America Under Franklin Pierce and

James Buchanan, 1853-1860The Kansas-Nebraska Act, the Utopian

Movements, the Dred Scott Decision, and

the Election of Lincoln

From the Series

America’s Era of Expansion and Reform

1817-1860

Produced by

Ancient Lights Educational Media

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© 2003 Ancient Lights Educational Media

Table of Contents

The purchase of this program entitles the user to the right to repro-duce or duplicate, in whole or in part, this teacher’s guide and theblackline master handouts that accompany it for the purpose ofteaching in conjunction with this program, America Under

Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan, 1853-1860: The Kansas-Nebraska Act, the Utopian Movements, the Dred Scott Decision,and the Election of Lincoln. This right is restricted only for use withthis program. Any reproduction or duplication in whole or in partof this guide and the blackline master handouts for any purposeother than for use with this program is prohibited.

This video is closed captioned.

Introduction to the Series . . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Introduction to the Program . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Links to Curriculum Standards . . . . . . . . . .2

Instructional Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Pre-Test . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Student Preparation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Student Objectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Introducing the Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

View the Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Discussion Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Description of Blackline Masters . . . . . . . .6

Extended Learning Activities . . . . . . . . . . .7

Answer Key . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7

Script of Narration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

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America under Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan; 1853-1860:

The Kansas-Nebraska Act, the Utopian Movements, the

Dred Scott Decision, and the Election of Lincoln

Viewing Time: 14 minutes with a one-minute,

five-question Video Quiz

INTRODUCTION TO THE SERIES

This standards-based series of programs for grades 5-9 exam-ines the period of expansion and reform that occurred in theUnited States starting with the presidency of James Monroe in1817 and continued up to the election of Abraham Lincoln in1860.

The five programs in this series focus on key events that shapedthe history of the United States from 1817 to 1860. Major top-ics examined are:

• U.S expansion and how it affected American Indians and for-eign powers.• How industrialization, immigration, expansion of slavery, andwestward movement changed the lives of Americans and ledtoward regional tensions.• The extension, restriction, and reorganization of Americanpolitical democracy.• The sources and character of cultural, religious, and socialreform movements in the antebellum period.

INTRODUCTION TO THE PROGRAM

America under Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan, 1853-

1860: The Kansas-Nebraska Act, the Utopian Movements, the

Dred Scott Decision, and the Election of Lincoln presents thefollowing topics:

· The Presidency of Franklin Pierce, 1853-1857· The Gadsden Purchase and the Kansas-Nebraska Act, 1853-1854

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· An Era of Reform and Self Improvement· James Buchanan and the Dred Scott Decision, 1857· The Lincoln-Douglas Debates, 1858· The Election of President Abraham Lincoln and the Estab-lishment of the Confederacy, 1860-1861

LINKS TO CURRICULUM STANDARDS

The series of which this program is a part is correlated to theU.S. National History Standards, listed below(www.sscnet.ucla.edu)

U.S. National History Standard 1

United States Territorial Expansion between 1801 and 1861,and how it affected relations with external powers and NativeAmericans.

Standard 1A

The student understands the international background and con-sequences of the Louisiana Purchase, the War of 1812, and theMonroe Doctrine.

Standard 1B

The student understands federal and state Indian policy and thestrategies for survival forged by Native Americans.

Standard 1C

The student understands Manifest Destiny, the nation's expan-sion to the Northwest, and the Mexican-American War

U.S. National History Standard 2

How the Industrial Revolution, increasing immigration, therapid expansion of slavery, and westward movement changedthe lives of Americans and led to regional tensions.

Standard 2A

The student understands how the factory system and the trans-portation and market revolutions shaped regional patterns ofeconomic development.

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Standard 2B

The student understands the first era of American urbanization.

Standard 2C

The student understands how antebellum immigration changedAmerican society.

Standard 2D

The student understands the rapid growth of "the peculiar insti-tution" after 1800 and the varied experiences of AfricanAmericans under slavery.

Standard 2E

The student understands the settlement of the West.

U.S. National History Standard 3

The extension, restriction, and reorganization of politicaldemocracy after 1800.

