.” -- John Brown
The Verdict • Guilty! “Now, if it is deemed necessary that I should forfeit my life for the furtherance of the ends of justice, and mingle my blood further with the blood of my children and with the blood of millions in this slave country whose rights are disregarded by wicked, cruel, and unjust enactments -- I submit; so let it be done.” -- John Brown
A Prediction? John Brown left a haunting note to be read after his execution: “I, John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away but with Blood. I had as I now think vainly flattered myself that without much bloodshed, it might be done.” Result: 1. South grew less inclined to negotiate and talk peace 2. South began to form militias to protect itself from possible slave insurrections
Republicans nominated Abraham Lincoln who argued for “free soil”& a strong national gov’t Sectionalism: 1856-1860 Northern Democrats nominated Stephen Douglas who argued for popular sovereignty • The Election of 1860 proved to be the final straw for the South: Southern Democrats nominated John Breckenridge who argued for states rights & the protection of slavery Democrats in the North & South were split over the issue of slavery
Lincoln won the election without a single Southern vote Sectionalism: 1856 - 1860 Southerners assumed slavery would soon be abolished & began to discuss the possibility of seceding (breaking away) from the USA
Sectionalism: 1856-1860 In December 1860, South Carolinabecame the first state to secede from the Union In 1861, more Southern states seceded & the Civil Warbetween North & South began
Sectionalism: 1856-1860 • From 1856 to 1860, sectionalism in America increased due to: • Slavery became the most important political issue of the time • Growing Southern fears that the North would end slavery (John Brown’s raid, election of Lincoln) • No compromises could prevent a Civil War between the North & South