1. Episode 1 The Compromise of 1850
The Road To War
Episode 1
The Compromise of 1850

2. KEY EVENTS ON THE ROAD TO CIVIL WAR
SLAVERY & THE ADMISSION OF CALIFORNIA 1850
THE COMPROMISE OF 1850
PUBLICATION OF UNCLE TOM’S CABIN 1852
THE DEATH OF THE WHIGS 1852
BIRTH OF REPUBLICANS 1854
The constant sticking point within the Union - should new states be free or slave?
The Compromise of 1850 was one in a series of compromise approaches to the slavery issue. It was a band aid on a gaping wound. It worked briefly but fell apart within a decade.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin serves as propaganda against the institution of slavery. Though not regarded as a well-written work, the book becomes one of the most influential in U.S. history.
Slavery will eventually divide the Whig party
“Cotton Whigs” drifted to the Democratic Party
“Conscience Whigs” joined new parties including the Free Soil Party and later the Republicans
The Republican Party was formed in 1854, bringing together independent Democrats, Free Soilers, and Conscience Whigs

3. MORE... ADOPTION OF THE KANSAS-NEBRASKA ACT 1854
VIOLENCE IN KANSAS 1856
THE DRED SCOTT DECISION 1857
LINCOLN V. DOUGLAS SENATE RACE 1858
Introduced by Stephen Douglas (Illinois), the Kansas-Nebraska Bill would form two new Territories in which the existence of slavery would be settled by “Popular Sovereignty”
In Kansas, Northern Free Soilers and Pro-Slavery men fought a mini-Civil War. The conflict was a preview of the violence that would break out within the next five years.
During the following year, 1857, the Supreme Court handed down a critical ruling regarding slavery.
The SC had a pro-South majority that protected slavery.
The case involved a slave (Scott) who sued for his freedom.
Court ruled the Scott was not a citizen & therefore had no right to sue
The Court further ruled that Congress had no right to prohibit slavery in territories, thus overturning the Missouri Compromise
Reaction to the case was swift
In Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas faced off in an election for Illinois Senator. Their campaigns inevitably centered on the slavery issue.

4. MORE… THE LINCOLN DOUGLAS DEBATES 1858 THE FREEPORT DOCTRINE 1858
JOHN BROWN’S RAID ON HARPER’S FERRY 1859
THE ELECTION OF LINCOLN 1860
In their Senate race debates during the 1858 campaign, Abraham Lincoln (R) and Stephen Douglas (D) of Illinois debated the merits of the Dred Scott case and the issue of slavery itself.
Lincoln maneuvered Douglas into taking a position on slavery in the territories.
Douglas, in what becomes known as the Freeport Doctrine, stated that though the Dred Scott case made slavery in the territories legal in theory, the people of the territories in practice could keep slaves out.
The raid on Harper’s Ferry, VA by John Brown will further enflame passions in the North and South.
In an attempt to capture a federal arsenal to arm a slave uprising, Brown will be captured and hanged for treason against the state of VA.
Southerners applaud the death of Brown - Northern abolitionists view Brown as a martyr.
Ultimately, it will be the election of Lincoln as President in 1860 that will drive South Carolina and other southern states to secede and form the Confederate States of America.

5. THE SLAVERY ISSUE IS REVIVED BY THE MEXICAN WAR
MISSOURI COMPROMISE OF 1820 (36, 30) ONLY APPLIES TO LA. PURCHASE.
MEXICAN WAR - WILMOT PROVISO RE-OPENS THE ISSUE
WILMOT PROVISO BLOCKED IN THE SENATE.
With the new territories that were acquired in the Mexican War, the issue of whether those territories would become free or slave states was revived.
The Missouri Compromise dealt only with the lands of the Louisiana Purchase. These new lands fell outside of that land.
At the start of the Mexican War in 1846, Representative David Wilmot (D -PA) proposed an amendment to the military appropriations bill that would fund the war. Wilmot proposed to ban slavery from any new territories acquired from Mexico in the war.
The House of Representatives, voting on sectional rather than party lines, passed the Wilmot Proviso in 1846 but it was repeatedly defeated in the Senate.
Polk was able to secure the passage of the appropriations bill without the Wilmot amendment attached.
The principle of the Wilmot Proviso was adopted by the Free Soil and later the Republican parties.

