The Mexican War and Sectionalism

How manifest destiny led to the Civil War

Texas Controversy• Texas wanted to be annexed

by the United States after they won their independence

• The U.S. did not annex Texas right away because it would cause tension between the North and South states and because Mexico threatened to go to war with the U.S. (They still thought TX was theirs.)

Election of 1844 (The Manifest Destiny Election)

• James K. Polk won this election by promising to:– Annex our part of Oregon– Annex Texas– Annex California– Lower the Tariff

This expansionist platform helped him to defeat Henry Clay (the Whig candidate).

How did he do?1. Oregon was divided along the 49th parallel by the

Oregon Treaty of 1846 and shared with Britain.

2. Texas was annexed in 1845 by John Tyler after the people elected Polk. TX had to wait 9 years for this.

3. The tariff was substantially lowered early in Polk’s presidency.

Pres. John Tyler

And California?

• California was more of a challenge because we had no real claims to it.

• Polk sent John Slidell to offer to buy it but Mexico refused (but still wanted to sell it to someone else).

• Polk decided to take California in a war with Mexico, but wanted them to start the actual fighting.

Boundary Dispute Leads to War• Polk sent Gen. Zachary Taylor and

his troops to the Rio Grande River to provoke Mexico to attack the U.S.

• Mexico believed the southern boundary of Texas was the Nueces River and that made Gen. Taylor an invader of their land.

• They attacked Taylor finally and Polk asked Congress to declare war.

• Congress did declare war but there was a lot of controversy over the decision.

Mexican American War• Gen. Zachary Taylor was

popular and his greatest victory was at Buena Vista.

• Gen. Stephen Kearny was sent to take California, but found that John C. Fremont had already declared its independence from Mexico (est. the Bear Flag Republic).

• Gen. Winfield Scott was allowed to take Mexico City which led to the end of the war.

Gen. Zachary Taylor

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo• Texas independence was

officially recognized and the boundary set at the Rio Grande

• The U.S. also acquired the Mexican Cession (that included CA). It makes up the southwestern part of the U.S. and was almost half of the entire country of Mexico.

• The U.S. agreed to pay $15 million for CA and excused the Mexican debt to the U.S. (about $3 million).

Wilmot Proviso• Free states in the North were

concerned about the new territory because it was located below the Missouri Compromise line (therefore, open to slavery).

• Several Congressmen tried to prohibit slavery in this area with the Wilmot Proviso to be added to the treaty

• It would have prohibited slavery in any territory acquired from Mexico but it failed to pass in the House of Representatives.

Rep. David Wilmot (D-PA)

Slavery Controversy• More tensions developed

between free and slave states over whether the land would be free or slave states.

• Congress felt we would have adequate time to work out the details of admission to the satisfaction of both sides.

• The California Gold Rush changed all that.

CA Gold Rush

More Controversy• Abolitionists from the

north supported CA’s admission, but southern states opposed it

• Southern states wanted a slave state added at the same time (just like the Missouri Compromise)

• There was no other western state ready to be admitted

• Henry Clay had to come up with a compromise

Compromise of 1850• California would be admitted as a

free state• Popular sovereignty would be used

to determine slavery in the rest of the western territories

• The slave trade (but not slavery) would be prohibited in Washington, D.C.

• A stricter Fugitive Slave Law would be passed (law that required return of runaway slaves)

• The land along the TX and NM border would be given to NM to form the territory

Popular Sovereignty

• The concept of allowing the settlers in an area to vote to decide whether to allow slavery or not

The Compromise of 1850 Passed• Zachary Taylor (elected

president in 1848) died suddenly in 1850 and the Compromise was pushed through and signed into law by Millard Fillmore.

• The southern states began to feel that the government was not representing them equally with the north and these feelings led to Civil War. Pres. Millard Fillmore

States’ Rights• Southern states began to support the states’ rights

theory.• This was the belief that the states could nullify (or

reject) laws passed by the federal government that they thought were unconstitutional.