Standard 3A

The student understands the changing character of Americanpolitical life in "the age of the common man."

Standard 3B

The student understands how the debates over slavery influ-enced politics and sectionalism.

U.S. National History Standard 4

The sources and character of cultural, religious, and socialreform movements in the antebellum period.

Standard 4A

The student understands the abolitionist movement.

Standard 4B

The student understands how Americans strived to reform soci-ety and create a distinct culture.

Standard 4C

The student understands changing gender roles and the ideasand activities of woman reformers.

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INSTRUCTIONAL NOTES

Before presenting this lesson to your students, we suggest thatyou preview the program, review the guide, and the accompa-nying Blackline Master activities in order to familiarize your-self with their content.

As you review the materials presented in this guide, you mayfind it necessary to make some changes, additions, or deletionsto meet the specific needs of your class. We encourage you todo so; for only by tailoring this program to your class will theyobtain the maximum instructional benefits afforded by thematerials.

PRE-TEST

Pre-Test is an assessment tool intended to gauge student com-prehension of the objectives prior to viewing the program.Explain that they are not expected to get all the answers correct.You can remind your students that these are key concepts thatthey should focus on while watching the program.

STUDENT PREPARATION

Set up a Learning Center with images relevant to the topics pre-sented in this program, such as:

A map of the Gadsden Purchase, maps depicting changes inU.S. territories and states 1853-1861, a map of the Butterfieldstage route, a map of the first transcontinental railroad, and amap of the Oregon Trail.

Pictures of Franklin Pierce, James Buchanan, StephenDouglas, Fredrick Douglass, John Brown, Harriet BeecherStowe, Harriet Tubman, William Lloyd Garrison, Ralph WaldoEmerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Abraham Lincoln.

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STUDENT OBJECTIVES

After viewing the program and completing the follow-up activ-ities, students should be able to:

• Discribe the Kansas-Nebraska Act.• Explain the Missouri Compromise.• Explain the Dred Scott Decision.• Describe the events the led up to the breakup of the Union ofStates and the outbreak of the Civil War.• Describe 19th century movements of reform and self-improvement.• Explain the Gadsden Purchase.

INTRODUCING THE PROGRAM

This program could be introduced with a review of the MissouriCompromise, as its demise with the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act had significant consequences in terms of furtherdividing the nation. The Missouri Compromise also played akey role in the Dred Scott Decision, in that Scott had based hisplea for freedom on that law, but the Supreme Court declaredthat it had been unconstitutional.

The period from 1853-1861 was a time when old territoriesgave rise to new states (Minnesota, Oregon, and Kansas) andmany new territories. For example, the territories of Washing-ton, Dakota, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, and Nevada were allcreated during this period. A brief review of the "rapid fire" ter-ritorial changes of this period would be useful.

Discuss some of the many 19th century movements that werededicated to reform and self-improvement.

Duplicate and administer Blackline Master #1, Pre-Test.Remind your students that they are not expected to know all theanswers. Suggest that they use these questions as a guide fortaking notes on the key concepts while viewing the program.

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VIEW THE PROGRAM

Running Time: 14 minutes plus a one-minute, five-questionVideo Quiz.

Hand out Blackline Master #3, Video Quiz.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

After viewing the program, you may find it helpful to discusskey concepts as a class. The following questions/statementsmay prove to be useful. You may also choose to use these top-ics to begin a discussion prior to viewing the program.

· What did the Supreme Court say in its decision on the DredScott case? · Why did South Carolina decide to leave the Union of States?· Why were Northerners more opposed to slavery than South-erners?· What was the purpose of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and howdid it affect the expansion of slavery?

DESCRIPTION OF BLACKLINE MASTERS

Blackline Master #1, Pre-Test, is an assessment tool intendedto gauge student comprehension of the objectives prior to view-ing the program.

Blackline Master #2, Post-Test, is an assessment tool to beadministered after viewing the program and completing addi-tional activities. The results of this assessment can be comparedto the results of the Pre-Test to determine the change in studentcomprehension before and after participation in this lesson.