6. POSITIONS ON THE SLAVERY QUESTION
MODERATES: GRADUAL EMMANCIPATION WITH COMPENSATION & COLONIZATION.
FREE SOILERS: “NO EXTENSION OF SLAVERY, BUT LEAVE IT ALONE WHERE IT EXISTS.” 3

7. MORE...
CALHOUN - EXTREME VOICE OF SOUTH - SLAVES ARE PROPERTY, NOTHING MORE.
5TH AMENDMENT PROTECTION
WILLIAM SEWARD (W-NY) IMMEDIATE ABOLITION ON MORAL GROUNDS. “HIGHER LAW”
John C. Calhoun stated the extreme view of the South on slaver.
Slaves were nothing more than property
According the the 5th Amendment - no person may “be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law”
Calhoun was claiming that the amendment guaranteed the right to maintain slavery because slaves were property
Senator William Seward (W-NY) held an uncompromising position on slavery.
Seward opposed slavery on moral grounds, stating that we have to answer to a “higher law” on the issue of slavery.

8. A NEW APPROACH “POPULAR SOVEREIGNITY”
LEWIS CASS & STEPHEN DOUGLAS “POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY.”
ALLOW PEOPLE OF TERRITORIES TO VOTE AT TIME OF ADMISSION TO THE UNION.
WHY IS THIS AN ATTRACTIVE OPTION?
Lewis Cass, Democratic Senator from Michigan and Stephen Douglas promoted the idea of popular sovereignty, which advocated allowing the residents of territories to determine whether or not slavery would be allowed when the territory becomes a state.

9. THE ELECTION OF 1848
THE FREE SOIL PARTY COMMITTED TO FREE SOIL POSITION
NOMINATE VAN BUREN.
DEMOCRATS - LEWIS CASS WHO FAVORS POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY.
The Liberty Party was the first anti-slavery party in the U.S.
Formed in 1839
The party played the role of spoiler in the election of 1844 when the votes cast for the Liberty Party drew support away from the anti-slavery Whig Henry Clay, allowing for the election of Polk.
In the 1848 election - the Liberty Party and anti-slavery Whigs joined breakaway Democrats under the banner of the new Free Soil Party
The party nominated former president Martin Van Buren.
The Democratic party nominated Lewis Cass (D-MI)
Cass was a proponent of Popular Sovereignty

10. MORE... WHIGS - ZAC TAYLOR - A SLAVE HOLDER.
WHIGS & TAYLOR WIN 163 TO 127 (BY 140,000 POP VOTES)
FREE SOIL PARTY INFLUENCES ELECTION - DIVERTS VOTES FROM CASS.
The Whig party nominated the popular General Zachary Taylor - a slaveholder
Taylor was popular in the South as a slaveholder but nationally popular due to the Mexican War
The Whig party ran him without a platform, calling him the ideal man “without regard to creeds or principles”
Taylor won the election 163 to 127
The Free Soil party failed to win any states but it did win enough votes (10% popular) to once again act as spoiler - drawing votes away from Cass.

11. THE CRISIS OF CALIFORNIA OF 1850
CALIFORNIA SEEKS TO ENTER AS A FREE STATE
NO SLAVE TERRITORY READY TO BALANCE THE SENATE.
SOUTH BLOCKS ADMISSION.
MODERATES SEEK SOLUTIONS
The newly acquired territory of California’s population soared due to the Gold Rush.
By 1849, there were 100,000 people in CA, creating an urgent need to establish a state govt. there.
Californians drafted and ratified a constitution in 1849 and applied for statehood as a free state.
Because there were no other territories ready to enter the union as slave states, the South attempted to block the entry of California.
The South threatened disunion.
Moderates sought a solution to the question of slavery in the Western territories
The options:
Extend Missouri Compromise line (36 30) to the Pacific
Allow federal courts to decide the issue
Apply the principle of Popular Sovereignty when the territories begin the process of applying for statehood
Southerners continued to argue that slaves were property and Congress had the responsibility to provide protection to the slaveholder if he chose to migrate to the new territories with his slaves 5

