The Forces that Divide the Nation

The Forces that Divide the Nation

I. PoliticsI. Politics A. Agricultural

South vs. Industrial North– 1. Northern cities,

population, manufacturing.

– 2. Plantations, cotton.

– 3. Protective Tariffs. a. make imported items more expensive,

benefit north b. hurts southern planters.

B. NullificationB. Nullification 1. The states have the right to

declare a federal law illegal.– a. The rights of the states versus the

power of the federal government.– b. What does the Constitution mean by

power reserved to the States?– c. 1798 Jefferson developed the

argument of nullification to oppose Alien/Sedition act.

C. 1828 Tariff of Abominations

C. 1828 Tariff of Abominations

1. Great voices in the Senate– a. John C. Calhoun,

South Carolina– b. Daniel Webster,

Massachusetts– Henry Clay, Kentucky

2. States Rights vs. Federal Union– South vs North.

Webster, Clay and Calhoun

Webster, Clay and Calhoun

3. South Carolina– a. 1832, passed Nullification Act to battle

the tariff– b. Threatened to secede if Act was

enforced against their state law. 4. President Jackson

– a. Jackson threatened to send in federal troops if South Carolina to enforce the law. South Carolina backed down.

II. ReformII. Reform A. Change

society for the better– 1. cities– 2. temperence– 3. education– 4. women’s rights

B. AbolitionB. Abolition 1. End Slavery

– a. political reasons, all men created equal

– b. religious all are equal in God’s eyes, quakers

– The Underground Railroad, painted by Charles T. Webber, 1891.

2. Three Methods– a. Monroe Colonizationsociety,

Liberia, avoid the issue– b. Moderates- it will die out– c. Hard core activists

i. William Loyd Garrison ii. Frederick Douglass iii. Harriet Tubman

III. Westward ExpansionIII. Westward Expansion A. 1819 - balance in the Senate

– 1. Eleven Northern states a. OH,PA,NJ,NY,CT,RI,MA,NH,VT,IN,IL

– 2. Eleven Southern states a. MD,VA,TN,NC,SC,GA,DE,KY,MISS,LA,AL

B. 1820 Missouri Compromise– 1. 1818 MO petitioned Congress to enter

the Union as a slave state. Northern Senators oppose admission

– 2. Henry Clay-the great compromiser a. 1820 ME petitions to enter as free b. Clay proposes the 36’30” line be used to

divide the LA purchase between slave and free

– 3.MI,IO,WI, free, FL,TX,AK enter as slave

C. War with MexicoC. War with Mexico 1. 1846 Wilmot Proviso

– a. Representative David Wilmot proposes any lands won from Mexico be declared slave free

– b. Senate defeats it debate rages over slavery in Mexican session.

2. Free soilers– a. 1848 a political party forms

dedicated to keeping western lands free.

– b. Presidential candidate loses but they win 13 seats in Congress

– c. means there is a voice in congress dedicated to ending slavery.

Compromise 1850Compromise 1850 -1850, California petitioned to enter

as a free state - Southerners refused to let this

happen. Compromise- popular sovereignty to

the new territories of New Mexico and Utah

New fugitive slave law Slavery illegal in Washington DC

Uncle Tom’s CabinUncle Tom’s Cabin In 1852, Harriet

Beecher Stowe’s novel convinced many northerners to join the cause of abolition.

Bleeding KansasBleeding Kansas In 1854 Senator Stephen Douglas

proposed the Kansas-Nebraska Act– Split the remainder of the Louisiana

Purchase into Kansas and Nebraska Territories

– Allowed people in territory to decide whether slave or free based on popular sovereignty

Bleeding Kansas cont.Bleeding Kansas cont. Began race to fill Kansas by

proslavery and abolitionists to sway the vote.

In 1855 both sides established their own government

In 1856 pro slavery border ruffians rode in to Lawrence, shot up town and killed 5

John Brown, Pottawatomie Creek

Violence in the senateViolence in the senate Charles Sumner gave speech

denouncing proslavery activists in Kansas. He singled out Senator Andrew Butler in his attack. Preston Brooks in response beat him with his cane on the floor of the Senate.