Slavery Issues

Preludes

to the

Civil War

Mr. Foster

CCMS Social Sciences

The Northwe

st Ordinance (1787)

• Organized the Northwest Territory out of the region south of the Great Lakes, north and west of the Ohio River, and east of the Mississippi River.

Townships and Education

The Northwest Territory was divided into townships.

Land within the townships was sold by the government to settlers for a low price.

Public EducationRevenue generated from the sale of a portion of each township in the state would go to fund public education—the first instance of federal aid for education in American history.

Ohio University, founded in 1804.

SlaveryBanned slavery in the Northwest Territory.

“Art. 6. There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in the said territory,”

This had the effect of establishing the Ohio River as the boundary between free and slave territory.

The Missouri Compromise, 1820

• Henry Clay promoted the bill, which asked southern and northern politicians to make a compromise;

1.Missouri admitted as a slave state and Maine as a free state.

2.Outlawed, or prohibited, slavery in the former Louisiana Territory north of the parallel 36°30' north, except within the boundaries of the proposed state of Missouri.

War with Mexico, Land, and Slavery- Wilmot

ProvisoThe 1846 Wilmot

Proviso was a bold attempt by opponents of slavery to prevent its introduction in the territories purchased from Mexico following the Mexican War.

The Wilmot Proviso (1846)

Named after its sponsor, Democratic representative DAVID WILMOT of Pennsylvania.

The Wilmot Proviso split both Whigs and Democrats along sectional lines and polarized Northerners and Southerners against each other. It often passed the House, where Northerners who supported it outnumbered the Southerners who opposed it, only to be buried in the Senate, where the two sections had an equal number of seats.

The Compromise of 1850

Henry Clay, “The Great Compromiser”

Parts of the Compromise of 1850

California admitted as a free-state.

Future states in the New Mexico and Utah Territories could determine slavery by popular sovereignty, or majority vote.

Congress passed a stronger law to help slaveholders recapture runaway slaves- The Fugitive Slave Act.

The Fugitive Slave Act The Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 made any Federal marshal

or other official who did not arrest an alleged runaway slave liable to a fine of $1,000.

Law-enforcement officials everywhere now had a duty to arrest anyone suspected of being a runaway slave.

The suspected slave could not ask for a jury trial or testify on his or her own behalf. In addition, any person aiding a runaway slave by providing food or shelter was subject to six months' imprisonment and a $1,000 fine.

Officers who captured a fugitive slave were entitled to a bonus or promotion for their work.

Since any suspected slave was not eligible for a trial this led to many free blacks being taken into slavery as they had no rights in court and could not defend themselves against accusations.

The Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)

Introduced by Senator Stephen Douglas of Illinois, a northern state.

Repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which outlawed slavery in the former Louisiana Territory north of the 36’ 30” line.

Allowed settlers in Kansas and Nebraska to determine if they would allow slavery within their boundaries, popular sovereignty.

Bleeding

Kansas

Dred Scott – A slave that sued for his

freedom.

Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857) United States Supreme Court Decision, led

by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney, that declared that all blacks -- slaves as well as free -- were not and could never become citizens of the United States.

Referring to the language in the Declaration of Independence that includes the phrase, "all men are created equal," Taney reasoned that "it is too clear for dispute, that the enslaved African race were not intended to be included, and formed no part of the people who framed and adopted this declaration..."

Lincoln-Douglas Debates (1858)

VS

A series of seven debates between Abraham Lincoln and Senator Stephen Douglas for a seat in the United States Senate (representing Illinois).

The main issue discussed in all seven debates was slavery.

Lincoln lost the election but he published his texts of the speeches in one book, which sold very well.

Lincoln’s first speech, “A House Divided”, was given in Springfield, Illinois.