Blackline Master #3, Video Quiz, is intended to reinforce thekey concepts of the program following the presentation of theprogram. Student awareness that a Video Quiz will be givenalso helps promote attention to the program presentation.

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Blackline Master #4, Crossword Puzzle, is a puzzle gamebased on information presented in the Vocabulary List.

Blackline Master #5, Timeline and Activity, presents impor-tant chronological events from 1849 to 1861.

Blackline Masters #6 and #7, Vocabulary List and Activity,includes important names, people, places, and terms relating toevents that occurred during this era in history.

EXTENDED LEARNING ACTIVITIES

Field trips to historic sites are the best way to savor the flavorof America's early days. Research papers, oral reports, newsreports, or PowerPoint® presentations could be done on the fol-lowing subjects:

1. The Kansas-Nebraska Act2. The U.S. Supreme Court and the Dred Scott Case3. The Lincoln-Douglas Debates4. Franklin Pierce5. James Buchanan6. Stephen Douglas7. Establishing a railroad to the Pacific Ocean.

ANSWER KEY

Blackline Master #1, Pre-Test

1. True2. True3. False. It was a Supreme Court decision over slavery.4. False. The Gadsden Purchase added much less land than theLouisiana Purchase.5. False. The Shakers were communal religious groups active in19th century America.

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Blackline Master #2, Post-Test

A. Fill in the blanks:1. Gadsden Purchase2. Sail around the tip of South America3. Republican Party4. Buchanan5. Civil War

B. What was the basis of the lawsuit filed by Dred Scott?1. Dred Scott was a slave from Missouri. Back in the 1830s, hisowner had taken him to live in the Minnesota Territory, a placewhere slavery was illegal under the Missouri Compromise.Scott contended that having lived in a free territory for sometime entitled him to his freedom.

C. Name three main Supreme Court rulings contained in theDred Scott Decision.1. Even though it had been repealed in 1854, the MissouriCompromise, by limiting a slave owners right to take his prop-erty (his slaves) into those regions, had been unconstitutional,so Scott had no legal basis for his case.2. Slavery could not made illegal in new territories, such asKansas and Nebraska, because restrictive laws represented un-constitutional interference with a slave owner's legal right tofreely take his property (slaves) into the new territories.3. People of African descent, whether free or slave, were notallowed to be citizens of the U.S.; thus, Dred Scott did not havea legal right to file a lawsuit in the first place.

Blackline Master #3, Video Quiz

1. False. The land it added was in the southwest region.2. False. It permitted slavery under the concept of "popular sov-ereignty."3. False. It was a Supreme Court decision.4. True5. True

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Blackline Master #4, Crossword Puzzle

Blackline Master #5, Timeline Activity

1. 18542. 18533. 18604. 18615. 1856

Blackline Master #7, Vocabulary Activity

1. secede2. popular sovereignty3. slavery4. Missouri Compromise5. Stephen Douglas

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SCRIPT OF NARRATION

America under Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan, 1853-

1860: The Kansas-Nebraska Act, the Utopian Movements, the

Dred Scott Decision, and the Election of Lincoln

During the eight years before the outbreak of America's CivilWar, two men, Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan, were inau-gurated as Presidents of the United States.

This was an extremely unsettled time in American history dueto rising anger and frustration over the issue of the expansion ofslavery. The nation was becoming increasingly divided betweenSouth and North; between fee state and slave state. And neitherPierce nor Buchanan was able to keep the Union from fallingapart.

The Presidency of Franklin Pierce, 1853-1857

Franklin Pierce, America's 14th President, was a lawyer and aDemocrat from the state of New Hampshire. Before becomingPresident, Pierce had represented his state here in the nation'scapitol in both the Senate and House of Representatives. Andhe had served as an officer in the Mexican War as well.

After being elected President, Franklin Pierce had to confronttwo major national problems. One was the growing oppositionto the expansion of slavery. And the other was a rising tide ofprejudice against new immigrants who were arriving in thecountry each day by the thousands.

