Road to the Civil War

The rise of sectionalism between the North and South.

Sectionalism

Loyalty to a region instead of the nation.

North SouthWest

Daniel Webster• Represented

both NH & MA over time.

• Anti-slavery• Opposed War

of 1812• Strong

National Government

• Supported Tariffs

Henry Clay• Kentucky• Promoted

“American System” for internal improvements

• Supported Tariffs of

• Supported War of 1812

John C. Calhoun

• South Carolina• Opposed Tariffs • Wrote

Nullification Doctrine

• Believed in states’ rights

• Supported War of 1812

• Supported slavery

The Missouri Compromise

• Answer to the question: is slavery legal in the western territories?

1. Maine = free state.2. Missouri =slave state.

3. No Slavery north of Missouri’s border.4. Slavery legal below 36˚30’N Latitude

Wilmot Proviso• Bill proposed to outlaw slavery in any land acquired in

the Mexican War.

• Increased sectionalism - Southerners claimed the bill was unconstitutional (5th Amendment)

• Passed in the House of Representatives. • Did not pass the Senate.

• Led to the creation of the “Free Soil Party”

Election of 1848• Whigs – Zachary Taylor• Democrats – Lewis Cass• Free Soil Party – Martin Van Buren

Main issue – should slavery be allowed in the territories?

Zachary Taylor is elected the 12th President.

Zachary Taylor

• Member of the Whig Party.• Southern slave owner• Opposed expansion of

slavery into the territories.

• Died 16 months into his presidency – July 9, 1850.

Was it murder????“Old Rough and Ready” –

War hero from the Mexican War.

REVIEW: Problems with the Missouri Compromise…

1. The United States has continued to grow...Manifest Destiny

Should California be allowed to be a free state?2. President Zachary Taylor suggested that

California apply for statehood, skipping the territory stage. (They did in March of 1850)

3. If California became a free state, the balance of states in Congress would be upset.

Millard Fillmore• Inaugurated during the debate over the Compromise of 1850.

• Many Whig party members did not agree with his signing of the Compromise of 1850, and he was not re-elected.

Vice President to Zachary Taylor.

REVIEW: Compromise of 1850

1. Allows popular sovereignty to decide slavery in Utah and New Mexico Territories.

2. Admits California as a free state.3. Bans slave trade in Washington D.C.4. Settles border dispute between Texas and

New Mexico.5. Includes provision for the Fugitive Slave Act.

REVIEW: Fugitive Slave Act

• Required all United States citizens to aid in the capture of runaway slaves.

• Fine of $1,000 + jail time for allowing a runaway slave to escape.

• Set up a special court system to deal with these cases:

- No trial by jury for those accused- Judges were paid $5 for those set free & $10 for slaves returned to the south.

Franklin Pierce• Democrat from

New Hampshire.• Won the Election of

1852

• Supporter of the Compromise of 1850 and the Fugitive Slave Act.

• Was not re-elected.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

1. Introduced by Stephen Douglas2. Wanted to organize the territories to help

open up plans for a transcontinental railroad.3. Popular Sovereignty --

Let the states decide the issue of slavery.4. Re-introduced the debate over slavery in the

territories. Northern Democrats begin to split on this issue.

5. Supported by President Pierce.

Conflict in Kansas• 1855 popular sovereignty election

-- Pro-slavery legislature is elected-- 1,500 voters lived in Kansas; 6,000 people

voted• 1856: Anti-Slavery settlers boycotted while armed,

held a separate election, & adopted a state constitution that banned slavery.

• President Pierce & the Senate favored the proslavery government.

• The House of Representatives supported the anti-slavery government

“The Sack of Lawrence”• Armed pro-slavery and

anti-slavery forces continued to arrive & fight in Kansas.

• May, 1856: Lawrence, Kansas – the anti-slavery capitol – is attacked and burned.

“Bleeding Kansas”

Pottawatomie Creek

Massacre• John Brown, his four sons, and other abolitionisits responded to the Sack of Lawrence.

• Five pro-slavery men were captured and murdered.

• Another episode referred to as “Bleeding Kansas”

Violence in Congress• Senator and abolitionist

Charles Sumner criticized southern Senator Andrew Butler during a debate in a filibuster against the violence in Kansas.

