The Road to the American Civil War- Day 1

Early Attempts to Contain Slavery: REVIEW

• 1820: Missouri Compromise divides the nation at the 36 30’ parallel– Slavery is

prohibited above the line

– Slavery is allowed below the line

#1 The Wilmot Proviso• Wilmot Proviso (1848):

Attempted to prohibit slavery in the territory acquired from the Mexican War

• DID NOT pass but created the Free Soil Party– Dedicated to stopping the

expansion of slavery

#2 The Compromise of 1850• Used to settle the debate

over California statehood1. California = free state2. Congress would not

interfere with slavery in the territories won from Mexico (Slavery allowed in Mexican Cession)

3. Fugitive Slave Act passed that allowed recapture of runaway slaves

Henry Clay = The Great Compromiser

The Compromise of 1850

#3 The Fugitive Slave Act (1850)• Allowed southerners to

recover escaped slaves in the North

• Northerners resisted the law & were fined

• Southern slave catchers in the North brought the issue closer to home

#4 Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852)• Harriet Beecher Stowe

portrayed slavery as a moral issue

• Increased anti-slavery feelings in the North

• Southerners angered by the “lies” about slavery

# 5 Kansas Nebraska Act (1854)• Congressman Stephen Douglas wanted a railroad through

Nebraska Territory, but the South opposed it

• Kansas-Nebraska Act as a compromise:1. Nebraska Territory split in 2 = Kansas AND Nebraska2. Popular sovereignty (citizens vote) to decide if these new states

will be slave or free

• Repealed the Missouri Compromise

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUOpYRxWI30

Kansas-Nebraska Act 1854

Bleeding Kansas, 1855

• Voters to decide if Kansas will be a free or slave state

• Both sides rush to occupy Kansas in order to gain a majority

• 1855: Proslavery supporters gained the majority while abolitionists established their own anti-slavery legislature

• Both sides armed themselves for conflict

Bleeding Kansas, 1855• Angry abolitionist John Brown

decided to fight back– Hacked 5 proslavery men in front of

their families at Pottawatomie Creek, Kansas

• Civil war broke out in Kansas and continued for 3 years– Known as Bleeding Kansas

Bleeding Kansas

The Rise of New Political PartiesThe “Know Nothing” Party

• Nativist party• They are anti-immigrant, anti-

Catholic, dislike Blacks, and generally support slavery

• Disappeared quickly as a national party

• Northern and Southern branches could agree on the issue of slavery

Republican Party

• Grew out of problems with the Kansas-Nebraska Act

• All members are located in the north

• They want to keep slavery from expanding into the west

• They fear slavery would replace free white labor because slaves are not paid

#6 Dred Scott Decision• Dred Scott moved from a slave

state to free states

• 1856: Scott sued for his freedom after his owner dies

• Dred Scott vs. Sanford (1857): the Supreme Court ruled that slaves are not citizens and cannot file a lawsuit

• Also ruled that Congress could not ban slavery in the territories

#7 John Brown’s Raid October 1859

• John Brown hoped to inspire slaves to fight for their freedom

• He planned to capture weapons at a federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia

• Slaves did not rush to join, he was captured and hung

Enter Abraham Lincoln• Illinois congressmen and

lawyer who opposed the expansion of slavery

• Nominated by Illinois Republicans to challenge Stephen Douglas for Congress– “a house divided by itself will

not stand”

The Lincoln and Douglas Debates• LINCOLN: believed in was

the government’s job to stop the expansion

• DOUGLAS: believed popular sovereignty was the best way to decide

• Douglas won re-election BUT Lincoln became a national figure as a result of the debates

The Election of 1860

• Democrat Douglas vs. Republican Lincoln

• South threatened to secede if Lincoln wins; feared he would end slavery

• Lincoln is elected as the 16th president by the populous North

The Confederate States of America• On December 20, 1860,

South Carolina becomes the first state to secede– Followed by Mississippi,

Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas within the next 6 weeks

• Formed the Confederate States of America– Elected Jefferson Davis as

their president