A Nation Breaking Apart

Chapter 15

I. Tensions Rise Between North and South

A. North and South followed different paths

1. North – industry, cities, immigrants

growing anti-slavery

2. South – agriculture, plantations,

slavery

a. justified slavery

I. Tensions Rise Between North and South

B. Slavery and Territorial Expansion

1. Wilmot Proviso – tried to outlaw slavery

in territory taken from Mexico

a. Free Soil Party

2. The Compromise of 1850

a. Temporary -Did not settle slavery

Wilmot Proviso 1850 Henry Clay addressing the Senate, 1850.

The California gold rush pushed the

Wilmot Proviso issue into the spotlight

because in September of 1849 California

applied for admission to the Union as a

free state. White miners had resented the

advantages to slave owners of their

African-American labor, and proposed a

clause in the California state constitution

prohibiting "slavery or involuntary

servitude." The national balance between

free and slave states had been

maintained since 1820 by admitting new

states in free state/slave state pairs, but

the Southerners feared that the

admission of California would upset this

balance.

I. Tensions Rise Between North and South

C. The Crisis Deepens

1. The Fugitive Slave Act increased

Northern anger

2. Outrage Over the Act - Stowe wrote

“Uncle Tom’s Cabin”

I. Tensions Rise Between North and South

D. Violence Erupts

1. The Kansas-Nebraska Act – let the new

states decide slavery for themselves

2. Led to “Bleeding Kansas” – violence

between pro- and anti-slavery in Kansas

3. Violence in Congress – Also known as,

“Bleeding Sumner” – Senator Preston Brooks

beat Senator Charles Sumner with a cane

II. Slavery Dominates Politics

A. Slavery and Political Division1. Republican Party Forms – Whigs break up

a. Anti-slavery, pro-North partyb. nominated John C. Fremont (1856)

2. Election of 1856 - Democrats a. Pro-slavery, pro-South party

b. nominated James Buchanan (1856)c. Know-Nothing Party nominated Fillmore but they had

little strengthd. Buchanan won, but Republicans showed

they had power (in North) and slavery divided the nation

II. Slavery Dominates Politics

B. The Breaking Point1. The Dred Scott Case

a. Dred Scott sued for his freedom after his owner died and he lost

b. The Court’s Decision – Scott was property and had no rights plus Congress had no power to limit slavery

c. Historical Impact – The MO Compromise was void plus no state could be a “free state” therefore the entire US was opened to slavery according to the Supreme Court

II. Slavery Dominates Politics

C. The Lincoln-Douglas Debates

1. Lincoln – slavery wrong, stop expansion

2. Douglas – popular sovereignty (let each

state decide)

3. Lincoln lost, but became a national

figure

II. Slavery Dominates Politics

D. John Brown’s raid

1. Brown captured a federal armory to

start a slave rebellion

2. He was captured and hung

3. North praised him, South was angry

III. Lincoln’s Election and Southern Secession

A. The Election of 18601. The Split in the Democratic Party - Democrats broke up

a. Northern Democrats – popular sovereigntyb. Southern Democrats – protect slavery

1) They nominated two different candidates2. Two Political Races

a. Lincoln vs. Douglas in North 1) Republicans – opposed expanding slavery

b. Breckinridge vs. Bell in Southc. Lincoln won – more electoral votes in North due to larger

population 1) did not want to abolish slavery

2) the South did not trust him

III. Lincoln’s Election and Southern Secession

B. Southern States Secede1. The Confederate States of America

a. Southern states seceded (withdrew) from the Union (just like they threatened if Lincoln won)

b. They said states’ rights allowed them c. They joined voluntarily, they could leave

d. Nominated Jefferson Davis president of the Confederacy2. The Union’s Response

a. The Union said they could not3. The Failure of Compromise

a. The Crittenden Compromise failed, which proposed slavery being protected

south of the line proposed in the MO Compromiseb. Slavery had pulled the nation apart

4. Lincoln’s Inauguration (1861)a. promised not to abolish slavery

b. but, said he would not allow secessionc. What would be done about the Union forts in South?