The Coming of the Civil War
I.
Addressing Slavery and new Territories
A.
Before the Mexican War ended, a Democratic Congressmen, David Wilmot,
introduced a proviso, which said:
1.
“Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall ever exist in any
territory to be acquired for Mexico”
a)
He figured we would have to deal with these territories eventually when
they want to be admitted as states
b)
House passed it, Senate rejected
(1)
Wilmot kept reintroducing it, but they kept rejecting it
B.
Four Views regarding slavery
1.
Southern Position (led by Calhoun)
a)
Territories were the property not of the US Federal Government, but of
all the states together, therefore Congress had no right to prohibit any
territory, any type of property (slaves) that was legal in any state
b)
If we are a unit of states, something that is allowed in one state
cannot be prohibited in another state
2.
Anti-Slavery Northerners
a)
The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 and the Missouri Compromise said
Congress had the right to make laws for territories
3.
Southern Moderates (led by Polk)
a)
Willing to compromise
b)
Polk suggested extending the 36 30 line from the Missouri Compromise
across the country
4.
Northern Democrats (led by Lewis Cass and Steven Douglas)
a)
Willing to compromise
b)
Believed in squatter sovereignty (later known as popular sovereignty)
c)
Let the residents in each state decide for themselves whether or not
they wanted slavery (but this was too vague)
II.
Election of 1848
A.
Both parties agreed to avoid the issue of slavery
B.
Candidates
1.
Democrats nominated Lewis Cass
2.
Whigs nominated Zachary Taylor
a)
Famous for being a general in the Mexican War
b)
He knew nothing about politics and prided himself on the fact that he
never voted
c)
He didn’t have a stance on slavery
3.
The Anti-Slavery Party (third party)
a)
Some anti-slavery northerners, some anti-slavery Whigs, and some
anti-slavery Democrats
b)
Within the party there were 3 views
(1)
Conscience Whigs- vote your conscience outside of party lines
(2)
Barnburner Democrats- “We’ll burn the whole Democratic barn to get rid
of the pro-slavery rats”
(3)
Free Soil Party- believed in leaving slavery where it was, but no new
slavery in the territories
c)
Nominated Van Buren
C.
Taylor won
1.
Taylor was a Louisiana slaveholder, but once he became president, he
opposed the further spread of slavery (leave slavery where it is, but don’t let
slavery into the new territories)
III.
Compromise of 1850
A.
Background
1.
Taylor was a Louisiana slaveholder, but once he became president, he
opposed the further spread of slavery (leave slavery where it is, but don’t let
slavery into the new territories)
2.
The Southerners were pissed
a)
They felt betrayed by Taylor
b)
They also thought they were now becoming a minority in the country and
would always be outvoted
3.
Northerners were helping on the Underground Railroad, which helped
slaves escape slavery
a)
Helping a slave escape slavery is stealing property
4.
The South began to talk secession
B.
Henry Clay came up with an 8 part package, called the Compromise of 1850
·
Parts appealing to the North
1.
California would come in as a free state
2.
Land disputed between Texas and New Mexico would go to New Mexico
3.
The New Mexico and Utah territories would have popular sovereignty
4.
Slave trade would be abolished in Washington DC
·
Parts appealing to South
5.
Tougher fugitive slave law (punishing people who helped runaway slaves)
6.
Federal government would pay off Texas pre-annexation debt
7.
Congress would declare that it did not have jurisdiction over the
interstate slave trade
8.
Congress would promise not to abolish slavery where it existed, or the
slave trade
9.
The Compromise was debated for 8 months
C.
Clay, Calhoun, and Webster were all dead by 1852
1.
They all made their greatest speeches for/against the Compromise
2.
Clay called for “compromise and mutual forbearance”
3.
Calhoun warned that the only way to save the union was for the North to
give in to every demand of the South and keep quiet about slavery
4.
Webster initially opposed the spread of slavery, but he changed his mind
and supported the Compromise
D.
President Taylor was adamantly against the Compromise
1.
All he was interested in was admitting California as a free state
2.
It looked like the Compromise was going to fail
3.
…but then Taylor died! And Millard Fillmore became president, who was a
strong supporter of the Compromise
E.
Steven Douglas, senator from Illinois, broke the Compromise up into 8
component parts and each was passed individually
IV.
Election of 1852
A.
Candidates
1.
Whigs chose general Winfield Scott, a war hero with no political
background
2.
Democrats could not decide between Cass and Douglas, so they went with
Franklin Pierce
3.
Free Soil Party nominated a candidates
B.
Pierce won, and the Free Soil Party got so few votes that politicians
understood it that people did not want to talk about the issue of slavery
anymore
V.
