Edited by Karen Auwers Original ~Ms. Susan M. Pojer Edited by Karen Auwers Original ~Ms. Susan M. Pojer The 1850’s: The Road to Succession and the Civil War The Road to Succession and the Civil War

Problems of Sectional Balance begins in the 1840’s  Southern “fire-eaters” threatening secession Southern “fire-eaters” threatening secession  Underground RR & fugitive slave issues: * Personal liberty laws (1840’s Northern states will not cooperate with the Fugitive Slave laws…) * Prigg v. Pennsylvania (1842) (Prigg was a crucial case because it announced that slavery was a national issue that could not be disturbed by state action. It also disclosed that the institution of slavery was woven into the Constitution Underground RR & fugitive slave issues: * Personal liberty laws (1840’s Northern states will not cooperate with the Fugitive Slave laws…) * Prigg v. Pennsylvania (1842) (Prigg was a crucial case because it announced that slavery was a national issue that could not be disturbed by state action. It also disclosed that the institution of slavery was woven into the Constitution  California Statehood California Statehood  Southern “fire-eaters” threatening secession Southern “fire-eaters” threatening secession  Underground RR & fugitive slave issues: * Personal liberty laws (1840’s Northern states will not cooperate with the Fugitive Slave laws…) * Prigg v. Pennsylvania (1842) (Prigg was a crucial case because it announced that slavery was a national issue that could not be disturbed by state action. It also disclosed that the institution of slavery was woven into the Constitution Underground RR & fugitive slave issues: * Personal liberty laws (1840’s Northern states will not cooperate with the Fugitive Slave laws…) * Prigg v. Pennsylvania (1842) (Prigg was a crucial case because it announced that slavery was a national issue that could not be disturbed by state action. It also disclosed that the institution of slavery was woven into the Constitution  California Statehood California Statehood -1850

Compromise of 1850

Harriet Beecher Stowe Harriet Beecher Stowe So this is the lady who started the Civil War. -- Abraham Lincoln So this is the lady who started the Civil War. -- Abraham Lincoln

Uncle Tom’s Cabin 1852 Uncle Tom’s Cabin 1852  Sold 300,000 copies in the first year.  2 million in a decade!  Sold 300,000 copies in the first year.  2 million in a decade!

 This recent article by the BBC describes how racism continued based on pseudo – scientific knowledge of the late 19 th century.  Read the article… Read

The “Know-Nothings” [The American Party]  Nativists.  Anti-Catholics.  Anti-immigrants.  Nativists.  Anti-Catholics.  Anti-immigrants.  1849  Secret Order of the Star-Spangled Banner created in NYC.

 A massive wave of immigration from Ireland and Germany after 1845 led to an outburst of anti-foreign and anti-Catholic sentiment. Between 1846 and 1855, three million foreigners arrived in America. Nativists--ardent opponents of immigration--capitalized on deep-seated Protestant antagonism toward Catholics and working-class fear of economic competition from cheaper immigrant labor. Nativists charged that Catholics were responsible for a sharp increase in poverty, crime, and drunkenness, and were subservient to a foreign leader, the Pope.  In 1849, native-born Protestant workingmen formed a secret fraternal organization, "The Order of the Star-Spangled Banner," which became the nucleus of a new political party known as the Known-Nothing or American party. The party received its name from the fact that, when members were asked about the party's workings, they were supposed to reply, "I know nothing." ( Digital History--

√ Franklin Pierce Gen. Winfield Scott John Parker Hale Democrat Whig Free SoilFranklin Pierce √ Franklin Pierce Gen. Winfield Scott John Parker Hale Democrat Whig Free SoilFranklin Pierce

1852 Election Results

Kansas-Nebraska Act, 1854

“The Crime Against Kansas” Sen. Charles Sumner (R-MA) Congr. Preston Brooks (D-SC)

“Bleeding Kansas” Border “Ruffians” (pro-slavery Missourians)

 One of the most publicized events that occurred in Bleeding Kansas was when on May 21, 1856 Border Ruffians ransacked Lawrence, Kansas which was known to be a staunch free-state area. One day later, violence occurred on the floor of the U.S. Senate when Congressman Preston Brooks of South Carolina attacked Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts with a cane after Sumner spoke out against Southerners responsible for violence in Kansas. Bleeding

Birth of the Republican Party, 1854  Northern Whigs.  Northern Democrats.  Free-Soilers.  Know-Nothings.  Other miscellaneous opponents of the Kansas-Nebraska Act.  Northern Whigs.  Northern Democrats.  Free-Soilers.  Know-Nothings.  Other miscellaneous opponents of the Kansas-Nebraska Act.

