Renewing the Sectional Renewing the Sectional Struggle Struggle

1848-18541848-1854““Secession! Peaceable Secession! Sir, Your Eyes Secession! Peaceable Secession! Sir, Your Eyes

and Mine are never destined to see such a and Mine are never destined to see such a miracle” miracle”

Daniel Webster, Seventh of March Speech, 1850Daniel Webster, Seventh of March Speech, 1850

Lands ceded by Mexico to the US as a result of the Mexican-American War1846- The Wilmot Proviso- (Representative David Wilmot (Dem) from Penn; proposed that in any territory won from Mexico-slavery would not exist– voted down in the Senate.

The Election of 1848The Candidates:1. Gen. Lewis Cass: chosen by the Democrats at

convention in Baltimore; “father of popular sovereignty” idea.

• Democrat Platform: silence on slavery in the territories.

*Popular Sovereignty: idea that the people who lived in a territory should determine the status of slavery in that territory.

• Fatal defect: might serve to spread slavery.

2. Zachary Taylor: chosen by Whigs at convention in Philadelphia; “ Hero of Buena Vista”.

• Dodged the controversial issues- • Taylor- Louisiana slave owner

3. The Free Soil Party: formed by antislavery forces in the North who distrusted Taylor & Cass on the slavery issue. *condemned slavery –not on moral grounds- but on grounds that slaves threatened the ability of free white men to earn upward mobility. • favored the Wilmot Proviso & against slavery in territories.• advocated federal aid for internal improvements, free government homesteads for settlers.• Voters: industrialists angry at Polk’s reduction of tariffs, Democrats resentful of Polk’s settling for part of Oregon & all of Texas, northerners who resented sharing the western territories with African-Americans, “Conscience Whigs” who condemned slavery on moral grounds. •Candidate: Martin Van Buren

The Election of 1848Zachary Taylor won the election Van Buren did not win a state but diverted Democrat votes from Cass in NY to throw the election to Taylor

*1848-Gold Discovered in California• 1848- on the American River near Sutter’s Mill, California gold was discovered= miners & settlers flooded into California (49’ers).• most miners used placer mining to pan for gold at the earth’s surface= most did not strike it rich. (Quartz mining)• people who charged miners for services made the money• tens of thousands of gold hungry settlers flooded into California= the tiny government could not handle the influx.• crime was rampant= vigilante justice (partly successful)•** 1849- (privately encouraged by Pres. Taylor) California drafted a constitution that banned slavery & applied for admission to the US.

Sectional Balance by 1850• South relatively well off:1.Zachary Taylor – a Southern slave owner in the

White House 2.Southern majority on the pres. Cabinet &

Supreme Court3.Equal balance in the Senate4.Cotton fields were expanding- prices were high5.15 slave states could veto any proposed

constitutional amendment interfering with slavery.

*Admission of California might tip political balance (15 free/15 slave states in the Senate)

Southern anxiety 1. Settlers in New Mexico & Utah were agitating for admission

as free states. 2. Texas had a land dispute that included part of New Mexico3. Northerners wanted slavery in DC abolished4. The Underground Railroad

The Underground Railroad• an informal chain of “stations” (antislavery homes) that would shelter runaway slaves (passengers) from slave states to free soil in Canada.• “Conductors” usually black & white abolitionists.

Most famous conductor: Harriet Tubman “Moses”; runaway slave from Maryland. 19 trips into the South to help runaways escape including her parents.•Rescued 300 slaves ** Southerners demanded stricter fugitive slaves laws1850- the South was losing about 1000 runaways per year out of 4 million – less than blacks buying freedom or voluntary manumission. ** Southerners concluded that the Constitution protected slavery.

The Old Guard Debates California & UnionThe “immortal trio” : Clay, Calhoun, & Webster

appeared together for the last time. • California wanted admission to the Union• Southern “Fire-eaters” threatened secession • 1849- Southerners announced a convention to be

held in Nashville, Tenn. to consider secession.1.Henry Clay: (73) proposed a series of

compromises (helped by Senator Stephen Douglas)

• North & South had to make concessions- a new fugitive slave law was needed.

2. John C. Calhoun (68) championed the South- rejected Clay’s concessions because they failed to protect Southern rights.

• Leave slavery alone, return runaway slaves, give the South rights

• A scheme to have a northern & southern president proposed-never enacted!