12. THE COMPROMISE OF 1850 CLAY’S LAST COMPROMISE THE TERMS:
CALIF ENTERS AS FREE STATE
NEW MEXICO & UTAH ORGANIZED WITH POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY.
BAN SLAVE TRADE IN D.C.
NEW FUGITIVE SLAVE LAW
72-year old Henry Clay proposed a compromise that had something for all.
California would be admitted as a free state
Territorial governments would be established in New Mexico and Utah on the condition of popular sovereignty
The slave trade, but not slavery, would be banned in the District of Columbia
Congress would enact a more effective fugitive slave law

13. DEBATE IN CONGRESS KEY FIGURES: CLAY, WEBSTER, & CALHOUN
CALHOUN SPEAKS FOR THE SOUTH- “THE CORDS OF UNION ARE BREAKING ONE AT A TIME…”
DANIEL WEBSTER’S “7TH OF MARCH SPEECH.”
The primary figures in the debate over the compromise were Clay, Webster, and Calhoun.
The ailing Calhoun served as the voice of the South, claiming that the nation was nearing a civil war
Webster was a voice for compromise - gave his 7th of March speech
“ I wish to speak today, not as a Massachusetts man, nor as a Northern man, but as an American,” he began, and he went on to urge Northerners to accept a stronger Fugitive Slave Law and Southerners to give up all though of secession. “Peaceable secession! Peaceable Secession!…Heaven forbid! Where is the flag of the republic to remain? Where is the eagle still to tower!” 6

14. THE COMPROMISE PASSES BUT...
PRESIDENT TAYLOR PLANS TO VETO THE COMPROMISE.
BUT DIES SUDDENLY (Conspiracy?)
MILLARD FILMORE BECOMES PRESIDENT & SIGNS.
Eloquent as they were, Clay and Webster were able to win few converts on either side.
President Taylor threatened to veto the bill but suddenly died of a gastrointestinal disorder following a 4th of July celebration.
Some speculate that Taylor was poisoned, though no proof exists
Millard Filmore, who was favorable toward the compromise bill, became the president
As an omnibus bill, the compromise lacked a majority of support, so Webster broke the bill up into a series of separate measures, gaining support for each individually.
By the end of the summer, all of the components of Clay’s plan had passed.
Filmore signed the measures into law and hailed the compromise as a “final settlement” of sectional divisions.

15. WHO GOT THE BETTER END OF THE DEAL?
THE NORTH OR THE SOUTH?
WILL THE COMPROMISE WORK AS WELL AS THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE OF 1820?
MO Comp. preserved peace for 30 years
The majority of Congressmen in one or another section opposed virtually all of the specific bills that made up the compromise so it was the votes of a minority of Congressmen who genuinely sought compromise that allowed for each of the independent measures to pass.
The North got California as a free state, New Mexico and Utah as likely future free states, and the end to the slave trade in D.C.
The South’s gains were not so clear.
Popular sovereignty in New Mexico and Utah made no guarantees that those territories would go slave. It did however put an end to the ideas of the Wilmot Proviso. What was unclear was what would happen in territories outside of the Mexican cession.
The one clear victory for the South was the new, strengthened fugitive slave law
This, however, served to enrage northerners more

16. A NEW ERA OF GOOD FEELINGS
MANY BELIEVED THE COMPROMISE WOULD SOLVE THE SLAVERY DEBATE
BUT IT CONTAINED A FATAL FLAW.
THE FUGITIVE SLAVE ACT

17. TERMS OF THE ACT NO STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS
GENERAL DESCRIPTION ALL THAT WAS NECESSARY - NO COURT HEARING REQUIRED
COMMISSIONER PAID $10 TO RETURN THE FUGITIVE.
PAID ONLY $5 IF THEY RULED FOR THE FUGITIVE.
The Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 created commissioners under federal court appointment to decide fugitive cases.
Federal marshals also were hired to help recapture slaves
The marshals had to pay $1000 penal fines for failing to do their duty. If a runaway escaped while in a marshal's custody, the marshal had to forfeit the slave's full value to the owner.
Persons guilty of abetting slave escape were subject to fine and a maximum prison sentence of six months.
As in southern courts, slaves could not testify against whites, but a master's circumstantial evidence was easily admissible.
Federal commissioners received $5 for proslave verdicts, $10 for decisions favorable to masters.

