Chapter+19


 * The Union Peril 1848-1861 reveiw book chp.13 (AP chps.18/19)

1)Conflict over status of territories** A)free soil movement i)northern democrats/whigs supported wilmot proviso and postion all blacks-slave and free- be excluded from mexican cession ii)north,antislavery forces and racists find common ground support for free soil positon iii)free soilers sought to keep west land for whites only iiii)1848 northerners favoring approach organize free soil party iiiii)preventing extension of slavery, advocate free homesteads, and internal improvements B)southern position i)south whites viewed attempts restrict expansion of slavery as violation their constitutional right take and use property as wished ii)saw abolitionists/free soilers ultimate destruction slavery iii)moderate southerners favored extending Missouri compromise line 36 degree30' westward to pacific ocean iiii)permitting territories north of line nonslave C)popular sovereignty i)Lewis Cass democrat senator from Michigan ii)proposed compromise and won support from moderate northerners and southerners iii)suggested matter be determined by vote of ppl who settled territory iiii)Cass' approach to problem known as "squatter" D)the election of 1848 i)1848 democrats nominate senator Cass adopted popular sovereignty ii)whigs nominate General Zachary Taylor took no position on slavery iii)3rd party free soilers nominated former prez. Martin Van Buren iiii)Taylor defeated Cass

A)gold rush i)1849; influx 100,000 settlers to CA creating need for law order in west ii)1849 californians drafted constitution for new state (slavery band) iii)Prez. Taylor supported immediate admission both CA/New Mexico as free stated B)Henry Clay proposes compromise (again) i)admit CA to union as free state ii)divide remainder Mexican cession 2 territories (Utah, New Mexico)allow settlers decide slave issue by majority rule (popular sovereignty) iii)give land new territories iiii)ban slave trade district Columbia permit whites hold slaves iiiii)adopt new fugitive slave law and enforce rigorously C)northern oppostion i)compromise came from younger anti-slavery law-makers ii)Senator William H. Seward argued higher law than constitution iii)1850 Prez. Taylor's sudden death caused prez. Fillmore to sign bills into law D)passage of compromise i)1850 bought time for nation ii)CA admitted as free state iii)compromise added north's political power and political debate deepened iiii)parts of compromise become sources of controversy(especially new fugitive slave law) iiiii)provision for popular sovereignty
 * 2)The compromise of 1850**

A)fugitive slave law i)passage of strict law persuaded southerners accept loss of CA ii)enforcement of law in north bitterly restricted by anti-slavery northerners B)enforcement and opposition i)law's chief purpose to track down runaway slaves, capture, and return to owner ii)special U.S commissioners issue warrants to arrest iii)captured person claiming to be free and not runaway denied trial with jury iiii)citizens hiding runaways subjected heavy penalties C)undergroun railroad i)helped escaped slaves reach freedom in north or Canada ii)northern free blax and x-slaves led other blax to freedom iii)black leaders:Fredrick Douglas, Harriet Tubman, and Sojourner Truth took active roles in emancipation of slaves D)literature on slaver/Uncle Tom's Cabin i)most influential book was about conflict btwn slave named Tom and brutal white slave owner Simon Legree ii)publication of book (1852)moved northerners as well as Europeans ot regard slave owners as monsters iii)southerners took "untruths" as proof of northerners prejudice against southern ways of life E)impending crisis of the south i)1857 Hinton R. Helper's book Impending Crisis Of The South attacked slavery from new angles ii)author used statistics to demonstrate slavery's negative impact on south's economy iii)southern states quickly banned book F)southern reaction i)proslavey southern whites counter-attacked by arguing slavey opposite of what northerners stated ii)George Fitzhugh questioned principle of equal rights or "unequal men" iii)other works:Socialogy for the South(1854) Cannibals All! (1857) G)effect of law and literature i)antislavery and proslavery literature polarized nation even more
 * 3)Agitation Over Slavery**