3. Daniel Webster (68): Seventh of March Speech (1850)•Urged adoption of Clay’s concessions•Urged concessions to the South (new fugitive slave law)• believed that slavery in the new territories was unlikely• Seventh of March speech turned the tide towards

The New Guard-New, young members of Congress•more interested in purging than pacifying•William H. Seward- (NY) antislavery; against concessions. • appealed to God’s law as higher than the constitution

1850- Pres. Taylor died & Millard Fillmore became pres.- gladly Signed the compromises.

**The Compromise of 18501. California in as a free state= tip balance of

power in Senate to the North for good.2. New Mexico & Utah- popular sovereignty would

determine slavery.3. Texas was paid $10 million – but lost claims to

NM.4. Slavery allowed in DC –BUT not the slave trade5. A new fugitive slave law was enacted **1850 Fugitive Slave Law –”Man-Stealing Law”• fleeing slaves could not testify on their own

behalf• fleeing slaves denied a jury trial• federal commissioners given $5 if runaway was

freed & $10 if not= bribery?• Northerners who aided runaways were fined or

jailed• Northerners could be ordered to help capture

runaways

US Map after Compromise of 1850

Northern HostilityThe 1850 Fugitive Slave Law set off an angry

reaction in the North.1. 1854- a runaway slave from Virginia was

captured in Boston & had to be removed from the city under federal guard.

2. Massachusetts made it a punishable offense for any state official to enforce the Fugitive Slave Law.

3. other states passed “personal liberty laws”- denied use of local jails to federal officials.

4. the Underground Railroad stepped up its efforts-more northerners helped runaway slaves.

The Fugitive Slave Law was a major blunder for the South?

• awakened antislavery sentiment in the North

• Southerners angered that Northerners refused to enforce

The Compromise of 1850 postponed the inevitable war- who did this postponement help most? Answer-the North: gave them time to increase population, wealth, crops, factories, ships, & foundries. & railroads.•the events of the 1850’s bolstered the Yankee will to resist secession= moral strength increased.

The Election of 18521.Democrats- Franklin Pierce (second dark horse): chosen by Democrats; lawyer-politician from New Hampshire.•Weak & indecisive•served without distinction in the Mexican-American War•Known as the “fainting general”; accused of a fondness for alcohol.•chosen mainly because: enemy less, pro-southern northerner acceptable to slavery wing of the party.•Platform: pro-expansion & endorsed the Compromise of 1850 & Fugitive Slave Law

2. Winfield Scott: chosen by the Whigs because he was a military hero of the Mexican-American War.

• seemed haughty= turned off the masses.• Platform: praised the Compromise of 1850

The Presidential Campaign of 1852Turned into a mudslinging attack of personalities• the Whigs said Pierce was the hero of “many a

hard fought bottle”• the Democrats charged Scott with pomposity• The Whig Party was spilt – antislavery Northern

Whigs accepted Scott but deplored his platform.• The Southern Whigs accepted the platform but

did not trust the candidate.The Outcome: Pierce won in an electoral landslide

254 to 42. Popular Vote: 1,601,117 to 1,385,453

Significant Result of the 1852 Election:• it led to the end of the Whig Party• led to an eclipse of national parties & the rise of sectional alignments• Whigs won only 2 presidential elections- using military heroes• The Whig Party legacy- to help uphold the ideal of the Union

Expansionists Eye South of the BorderUS victory against Mexico and discovery of gold in California jump-started Manifest Destiny. Americans became interested in Central America.•Why?- the narrow neck of land was ideal for a continuous Atlantic-to-Pacific route that might sever the two American continents.• Britain gained control of the port of San Juan (Greytown) on Nicaragua's “Mosquito Coast”. = US & Columbia sign a treaty in 1848. 1848 US-Columbia Treaty1. Guaranteed the right of transit to the US across the isthmus in exchange for American pledge to maintain “perfect neutrality” of the route so that “free transit of traffic might not be interrupted”** later Theodore Roosevelt will use this agreement as excuse for American control of the Panama Canal in 1903.

2. Led to the construction of the first transcontinental railroad completed in 1855; ran 48 miles across Panamanian jungle.

The Clayton-Bulwer Treaty of 1850America nor Britain would fortify or seek exclusive control over any future isthmus waterway.

The South Covets Slave landsSouthern slave interests looked southward in the 1850’s for new slave territory.1.Nicaragua--William Walker (American adventurer) tried a few times to grab this Central American territory.• July 1856- Walker & an armed force from the Southern US installed himself as president & legalized slavery.• Central American nations worked together & overthrew Walker= Walker was killed by Honduran firing squad in 1860.