18. MORE… ALL PERSONS REQUIRED TO ASSIST IN CAPTURE OF FUGITIVE SLAVES.
THERE IS NO LONGER A NEUTRAL POSITION ON SLAVERY.
SOME NORTHERN STATES ADOPT PERSONAL LIBERTY LAWS.
STATE CRIME TO OBEY THE FEDERAL LAW.
Personal Liberty Laws were essentially a northern version of nullification
Although the Supreme Court ruled against Pennsylvania in a Liberty Law case, northern states continued to pass such laws.

19. Episode 2 The Breakdown of Compromise
The Road To War
Episode 2
The Breakdown of Compromise

20. ELECTION OF 1852 WHIGS RUN WINFIELD SCOTT
DEMOCRATS RUN FRANKLIN PIERCE.
“WE POLKED THEM IN 44 WE’LL PIERCE THEM IN 52”
A BLOWOUT VICTORY FOR PIERCE
The Whigs ran General Winfield Scott (VA) - a hero of the Mexican War
Scott was a free soil Whig and not an fan of the Compromise of 1850
This caused a divide within the Whig Party
The Democrats ran Franklin Pierce
Most of the defectors from the Democratic Party that had joined the Free Soil Party returned to the Democrats
Most free soilers tended to join the Whig Party by 1852
The Democratic Party Convention was divided over Cass, Buchanan of PA, and Stephen Douglas of Illinois
Instead of dividing the party over a candidate that was only sectionally popular, they instead chose Pierce, a dark horse candidate that enjoyed mild approval from all.
In the election of 1852, Pierce won by an electoral margin of 254 to 42
Southern voters distrusted Scott, whom they suspected of favoring the anti-slavery element of the Whig party
Pierce was a strong supporter of the Compromise of 1850, which won him the support of many conservative Whigs, such as Webster.

21. THE NORTH/SOUTH SPLIT DESTROYS THE WHIG PARTY.
CONSCIENCE WHIGS V COTTON WHIGS
DEMOCRATS ARE THE ONLY TRULY NATIONAL PARTY
LESS PRESSURE TO COMPROMISE.

22. 1852 -HARRIET BEECHER STOWE PUBLISHES UNCLE TOM’S CABIN
WORK OF FICTION.
STOWE HAD LIMITED FIRST HAND KNOWLEDGE OF SLAVERY
CONVERTED MILLIONS TO ABOLITIONISM
In her book, Stowe aroused Northern anger over slavery
Stowe had only witnessed slavery once in her life while visiting Kentucky
The book was very melodramatic, meant to be a tear jerker
The main character, Uncle Tom, was depicted as a Christ-like figure who was mercilessly beaten by the evil Simon Legree, a transplanted Northerner
300,000 copies of the book sold in 1852 and 1.2 million copies by the summer of 1853.
Stage versions were acted out throughout the country and the world.
Lincoln once told her: “So you’re the little woman that wrote the book that made this great war.”
Uncle Tom’s Cabin was possibly as influential as Paine’s Common Sense in terms of impact on the country.
Though Stowe was vilified in the South as a liar, the book sold out even there.

23. THE OSTEND MANIFESTO 1854
IF SPAIN WILL NOT SELL CUBA WE SHOULD SIMPLY TAKE IT.
PIERCE WANTS CUBA AS A SLAVE STATE TO BALANCE SENATE.
ANTI-SLAVE FORCES DENOUNCE THE OSTEND MANIFESTO.
PIERCE BACKS DOWN.
Pierce was elected as a Manifest Destiny president
Pierce wanted to purchase Cuba from Spain as a way of gaining a new slave state.
Pierce backed away from encouraging unofficial military expeditions to take the island.
But in 1854, the U.S. ambassadors to Great Britain, France, and Spain (two of them southerners) issued the unofficial Ostend Manifesto, which called upon the U.S. to acquire Cuba by any means necessary.
Facing a political firestorm from the North, Pierce disavowed the Ostend Manifesto
The idea of expansion into the Caribbean continued to be tempting to the South for some time

24. THE KANSAS- NEBRASKA ACT 1854 -STEPHEN DOUGLAS.
TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD.
KEY QUESTION IS THE ROUTE.
STEPHEN DOUGLAS WANTS A CENTRAL ROUTE.
WANTS TO WIN SOUTHERN SUPPORT FOR THE PLAN AND HIS PRESIDENTIAL BID.
Southern and Northern interests competed intensively to secure the location of the Transcontinental Railroad.
Great economic benefits would go to the regions through which it passed.
Stephen Douglas sought approval of Chicago or another Northwestern city as the railroad’s eastern terminus.
He believed that the settlement of the Nebraska region and division of it into two territories would facilitate a central route.
In order to win Southern support for the plan (and his future presidential bid), Douglas sought a compromise in the Nebraska region.

