Politics of Slavery

The House Divided1846-1861North vs SouthNorthSouthNorthern states had either abolished slavery or put it on the road to extinctionSouthern states had built the largest slave society in the worldMason-Dixon Line

The colonial surveyors line that came to represent the divide between slave and freeSlave societyThe South was not merely a society with slaves. It had become a slave society. Slavery shaped the regions economy, culture, social structure, and politics.

David Wilmot of Pennsylvania

The Territories?Should slavery be extended to the territories?The Wilmot Proviso says noA compromise of popular sovereignty is proposedlet those who live in the territory decideCongress Does not ActThe House of Representatives passed the Wilmot Proviso (it is dominated by northern states)The Senate rejected the proviso (it is dominated by slave states)It becomes an issue in the election of 1848Political PartiesAll political parties were split between those advocating slavery and those against itElection of 1848Democrats:Lewis Cass (popular sovereignty)Whigs:Zachary Taylor (Mexican War hero)Free Soil Party: Martin Van BurenFree Soil PartyAnti-slavery Whigs and anti-slavery Democrats founded the Free Soil Party, making slavery the central issue of the campaignNeither the Whigs nor Democrats took an official stand on slavery in the election of 1848Zachary Taylor

Taylor supported the Free Soil approach to the territoriessurprising given that he was a Southerner and slaveholderHe encouraged California and New Mexico to draw up constitutions to apply for statehood promptlyCongressional Session of 1849One of the most contentious and significant sessions in its historySenator Henry Clay proposed a series of resolutions that sought to balance the interests of the slave and free states: The Omnibus Billboth the anti-slavery people and the fire-eaters or radical secessionist Southerners hated Clays plan and it failed

Great Triumvirate

Senator Daniel Webster

Sanctioned compromise, stating that the new territories did not have the climate appropriate for slavery, making it a mute pointNortherners thought he abandoned their causeSenator Stephen Douglas

broke Clays compromise into its various parts and skillfully ushered each part through CongressCombined, the various bills are known as the Compromise of 1850

Compromise of 1850California to enter the Union as a free state New Mexico and Utah would be decided by popular sovereigntyTexas accepted its boundary with New MexicoSlave trade in Washington DC would be abolishedFugitive slave laws would be more stringent

Compromise of 1850

The CompromiseIt is more a testament to Douglass political skills than to real compromiseIt preserved the Union, but only temporarily1850President Zachary Taylor diedPresident Millard Fillmore succeeds himCalifornia is admitted to the UnionFugitive Slave Act is passedFugitive Slave Act

The most explosive measure of the Compromise of 1850Southerners thought the North betrayed the CompromiseIn the North there were some personal liberty laws that provided some fugitives with protectionBrutal enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act radicalized the NorthHarriet Beecher Stowe

President Franklin Pierce

23Kansas-Nebraska Act 1854

President James Buchanan

26Political Realignment

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29Know Nothing Party

John C. Fremont

First candidate of the Republican Party to run for presidentJessie Benton Fremont

Anti-slavery candidate

Dred Scott Decision

Lincoln-Douglas debates

Lincoln challenges Senator Douglas

Douglas retains his Senate seat

John Brown

John Browns raid at Harpers Ferry

1. What was the tone of this execution?(Answer: Somber and intense; the artist paints the scene in muted colors. The leaves on the trees have died, and all of the spectators are bundled up for the cold autumn weather. The men in the scene wear black, and they do not appear to talk to one another. Nearly everyone watches Browns procession. Brown silently and calmly stares forward. A lone African American turns to the viewer with a dismayed look on her face.)2. How do you think this artist felt about Browns execution?(Answer: The artist felt sympathy for Brown. There is no celebration of the execution. Brown makes no commotion and wears a look of dignity. The African American woman, wearing blue for emphasis, reveals that the author viewed Brown as a hero for his actions.)40Lincoln elected 1860

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