Pierce Presidency
A.
Dough Faced President
1.
A Northerner who had Southern sympathies
B.
Decided not to deal with slavery
C.
Wanted to take the peoples’ minds by expanding America and building up
America economically
1.
Sent Commodore Perry to Tokyo
2.
Started the procedure to annex Hawaii
3.
Made lucrative trade agreements with Canada and Mexico
4.
Gadsen Purchase (bought the southern tip of Texas)
5.
Tried to buy Cuba (but Spain wouldn’t sell it to us)
6.
Expanded railroads
7.
Expanded textile industries
D.
However, all of the good expansion could not detract from the political
tension and turmoil in the country
1.
Whig party was falling apart
a)
Disagreed on the issue of slavery
b)
Couldn’t get their act together and come up with a platform
c)
Clay, the biggest Whig supporter, was dead
2.
Know-Nothing Party
a)
Anti-Catholic party
b)
Wanted to keep everything in the party secret
3.
Part of the Compromise of 1850 was a stricter fugitive slave law
a)
The Northerners hated this law- it was unreasonable and people were
taking advantage of it for their own gain
4.
Harriet Beecher Stowe- Uncle Tom’s
Cabin
a)
A fictional work about the evils of slavery
b)
The South denounced it, in the North it became a bestseller
1/28/13
E.
Kansas-Nebraska Act
1.
Douglas wanted to build a cross-country railroad, and to do so he needed
Kansas and Nebraska to be settled as states
2.
Nebraska was going to come in free (it was pretty North)
3.
Kansas was above 36 30 and part of the Louisiana Purchase, and Douglas
urged them to decide whether or not they were coming in free or slave
4.
Northerners and Southerners were running into Kansas to vote, and it was
“Bloody Kansas” because 200 people were killed
5.
In Congress, Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts made a 2 day speech
called The Crime Against Kansas
a)
He denounced Slavery
b)
Went a step too far by personally insulting Senator Butler from South
Carolina
c)
Two days later, Butler’s nephew, Preston Brooks, beat up Sumner on the
Capital steps, and Sumner was never right again after. Brooks resigned, but was still reelected
F.
Election of 1856
1.
Delegates
a)
Democrats dropped Pierce, passed over Douglass, and nominated James
Buchanan of Pennsylvania
(1)
He was nominated because he had been out of the country in Great
Britain, so he could not have said anything earlier to offend anyone
b)
Know-Nothings nominated Millard Fillmore
c)
Republicans nominated John C. Fremont of California
(1)
He was known as the pathfinder (he was an explorer)
(2)
He had a real, solid platform- high tariffs, free western homesteads of
160 acres, no further spread of slavery
(3)
“Free soil, free men, Fremont”
2.
Buchanan won
a)
Still, the election was close, which showed that the new Republican
party was a force to be reckoned with
VI.
Buchanan Presidency
A.
Dred Scott Case
1.
Background
a)
Scott was a slave who was taken by his master to a free state and free
territory, and then his master died
b)
A group of abolitionist got a hold of Scott, and convinced him to sue
for his freedom on the grounds that he lived free for several years and
therefore should be free
2.
The Court did not to make a decision on the case, but Buchanan pushed
them because he felt that if the Supreme Court made a decision, it would not
longer be an issue
3.
Rulings
a)
Chief Justice Tawney decided that temporary residence, even for several
years, in a free state does not make a slave free
b)
Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional- if slavery is legal in one
place, it needs to be legal in every place
c)
Territorial governments that receive their power from Congress had no
right to prohibit slavery
4.
Results
a)
Once the Supreme Court supported this decision, it gave the South the
feeling that they never have to compromise because the Supreme Court was on
their side
b)
Northerners were convinced that there was a pro-Slavery conspiracy
controlling the government
B.
Back in Kansas
1.
The pro-Slavery faction arranged for a constitutional convention in the
town of Le Compton
a)
Set up the state constitution so that the only thing the people were
voting on was a referendum whether or not they would allow more slaves into the
territory
b)
Now that they had a state constitution, they could apply for statehood
2.
The Free-Soilers decided to write their own constitution, and they
petitioned to become a state based on their constitution
3.
There is one state with two opposing Constitutions
4.
Buchanan backed the Le Compton constitution
5.
Douglass, the originator of popular sovereignty, was appalled at what
had happened, and he supported the Free-Soilers
6.
Senate approved Le Compton, but the House said they needed a revote
7.
If Le Compton won, Kansas would receive generous grants from the
government
8.
The Kansas voters voted against Le Compton- they would rather be a free
territory than a state
C.