2. Cuba: US southern neighbor; enticing prospect for annexation. • already had a large population of enslaved blacks• could be carved into several southern states= bring the US Senate back into balance.• Pres. Polk had considered offering Spain $100 for Cuba-Spain refused to consider the offer.• 1850-1851– two expeditions each numbering several hundred armed men went to Cuba.• Both expeditions were repelled- the last expedition (leader & 50 followers were shot or strangled).• 1854- Spanish officials in Cuba seized an American steamer-the Black Warrior. • President Pierce could now declare war on Spain & seize Cuba?--

**The Ostend Manifesto (1854)The US Sec. of State instructed American ministers in Spain, England , and France to SECRETLY prepare recommendation to acquire Cuba. The meeting took place in Ostend, Belgium. The Proposal: urged the administration offer $ 120 million for Cuba.• if Spain refused– the US would be “justified in taking the island” from Spain. ** NEWS of the Manifesto leaked & northern Free-Soilers rose up against it- Pierce dropped the idea.

US interests in AsiaWith the US acquisition of California & Oregon- the US was becoming a Pacific power. Americans became more interested in Asian markets.•Britain had defeated the Chinese in the Opium War (1842) & gained access to five “treaty ports” & control of Hong Kong (which Britain held for a century and a half).

The Cushing Expedition1844 –President John Tyler sent Caleb Cushing (Mass. Lawyer) to get China to make concessions to the US. • Cushing sent with 4 warships arrived in Macao (southern China)- carrying gifts (weathervane & pair of six-shooters)• Treaty of Wanghia- 1st formal diplomatic agreement between the US & China- US got “most favored nation trading status” ; “Extraterritoriality”- Americans accused of crimes in China would be tried in American courts.• US trade with China began to expand• US missionaries flooded into China

US Interest in JapanJapan had isolated itself because it did not want to be westernized ( for 2 centuries following Jamestown).• Tokugawa Shogunate- the ruling warrior dynasty protected Japan’s isolation.The Matthew Perry Expedition 1853 1852-1853- President Millard Fillmore sent a fleet of warships to Edo Bay (later Tokyo) –shocked Japanese watched from shore.• tense negotiations occurred- Perry threatened to blast his way ashore- Perry went ashore with letters requesting trade.• Feb. 1854--Perry returned one year later with 7 men-or-war ships to get Japan’s reply.• March 1854-Treaty of Kanagawa- proper treatment of shipwrecked sailors, US coaling rights in Japan, established consular relations.• Meiji Restoration- within a decade the era of the Shogun ended= Japan began to enter the modern world.

Perry’s Second Trip to Edo Bay

Commodore Perry

An American Transcontinental RailroadAmericans became convinced of the need for a transcontinental railroad to connect western US & eastern US.Should the Railroad be built in the North or South?The South wanted a southern route through the Southwest territory to California.• a southern track easier to build because it would have few mountains to cross, land would be protected by federal troops•the best route required a piece of land south of Mexico’s border-Sec. of War Jefferson Davis sent James Gadsden (southern Railroad man) to negotiate.•**Gadsden Purchase (1853) Mexico sold the land to the US for $10 million.

**The Kansas-Nebraska Act Northern railroad boosters urged Nebraska territory be organized to prepare the way for a northern route.• 1854-Stephen Douglas (Ill) heavily invested in Chicago real-estate & railway stock hoped to make Chicago the northern terminus for a transcontinental Railroad.Douglas’ proposal: 1.Nebraska territory divided into two territories: Kansas & Nebraska.2.Popular Sovereignty would determine slavery in the two territories.3.Kansas which was west of Missouri (a slave state) was expected to become a slave state.4.Nebraska-lying west of free-soil Iowa would presumably be free state ** Kansas-Nebraska Act- contradicted the Missouri Compromise

•Southerners liked the idea of a slave state (Kansas) being added•President Pierce supported the Act.• Northerners & antislavery advocates, & Free-Soil party members in Congress opposed the idea= branded him a traitor.**Effects of Passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act 1.Led inevitably to the Civil War2.All future compromise with the South was made more difficult 3.The Fugitive Slave Law was dead in the North4.Kansas-Nebraska= death of the Missouri Compromise5.Antislavery advocates gained more recruits6.Split the Democrat Party after 18567.Led to the creation of the Republican Party (Wisconsin & Michigan) •The new party included: disgruntled Whigs (Abe Lincoln), Democrats, Free-Soilers, Know-Nothings & other enemies of Kansas-Nebraska.•1856- Republicans had elected a Speaker of the House•Republican Party was a sectional party-not accepted South