Events Leading to Secession

Slave or Free?????• In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson bought a

huge area west of the Mississippi River from France– Louisiana Purchase

• Could these new states have slavery? Or will they be free?

• In 1819, the United States had 22 states, evenly divided between free states and slave states

• The Ohio River was the dividing line that marked the slave states that were in the South

Missouri Compromise

• Missouri applied to be a slave state in the Union

• Should Congress allow this???

• The “Compromise”: Maine would be admitted as a free state and Missouri would be admitted as a slave state

• Keeping the weight evenly distributed, no one group over powered the other

Bitter Disputes• Annexation of Texas:

– So large it was almost made into 5 states

– Abolitionist did not want this• Would really tip the balance of slave

and free states

• Mexican American War: 1846-1848– Mexico did not recognize the

independence of Texas– Created war between America and

Mexico– America wins: gains the lands of

New Mexico, Utah, Arizona, California

– When they become states: Slave or Free???

• California Gold Rush: – 1848: Gold found in California, rush of

settlers to the territory– By 1849, the balance of the national

government was equal – California wants to enter as a free state in

1849– Tips the balance towards free states

• Compromise of 1850: – California is admitted as a free state– Slavery in Utah and New Mexico decided

by popular vote– Slavery still legal in Washington D.C. – Compromise did not solve the debate

among the North and the South, just delayed the final result.

Mississippi Divided

• Our Senators, Henry Foote and Jefferson Davis, were divided on the idea of secession

• Special election was called in 1851 to have delegates elected to a secession convention

• Foote resigned as a Senator to join the race for governor and created the Union Party– Opposed secession

• The Democrats favored secession and became known as the States Rights Party– Entered John Quitman in governors race

• Ugly campaign: Quitman was tired of all the mess Foote was saying about him that he physically attacked Foote!

• Voters in Mississippi elected Foote as governor– The people were not in favor of secession….. yet

Fire Eaters

• Inflammatory speeches given that were designed to persuade southerners that secession was the only way to preserve “the southern way of life”

• Their power grew more and more in the 1850s

• On the other hand, in the North the power of the abolitionists grew as well

Dred Scott Decision 1857• Dred Scott was a slave who was taken by his

owner, who lived in Missouri (slave state), into Illinois and Minnesota (free states)

• His owner dies, he was sold to an abolitionist who allowed him to file a suit seeking freedom

• His case: once he was taken into free territory, he became a free man

• Supreme Court Ruling: Ruled he was not freed and ruled that slave owners could not be restricted from taking their slaves in to any state or territory and ruled that slaves were personal property.

• The Supreme Court was saying that the only way slavery could be restricted or abolished was by an amendment to the Constitution– Would not happen: Congress needs ¾ approval to

amend the Constitution (There was 18 free states and 15 slave states, enough to block a ruling)

Formation of the Republican Party

• After the ruling in the Dred Scott case the Republican Party was formed

• Formed in opposition to the expansion of slavery

John Brown Raids 1859• John Brown, a white male, led a raid on a federal

arsenal to capture a supply of arms and ammunition – Wanted to lead the slaves in an armed revolt– His raid was not successful: Captured by federal soldiers-

Tried, Convicted, then Executed• Effects of his raid though a lack of success:

– Created a fear in the south of a slave revolt– Did not think a white man would help lead the uprising– Convinced southerners that not only was their social and

economic life in danger but their own personal safety might be in jeopardy as well

The Big Conflict

• Compromising over slavery was now irrepressible (impossible to control) and would eventually lead to war

• Antebellum Americans had to take a position on slavery– Secede or not!!!! – Mississippians realized that seceding from the Union

was the only way they would be able to maintain their way of life which was based on the plantation system and slave labor

A Necessary Evil

• When Mississippi became a state in 1817, many Mississippians Considered slavery an evil system• Politicians simply stated that slave were here when

America began and that Mississippians were obliged to maintain and employ them

• But once the land boom of the 1830s occurred people began to think differently about slavery

• Mississippi was making a lot of money due to cotton and slave labor so now slavery was viewed as a unfortunate but necessary evil.

Defense of Slavery: A Positive Good

• To defend slavery southerners, including Mississippians, stated slavery was not evil, not even necessary, but it was a positive good.

• Justification of slavery: Justified slavery economically, politically, and religiously – Slavery had existed in ancient times and that the

Apostle Paul seemed to have condoned slavery • Instructed Onesimus to return to his master Philemon

and obey him.

States’ Rights vs. Federal Government• The issue of states’ rights threatened the union– The right of individual states should prevail over the rights of the

federal government• In the early 1800s, Congress passed several protective tariffs (tax on

imports)– Kept out competition and raised prices of goods in US

• John Calhoun, vice president of the US, said that a state could nullify a federal law– Prevent enforcement of federal law

• Nullification could help the south keep slavery• Congress eventually came up with a compromise to reduce the

tariffs but it also passed a law that denied the states the right to nullify a law

1860 Presidential Election• The breaking point for free states and

slave states– Two Party system was splintered

• Republicans nominated Abraham Lincoln on the platform that would prohibit the expansion of slavery in the western territories

• Northern Democrats nominated Stephen Douglas, Southern Democrats nominated John Breckinridge, Union Party nominated John Bell

– Lincoln wins the electoral votes and wins the presidency

– Southerners now have to make a big decision!