The Path to The Civil War

The Missouri Compromise 1820 Pushed through Congress by Henry Clay Admitted Missouri as a slave state, but balanced by admitting Maine as a free state Also banned slavery in future states north of Missouri’s southern border, but allowed slavery south of that line

John Tyler 1790 – 1862 10th President (1841-45) Became president after William Henry Harrison died in office Virginian, slave-owner 1st president have impeachment proceedings against him Approved annexation of Texas as he was leaving office Changed political parties multiple times – a Democratic-Republican, then a National Republican, then a Democrat, then a Whig, then back to being a Democrat Elected to office in the CSA

James K. Polk 1795 – 1849 11th President (1845-49) Democrat, Southerner, slave-owner Nicknamed both “Young Hickory” and “Napoleon of the Stump” Expanded US through formal addition of Texas, the Mexican War, and negotiations with Britain for control of the Oregon Territory Established a national treasury, lowered tariffs Opened the USNA and Smithsonian

Texas & The Mexican War 1846 – 1848 US annexed Texas in 1845, as a slave state After defeating Mexico, US added California and desert Southwest – but would they be free or slave territories?

The Wilmot Proviso & Calhoun Resolutions Wilmot Proviso proposed in 1846 by Rep. David Wilmot of PA – proposed a complete ban on slavery in any new territories US might acquire from Mexico Sen. John C. Calhoun of SC countered that the states own US territories in common and Congress holds no authority to ban slavery in the territories US Senate refused to vote on Wilmot Proviso

Hardening Attitudes About Slavery Calhoun began to argue that slavery was not a “necessary evil” but rather an “positive good” because white slave owners provided care for their slaves and introduced them to Christianity, thereby saving their souls

Popular Sovereignty Proposed by Sen. Lewis Cass of Michigan Citizens of each new territory should be allowed to decide for themselves on whether to allow slavery there Idea became popular because it prevented Congress from having to make a decision

Split in the Whig Party Slavery divided northern Whigs into the “Conscience Whigs” who opposed slavery and the “Cotton Whigs” who supported slavery because Southern cotton fed their northern textile factories

Rise of the Free Soil Party After pro-slavery Zachary Taylor became the Whig nominee for president in 1848, Conscience Whigs quit the Whig Party and joined themselves with northern anti-slavery Democrats This new party was called the Free Soil Party (they opposed expanding slavery to the “free soil” of the West).

Election of 1848 Democratic candidate Lewis Cass promoted popular sovereignty and promised to veto the Wilmot Proviso if passed Free Soil candidate Martin Van Buren supported a complete ban on slavery in the West Whig candidate Zachary Taylor was a moderate

Zachary Taylor 1784 – 1850 12th President (1849–50) “Old Rough and Ready” Slave owner, but believed slavery wouldn’t work in the West because of the climate Hero of the Mexican War, never held an elected office before president Died in office

Millard Fillmore 1800 – 1874 13th President (1850-53) Whig (later a Know-Nothing) Anti-slavery, but believed that it was necessary to allow it to keep South happy and the Union whole Endorsed the Compromise of 1850 and signed it into law Sent Perry to open trade with Japan Refused to support Southern efforts to annex Cuba Not nominated by Whigs in 1852

Compromise of 1850 5 separate bills pushed through Congress by Clay and Webster over the opposition of Calhoun: 1) California admitted as a free state 2) Slave trade (but not slave ownership) was banned in Washington D.C. 3) New Mexico Territory and Utah Territory were created and would decide slavery issue under popular sovereignty 4) Texas was paid $10 million in return for giving up its claims to lands in the New Mexico Territory 5) The Fugitive Slave Act

Fugitive Slave Act Law enforcement anywhere in the US were obligated to arrest runaway slaves and return them to their owners Anyone harboring a fugitive slave or refusing to help apprehend one was subject to fine and prison Slaves were identified solely by the word of their owner or their representative and received no trial As a result, any free black was in danger – all it took was a claim that they were a runaway and they were arrested and turned over!

