Conflict Over Slavery in the 1850s: The Crisis Grows Chapter 10 Section 2.
The 1850s: A Decade of Crisis
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Transcript of The 1850s: A Decade of Crisis
The 1850s: A Decade of CrisisCauses of the Civil War
The Compromise of 1850
• California was admitted as a free state.• Utah and New Mexico would decide the slavery
issue based on popular sovereignty.• Slave trade (not slavery) would be prohibited
in Washington, D.C.• A new law would be passed to help slave
owners regain their runaway slaves.
The Compromise of 1850
Fugitive Slave Act
• Fugitives were not entitled to witness on their behalf or have a trial by a jury of peers.
• Federal commissioners got $10 for returned slaves.
• Aiding/abetting fugitives led to possible fines and/or 6 months in prison.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
• By Harriet Beecher Stowe• Exposed the moral issue
concerning slavery• Northerners became more
opposed to slavery.• Southerners pushed the book as a
set of lies.
"Eliza comes to tell Uncle Tom that he is sold and that she is running awayto save her child." from Uncle Tom's Cabin
Kansas Nebraska Act
• It repealed the Missouri Compromise by allowing popular sovereignty to decide the issue of slavery to the north of the 36th parallel.
• This led to many skirmishes such as the Sack of Lawrence and the Pottawatomie Massacre which further led to the nickname “Bleeding Kansas.”
Realignment of Parties
• The Republicans emerged in 1854. It was formed mostly by Northern Whigs and Democrats who called for the repeal of the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Fugitive Slave law and for the abolition of slavery in Washington, D.C.
The Dred Scott Decision
• Roger B. Taney wrote the Dred Scott decision. • It said that slaves were not citizens, and
therefore did not have the right to seek redress through the court system.
• Slaves were considered property and thus not free, even if they lived in free territory.
• The Missouri Compromise should be repealed because property was protected under the Constitution, and states could not prevent a person from having property.
The LeCompton Crisis
• It revolved around whether or not slave owners already living in Kansas at the time it became a state would be able to keep their slaves.
• The Free-Soilers (90% of the population) and slave owners argued the issue.
• President Buchanan’s endorsement in the favor of the slave owners decided the issue and led to friction between him and Douglas in the Democratic Party.
Lecompton Crisis
John Brown’s Raid
• In 1859 he and 18 others attacked and seized the government arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia.
• He hoped to gain weapons for future slave revolts, but was captured by federal troops after most of his men had been killed or wounded.
• He was tried for treason, found guilty, and hanged.• He became a martyr for the abolitionist cause.
Southerners became more convinced that the “Black Republicans” of the North were plotting to destroy the Southern way of life.
The Election of 1860
• The Republican Party: • nominated Lincoln, • opposed the extension of slavery, • supported internal improvements, • Supported a protective tariff, • Supported a railroad to the Far West, • Supported a liberal immigration policy,
and • Supported free land for Western settlers
The Election of 1860
• The Southern Democrats:• nominated John C. Breckinridge of
Kentucky, and• received 72 electoral votes from
southern states.
The Election of 1860
• The Northern Democrats:• nominated Stephen Douglas,• supported popular sovereignty,
and• received 12 electoral votes from
New Jersey and Missouri.
The Election of 1860
• The Constitutional Union Party:• nominated John Bell, • combined the Know-Nothings, Whigs,
and moderate Northerners, • ignored the slavery issue altogether,
and • received 39 electoral votes from the
border states of Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee.
Abe Lincoln
John C. Breckenridge
Stephen Douglas
John Bell
The Secession Crisis
• On December 20, 1860, South Carolina was the first to fulfill a promise that the South would secede from the Union if a Republican became president.
• By February, 1861, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas had withdrawn from the Union.
• They met in Montgomery, Alabama and formed the Confederate States of America. They drew up a constitution, elected Jefferson Davis of Mississippi as their president, and Alexander H. Stephens of Georgia, Vice President.
Jefferson Davis
Alexander Stephens