25. TERMS OF THE KANSAS- NEBRASKA ACT
REPEAL THE MISSOURI COMPROMISE.
USE POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY IN KANSAS AND NEBRASKA.
ASSUMED KANSAS WOULD BE SLAVE & NEBRASKA WOULD ENTER FREE.
DOUGLAS GETS THE BILL PASSED.
Secured a repeal of the Missouri Compromise and divided the remaining lands of the Louisiana Territory into two parts - the territories of Kansas and Nebraska
The area would be open to settlement without restriction against slavery
Douglas argued that the most democratic way to solve the issue of slavery there was to allow the people of any new territory to decide whether or not they wished to legalize slavery within their boundaries.
It was presumed that Kansas would be settled by slaveholders while Nebraska would not.
The Act was passed in Congress after some fierce debate
Pierce signed it, despite outrage among abolitionists.

26. RISE OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY 1854
FORMED AS A COALITION OF ANTI-SLAVERY DEMS., “CONSCIENCE WHIGS, AND FREE SOIL PARTY MEMBERS
OPPOSED KANSAS-NEBRASKA ACT.
“FREE SOIL, FREE LABOR, FREE MEN, FREMONT” SLOGAN
The Republican party originated as a coalition among anti-slavery democrats, “Conscience Whigs” and the remnants of the Free Soil Party.
In 1854, the Republicans merged with northern members of the American (Know Nothing) Party and captured a majority in the House of Representatives.
The party stressed free labor and opposed the EXTENSION of slavery into the territories.
The Know Nothing party would eventually merge into the Republican party after the 1856 election.

27. THE ELECTION OF 1856 DEMOCRATS NOMINATE JAMES BUCHANAN OF PA.
REPUBLICANS JOHN C. FREMONT
“KNOW NOTHINGS” - M. FILLMORE.
BUCHANAN WINS THE MOST SECTIONAL ELECTION TO DATE. 174 T0 114
The Democrats dumped Pierce for James Buchanan. Pierce was damaged goods because of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Buchanan was was a signer of the Ostend Manifesto and therefore popular in the South.
The first Republican presidential candidate was the “Pathfinder” John C. Fremont. Northern Know Nothings also supported Fremont.
Southern Know Nothings ran former president Millard Fillmore
Fillmore represented a permanent divide within the Know Nothings that would cause that party’s demise.
The Republicans made a very strong first showing, nearly winning despite being an entirely sectional party.

28. Episode 3 Bleeding Kansas and The Dred Scott Case
The Road to War
Episode 3
Bleeding Kansas
and
The Dred Scott Case

29. KANSAS - FIRST TEST OF POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY.
NEW ENGLAND EMIGRANT AID SOCIETY
BEECHER’S BIBLES.
“MISSOURI BORDER RUFFIANS”
THE BURNING OF LAWRENCE, KANSAS MAY 21, 1856
POTTAWATOMIE CREEK MASSACRE MAY 24TH
An immediate and deadly reaction to the Kansas-Nebraska Act was a move by both sides of the slavery issue to influence popular sovereignty voting in Kansas.
Men, money, and guns poured into the territory
Abolitionist minded industrialists formed the New England Emigrant Aid Society in Massachusetts to encourage antislavery settlers to relocate in Kansas.
Boxes of breechloading rifles, known as Beecher’s Bibles, were sent by Henry Ward Beecher’s Plymouth Church to arm the settlers.
At the same time, pro-slavery factions flooded into the territory. Thousands of slaveowners, known as Border Ruffians because they came from neighboring Missouri, crossed into the Kansas Territory to influence voting.
“There are eleven hundred men coming over from Platte County to vote and if that ain’t enough we can send five thousand - enough to kill every God-damned abolitionist in the Territory.” Missouri Senator David Achison
Both sides claimed to form the legitimate territorial govt. of Kansas
A mini-Civil War broke out in Kansas with fighting, lynching, murder, and burning replacing popular sovereignty.
On May 21, 1856, 800 Border Ruffians (with 5 cannons) swept into Free-Soil dominated Lawrence, setting buildings ablaze, destroying newspaper offices, and killing at least one man
Three days later, fanatical abolitionist John Brown and his sons dragged 5 pro-slavery settlers from their homes along Pottawatomie Creek and, in front of their families, shot and hacked them to death with broadswords.
Brown and his sons were never captured or indicted for the massacre.