A)the election of 1852 i)whigs nominate military hero General Winefield Scott ii)whig campaign concentrated improving roads and harbors iii)democrats nominated Franklin Pierce who supported fugitive slave law iiii)electoral college vote Pierc won all but 4 states iiiii)days of whig pary numbered B)the Kansas-Nebraska act 1854 i)new law passed ii)senator Stephen A. Douglas devised plan for building railroads/promoting western settlements iii)obtained southern railroad approval;Nebaska territory be divided settlers free to decide about slavery iiii)new political party emerged iiiii)overriding purpose to express opposition to spread slavery in the territories (republican party) C)new parties i)break up political parties mid 1850's paralleled breakup of union D)know-nothing party i)mid 1850's growing ethnic tension in north btwn protestant Americans and immigrant German and Irish Catholics ii)nativist hostility led to formation of know-nothing party (drew support from whigs) iii)quickly lost influence E)birth of the republican party i)republican party founded in Wisconsin 1854 ii)free-soilers, antislavery whigs, and democrats made up new party iii)1st platform 1854 repeal both kansas-Nebraska act and fugitive slave law iiii)led chiefly by northern/western moderates iiiii)1854-60 party grew rapidly in north became 2nd largest party F)the election of 1856 i)nominee for prez. John C. Fremont ii)republican platform called no slvery expansion, free homesteads, and a pro buisness protective tariff iii)know-nothings won 20% popular vote with Millard Fillmore iiii)democats nominated James Bunchanan iiiii)democrats won majority iiiiii)election foreshadowed emergence of powerful political party would win all but 4 Prez. elections btwn 1860-1932
 * 4)National Parties Crisis**

A)"bleeding Kansas" i)Stephen Douglas expected slavery issue be settled peacefully by antislavery farmers ii)slaveholders neighboring Missouri setup homesteads in Kansas iii)north abolitionists/free soilers organized New England Emigrant Aid Company 1855 iiii)paid for antislavery transportation to Kansas iiiii)fighting soon broke out and Kansas became known as "Bloody Kansas" iiiiii)Pierce administration did nothing to keep order in territory and failed to support honsest elections B)caning of senator Sumner i)1856 Mass. senator Charled Sumner verbally attacked democratic administration ii)Sumner-Brooks incident was sign of growing passions on both sides
 * 5)Extremists and Violence**

A)lecompton constitution i)Bunchman's 1st challenge as prez. (1857) deciding accept/reject proslavery state Kansas ii)lecompton constitution didn't have support of majority settlements iii)congress rejected document B)Dred Scott vs. Sanford 1857 i)congressional folly prez. ineptitude contributed sectional crisis 1850's ii)Dred Scott held as slave missouri taken to Wisconsin lives free 2 years iii)taken back to missouri argues residence on free land for 2 tears make him free iiii)went to court and sued for freedom iiiii)lost case iiiiii)court declared all parts western territories were open to slavery iiiiiii)suspicians of slave power conspiracy induced thousands of former democrats ot vote republican C)Lincoln-Douglas debates i)1858 focus of nation on Stephen Douglas' campaign ii)challenging him for senate seat Abraham Lincoln iii)Abe=republican served only one two year term in congress 1840's as whig iiii)not abolitionist iiiii)against expansion of slavery iiiiii)effectively speak of slavery as moral issue iiiiiii)Douglas ended up winning reelection to U.S senate iiiiiiii)in long run lost groung with own party by alienating southern democrats iiiiiiiii)Lincoln emerged from debates as national figure leading contender for republican nomination for prez. 1860
 * 6)Constitutional Issues**

A)John Brown's raid @ Harper's Ferry i)confirmed south radical abolitionism ii)tried to start slave uprising in VA Oct. 1859 iii)unsuccessful; caught, tried for treason, convicted, and hung by state B)breakup of the democrat party i)1860 democratic party represented last practical hope for coalition and compromise ii)democrats held 2nd convention iii)southern democrats held own convention and nominated Vp John C. Breckinridge C)republican nomination of Lincoln i)democrats draft platform appealing strongly to economic self-interest of northerners/westerners ii)republican platform promised protective tariff, industry, free land for homesteaders, and internal improvements to encourage western settlements including railroad to pacific D)a 4th political party i)group former whigs, know-nothings, and moderate democrats ii)constitutional union party iii)nominated John Bell iiii)platform=enforcement of laws and constitution preserving the union E)election results i)Lincoln=59% electoral, 39.8 popular ii)Beckinridge=carried deep south iii)Douglas/Bell=few electoral in border states F)secession in deep south i)December 1860; special convention in South Carolina ii)votes unanimous to secede iii)next weeks Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas did same G)crittenden compromise i)Bunchanan 5 months in office before Lincoln was to secede him ii)did nothing to prevent secession of 7 states iii)senator John Crittenden proposed constitutional amendment that would guarantee right to hold slaves in all territories south of 36degree30' iiii)Lincoln didn't accept compromise
 * 7)The Road To Secession**