• Representative Preston Brooks,the nephew of Butler, entered the Senate with a walking cane, and beat Charles Sumner unconcsious.

The Republican Party

• New political party founded in 1854

• Made up of Northern Democrats, Whigs, and Free Soil party members.

• Established “for the establishment of liberty and the overthrow of the Slave Power.”

By: Thomas Nast Originally published in Harper’s Weekly, 1874.http://www.harpweek.com/09cartoon/browsebydatecartoon.asp?month=november&date=7http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0881985.html

Election of 1856

• Republican: John C. Fremont• Democrat: James Buchanan• Know Nothing: Millard Fillmore

• Vote was decided on sectional lines:James Buchanan won all southern states

except for MD.Fremont did not win one electoral vote below the “Mason-Dixon Line” in the South.

James Buchanan• President during a time of great division because of sectionalism.

• Hoped that the Dred Scott decision would end the debate over slavery.

• Was not nominated by either the Northern or Southern Democrats for re-election in 1860.

Dred Scott • As a slave, he spent years in Illinois (free state) and the Wisconsin Territory (free territory) before returning to Missouri (slave state).

• Slave who sued his owner for freedom.

Claimed that time spent in free states and territories with his owner made him a free man.

Dred Scott v Sanford - 1857

1. No African American could be a citizen of the United States, therefore, Dred Scott could not sue.

2. Slaves are property. The 5th Amendment does not allow property to be taken without due process of law. Therefore…banning slavery in the territories is like taking property away. (Slavery is allowed in the territories – Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional)

Lincoln – Douglas Debates• Series of debates between Illinois Senate race

between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas.

• Douglas (Democrat) believed that the Dred Scott decision ended the debate over slavery in the territories.

• Lincoln (Republican) debated on the moral, not legal, issue of slavery

• Douglas narrowly won the election, but, Lincoln became famous outside of Illinois with his remarks.

Harper’s Ferry• A group of abolitionists ledby John Brown attempted to raid the arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, VA.

• Plan: Give weapons to slaves to start a rebellion.

• Brown was convicted of treason and hanged.“I, John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes

of this guilty land will never be purged away but with blood.”

Election of 1860• Northern Democrats – Stephen Douglas• Southern Democrats – John C. Breckinridge• Constitutional Union Party – John Bell• Republican Party – Abraham Lincoln

• Lincoln wins – but:1. He did not win a single southern state’s popular

vote. ( He wasn’t on the ballot in 10 states) and many states felt they had lost their voice in government.

2. Republican Party was against the spread of slavery into the territories.

Election Results

South Carolina secedes

• December 20, 1860

Did not feel that a Republican administration would protect their rights.

Confederate States of America (CSA)

• February, 1861: Delegates meet to form a new nation and government.

• The US Government had violated the Constitution (a contract with the states) by refusing to honor their rights.

• The following states join South Carolina in seceding:

Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, & Alabama

Jefferson Davis

• Elected President of the Confederacy (CSA)

• Former US Senator from Mississippi

Abraham Lincoln

• Republican from Illinois.

• Inaugurated after the CSA had formed.

1. Against secession2. Promised to enforce

the laws of the U. S.

3. Promised to hold (protect) federal land in the South.

Jefferson Davis’ Inaugural Address

• February 18, 1861:

“As a necessity, not a choice, we have resorted to the remedy of separation…If a just perception of mutual interest shall permit us peaceably to pursue our separate political career, my most earnest desire will have been fulfilled. But if this be denied to us…[we will be forced] to appeal to arms…”

Abraham Lincoln’s 1st Inaugural Address

• March 4, 1861:

“One section of our country believes slavery is right and ought to be extended. This is the only substantial dispute…Physically speaking, we can not separate. We can not remove our respective sections from each other nor build an impassable wall between them…In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of war.”

Fort Sumter• The CSA attacks U.S. Fort Sumter in S.C. on April 12,

1861 - before Union reinforcements can arrive.

• Union troops hold out for two days before they surrender on April 14th.

• Results: 1. Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee,

and Arkansas join the Confederacy.2. Abraham Lincoln calls for 75,000

Union troops.

the Civil War Begins

April 12, 1861