Sectional Conflict Intensifies (1848-1860)

10 Events Leading to the Civil WarChapter 10

Slavery and the Westward Expansion

Section 1

1. Popular Sovereignty

• Senator Lewis Cass of Michigan proposed the idea of popular sovereignty – allow the people in the territory/state to decide if it would be free or slave– Many people felt this would be a democratic way

of deciding on the issue

• Abolitionists will argue that it denied African Americans their right to be free – choice.

2. Compromise of 1850

• Discovery of gold in CA – Settlers called 49ners– CA applied for statehood (skipped territorial status

because of the number of settlers in CA)– CA wanted to be a free state, but it would make the

South a minority in the Senate & feared slavery & states’ rights would be limited.

• Southern response to the possible upset of the balance of power = Secession– Withdrawing from the Union– Considered an act of treason

2. Compromise of 1850

• Henry Clay = “Great Compromiser”– Solved the MO issue; proposed 8 resolutions to

solve the new crisis—the expansion of slavery– He needed support of John C. Calhoun – Calhoun

believed the Northern hatred of slavery threatened to destroy the South

– South needed to defend 2 rights: (1) return of fugitive slaves, (2) guarantee balance of power

– Honorable solution = secession

2. Compromise of 1850

• President Taylor – unsupportive of the compromise resolutions of Clay– Taylor dies, Fillmore takes over – he is supportive of

the resolutions

• Senator Stephen Douglas from Illinois takes on the fight of the aging Clay & divides the resolutions into smaller parts so they are passed

• Compromise of 1850 will temporarily quell the increasing tensions

Mounting Violence

Section 2

3. Uncle Tom’s Cabin

• Published in 1852; written by Harriet Beecher Stowe– Sold 300,000 copies– Uncle Tom = runaway slave; Simon Legree = slaveholder– The book will change the North’s view of African

Americans and slavery• Book persuaded those not moved by rational arguments• Book was banned in the South – Stowe accused of writing

falsehoods & distortions

4. Fugitive Slave Act

• Sworn statement of a white person needed to take the “runaway” back to the South

• African Americans did not have the right to a trial or to testify in court

• Commissioners - awarded $10.00 for siding with the slave holder & $5.00 if the African America was free

• Federal marshals could deputize citizens & force them to look for escaped slaves– Northerners refused to help, but were threatened to be

sent to jail

5. Underground Railroad & Harriet Tubman

• Fugitive Slave Act punished those who helped runaway slaves by fining them $$, but Northerners & African Americans still operated the Underground Railroad– Informal but organized– Members called conductors & gave runaway slaves

food, shelter, and money to start a new life in the North– Harriet Tubman, most famous conductor– The RR will deepen the South’s mistrust of the North

Crisis Deepens

Section 3

6. Kansas-Nebraska Act

• Kansas & Nebraska – first experiment with popular sovereignty

• Nebraska is one large territory & Stephen Douglas wanted to organize it.– In order for popular sovereignty to work, the

Missouri Compromise would need to be repealed so that Nebraska could be a slave state.

– Douglas knew if a repeal was made, it would divide the country, but he still wanted to open the Nebraska Territory.

6. Kansas-Nebraska Act

• Douglas misjudged the anti-slavery feelings in the North

• Proposed to divide the territory into 2 territories– North – Nebraska – Free (in theory)– South – Kansas – Slave (in theory)

• Kansas-Nebraska Act passed in May 1856– Kansas – fighting for the extension of slavery– “Bleeding Kansas” – min-Civil War• Pro & Anti Slavery; temporary settlers to vote• 200 died, $2 million of property destroyed

7. Dred Scott Decision

• President James Buchannan takes office in 1857– Suggests that Supreme Court should decide on the issue

of slavery in the territories• South thought it would favor slavery – majority of justices

from South• Dred Scott v. Sandford

• Dred Scott was a slave in Missouri – his master took him to a free state & abolitionists argued he should sue for his freedom– Case went to the Supreme Court, Chief Justice Rodger B.

Taney presided

7. Dred Scott Decision

• The Supreme Court ruled that African Americans were not citizens & did not have the right to sue in court

• Supreme Court ruled that the federal government could not prohibit slavery in the territories – Supported by the South, condemned by the North

The Union Dissolves

Section 4

8. John Brown’s Raid

• John Brown – abolitionist who wanted to “break the jaws of the wicked” – the slaveholders

• Harper’s Ferry, Virginia: he planed to take over an arsenal & start an insurrection– Brown & 18 followers, but Marines from Washington,

DC stopped Brown & he was captured 36 hours later• Sentenced to death• Became a martyr for abolitionist cause – strengthened

cause

9. Lincoln’s Election to the Presidency

• Election of 1860– Lincoln – Republican, Douglas – Northern

Democrats, Bell – Constitutional Union, Breckinridge – Southern Democrat

• South upset with raid at Harper’s Ferry – saw election of 1860 as a turning point – North would try to arm slaves & start a rebellion

• Lincoln – abolitionist – victory for the North – Southerners threatened & secession only option

10. Session & the CSA

• South Carolina becomes the first state to secede from the Union in 1860

• By Feb 1861, six other states secede:– Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Texas,

and Louisiana• Federal government tries to compromise, but all

attempts fail.

• Delegates meet in Montgomery, AL – new nation – Confederate States of America

10. Session & CSA

• The CSA Created a constitution that guaranteed slavery

• First president of the CSA – Jefferson Davis– Only serves 6-year term

• Lincoln decides to re-supply Ft. Sumter – located near Charleston, SC– Jefferson did not want this to happen because the fort

was in a Confederate state– He knew if he fired on the supply ship it would start a

war

Fort Sumter

• Davis asked Lincoln to turn over Ft. Sumter to the Confederacy & not re-supply the ft. – “NO”

• Confederates began firing on the fort – Major Robert Anderson defended the fort– Confederates fired for 33 hours, until Anderson

surrendered– The Civil War begins!

Seccession

• Upper South secedes – Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina

• Capitol of the CSA is moved to Richmond, Viriginia