Uncle Tom’s Cabin Novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe Published in 1852, written in direct response to the Fugitive Slave Act Sold 300,000 copies in first year Brought the suffering of slaves to life for many readers and helped swell the abolitionist ranks

Underground Railroad Organized network of individuals who helped hide and move runaway slaves north Moved thousands of slaves to freedom in Canada These people risked imprisonment to help slaves escape

Harriet Tubman 1820 – 1913 Escaped slave who risked herself by returning to the South over and over to guide runaways along the Underground Railroad, despite being an epileptic Later worked as a spy for the Union Army during the Civil War and as a women’s rights activist

A Changing of the Guard: Calhoun, Clay, & Webster Die 1850 Summer 1852 Fall 1852

Franklin Pierce 1804 – 1869 14th President (1853-1857) Democrat Supported acquisition of Cuba from Spain, but his ministers sent to broker a deal created a scandal when they threatened Spain with force if they refused to sell Cuba (the Ostend Manifesto) Was not nominated for a second term by his party in 1856

Kansas-Nebraska Act 1854 Created two new territories out of the Great Plains – Kansas and Nebraska Repealed the Missouri Compromise and allowed the 2 new territories to exercise popular sovereignty on the issue of slavery

Stephen A. Douglas 1813 – 1861 Senator from Illinois nicknamed the “Little Giant” Helped draft the Compromise of 1850 and was the author of the Kansas-Nebraska Act Strong believer that true democracy obeyed the will of the people – so he supported the idea of popular sovereignty

“Bleeding Kansas” Settlers moving into Kansas from Missouri brought their slaves New England Emigrant Aid Company began organizing and equipping northern settlers to move to Kansas and oppose slavery Both sides were armed and willing to fight and periods of violence followed

Andrew P. Butler 1796 – 1857 Senator from SC Co-author of the Kansas-Nebraska Act Strong, outspoken supporter of slavery Verbally trashed in the Senate in 1856 by Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts for his support of slavery

Charles Sumner 1811 – 1874 Senator from MA Opposed the Fugitive Slave and Kansas-Nebraska Acts Delivered his 3-hour “Crime Against Kansas” speech in May 1856, which made personal attacks against Sen. Butler including making fun of his speech problems (Butler’s speech had been impaired from a stroke)

Preston Brooks 1819 – 1857 Rep. from SC Nephew of Andrew Butler Decided to act to defend the honor of his disabled uncle and that of SC First considered challenging Sumner to a duel but decided that was too much of an honor for Sumner

Sumner-Brooks Incident May 22, 1856 Brooks attacked Sumner with a cane on the floor of the Senate, savagely beating him until the cane broke Sumner took 3 years to recover from his injuries Dozens of proud Southerners sent Brooks new canes in support

The Republican Party Founded in 1854 by a mixture of former Whigs, Free Soilers, and anti-slavery Democrats Direct response to the Kansas-Nebraska Act Number one goal became to contain the spread of slavery to the South and not allow it to spread to new states or territories

Know-Nothings The American Party (informally called the “Know-Nothings”) Nativist party that opposed immigration and was fiercely anti-Catholic Initially successful, but short-lived since its members were divided over slavery

Election of 1856 Republicans nominated explorer John C. Fremont Democrats nominated career politician and moderate James Buchanan Know-Nothings nominated former president Millard Fillmore

James Buchanan 1791 – 1868 15th President (1857-61) Only unmarried President Believed that South could only be kept in the Union through concessions and compromise, but this infuriated Northern supporters Failed to successfully deal with increasingly violent sectionalism

Dred Scott 1799 – 1858 Slave who sued for freedom on the grounds that his master had carried him into states and territories where slavery was illegal Given freedom by his owner in 1857 after Dred Scott lost his case in the Supreme Court

