1. Bleeding Kansas
The 1850s

2. Election of 1852
Whigs: Winfield Scott (“Old Fuss and Feathers”) but defeat meant the end of the party
Compromise of 1850 permanently divided the party N and S
Democrats: Franklin Pierce
Had supported Fugitive Slave Law
Southern Whigs
Northern Dems
Some Dem Free-Soilers
Dems the only national party in early 1850s

3. End of Whigs
Southern “Cotton Whigs” were put off by Northern “Conscience Whigs’” antislavery stance. Southern Whigs moved to Southern Democrats
Northern Whigs divided and fought each other:
Antislavery “Conscience Whigs” vs.
Whigs unbothered by slavery issue

4. Franklin Pierce ( )
Democrats controlled White House and Congress
With decline of Whigs, Congress was controlled by proslavery southern Democrats
This upset northern Democrats and Whigs

5. Polk, Pierce, and Expansion
Gadsden Purchase 1853
Cuba and Ostend Manifesto
Nicaragua

6. Young America movement
1848 mostly young men in Democratic Party
Leaders included Stephen A. Douglas
Franklin Pierce did not support this wing of party
Two goals:
New ideals of civic duty
Expand democratic ideals abroad
Annex Ireland and Sicily
Support Hungarian revolt in 1848

7. Sen. Stephen A. Douglas (D-Ill)
“Little Giant” key figure in Compromise of 1850
New era of leadership, Young Democrats
Senate leader after Clay retired
Wanted last of Unorganized Territory (Louisiana Purchase) organized
Then railroad could be laid from Chicago
He a speculator in Western lands, Chicago real estate, and served as Illinois Central Line (railroad) director
This required a central route through unorganized territory

8. Unorganized Territory
Minnesota Territory opened
Rising wheat prices made prairies more desirable to settle: .93/bushel 1851 to
Train lines expanded dramatically, allowing farmers to sell grain and cattle more easily
Four more rail lines proposed to link central states to west coast, but Congress would only fund one
Mechanical inventions aid farming

9. The Route
Jefferson Davis (Secretary of War) advocated Gadsden Purchase to run line from South (New Orleans or Charleston) to California
Douglas introduced bill Jan to organize Unorganized Territory as Nebraska Territory (could not build railroad until it was organized)
Earlier, similar proposals had been defeated by Southern Senators

10. 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act
To gain Southern support, Douglas proposed Pop Sov for Nebraska Territory
residents could decide when they had territorial legislature
Could also be used to rally voters for Democratic presidential campaign in 1856
But: Nebraska Territory above Missouri Compromise line 36’ 30”. Was this a problem?

11. The Bargain
Kansas-Nebraska bill would end Missouri Compromise of 1820 implicitly
Bargain:
Pop Sov
Actual repeal of 36’ 30” requested by South
Divided into Kansas and Nebraska
Kansas could be for Missourians (slave)
Nebraska could be for Iowans (free)

12. Kansas-Nebraska Act 1854
Map includes two of the proposed railroad lines

13. Bleeding Kansas
Pro- and Antislavery forces try to get there first
Missourians crossed river to stake claims
New England settlers moved to Lawrence (New England Emigrant Aid Co. 1855)
First election (1854) won by proslavery Missourians crossing river to vote in Kansas

14. Bleeding Kansas

15. Kansas elections 1855
Border ruffians established proslavery legislature in LeCompton (estimated 2905 legal voters but 6307 votes cast)
LeCompton legislature created slave code, no abolitionists allowed
Antislavery forces created legislature in Topeka, so one illegal and one extralegal government in 1856

16. “Bleeding Kansas” May1856
Pierce did not recognize free-soil Topeka government
1856 proslavery forces attacked free-soil Lawrence, Kansas
John Brown and sons retaliated by killing five proslavery at Pottawatomie Creek
200 killed in subsequent fighting; Brown escaped
“Bleeding Kansas” Republican propaganda

