1. Crisis and Causes Day 2 War is Inevitable
American History I
Mr. Hensley
SRMHS
Goal 2 Day 2

2. Millard Fillmore Taylor dies in 1850 and his VP Fillmore takes over
Fillmore is a moderate anti-slavery Whig from NY
He supports Compromise of 1850
North: hate his support of Fugitive Slave Laws
South: hate that he’s anti-slavery – no one is happy

3. Whigs Disintegrate
Slavery is splitting the Whigs into Northern and Southern factions
Northern Whigs are anti-slavery and opposed to Fugitive Slave laws
Southern Whigs are pro-slavery and pro-Union
Whigs have one last national leader: War Hero Winfield Scott (Fillmore is passed over)

4. Election of 1852 Whigs go with Scott
Democrats settle on dark horse Franklin Pierce
Scott: moderate on slavery but opposed to Fugitive Slave laws
Pierce: also moderate on slavery but in favor of popular sovereignty – believes Union is more important than slavery

5. Franklin Pierce
He is committed to preserving the Union (anti-slavery but also anti-abolition)
He supports Kansas-Nebraska Act
Northerners think he is weak on slavery
Southerners think he is too tough on slavery
No one is happy

6. Single-Issue Splinter Groups
Free Soil Party helped elect Pierce over Scott in 1852
The American Party grows during the 1850’s
Aka “Know Nothings” – against immigrants and Catholics (Irish)
Republican Party emerges initially focused on Kansas-Nebraska Act - caning of Sumner helps them grow

7. Dred Scott
Dred Scott was a slave who sued his master (Sanford) for his freedom
Sanford had taken Scott to free states (Wisconsin) then back to Missouri
Scott felt that having been in a free state, he should be free
In 1857, case goes to the Supreme Court

8. The Decision Slaves are property, not people and thus, cannot sue
Congress can’t make laws that would end slavery because slaves are property (5th Amendment)
North: slavery is now beyond the reach of the American political system
South: slavery stays, let’s calm down and move on

9. Election of 1856 Republicans nominate John Fremont
Democrats abandon Pierce and go to James Buchanan (from PA) who is sympathetic to South
Issues: Kansas and slavery
“Know Nothings” are strong in North and split Northern votes

10. Thursday Nov 5th
BELL RINGER: Get out your Crisis Day 2 notes and your Story of Us Viewing Guide
TODAY: Crisis and Causes Part 2 – War is Inevitable
TODAY: Video (Story of Us)

11. James Buchanan
Thought that slaves were treated humanely but that slavery was evil
Wanted an end to sectionalism and thought the South was right to fight to protect slavery
Recognized pro-slavery Kansas government
Can’t build consensus
Worst President?

12. Lincoln and Douglas
1858: Lincoln challenges Douglas for US Senate seat
Douglas the Democrat: let the states decide and respect their decision
Lincoln the Republican: slavery is evil and wrong and the federal gov’t has the responsibility to stop it
Note that Lincoln does not believe in equal rights

13. Lincoln is NOT an Abolitionist
“I am not, nor ever have been, in favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races, that I am not nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality.” Abraham Lincoln, from the Lincoln-Douglas Debates (1858)

14. Harpers Ferry
John Brown takes over military arsenal in Harpers Ferry, Virginia
Hopes to give guns to rebelling slaves
Surrounded by US Army, Brown captured and hung
Brown becomes martyr and hero in North
South convinced the North will use violence

15. Election of 1860 Lincoln is the moderate Republican (Free Soil)
Democrats split – Douglas in North (champions popular sovereignty) Breckenridge in South (slavery forever)
Know-Nothings rally behind Bell (find a compromise on slavery)
Split gives advantage to Republicans

16. 1860 Electoral Results

17. Secession Begins
Lincoln wins the election without a single Southern electoral vote!
Southerners believe that Republican abolitionists will use violence and Presidential authority to end slavery
South Carolina secedes in December of 1860 – other slave states soon follow

18. The Confederacy Forms
Southern states secede (those with the most slaves go first)
CSA forms in March 1861
Foundations: whites are superior to blacks, belief in states rights
Gov’t run by wealthy planters; small farmers and poor tend to be Unionist

19. Confederate States

20. Review: War is Inevitable
BIG QUESTION: What were the major events of the late 1850’s that made the Civil War inevitable?
Weak Presidents (Fillmore, Pierce and Buchanan) proved unable to help the North and the South compromise on slavery. The Dred Scott decision convinced the North that the political system would not be able to solve the slavery issue. Harpers Ferry convinced the South that the North would use violence to end slavery. When Lincoln won the 1860 election without a single Southern electoral vote, Southerners were convinced that secession was the only way to preserve slavery. South Carolina (of course) was the first to secede. War is now inevitable.