√ James Buchanan John C. Frémont Millard Fillmore Democrat Republican Whig

1856 Election Results

Panic of 1857 The Panic of 1857 abruptly ended the boom times that followed the Mexican War.Panic The immediate event that touched off the panic was the failure of the New York branch of the Ohio Life Insurance and Trust Co., a major financial force that collapsed following massive embezzlement. Hard on the heels of this event arrived other setbacks that shook the public's confidence: The decision of British investors to remove funds from American banks raised questions about overall soundness The fall of grain prices spread economic misery into rural areas. Manufactured goods began to pile up in warehouses, leading to massive layoffs Widespread railroad failures occurred, an indication of how badly over-built the American system had become American system Land speculation programs collapsed with the railroads, ruining thousands of investors. The Panic of 1857 abruptly ended the boom times that followed the Mexican War.Panic The immediate event that touched off the panic was the failure of the New York branch of the Ohio Life Insurance and Trust Co., a major financial force that collapsed following massive embezzlement. Hard on the heels of this event arrived other setbacks that shook the public's confidence: The decision of British investors to remove funds from American banks raised questions about overall soundness The fall of grain prices spread economic misery into rural areas. Manufactured goods began to pile up in warehouses, leading to massive layoffs Widespread railroad failures occurred, an indication of how badly over-built the American system had become American system Land speculation programs collapsed with the railroads, ruining thousands of investors.

 Confidence was further shaken in September when 30,000 pounds of gold were lost at sea in a shipment from the San Francisco Mint to eastern banks. More than 400 lives were lost as well as public confidence in the government's ability to back its paper currency with specie.In October, a bank holiday was declared in New England and New York in a vain effort to avert runs on those institutions. Eventually the panic and depression spread to Europe, South America and the Far East. No recovery was evident in the United States for a year and a half and the full impact did not dissipate until the Civil War.San FranciscoMint  As an unfortunate sidelight, the South was hurt less than the other regions of the country and many there concluded that the superiority of their economic system had been vindicated.

 The most unpopular Supreme Court decision that further separated the North and the South… decision

The Lincoln-Douglas (Illinois Senate) Debates, 1858 A House divided against itself, cannot stand. A House divided against itself, cannot stand.

Stephen Douglas & the Freeport Doctrine Popular Sovereignty?

John BrownJohn Brown: Madman, Hero or Martyr? 1859 John BrownJohn Brown: Madman, Hero or Martyr? 1859

√ Abraham Lincoln Republican John Bell Constitutional Union Stephen A. Douglas Northern Democrat John C. Breckinridge Southern Democrat

Republican Party Platform in 1860  Non-extension of slavery [for the Free-Soilers.  Protective tariff [for the No. Industrialists].  No abridgment of rights for immigrants [a disappointment for the “Know-Nothings”].  Government aid to build a Pacific RR [for the Northwest].  Internal improvements [for the West] at federal expense.  Free homesteads for the public domain [for farmers].  Non-extension of slavery [for the Free-Soilers.  Protective tariff [for the No. Industrialists].  No abridgment of rights for immigrants [a disappointment for the “Know-Nothings”].  Government aid to build a Pacific RR [for the Northwest].  Internal improvements [for the West] at federal expense.  Free homesteads for the public domain [for farmers].

1860 Election: A Nation Coming Apart?!

1860 Election Results 1860 Election Results

CrittendenCrittenden Compromise: A Last Ditch Appeal to Sanity CrittendenCrittenden Compromise: A Last Ditch Appeal to Sanity Senator John J. Crittenden (Know-Nothing-KY)

Secession!: SC  Dec. 20, 1860

Fort SumterFort Sumter: April 12, 1861 Fort SumterFort Sumter: April 12, 1861