17. “Bleeding Kansas” (2) Civil war in Kansas Northern “Jayhawkers” vs.
“Kickapoo Rangers” or border ruffians
Groups were armed
Roving bands terrorized farmers

18. Sen. Charles Sumner (R-MA)
A party leader, anti-slavery wing
Free-Soil Party founder 1848
May 1856 “The Crime Against Kansas” speech
Scathing oratory against Sen. Andrew Butler (D-SC) (not present that day) and Douglas

19. Sumner-Brooks Affair
Representative Preston Brooks (D-SC) entered Senate chamber days later to avenge insult against his uncle (Butler)
Stated later that he struck Sumner 30 times with gold-handled cane. Sumner could not get out of desk (bolted to the floor)
Brooks hero of the South, people sent canes
Sumner hero of North; Northerners shocked
   
   
   

20. New Political Parties for 1856 Elections
Republicans
American Party or Know-Nothings

21. Republican Party ( )
Formed in Wisconsin in response to Kansas-Nebraska Act
Against expansion of slavery (Wilmot P.) in territories, but not end of slavery in South (moderates)
Based in North and West and it attracted:
Northern Whigs or Conscience Whigs
Anti-Nebraska Democrats
Free-Soilers
Northern Know-Nothings (anti-Catholic, pro-Protestant Europeans without national party)

22. Republican Party (2)
quickly grew to second-largest party in nation
But always a sectional party, so it was seen as a threat to the South
Successful: to 1932 Republicans won every presidential election except four; all except three

23. Know-Nothings
Reflect native-born Protestant vs. Irish/Catholic and German immigrant tensions in the cities
Drew votes away from Whigs in 1852 by winning 20% of popular vote
Never a national party
Republicans could work with Know-Nothings, to be antislavery did not mean pro-immigrant. Know-Nothings adopted the slavery stance of their respective regions

24. James Buchanan (1857-1861) 1856 election: Democrat: James Buchanan
Republican: Fremont; “Black Republicans” antislavery with “Free soil, Free speech, and Fremont”
Know-Nothing: Millard Fillmore
Buchanan (Dem) carried almost all slave states and Penn, Ill., and Indiana for electoral votes across sections
Fremont (Rep) won 11 of 16 free states, few votes from slave states
Split was avoided, but Republicans appeared strong enough to win Presidency without Southern votes

25. Dred Scott vs. Stanford Buchanan’s first test in March 1857
Did living in free state make a man free?
Scott was then taken to Illinois where slavery had been banned under Northwest Ordinance
Scott had been taken to Wisconsin Territory where slavery was banned under Missouri Compromise
Returned to Missouri, where the suit was filed when the owner died.

26. Supreme Court decision:
Slaves and freedmen not citizens, so could not sue in court
Living in a free state did not make a person free when returned to slave territory or state
Living in Wisconsin Terr did not make Scott free because Missouri Compromise unconstitutional:
Fifth Amendment: people cannot be deprived of…property without due process of law
President Buchanan probably pressured some judges

27. Buchanan and Kansas 1857
President Buchanan had to choose to support or reject LeCompton (proslavery) constitution for Kansas.
Buchanan accepted Kansas as slave state
Senate and House rejected, so not a state yet

28. Bibliography
Carnes, Mark C., and John A. Garraty. The American Nation. New York: Pearson Longman.
Henretta, James A., et al. America’s History. New York: Worth.
Morison, Samuel Eliot. The Oxford History of the American People: through Reconstruction. New York: Penguin.
Newman, John M. and John M. Schmalbach. United States History: Preparing for the Advanced Placement examination. Amsco
Williams, T. Harry, and Hazel C. Wolf. Our American Nation. Columbus: Charles E. Merrill.

29. Illustrations
file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Faculty1/Local%20Settings/Temporary%20Internet%20Files/Content.IE5/4F0EQQ10/ppt14%5B1%5D.ppt#256,2,Map 14.1: The Compromise of 1850