Panic of 1857
1.
Economy tanks, people panic, and the economy usually rights itself
2.
Causes
a)
Over speculation in railroads and lands
b)
Faulty banking practices
c)
Because of the Crimean War, European trade was disrupted
D.
Lincoln Douglas Debates (this was a Senatorial Debate)
1.
Douglass was very popular, and considered a forerunner for the debate,
and he was going against and unknown country lawyer, Lincoln. Douglas greatly underestimated Lincoln
2.
Lincoln accused Douglas of being a secret defender of slavery
a)
Even though Douglas fought against Le Compton, popular sovereignty is
not anti-Slavery
3.
Douglas came back at Lincoln, saying that his guiding principal was
democracy, not any moral standard of right or wrong, and as far as he was
considered, the people could either vote slavery up or down
4.
Douglas tried to portray Lincoln as an abolitionist who believed in
racial equality and racial mixing
5.
Lincoln said that Dred Scott made slavery legal everywhere, so then how
could the people vote it up or vote it down? That would be going against the
Supreme Court decision (what now, bitch?)
6.
Douglas response- Freeport Doctrine
a)
The people of any territory could exclude slavery simply by not passing
any laws about it
b)
Douglas was trying to appeal to both sides, but people saw it as him not
committing to anything
7.
Douglas won this Senatorial election, but it damaged him on a national
level while also promoting Lincoln
E.
John Brown
1.
People feared slave rebellions
2.
In October 1859, John Brown led 18 followers in seizing the armory at
Harper’s Ferry. He took hostages, and
planned to start a slave uprising. The
plan was to arm slaves and spread a revolt throughout the south
3.
Brown was supported and financed by several prominent northern
abolitionists, referred to as the Secret Six
4.
The idea was ill-conceived, poorly put together, John Brown was
eventually captured and hanged, and 11 of his men were killed
5.
Opinions of Brown
a)
North thought he was a hero
b)
South thought he was a lunatic
F.
Hinton Rowan Helper was a North Carolinian who wrote a book called The Impending Crisis of the South
1.
Claimed that slavery was economically harmful to the south and planters
were getting rich at the expense of everybody else
2.
Republicans used this book as part of their campaign
3.
The book enraged the South (especially because it’s author was a
southerner)
G.
Election of 1860
§
Four Candidates
1.
The Democrats met in Charlestown, South Carolina, and couldn’t really
agree on a candidate
a)
Douglas had the majority of the delegates, but a 2/3 vote was required
for nomination, and Douglas would not get 2/3 because the Southern Democrats
would not vote for him
b)
Buchanan couldn’t get 2/3 because in his support of Dred Scott, the
Northern Democrats didn’t trust him
c)
The convention broke up, left, met again 7 weeks later and still could
not reach a consensus, so they nominated 2 candidates
d)
The Southern Wing nominated John C. Breckenridge of Kentucky (he was VP
under Buchanan), who was pro slavery everywhere
e)
The rest of the Democrats nominated Douglas
(1)
His platform was popular sovereignty
(2)
First presidential candidate to go on a speaking tour of the country
(3)
He said he was the only one who could bring the country together
(4)
2.
The Constitutional Union Party
a)
Made up of old Whigs, leftover Know-Nothings, and some moderate
Southerners who were willing to compromise
b)
Nominated John Bell of Tennessee
(1)
His platform did not mention slavery at all
(2)
His platform was to follow the Constitution, which says nothing about
slavery
3.
The Republican Party nominated Abraham Lincoln
§
Lincoln’s platform
a)
Containment of slavery
b)
Federal support of a transcontinental railroad
4.
Lincoln won
H.
Before Lincoln was sworn in (December 1860), South Carolina seceded
1.
Why
a)
Southerners didn’t believe Lincoln
b)
Feared more raids a la John Brown
c)
Southern pride was injured- we had a president who no Southerners voted
for
d)
By January, 1861, 6 more states seceded
e)
By May of 1861, four more states seceded
2.
The seceded states got together to write a Constitution
a)
Elected Jefferson Davis as president and Alexander Stevens as VP
b)
The New Constitution was basically our Constitution, with a few changes
(1)
Slavery was specifically recognized and the right to move slaves from
one state to another was guaranteed
(2)
No protective tariffs
(3)
President would serve for one un-renewable six year term
(4)
The president was given a line-item veto in appropriations bills
(5)
State sovereignty was recognized
3.
Northern reaction- mixed
a)
Horace Greely- newspaper editor
(1)
We should let them go in peace
(2)
The US is a democracy, so if they don’t want to be here they don’t have
to
4.