Dred Scott Decision 1857 Dred Scott v. Sandford Southerner-dominated Supreme Court under Chief Justice Roger Taney ruled that since persons of African ancestry were not citizens of the US but were instead private property, they were not protected by US laws and could not sue in US courts Court also overturned the Missouri Compromise as unconstitutional – ruled that Congress could not pass laws that denied citizens their right to private property (slaves) without “due process” (5th Amendment)

Kansas & the Lecompton Constitution Buchanan encouraged Kansas to apply for statehood to decide the slavery issue there and end the violence Constitutional Convention was called in the territory’s capital of Lecompton, but was boycotted by abolition supporters as “rigged” Result was a state constitution that allowed slavery in Kansas Congress refused to admit Kansas under the Lecompton constitution in 1858 – Kansas not a state until 1861

Lincoln-Douglas Debates 1858 Republicans ran Abraham Lincoln against Democrat Stephen Douglas for Senate in Illinois The 2 men participated in a series of public debates centered on slavery Lincoln opposed the spread of slavery, Douglas promoted popular sovereignty Douglas argued the Freeport Doctrine – that the Dred Scott decision was correct, but that states wanting to keep slavery out had only to refuse to pass laws needed to enforce slavery Douglas won re-election, but Lincoln won national attention for himself & the Republicans

John Brown 1800 – 1859 Businessman who experienced bankruptcy, the death of his wife and a number of his children before becoming an ardent abolitionist Moved to Kansas in 1856 and participated in the murder of 5 pro-slavery settlers (The Pottawatomie Massacre) and the more organized fighting between abolitionist and pro-slavery forces When fighting died down in Kansas, Brown returned east

John Brown’s Raid on Harper’s Ferry Oct. 16-18, 1859 Brown mounted an attack on the federal armory at Harper’s Ferry, VA in an effort to seize weapons with which to arm slaves and start a rebellion Brown took the armory, but slaves did not rebel and no support came Brown’s forces were defeated by US Marines led by Col. Robert E. Lee and Brown was captured, tried and hung for treason

South turns against Republicans After John Brown’s Raid, Southerners became convinced that abolitionists were determined to destroy the Southern way of life Republican Party was closely tied to the abolitionist cause Southern leaders vowed that they would rather dissolve the Union than tolerate a Republican-led government

Election of 1860 Democratic Party Split Northern Democrats who favored popular sovereignty nominated Stephen Douglas Southern Democrats who demanded federal protection of slavery nominated John Breckinridge Republicans nominated Abraham Lincoln Former Whigs created the Constitutional Party which argued that the Union could still be preserved through upholding the Constitution

South Carolina Secedes Dec. 20, 1860 President Buchanan (Lincoln had been elected but not inaugurated) declared secession to be illegal but refused to use military force to stop it US forces in SC retreated to Ft. Sumter in Charleston Harbor SC was followed by Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas

Abraham Lincoln 1809 – 1865 16th President (1861-65) Republican His election would prompt the South to secede; Lincoln would have to decide whether to let them leave the US or to fight to force them to stay – chose to fight

Jefferson Davis Feb. 1861: Secessionist states declared themselves to be an independent nation, the Confederate States of America Wrote a new constitution and elected former Mississippi senator Jefferson Davis as President

Ft. Sumter April 1861: Lincoln announces that he intends to reinforce Ft. Sumter South demanded that Ft. Sumter surrender; when the fort refused, it was bombarded with cannon-fire for 33 hours (official start of Civil War) April 13, 1861: Ft. Sumter surrendered to South

Upper South Secedes Lincoln began to build an army to fight the South This prompted states of the “Upper South” to secede in support of the Confederacy Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, & Tennessee leave the Union

The Border States Must Decide Lincoln needed the remaining 4 slave states (Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri) to stay in the Union Delaware committed to the North Lincoln imposed martial law in Maryland Kentucky sided with North after Confederate forces invaded the state Missouri voted to stay with North

The Confederate States of America NOT THIS ----- -----THIS

North vs. South