But, in spite of these enormous problems, the era of FranklinPierce was a time of great prosperity for the United States, duein part to the recent discovery of gold in California. It was atime when huge numbers of pioneers loaded their possessionsinto covered wagons and headed down the Oregon Trail to startnew lives in the western wilderness; a time when paddle-wheeled steamboats, loaded with bales of cotton and othergoods, chugged majestically up and down America's greatrivers; a time when big factories dominated much of life in theNew England states by providing steady jobs for those willing

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to work long hours at noisy machines. And it was also a timewhen some people were starting to plan new railroad routes thatwould soon span the entire North American continent.

The Gadsden Purchase and The Kansas-Nebraska Act,

1853-1854

When President Franklin Pierce moved into the White House in1853, only a few years had passed since the nation had acquiredits lands along the Pacific Ocean. At that time, there was still norailroad line to the west coast. But people knew that as soon asone could be built, a cross-country trip could be made in lessthan a week. As it stood, most passengers and trade goods fromthe Atlantic Coast had to travel by ship around the tip of SouthAmerica, so that a voyage of several months was required toreach the harbor of San Francisco from eastern ports.

Back then, land surveyors believed that one of the most practi-cal routes for a railroad to California would pass through the hotdesert land south of the Gila River in today's state of Arizona.However, in early 1853, that land still belonged to Mexico. Butlater that year, Mexican President Antonio Lopez de SantaAnna sold America this region, called the Gadsden Purchase,for $10 million. And, as a result of the Gadsden Purchase, over29,000 square miles of land, or nearly 77,000 square kilome-ters, were added to the country.

While new land was being acquired for a southern railroadroute, Illinois Senator Stephen A. Douglas proposed the cre-ation of a northern railroad route to the Pacific that would runwest from the growing city of Chicago. Douglas knew that anorthern railroad route would be of great financial benefit to hishome state of Illinois. And, a northern railroad route would runthrough the unorganized territory in the center of the country,bringing rapid settlement to that area as well. Back then, thisregion was home to several large Native-American tribes andthe huge herds of buffalo upon which they depended for food.

To win the approval of voters from the southern slave states fora northern railroad route, the creation of two new territories,Kansas and Nebraska, was proposed. Douglas wanted them to

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be places where popular sovereignty would exist, meaning thatif the settlers in these territories wanted slavery, they could haveit. And so, with the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act in1854, the Missouri Compromise, the law that had kept slaveryout of the North for 34 years, was repealed. In response to itspassage, a group of people in Wisconsin founded the Repub-lican Party. Its main purpose was to support politicians, likeAbraham Lincoln, who sought to end slavery in America.

An Era of Reform and Self-Improvement

People who struggled to bring an end to slavery, such as theabolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, and ex-slaves HarrietTubman and Fredrick Douglass, were typical of the countlessreformers that were active in America during the first half of thenineteenth century. These reformers—both men and women—worked hard, not only to rid the nation of the evils of slavery,but also to improve education, improve the lives of the poor,improve conditions in the factories, improve the treatment ofthe mentally ill, improve the rights of women, and so forth.

Some reformers even established ideal communities where peo-ple came to improve themselves by living and working togeth-er in peace and harmony. For they believed that if the condi-tions under which people lived were improved, ordinary humanbeings could accomplish truly amazing things. For example, areligious group known as the Shakers founded several idealcommunities that, at one time, were home to as many as 6,000people. Here at Pleasant Hill in Kentucky, hundreds of Shakersshared housing and meals, and practiced nonviolence, purity,and equality.

James Buchanan and the Dred Scott Decision, 1857

In 1857, while the reformers worked to improve American soci-ety, James Buchanan, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, took theoath of office as America's 15th President. Only two days afterPresident Buchanan was inaugurated, Supreme Court ChiefJustice Roger Taney issued a series of rulings called the DredScott Decision that would come to have a tremendous impacton the future of the United States.

Dred Scott was a slave from Missouri. He had filed a lawsuitasking the Court to grant him his freedom on the grounds that,many years earlier, his owner had taken him to live for anextended period in a territory where slavery was illegal underthe Missouri Compromise. This was the 1820 law, repealed in1854, that had permitted slavery in Missouri as long as it wasoutlawed in territories north of what was called the MissouriCompromise Line.

