ELECTION OF 1852 1852 - four candidates for the Democratic
presidential nomination. Many turned to Franklin Pierce, a
little-known politician from New Hampshire. He promised to honor
the Compromise of 1850 and the Fugitive Slave Act. Southerners
trusted Pierce because of this.
Slide 4
The opposing Whigs also held their convention in 1852. Choosing
war heroes as their delegates had been successful in the past
(William Henry Harrison and Zachary Taylor). The Whigs passed over
current president Millard Fillmore because they believed his strict
enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act would cost (lose) votes.
Instead, they chose Winfield Scott, a Mexican War Hero, as their
candidate. But, he was not trusted by Southerners because he did
NOT fully support the Compromise of 1850. In the end, Pierce won
the election of 1852 by a large margin. This is seen as a major
defeat for the Whigs.
Slide 5
KANSAS-NEBRASKA ACT A proposal to build a railroad to the West
coast helped revive the slavery controversy and opened a new period
of sectional conflict. Because of this new act, the question of
slavery is to be decided by popular sovereignty by the people who
vote in the elections there. This sparked violent conflict between
pro-slavery and antislavery groups.
Slide 6
DOUGLAS AND THE RAILROAD Stephen Douglas wanted to build a
railroad that ran to the Pacific Ocean from Chicago, Ill. He knew a
territory needed to be created out of the Louisiana Purchase. The
Missouri Compromise required that land to be made of free
territory. Douglas needed southern support to build the line. The
only way he could get support was if the new territory west of the
state of Missouri was opened to slavery.
Slide 7
TWO NEW TERRITORIES This plan would divide the remainder of the
Louisiana Purchase into two territories - Kansas and Nebraska - and
would allow the people in each territory to decide on the question
of slavery. Many in the north were against the idea. The act would
eliminate the Missouri Compromises restriction on slavery north of
the 36 30 line! Eventually, the measure passed both houses of
Congress and was signed into law. Lost amid all the controversy was
Douglass proposed railroad to the Pacific Ocean. Congress would not
approve the construction of such a railroad until 1862.
Slide 8
KANSAS DIVIDED Anti-slavery and pro-slavery groups rushed their
supporters to Kansas. This cant be happening! More than 5,000
pro-slavery voters crossed the border to vote and then returned
home. As a result the state turned to pro-slavery. Strict laws
would be passed that made it a crime to question slaveholders
rights and said that hose who helped fugitive slaves could be put
to death. An anti-slavery legislature would be created 25 miles
away. Despite opposition, President Pierce only recognized the
pro-slavery legislature.
Slide 9
BLEEDING KANSAS Many moved to Kansas to homestead in peace but
now were affected by the dispute. In April 1856, a congressional
committee arrived in Kansas to decide which government was
legitimate. Although the committee members deemed the election
unfair, the federal government did not agree.
Slide 10
ATTACK ON LAWRENCE In May 1856 a pro-slavery jury charged
anti-slavery leaders with treason. About 800 men rode to Lawrence
to arrest the anti-slavery leaders, but they had fled. Instead they
took their anger out on the town by setting fires, looting
buildings, and destroying presses used to print anti-slavery
newspapers.
Slide 11
JOHN BROWNS RESPONSE On the night of May 24, 1856 John Brown
and his men killed five pro-slavery men in Kansas in what became
known as Pottawatomie Massacre. Brown dragged pro-slavery men out
of their cabins and killed them with swords. He declared his
actions were ordered by God. Kansas collapsed into civil war. About
200 were killed. The events in Bleeding Kansas became national
front-page stores.
Slide 12
BROOKS ATTACKS SUMNER Charles Sumner, a senator from
Massachusetts criticized pro-slavery people in Kansas and
personally insulted a fellow senator who favored slavery from South
Carolina. In retaliation, Representative Preston Brooks, a relative
of that senator, used a walking cane to beat Sumner unconscious in
the Senate chambers. Many southerners will send Brooks canes
through mail! (An example of fan-mail?) He was given a fine of
$300. Northerners will give him the nickname of Bully Brooks. It
took Sumner three years before he was well enough to return to the
senate.
Slide 13
Slide 14
CHAPTER 15.3 Political Divisions
Slide 15
POLITICAL PARTIES UNDERGO CHANGE Stephen Douglas predicted the
Kansas-Nebraska Act would raise a storm and it did as it brought
the slavery issue back into the national spotlight. People from
four groups, Whigs, Democrats, Free-Soilers, and abolitionists
joined together in 1854 to form the Republican party, a party
united against the spread of slavery in the West. Some Whigs and
Democrats joined together and formed a new party called the
American Party, or the Know- Nothing Party.
Slide 16
DELEGATES CHOSEN The Democrats nominated James Buchanan for
President in 1856. The Republicans chose John C. Fremont as their
nominee for President in 1856. On election day, Buchanan won 14 of
15 slave states; Fremont won 11 of 16 free states and Fillmore won
only one state: Maryland. The winner of the 1856 election was
Buchanan.