30. “BULLY BROOKS” - 5/23/56
CHARLES SUMNER - “THE RAPE OF KANSAS.” INSULTS SENATOR BUTLER.
CONGRESSMAN PRESTON BROOKS
ATTACKS SUMNER WITH A CANE.
NEARLY BEATS SUMNER TO DEATH.
On May 19-20, 1856, abolitionist Senator Charles Sumner gave a speech called “The Crime Against Kansas,” in which he attacked slavery’s supporters in the Senate.
He personally singled out Andrew Butler of South Carolina.
READ QUOTE FROM DON’T KNOW MUCH…CW p.120
Two days later Sumner was at his desk on the Senate floor when South Carolina Representative Preston Brooks, Butler’s nephew, attacked him with a bamboo cane until he was bloody and unconscious.
Americans were stunned by the attack but Southerners hailed Brooks as a hero - even inundating Brooks with canes to replace the one he broke.
Brooks was never removed from the Senate - only fined $300.

31. DRED SCOTT DECISION 1857 DRED SCOTT V SANDFORD 1857
CHIEF JUSTICE ROGER B. TANEY
THE DECISION:
BLACKS ARE NOT CITIZENS
SCOTT HAS NO RIGHT TO SUE IF NOT A CITIZEN
MISSOURI COMPROMISE IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL
Dred Scott was a slave who was owned by a U.S. army surgeon named John Emerson. Emerson’s job required him to move among various posts, some being in free states or territories.
While in Wisconsin (free), Scott married another slave.
After Emerson’s death, Scott and his other slaves became the property of his wife (maiden name Sanford)
Scott filed suit seeking his freedom. Having lived in free territory for a time, Scott alleged “once free, always free”
The case made its way through the courts until it reached the Supreme Court in The court then had a majority of justices who were partial to slavery. The decision in the case reflected that ideology.
7-2 against Scott. Jackson appointee Chief Justice Roger B. Taney gave the majority opinion.
The decision was as follows:
Scott, as a slave and a black man, was not a citizen of the U.S. and therefore could not bring a lawsuit in a federal court
Second, Scott was still a slave because Congress exceeded its authority in outlawing slavery in the territories. Nowhere in the Constitution was Congress given such power.
Also, slaves were property protected by the Const.

32. MORE… ALL U.S. TERRITORY IS OPEN TO SLAVERY.
NO COMPROMISE INVOLVING FREE & SLAVE TERRITORY IS POSSIBLE.
SOUTH LOVES THE RULING
ABOLITIONISTS ARE OUTRAGED.
POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY IS DEAD.
An obvious result of the case was that it made all US territory open to slavery.
It triggered violent reaction, unleashing irreconcilable partisan passions. From this point on, there would be no compromises involving free and slave territory.
Naturally, the South loved the ruling while the north hated it. Abolitionists were outraged.
The doctrine of popular sovereignty was dead. The country was spinning uncontrollably toward a civil war.

33. The Road to War
Episode 4
Final Descent

34. LINCOLN-DOUGLAS DEBATES 1858
LINCOLN CHALLENGES DOUGLAS TO DEBATE.
THERE ARE 7 DEBATES.
TOPICS: THE DRED SCOTT DECISION & POPULAR SOVEREIGNTY
LINCOLN’S “HOUSE DIVIDED” SPEECH
Incumbent Democratic Senator Stephen Douglas (Il) faced off against Republican nominee Abraham Lincoln.
Douglas was a skilled orator and debater
Lincoln was folksy and humorous but brilliant.
Lincoln a free-soil man. Douglas - popular sovereignty
Lincoln challenged Douglas to a series of seven debates. They were held from August 21 to October 15, 1858.
The debates focus on the Dred Scott decision and the issue of popular sovereignty.
Douglas was not against slavery but rather for continued expansion of white settlement. He believed that popular sovereignty was the surest way to gradually end the institution of slavery.
Lincoln was not a radical abolitionist, but rather hoped to prevent the further spread of slavery into the territories.
Lincoln did, however, seethe issue of slavery as hurting the nation.
When he accepted the Republican nomination to run against Douglas, he gave his famous “House Divided” speech.

