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Sectional PoliticsChapter 4
The Rise of theSlavery Issue
Should slavery be allowed in the Mexican Cession? David Wilmot (Penn.) had already suggested that
slavery be outlawed in the Mexican cession. The Wilmot Proviso
John C. Calhoun (S.C.) wanted to allow slavery. A more moderate proposal by Pres. Polk was to extend
the Missouri Compromise Others such as Lewis Cass (Mich.) and Stephen
Douglass (ILL.) wanted popular sovereignty Allow the people of each territory rather than
Congress decide the status of slavery.
Presidential election of 1848
Both parties tried to avoid the issue of slavery
Democrats nominate Lewis Cass (and deny power of Congress to interfere with slavery) – popular sovereignty
Whigs choose Zachary Taylor, a slaveholder from Louisiana who owned more than 100 slaves (and adopt no platform at all)
Development of the Free Soil Party Rebellious northern Democrats Antislavery Whigs (“Conscience” vs. “Cotton” Whigs) Members of the antislavery Liberty party Nominate Martin Van Buren Slogan: “free soil, free speech, free labor, free men”
Election goes to Taylor
California Statehood
By 1849 California had enough residents to be admitted as a state (Gold Rush). The balance of power between the North and the
South stood at 15 each. Taylor calls for admission of California as
a free state and thought slavery should be banned in all of the Mexican cession. He was convinced that slavery would never flourish in the West. Taylor’s suggestion touched off the most serious
sectional crisis the Union had yet confronted.
The Great Debate
Henry Clay decided that a grand compromise was needed to end all disputes between the North and the South and to save the Union. Already, Mississippi had summoned a southern convention
to meet in Nashville to discuss the crisis and extremists were pushing for secession.
The Senate debated the compromise for six months. Finally Stephen Douglass took over and passed each part of the compromise individually. President Taylor’s death in July 1850 helped push forward the compromise.
The Compromise of 1850
California admitted as free state Rest of Mex. Cession divided into
two territories: New Mexico & Utah under popular sovereignty
The slave trade, not slavery itself, would be abolished in the District of Columbia
A new, more rigorous Fugitive Slave Law
The Fugitive Slave Act
Enabled southerners to reclaim runaway slaves in the North
Denied an accused runaway a trial by jury and it required all citizens assist federal marshals in its enforcement
Northern reaction to the act – found the fugitive slave act hard to swallow
Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852)
By Harriet Beecher Stowe A tremendous commercial
success, it was perhaps the most effective piece of antislavery propaganda.
Presented a powerful moral indictment of the law and of slavery as an institution.
The Election of 1852
Both the Whigs and the Democrats endorsed the Compromise
Democrats turn to Franklin Pierce who defeated Whig candidate Winfield Scott
Even more significantly, the antislavery Free Soil Party did not receive many votes.
With the slavery issue seemingly losing political force, it appeared that the Union had weathered the storm unleashed by the Wilmot Proviso.
Sectional Changesin American Society
The Growth of a Railroad Economy In the 1850s, railroad construction
took cotton’s place as the driving force behind the economy.
Reorientation of western trade Urbanization in the North reached
over 50% for first time in 1860 Rising Industrialization in the North
Influx of immigrants in the 1840s and 1850s threatened the sectional balance of power.
Sectional Changes in American Society
Southern economic dependence
The Gadsden Purchase, 1853
Ideas for a transcontinental railroad President Pierce wanted to build
a southern route for a railroad With the Gadsden
Purchase, the U.S. gained 45,000 square miles of Mexican desert, which contained the most practical southern route for a transcontinental railroad.
The Railroad Affects Politics
Sen. Stephen Douglas (Ill.) wanted to build a transcontinental railroad from Chicago.
This could not be done until the rest of the Louisiana Purchase was organized.
Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)
Repealed the Missouri Compromise
Created two territories based on popular sovereignty,
Most northern opponents of the bill focused on the expansion of slavery and the Slave Power rather than the moral evil of slavery.
Once President Pierce endorsed the bill, it passed and the Missouri Compromise was repealed
The Political Realignment of the 1850s
Collapse of the Second American Party System
The fight over the bill divided the political parties along sectional lines and effectively destroyed the Whig party and the Republican Party emerged to take its place, uniting around the ideal of free labor.
The Republican Party No base in the South. Intended to elect a president by sweeping the free
states, which now controlled a majority of the electoral votes.
Election of 1856 Democrat James Buchanan (Penn.) beats Republican
John C. Freemont (Calif.) in a close election. Republicans began preparing for 1860.
The Worsening Crisis
Bleeding Kansas Violence broke out between two rival governments: one
free & one slaveBleeding Sumner
The violence spread when Congressman Preston Brooks (S.C.) attacked Sen. Charles Sumner (Mass.) with his cane.
The Dred Scott Decision Chief Justice Taney says that African-Americans could
not be citizens and that Congress could not ban slavery. Encouraged political extremism.
The WorseningCrisis
The Panic of 1857 Economic issues increase sectional tensions
The Lincoln-Douglas Debates (1858)
Douglas and Lincoln on the slavery issue. Lincoln lost the senatorial contest in Illinois. Lincoln’s performance marked him as a
possible presidential contender for 1860.
John Brown’s raid on Harper’s Ferry (1859)
An abolitionist seized the unguarded federal armory at Harper’s Ferry in Virginia in hopes of starting a slave insurrection. He was captured and
executed.
Another blow weakening the forces of compromise and moderation.
A Sectional Election (1860)
Actually two contests: North: Abraham Lincoln (Rep.) vs. Stephan Douglass (N. Dem.) South: John Breckinridge (S. Dem.) vs. John Bell (Constitutional Union)
Lincoln wins less than 40% of popular vote with virtually no support in the South.
For the first time, the nation had elected a president who headed a completely sectional party and who was committed to stopping the expansion of slavery.
The Road to War
Secession seemed the only alternative left to protect southern equality and liberty.
South Carolina seceded on December 20, 1860.
The rest of the Deep South followed and formed the Confederate States of America on February 7, 1861.
The Upper South and border states declined to secede, hoping that once again Congress could patch together a settlement. Crittenden Compromise fails