There were 5 border states who had slaves, but did not secede because
they thought it was wrong
5.
John Crittenden of Kentucky tried to come up with a compromise
a)
Lincoln refused to support Crittenden
6.
There were 2 forts in Southern territory that were still manned by US
forces- Fort Pickens in Florida and Fort Sumter in S. Carolina
a)
Fort Sumter was under Major Robert Anderson, and he sent word to Lincoln
that the fort was running out of supplies
b)
Lincoln said that he would send in supplies, and his advisors told him
not to. Lincoln informed the governor of
S. Carolina that he was sending in supplies.
He said he was not sending in armor or ammunition unless there were
problems
c)
The Confederacy demanded the surrender of the fort. Anderson said no, and the South fired- the
beginning of the Civil War
VII.
The Civil War
A.
Advantages
§
North
1.
More money
2.
More industry
3.
Almost 3 times greater population
4.
Maintained control over the Navy
5.
Superior railroad system
§
South
6.
Fighting on their own territory- defensice
7.
Highly Trained officers (Robert E. Lee was the general)
B.
Battles
1.
First Battle of Bull Run/ Manassas Junction
a)
South thought they would win the war quickly
(1)
South had a stronger reason to fight
(2)
Many northerners were wishy washy about the issue
b)
The battle took place in a valley
c)
Realized this war was going to be serious
d)
South won this battle, and they went out and celebrated and once they
decided to move onto Washington it was too late and they lost their advantage
2.
C.
In the meantime, the country still had to move along
1.
Morale had to be maintained
2.
Armies had to be supplied
3.
Constitutional questions had to be addressed
a)
Maryland began to talk about secession, so Lincoln suspended the writ of
Habeas Corpus so he could imprison suspected secessionists. Chief Justice Tawney insisted it was
unconstitutional, but Lincoln did it anyway
b)
A group called the Copperheads called Lincoln a tyrant and overstepping
in states’ rights
c)
Jefferson Davis (president of the south) was faced with draft problems-
below)
4.
Congress passed 2 acts in this time period
a)
Homestead Act
(1)
Granted 160 acres of government land free of charge to any person who
would farm it for at least 5 years
b)
Morrill Land Grant Act
(1)
Gave large amounts of government land to any state that would establish
agricultural and mechanical colleges.
5.
How do you get an army?
a)
A draft was necessary
(1)
In the South, if you were drafted you could pay someone to serve instead
of you
(2)
Southern states said that their federal government had no right to
create a draft, therefore it was hard for the South to raise an army and raise
money
D.
Emancipation proclamation
1.
Lincoln had promised that he would leave slavery alone where it existed
a)
Reluctant to go back on that promise
b)
Afraid that if he did anything to slavery he would lose the border
states
2.
Within the Republican Party there was a split
a)
Lincoln Republicans
b)
Radical Republicans
(1)
Pushed Lincoln to do st about slavery
3.
Lincoln waited until the North won a decisive battle, and the issued the
Emancipation proclamation
a)
Said that the slaves in states still in rebellion are free
b)
Essentially, this proclamation did nothing because the southern states
did not consider themselves part of the US, so they didn’t believe it applied
to them
c)
Lincoln really did it to appease the radicals. He DID NOT free the slaves, the 13th
amendment didop0
E.
Battle of Gettysburg
1.
Big field with no place to take cover, and it was a horrible bloodbath
2.
When the battle was over, there was a ceremony held at the cemetery
a)
Lincoln’s speech was preceded by a speech by William Lloyd Garrison (an
abolitionist), which lasted for 2 hours in sweltering heat
b)
Lincoln got up to make his speech, which was 5-10 minutes, and it was
known as the Gettysburg Address.
Garrison tried to embarrass Lincoln, but it did not work because the
speech was so good
F.
Election of 1864
1.
Only took place in the north
2.
Not a shoe-in for Lincoln
3.
At this point, the South was in trouble
a)
Used blacks as soldiers
b)
As the south got worse and worse, Lincoln looked better
4.
When word came that General Sherman (North) captured Atlanta, it gave
Lincoln the victory
G.
On April 9th, 1865, Confederate General Lee of Virginia
surrendered at Appomattox Court House in Virginia
H.
On April 14th, Lincoln was shot
§
Assassinated by John Wilkes Booth
§
Many questions surrounding the assassination
§
Booth went into the box, shot Lincoln, and jumped from the box onto the
stage and broke his leg. Still, he
managed to get outside on a horse and get to a nearby barn
§
Booth died several days later from a self-inflicted gun wound
§
Andrew Johnson became president
VIII.
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