Sectionalism and the Road to Civil War

Historians have argued that the seeds of the Civil War were planted long before the fighting began in 1861. As a TBL group, look back over the American History that we’ve covered and make a list of events that contributed to the sectionalism. Your list…

should have at least 10 items/events should be ranked as to the importance of the event, with

one being the most important event begin with colonization and end in 1840*be prepared to discuss your choices

Upon completion of this lecture/discussion, students will be tasked with the following:

Students will be utilizing the elements of academic argument: claim, reason, evidence, warrant, and counter argument. An argument frame will be provided to help students organize their thoughts. The best arguments will be recognized.

Make an argument defending Southern secession.

Sectional Periodization:

Early Republic (1787-1820)Sharp debate over the status of slavery in territories ceded by the original states and Louisiana Purchase. Northwest Ordinance Ohio River serves as dividing line 1819 Missouri statehood > 1820 Missouri Comp

*Rapid expansion of slavery into the “Old Southwest” Cotton Mania & Alabama Fever Defeat of hostile Indians

Sectional PeriodizationThe Age of Jackson: (1820s – 1840s )Sectional tensions decline. Why? No new territory added between Florida (1821) and

Texas (1845). Americans were “filling in” lands where slavery was

already decided by the NW Ordinance & Missouri Compromise.

Parties worked to build national unity around ideas like – What is the proper role of the national govt in promoting economic development?

Between 1836-1844, the House of Reps had a “Gag Rule” in place that prevented debate about slavery.

Texas was a Republic from 1836-1845.Why did the U.S. delay annexation?

Manifest Destiny, “Young Hickory”, and War

“Manifest Destiny” (1839) Divine sanction Democratic mission Racial superiority

Election of 1844 Polk runs on an

expansionist platform

War with Mexico Tyler annexes Texas Tension with Mexico

over boundary dispute

While manifest destiny fever swept the nation, why might the South have been especially supportive?

Consequences of the War with Mexico The war is a disaster for Mexico, which is forced to sign the T. of Guadalupe Hidalgo

The Mexican Cession renewed the debate over the extension of slavery Many in the North viewed the war as a “Southern Plot” to extend slave power.

Victory – A Bad Omen?

“The United States will conquer Mexico, but it will be as the man who swallows the arsenic, which brings him down. Mexico will poison us.”- Ralph Waldo Emerson

How might industrialization in the North have contributed to social reform?

The development of an increasingly moralistic society bent on addressing the

“sins” of America: temperance, suffrage, and slavery.

Emphasis on nurturing and

a focus on education

and religion.

The Changing

role of

women in the

family and in

society.

Political Platforms in the 1850sISSUE DEMOCRATS WHIGS

Role of the fed govt in promoting eco development?

Immigrants

Reform

Slavery

Compromise of 1850

Agitation over Slavery

The Fugitive Slave Law: Federal law to assist in the capture &

return of runaway slaves. Growing Northern resistance to “slave

catchers”. Some states pass Personal Liberty Laws.

The Underground Railroad

Literature on Slavery: Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher

Stowe Impending Crisis in the South by Hinton

Helper Cannibals All! By George Fitzhugh

The Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)

Sen. Stephan Douglas: Lobbying for the Transcontinental RR Proposed the organization of two new

territories Popular Sovereignty included into the

legislation to garner Southern support Legislation ignites a firestorm of

opposition in the North

New Political Parties EmergeThe Know-Nothing Party:Protestant-based, anti-immigrant party that aggressively opposed the unregulated immigration of thousands of Irish & German Catholics into northern cities.

The Republican Party: Established in Racine, Wisconsin in 1854 Coalition of Free-Soilers, Know Nothings, and antislavery Whigs & Democrats United in their opposition to the spread of slavery into the territories NOT ABOLITIONIST – Republicans accepted that slavery was a reality in the South While it quickly gained support, it was exclusively a sectional party.

Bleeding Kansas: First Shots of the Civil War

Tensions Mount in Congress

The Caning of Sumner: The Lecompton Constitution: Issued by the fraudulently elected, proslavery legislature meeting in Lecompton, Kansas Submitted to the US Government to admit Kansas as a slave state President Buchanan, a man with strong southern sympathies, supported the bid. Congress rejected the Lecompton Constitution, but it worked to further divide the Democratic Party

Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857)

First time the SCOTUS hadoverturned a major piece of legislation: Scott had no right to sue as

a slave. (Not a citizen) Congress had no right to

deny citizens of their property.

The Missouri Comp was unconstitutional.

John Brown’s Raid

Be sure to look at the role of economics in encouraging sectionalism.

Why was the election of the first Republican president, Abraham Lincoln, the final act for the South?