• This idea began with the Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions (of Jefferson and Madison)

Nullification Crisis (1832)

• Another example of the states’ rights theory was the Nullification Crisis which almost resulted in Civil War in 1832

• South Carolina did not like the Tariff of Abominations that had been passed under Andrew Jackson. This was a high tax on imported goods that hurt southerners and helped northerners.

• With the support of John C. Calhoun (who believed in states’ rights), South Carolina threatened to nullify the tariff.

• Jackson informed SC they could not nullify the Tariff of Abominations

• SC said that they would secede (separate) from the U.S. if they were not allowed to nullify it

• Jackson threatened to send the U.S. troops

• SC met to discuss secession (the rest of the south did not)

• Jackson pushed a force bill through Congress

• SC accepted Henry Clay’s Compromise Tariff of 1833 and war was avoided

President Andrew Jackson

John C. Calhoun

• John Calhoun who was Jackson’s Vice President at the time resigned to lead SC and other southern states in their effort to protest the tariff.

• Calhoun championed the idea of states’ rights with his loyalty to the interests of the southern region and led to intense sectionalism prior to the Civil War

John Calhoun

States’ Rights• The idea that all states have

certain rights and political powers (including nullification) that the federal government could not violate

• Support came mostly from southerners who feared Congress ending their plantation system

• Opponents feared that if states could nullify federal laws, sectional tension and even warfare could result

Abolitionist Movement• The movement was led by

northerners and southerners who wanted to abolish slavery immediately with no financial compensation to owners

• It was supported by African Americans, whites, men, and women

• The movement rapidly gained support throughout the early 1800’s

• This led to growing hostility between southern and northern states.

Notable Abolitionists• William Lloyd Garrison

– Newspaper writer and editor

– Published the antislavery newspaper called “The Liberator” that included graphic stories of the horrors of slavery

– Started several antislavery organizations including the American Antislavery Society

• Frederick Douglass – A former slave who

escaped to the north

– Self-taught (helped by

owner’s wife)

– Worked for Garrison and

traveled widely with the

American Antislavery Society

– Became the key speaker for the society and gave eloquent speeches supporting equality for African Americans, women, Native Americans, and immigrants

– Published several biographies and his own antislavery newspaper called “The North Star”

• The Grimke Sisters (Sarah and Angelina)– Southern women who

lectured publicly in the North about the evils of slavery

– They had grown up on a plantation and had witnessed slavery first hand

– Their efforts to end slavery began when Garrison published a letter from Angelina in his newspaper

Missouri Compromise (1820)• Missouri wanted to be admitted as a slave

state but it would have upset the equal balance of slave states and free states in the U.S. Senate

• Northern states protested the admission of Missouri for this reason

• The issue was resolved when Congress passed the Missouri Compromise (largely the work of Henry Clay) that provided for the admission of Missouri as a slave state and the admission of Maine (formerly part of MA) as a free state

• It also established the Missouri Compromise line at the 36 30 line of latitude above which slavery would not be permitted in the LA Territory except in Missouri

Nat Turner• African American preacher who

believed his mission was to free the slaves

• After viewing a solar eclipse in 1831, he thought this was his sign from above to lead a slave rebellion in Virginia

• Four Virginia plantations were attacked and about 60 whites were killed

• Turner was captured, tried, and executed

• New laws were passed to limit the activities of slaves because southerners feared similar rebellions

Abolitionist Movement Grows• Dred Scott Decision –

– He was a slave in Missouri

whose owner took him into

the free state of Illinois.

– He claimed that he should

be freed because slavery

could not legally exist in IL.

– The Supreme court heard his case and ruled that Scott was not a citizen and therefore they could not officially decide the case.

– They went on to say that Dred Scott’s freedom would have been denied.

Reaction to the Dred Scott Decision• Southern states were happy with

the decision, northern states were furious.