Slide 17
DRED SCOTT DECISION The Dred Scott Decision is considered one
of the most important in the history of the Supreme Court Dred
Scott was a slave belonging to an army surgeon named Dr. John
Emerson. Scott was taken to free territories and when he returned
to Missouri the doctor died making him the property of Emersons
widow. In 1846 Scott sued for his freedom in Missouri state court
saying that he had become free when he lived in free
territory.
Slide 18
SUPREME COURT DECISION In 1857 Scotts case reached the Supreme
Court. The justices, many from the south, had three issues to
decide on. 1.The Court had to rule on whether Scott was a citizen.
(Only citizens could sue in federal court.) 2.The Court had to
decide if his time living on free soil made him free. 3.The Court
had to determine the constitutionality of prohibiting slavery in
parts of the Louisiana Purchase.
Slide 19
SUPREME COURTS RULING On the first issue to be decided, Chief
Justice Roger B. Taney decided that the nations founders did not
intend to give African Americans the same rights as whites meaning
that all African Americans, whether slave or free, were not
citizens under the U.S. Constitution. If Dred Scott did not have
rights under the constitution, then he did not have the right to
file suit in federal court. On the second issue Justice Taney said
then because Scott returned to Missouri, his status as free or
slave, depended on the law of Missouri. The third issue said that
the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional as the Fifth amendment
said that nobody could be deprived of LIFE, LIBERTY, or THE PURSUIT
OF HAPPINESS without due process of law.
Slide 20
Because slaves were property of people could not be prohibited
from taking them into a federal territory. Under this ruling,
Congress had no right to ban slavery in any federal territory. The
Dred Scott decision favored those in the South but deeply upset
those in the North.
Slide 21
LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATES In 1858, there was an important
election that took place in the U.S. Senate. Illinois Republicans
nominated Abraham Lincoln. His opponent was Democrat Stephen
Douglas, who had served in the senate for 11 years. These two men
squared off in what became known as the Lincoln Douglas
Debates.
Slide 22
LINCOLNS ARGUMENTS Lincoln stressed that the spread of slavery
in the West was the central issue of the campaign. He talked often
about the Dred Scott Decision. Lincoln: African Americans were
entitled to all rights listed in the Declaration of Independence.
Despite believing that, he didnt necessarily believe that African
Americans were the social or political equals of whites.
Slide 23
DOUGLAS ARGUMENTS Douglas argued that Lincoln thinks that the
Negro is his brother Criticized Lincoln for the idea that the U.S.
could not remain half slave and half free. When pressed by Lincoln
about the problems with supporting popular sovereignty and the Dred
Scott decision, Douglas responded by saying that it did not matter
what the Supreme Court decided about slavery. He argued that it is
up to the people to make the decision as slavery could not exist
anywhere, unless it is supported by local police regulations.
Slide 24
Freeport Doctrine put the question of slavery back into the
hands of American citizens. In the end, Douglas ended up winning
the Senate seat but Lincoln ended up becoming a strong and
important leader of the Republican Party.
Slide 25
SECTION 15.4 The Nation Divides
Slide 26
RAID ON HARPERS FERRY John Brown an abolitionist from the North
who wanted to start an uprising by arming local slaves John Browns
Raid - a night when Brown and his men took over a federal arsenal
in Harpers Ferry, VA in hopes of starting a slave rebellion.
Fearing he would be outnumbered, Brown sent several of his men to
the countryside to get slaves to join the cause. None showed up.
After fleeing to a fire house, federal troops arrived and stormed
the house and captured John Brown. END RESULT: John Brown was
convicted of treason, murder, and conspiracy and was sentenced to
death. Browns raid caused many southerners to use the attack as an
excuse to get out of the union.
Slide 27
ELECTION OF 1860 The Election of 1860 saw four parties and
their candidates run for president: Northern Democrats: Stephen
Douglas Southern Democrats: John Breckenridge Constitutional Union:
John Bell Republicans: Abraham Lincoln
Slide 28
ELECTION OF 1860 Lincoln was against the spread of slavery but
promised not to abolish it where it existed. RESULT: Lincoln won
180/183 electoral votes in free states (enough to win the election)
but took no southern states which upset the South. The South
realized it was losing power.
Slide 29
SOUTHERNERS REACTIONS Within weeks of Lincolns election, South
Carolinas legislature called for a special session to consider the
question of secession. In an attempt to solve the problem, Sen.
John Crittenden proposed a series of amendments to protect slavery.
Lincoln and the Republicans opposed the amendments and they were
defeated.
Slide 30
CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA December 20, 1860 South Carolina
officially broke from the union leading to the creation of the
Confederate States of America. They were followed by: Mississippi,
Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. New President:
Jefferson Davis
Slide 31
Slide 32
LINCOLN TAKES OFFICE March 4, 1861 Lincoln was inaugurated. In
his address, Lincoln understood the souths need to secede but
disagreed with it. He hoped to bring the south back on its own,
without a war. THE SECESSION OF SOUTHERN STATES HINTED AT THE
VIOLENCE TO COME