1. WARM UP – May 4
Grab the Guided Notes – write down the following question in the REVIEW section of your notes (if you have one)
How was Abraham Lincoln’s victory in the 1860 Presidential Election a turning point in American History?
A. Lincoln won the majority of electoral votes but not a majority of the popular vote
B. A coalition of Whigs, Know-Nothings, and Democrats ran a strong third-party candidate
C. The Crittenden Compromise attempted to resolve tensions aroused by the election
D. Lincoln’s victory prompted Southern secession and the Civil War that followed

2. Regional Differences
By the mid-1800s, the North and South had developed into very different regions.
NORTH
SOUTH
Industry, textiles, manufacturing
Economy basis
Agriculture, cotton, tobacco
Unskilled labor
Railroads, telegraph
Economy relied on…
Slave labor
Rivers
Urban areas, cities, immigrants
2/3 of USA population
Population trends
Rural areas plantations, small farms
1/3 of USA population
Slaves up to ½ of the population in some southern states

3. Slavery in the West?
Manifest Destiny, expansion, new territories  Future of slavery?
1846 – Wilmot Proviso
Proposed bill to ban slavery in all new territories in the west
North – YAY!
South – NO!
Both regions trying to gain power in Congress.
The Wilmot Proviso did NOT pass into law. It proved that the North and South had different views for the future of the US.

4. POTUS Taylor’s Ideas on Slavery
Taylor believed each territory should use popular sovereignty to decide to allow/ban slavery, rather than the federal government choosing.
Popular sovereignty - rule by the people
Residents of territories would vote to ban/allow slavery in their territory

5. The Senate is a MESS!
1849 – Feelings of distrust and bitterness in Congress
California applying for statehood – slave or free?
Texas trying to claim parts of New Mexico territory
Northerners want slavery banned in Washington DC
Southerners accused Northerners of not returning runaway slaves
Southern states discuss secession – formally leaving the Union

6. Compromise of 1850
Henry Clay to the rescue  proposed the Compromise of 1850
Pleases North
Pleases South
Pleases Both North and South
California = free state
Fugitive Slave Act – runaway slaves must be returned to South
Texas paid $10 million to release claim to New Mexico lands
Slavery in Utah and New Mexico territories to be decided by popular sovereignty
Rule by the people, residents vote to ban/allow slavery in their territory
Buying/selling slaves banned in DC, but practicing slavery in DC could continue

7. Compromise of 1850 At first, the Compromise of 1850 was rejected.
Discouraged, Clay left DC for good.
Senator Stephen A. Douglas continued to push the compromise.
Broke the compromise into different laws and passed each part through Congress individually.
Allowed Congressmen to vote for parts they liked and not vote on parts they didn’t like.

8. Unexpected Deaths Change Things
Zachary Taylor died unexpectedly in 1850 (1.5 years as POTUS)  VP Millard Fillmore = 13th POTUS!
Pro-Compromise of 1850 – encouraged Congress to pass the Compromise
John C. Calhoun (Senator from SC) died in 1850
Pushed for SC secession
Anti-Compromise of 1850
After death, southern Congressmen voted to pass parts of the Compromise of 1850
September 1850 – Compromise of 1850 adopted!

9. California the Free State
1850 – California = 31st state
Gold rush caused the population to rise so quickly that California skipped the territory phase.
CA Constitution banned slavery  angered many Southerners because half of CA was below the Missouri Compromise Line  should be open to slavery

10. Fugitive Slave Act
Part of the Compromise of 1850, laws placing restrictions on slaves
Fugitive slave = an escaped slave
If captured and placed on trial… fugitive slaves could not testify on their own behalf and were denied trail by jury
Returning a fugitive slave - $10
Helping a fugitive slave - $1000 fine and 6 months in jail

11. Resisting the Fugitive Slave Act
9 northern states passed personal liberty laws
Laws that forbid imprisonment of runaway slaves and guaranteed trial by jury
Northern lawyers would draw out trials for years to drive up the cost for slave-owners.
Underground Railroad – system of routes to help slaves escape to northern states or Canada
“Conductors” helped slaves along the way – shelter, food, directions
Supported by free blacks and abolitionists
Harriet Tubman – former slave, influential in helping slaves escape through the Underground Railroad

12. Underground Railroad & Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman on $20
Women on Currency
Underground Railroad & Harriet Tubman

13. Dangers of Escaping Survive initial escape from owner
Travel by foot at night without much direction except the North Star
Cross rivers and dense forests
Avoid patrols of armed men on horseback
Face starvation

14. Uncle Tom’s Cabin
1852 – Harriet Beecher Stowe published the book Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Instant bestseller
Anti-slavery, moral not political basis
Outlined the lives of several slaves, some who become free and some who die at the hands of slaveowners
Reactions to Uncle Tom’s Cabin
North – increased abolitionist activity
South – criticized the book as an attack on the South as a whole

15. Activities… Get a textbook, turn to page 313.
Map Activity
Primary Source
Get a textbook, turn to page 313.
Analyze the map of the Underground Railroad.
On a piece of notebook paper, answer questions 1-3.
Read the first-hand account of being a conductor on the Underground Railroad.
On the same sheet of notebook paper, answer questions 1-3.