When they issued the Dred Scott Decision, the U.S. SupremeCourt ruled that the Missouri Compromise had been unconsti-tutional because it had illegally deprived slave owners of theirright to own a certain kind of property, that is, their slaves, inthe northern territories. In other words, the Court said that DredScott had based his case on an unconstitutional law and thus, ithad no merit. In addition, the Supreme Court went on to repeallaws that restricted the rights of American citizens to ownslaves in the new U.S. territories, such as Kansas and Nebraska.Furthermore, the Court ruled that blacks, even if they weren'tslaves, were not allowed to be U.S. citizens. Therefore, theysaid, Dred Scott should never have been allowed to file a law-suit in the first place.

President Buchanan supported the decision in the Dred Scottcase and it was hailed as a great victory for the pro-slaveryforces of the South. But Northerners reacted to it angrily, call-ing it a "wicked and false judgment." And the Republican Partysaid that the Dred Scott Decision clearly showed that slaveowners were plotting to use the Constitution to achieve theirgoal of expanding slavery in the United States.

The Lincoln-Douglas Debates, 1858

In 1858, the year after the Dred Scott Decision was issued,Minnesota entered the Union as a free state; gold was discov-ered in Colorado; and the Butterfield Overland Stage Linebegan to operate a regular stagecoach service between Missouriand California, and the journey took three weeks.

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Eighteen fifty-eight was also the year of the Lincoln-DouglasDebates over slavery that took place during the race for the U.S.Senate in Illinois. On one side was the Democratic candidatefor Senator, Stephen Douglas. On the opposing side wasAbraham Lincoln, the Republican senatorial candidate.Lincoln was opposed to slavery on the grounds that it was agreat moral evil. Lincoln tried to convince voters that StephenDouglas was not to be trusted because he was the man behindthe Kansas-Nebraska Act that had made slavery possible in ter-ritories where it had been previously illegal. Douglas believedthat American citizens should be free to decide if they wantedto have slavery without having government interference. Hewarned that Lincoln's ideas on racial equality were dangerousand misguided. In the end, Lincoln's moral stand against slav-ery brought him to the attention of the entire nation. But, evenat that, Douglas won the race for Senator.

And the next year, 1859, another free state, Oregon, was admit-ted to the Union as America's 33rd state.

The Election of President Abraham Lincoln, the Establish-

ment of the Confederacy, 1860-1861

Out of the four candidates that ran for President in the electionof 1860, Abraham Lincoln of Illinois won the most votes.About a month after the election, fearing that Lincoln wouldbring about an end to slavery, South Carolina seceded, that isbroke away, from the United States.

At that time, President Buchanan was still in charge of thecountry, due to the fact that Lincoln's inauguration was still 10weeks away. Buchanan didn't want to send troops to SouthCarolina and decided to wait to see what would happen next. Inthe meantime, another new state, Kansas, was admitted to theUnion.

Buchanan's decision not to use force in South Carolina provedto be a big mistake. Because before Lincoln's inauguration inMarch of 1861, six other slave states: Texas, Florida, Louisiana,Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, had seceded from theUnion as well. They called themselves the Confederate States

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of America. And by the end of the year, the Confederates would be joined by North Carolina, Tennessee, Arkansas, and Virginiaas well.

A few days after South Carolina broke away from the Union, asmall garrison of U.S. army troops left Fort Moultrie, just out-side of Charleston, and moved to Fort Sumter a short distanceaway, across the harbor. When South Carolina officials de-manded that the U.S. troops leave Fort Sumter, they refused. Inresponse, on April 12, 1861, Confederate troops opened fire onFort Sumter as the citizens of Charleston watched on in horri-fied disbelief. And so began a four-year civil war that wouldbring about the deaths of 620,000 American soldiers.

Video Quiz

1. True or False? The Gadsden Purchase added land toAmerica's northwest region.2. True or False? The Kansas-Nebraska Act outlawed slavery inthe new U.S. territories.3. True or False? The Dred Scott Decision ended America'sCivil War.4. True or False? President Buchanan decided not to use mili-tary force to keep the Union together.5. True or False? The Republican Party was founded to helpstop the spread of slavery.

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