36. “A house divided against itself cannot stand.
“I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free.
“I do not expect the Union to be dissolved - I do not expect the house to fall - but I do expect it will cease to be divided.
“It will become all one thing or all the other.”
Abraham Lincoln, June 1858

37. THE FREEPORT DOCTRINE
GIVEN THE DRED SCOTT RULING, HOW CAN A STATE PREVENT SLAVERY?
A dilemma: If Douglas does not respond, it hurts his reelection chances
If he does respond, he risks alienating the South & hurting his presidential hopes
Lincoln hoped to demonstrate that Douglas and his doctrine of popular sovereignty worked to the advantage of southern extremists and attacked Douglas’ evasiveness on the morality of slaveholding.
Douglas tried to associate Lincoln and the Republicans with radical abolitionist positions, including racial equality.
Douglas wanted to scare moderates away from Lincoln and to play on the racial prejudice of his region.
Lincoln distanced himself from the abolitionists, stating that he only opposed the extension of slavery into the territories.
The most significant of the debates took place at Freeport, Illinois on August 27, 1858.
There, Lincoln compelled Douglas to explain how, in light of the Dred Scott decision (which Douglas supported), the settlers of a new territory might exclude slavery?
Douglas’ answer could have implications beyond the Illinois Senate race.

38. DOUGLAS STATES THE “FREEPORT DOCTRINE”
IF STATES DO NOT ADOPT SLAVE CODES, SLAVERY CANNOT SURVIVE.
DOUGLAS WINS THE ELECTION
LINCOLN BECOMES NATIONALLY KNOWN
A POSSIBLE CANDIDATE FOR PRESIDENT IN 1860.
Douglas’s reply to Lincoln became known as the Freeport Doctrine.
He pointed out that although slavery might be constitutionally “legal” in the territories, it could not “exist a doy or an hour anywhere, unless it is supported by local police regulations.”
While Douglas’s answer satisfies the people of Illinois, it predictably damages any hopes he had for support in the south should he run for president. The south would not support someone who failed to take a protectionist stance on the issue of slavery.
For his part, Lincoln loses the Senate race but gains national attention, making him a possible presidential candidate for the Republicans in 1860

39. JOHN BROWN’S RAID ON HARPER’S FERRY - OCT.15, 1859
HOPED TO START A SLAVE REVOLT
ATTACKED A FEDERAL ARSENAL AT HARPER’S FERRY, VA.
FREDERICK DOUGLASS WARNS AGAINST THE RAID.
BROWN IS CAPTURED CHARGED WITH TREASON AGAINST VIRGINIA.
The radical abolitionist John Brown returned to the east after Bloody Kansas.
There he hatched a plan to create a Black nation in the Appalachian Mtns.
With the secret backing of six northern abolitionists, Brown formulated a plan to capture the weapons from a federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, VA. He would distribute the weapons to freed slaves who would then drive through VA freeing other slaves, creating a larger army as they went.
Brown started the attack with 22 men, both black and white, including his own three sons.
In a meeting with Frederick Douglass, prior to the attack, Brown asked for Douglass’s help in organizing the slaves Brown hoped to free. Douglass warned that Brown’s plan would likely fail, especially given the ugly mood of Virginians following Nat Turner’s rebellion in 1831.
Douglass was right. Brown’s plan relied on the assumption that once he attacked the arsenal, nearby slaves would swarm to his aid.
Unfortunately for Brown, the only people that came running were local whites who fired upon Brown and his band.
Federal troops, led by Col. Robert E. Lee, captured Brown and the survivors of his uprising.
Brown was tried and convicted of treason and hanged within weeks of the attack.