• The Supreme Court’s decision held that slavery could exist anywhere in the U.S. even in the free states.

• The decision also made the Missouri Compromise and popular sovereignty unconstitutional

• Many northerners joined the abolitionist movement

John Brown’s Raid• Brown was a radical

abolitionist who also believed he was chosen to end slavery in the U.S.

• He was very active in Kansas during the civil war there and then moved east

• He believed that violence was necessary to end slavery

• He planned to arm the slaves for a massive slave rebellion in VA

Harper’s Ferry, VA• John Brown and a few supporters

raided a federal arsenal (storage for weapons) to obtain guns to give to the slaves for their rebellion; killed seven people

• Brown was captured (by Robert E. Lee), tried, and executed for treason

• Brown became a martyr (someone who dies for their beliefs) for the abolitionist cause (Hero)

• This inspired many people to join the abolitionist movement

The Failure of Popular Sovereignty

• Kansas-Nebraska Act – allowed popular sovereignty in the territories of KS and Nebraska

• The Missouri Compromise was repealed (voided)

• Kansas would supposedly be a slave state and Nebraska a free state

Stephen Douglas proposed the Kansas- Nebraska Act

Kansas Competition• Southern and northern supporters sent many settlers

to live in KS. Some never intended to stay, just to vote.

• Both sides tried to sway the vote in their favor• Kansas voted to become a slave state in the election

(with the help of several illegal voters from Missouri)

• Proslavery voters elected a legislature and began drawing up a constitution that would have allowed slavery; their capital was Shawnee Mission

• Free-soilers protested the election and started their own government with an antislavery constitution and established a capital at Topeka; they began raising an army

• Proslavery settlers in Kansas responded by raising their own military force

• The House of Representatives (with more northern members than southern ones) supported the free-soiler government in Kansas

• President Franklin Pierce and the Senate supported the proslavery government in Kansas

• Violence erupted when the proslavery settlers destroyed property in the free-soil settlement of Lawrence (called the “sack of Lawrence”)

President Franklin Pierce

Pottawatomie Creek Massacre• John Brown and his sons

(living in KS at the time) attacked the proslavery town of Pottawatomie Creek and killed 5 men

• They had heard that 5 were killed at Lawrence but it was not true

• This began a civil war in KS called “Bleeding Kansas”

• Kansas was finally admitted as a free state after the Civil War began

Election of 1860• The new free-soil Republican

Party ran on the platform of keeping slavery out of the western territories

• Their candidate, Abraham Lincoln, won the presidential election

• South Carolina immediately voted to secede from the Union

• When Pres. Buchanan did nothing about it, six other southern states did the same thing (MS, FL, AL, GA, LA, and TX)

Lincoln’s Inaugural Address

• Lincoln’s First Inaugural Address – Promised to prevent the spread

of slavery but accept it where it already existed

– Refused to recognize the South as a separate nation claiming they had no legal right to secede from the Union

– Refused to remove federal troops from the south in order to stop the rebellion

Lincoln’s Beliefs• Preservation of the United

States was his most important task

• Southern states did not have the legal right to secede from the Union

• Southern states were not another country but just in rebellion

• Wanted to stop the spread of slavery (changed to abolishing slavery later in the war)

The Confederacy• Southern states started their

own government they named the Confederate States of America

• Capital was placed at Montgomery, AL (later changed to Richmond, VA after the state seceded)

• Jefferson Davis became the president of the Confederacy

• Their constitution protected states’ rights and permitted slavery (drawn up in 3 days)

Fort Sumter• Confederates attacked this Union fort in Charleston

harbor after Lincoln refused to remove his troops by their deadline

• First battle of the Civil War (April 12, 1861)• South won the battle and the Union troops were allowed

to sail north (one fatality was a horse)• Lincoln called for a large number of volunteers and they

answered• Four more southern states seceded (VA, KY, TN, and

AR) making the total number 11