41. BROWN BECOMES A MARTYR SOUTH REJOICES AT BROWN’S DEATH
NORTH MOURNS HIS DEATH.
SOUTH FEELS MORE ALIENATED THAN EVER.
THE REPUBLICAN PARTY RENOUNCES BROWN’S ACTIONS.
Brown was executed on Dec. 2, 1859.
Witnesses to his hanging included VMI students and their instructor, Thomas Jackson. Also Virginia Secessionist Edmund Ruffin, and an actor named John Wilkes Booth.
“I, John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away but with blood. I had as I now think vainly flattered myself that without very much bloodshed, it might be done.” John Brown, in a note handed to a guard on the day of his hanging.
The South rejoiced at the death of Brown, pointing to him as proof that not only was slavery threatened but the lives and freedom of Southerners were under attack by abolitionist forces.
The North mourned Brown’s death. To ardent abolitionists, Brown was a martyr or even a saint.
Republicans, not wishing to be painted with the same radical brush as Brown, disavowed Brown’s actions.

42. THE ELECTION OF 1860 DEMOCRATS MEET IN CHARLESTON, SO. CAROLINA
SPLIT AND FAIL TO NOMINATE A CANDIDATE
2ND CONVENTION IN BALTIMORE NOMINATES STEPHEN DOUGLAS
NORTHERN DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE.
In April, 1860, the Democratic convention, held in Charleston, SC, adjourned without nominating a candidate.
50 delegates walked out because the party failed to adopt a platform guaranteeing the constitutional rights of slaveowners.
Another convention was held in Baltimore in June. Again the convention failed to field a candidate before delegates from the South walked out of the convention.
The remaining Northern delegates nominated Stephen Douglas

43. MORE… SOUTHERN DEMOCRATS NOMINATED JOHN BRECKINRIDGE (KY)
REPUBLICANS MET IN CHICAGO
TWO CONTENDERS -
WILLIAM SEWARD (NY) & LINCOLN (IL)
The Southern Democrats nominated John C. Breckenridge (KY)
Buchanan & fmr. Presidents Tyler and Pierce supported Breckenridge.
The Republicans were looking for a candidate with wider appeal than Fremont had garnered in 1856.
The two contenders for the party nomination were William Seward of New York and Abraham Lincoln of Illinois

44. MORE… SEWARD VIEWED AS MORE RADICAL DUE TO “HIGHER LAW” COMMENTS
LINCOLN WON THE NOMINATION
LINCOLN’S “HOUSE DIVIDED” SPEECH MADE THE SOUTH NERVOUS
Seward was the early favorite but failed to convince delegates that he could carry important states such as Pennsylvania, and Illinois.
Seward also had a penchant for controversial phrases like “irrepressible conflict” and “higher law” - makes him seem radical
Lincoln surpassed Seward, partially because he was from Illinois and had the hometown crowd, but also because he projected a much more moderate image.
The South feared Lincoln because of the implications of his “House Divided” speech but Lincoln repeatedly stated the he believed Congress had no constitutional right to interfere with slavery in the South and rejected Seward’s “higher law” arguments.

45. THE CONSTITUTIONAL UNION PARTY FORMS
CONCERNED MAINLY WITH AVOIDING CONFLICT OVER SLAVERY
COMMITTED TO MAINTAINING THE UNION.
NOMINATED JOHN BELL (TN)
The Const. Union Party was concerned chiefly with trying to avoid the disruption of the country over slaver.
It ran ex-Senator John Bell of Tennessee for President in 1860
Platform - Constitution is the highest law, the Union is indivisible, and law shall be followed.
Bell will carry Tennessee, Virginia, and Kentucky, mainly because residents there knew that if a war broke out, it would most likely be fought on their soil.

46. Ballot Choices in 1860 DOUGLAS - NORTHERN DEMOCRAT
BRECKINRIDGE - SOUTHERN DEMOCRAT
LINCOLN - REPUBLICAN (A SECTIONAL CANDIDATE NOT EVEN ON BALLOTS IN THE SOUTH)
JOHN BELL - CONSTITUTIONAL UNION

47. LINCOLN WINS WITH 40% OF THE POPULAR VOTE
ELECTORAL VOTE TO A COMBINED 123 AMONG HIS OPPONENTS
SOUTH ANGRY - FEW BELIEVED LINCOLN WOULD PRESERVE SLAVERY
SOUTH FELT ISOLATED POWERLESS
HOUSE OF REPS. AND PRESIDENCY CONTROLLED BY REPUBLICANS
ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE FREE-SOIL MAJORITIES IN CONTROL