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Apush Chapter 13 Notes
History Of The United States: From First Contact To The Present (HIST 1130)
Northeastern University
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The Union in Peril - 4 main causes of conflict between North and South - Slavery, constitutional disputes, economic differences, and political blunders and extemism Conflict Over Status of Territories - Issue of slavery in land gained from Mexican War, Wilnmot Proviso (banned slavery in Mexican cession, failed to pass) caused more issues with the south - Free-Soil Movement - North supported Wilmot proviso bc wanted west for whites only so no competition with slavery - Southern Position - South saw free-soilers and abolitionist as destroying slavery and violating their constituional rights - Wanted to expand 36 30 line westward so slavery in Mexican cession but not north - Popular Sovereignty - Lewis Cass made compromise that instead of letting Congress decide to allow slavery in state, people vote that live in the state vote for it - The Election of 1848 - Democrates: Senator Cass; Whigs: Zachary Taylor; Free-Soil: Van Buren - Zachary Taylor won, he didn’t have a position in slavery The Compromise of 1850 - Gold rush attract 100k to Cali - 1849, Cali made constitution that banned slavery and applied for statehood - Pres Taylor supported Cali and New Mexico as free states but radical southerners threatened to secede - Henry Clay proposed a compromise: - Cali is free state, remainder of Mexican cession divided into 2 territories, Utah and New Mexico and open to popular sovereignty, give land in dispute between Texas and New Mexico to new territories for federal gov to assume Texas bet of 10m, bann slave trade in DC, new fugitive slave law - 3 congressional giants: Henry Clay, Calhoun, and Webster gave last speeches (Web and Cal died 1850) - Webster wanted compromise to save the union, this alienated his supported in MA, Calhoun was against it and wanted south to have equal rights in new land - Taylor, who was against compromise, died and VP Millard Fillmore became new pres; he was for compromise - Passage - Added to North’s political power, more people committed to saving Union - Controversy: fugitive slave law and popular sovereignty Agitation Over Slavery - Fugitive Slave Law - Strict Fugitive Slave Law persuaded south to give up California but north resisted it - Enforcement and Opposition - Law purpose: capture runaway slaves and return to south - Law put slave cases under federal authority and gave warrants to arrest fugitives
Free African Americans denied rights of trial by jury and people who hide a slave punished
Underground Railroad
Network of conductors and stations used by people to help slaves escape into north or Canada
Harriet Tubman made at least 19 trips to south and helped 300 escape
Free balck and abolitionists also organized communities to help protect fugitives from slave catchers
African American leaders like Fredrick Douglas, Tubman, and Sojourner Truth helped emancipate slaves in the civil war
Books on Slaver - Pro and Con
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Most influential book was about Tom (slave) being brutally treated by his owner Simon Legree
Published 1852 by Harriet Beecher Stowe made slaveowners looks cruel and inhuman
South angry bc thought it was lies and northern prejudice of south’s way of life
Impending Crisis of the South
Hinton R. Helper attacked slavery from another angle with statistics to demonstrate slavery weakening south’s economy
Quickly canned the book even though was widespread and distributed
Southern Reaction
South conterattacked arguing slavery good for both master and slave
Slavery firmly grouded in philosophy and history and called north wage workers “wage slaves”
George Fitzhugh, pro slavery author, wrote how wage system worse than slavery in his books: Socialogy for the South (1854) and Cannibals All! (1857)
Effect of Law and Literature
Polarized nation more, north more concerned about slavery as moral issue and south convinced that north’s goal was to destroy institution of slavery National Parties in Crisis
The Election of 1852
Whigs nominated Windfield Scott and attempted to ignore slavery issue by concentrating on internal improvements
Democrats nominated Franklin Pierce, although northerner, south accepted bc supported Fugitive Slave Law; Pierce won
The Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)
Democrats fully in control of both White House and Congress
Stephen A. Douglas wants to build a transcontinental railroad (to increase value of his real estate holdings) with the terminus in Chicago. He needed southern approval so made bill to divide Nebraska territory into Kansas and Nebraska and make them open to popular sovereignty
Problem: territory above 36 30 line and south saw as an opportunity to expand slavery
North Democrats condemned bill was surrender to slaver power and passed after 3 months debate Extremists and Violence
Democrats won but Republicans were strong (11 of 16 free states); foreshadowed their victory without a single vote from the south in 1630 Constitutional Issues
Lecompton Constitution
Buchanan wanted to accept the Lecompton Constitution and Kansas being a slave state but Congress didn’t accept and proslavery documents were rejected by Kansas settlers who were mostly Republicans
Dred Scott v Sandford (1857)
Slave Dred Scott was taken to Wisconsin (free state) and lived 2 years before returning back to Missouri
Sued for his freedom arguing residence on free soil made him a free citizen
Roger Taney (chief justice) decided:
Scott had not right to sue in federal court bc African Americans weren’t US citizens; slaved were a form of property and Congress can deprive a person of property without due process; Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional
South happy, north furious; Supreme Court declared all of west was open to slavery
North suspected that Democratic president and Democratic majority in Supreme Court planned it all
Court's decision made compromise and popular sovereignty impossible
Lincoln Douglas Debates
1858, Stephen Douglas ran for senator of Illinois against Abraham Lincol who unknown compared to him
Lincoln not an abolitionist but was against expansion of slavery and his statement, “This government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free” made southerners view him as radical
In Freeport, Illinois, Lincoln challenged Douglas to reconcile popular sovereignty and Douglas responded that slavery could not exist in community if the local xitizens didn’t pass slave codes to maintain it (known as Freeport Doctrine)
Douglas won campaign but lost supporters bc alienated Southern Democrats while Linoln was a national figure for the Republicans Road to Secession
Republican success alarmed southerners bc slavery and their industrial economy (tariffs don’t help south)
Republican victory in 1860 would lead to a disaster
John Brown’s Raid at Harpers Ferry
October 1859, led small group of followers to attack federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry
Plan: use guns in arsenal to arm Virginian slaves, failed as slaves never showed up
Federal troops under Robert E Lee captured Brown and hung them
North condemned Brown’s actions but south weren’t convinced by their words; they thought they would use slave revolts to destroy the south
North saw Brown as a martyr and was even celebrated when civil war broke out
The Election of 1860
Breakup of the Democratic Party
Democratic party nominated Stephen Douglas in convention in Charleston, SC but southerners
and Buchanan supporters rejected
- Democrats hel another convention in Baltimore where delegates from slave states walked out allowing the remaining to nominate Douglas on platform of popular sovereignty and f slave law
- Southern democrats nominated John C Breckingridge on a platform of unrestricted slavery and annexation of Cuba
- Republican Nomination of Lincoln
- North happy that Democrats divided so made platform that appealed to north and west
- Exclusion of slavery, protective tariff, free land for homestead internal improvements
- To ensure victory, nominated Lincoln instead of William H Steward
- A Fourth Political Party
- Fearing consequences of Republican victory, whigs, know-nothings, and moderate democrats formed the Constitutional Union and nominated John Bell
- Aimed to enforce the laws and Constitution and preserve the Union
- Election Results
- Lincoln won 59% of electoral votes but only 39% of popular vote, won every state up north
- Breckenridge and Douglas had many more popular votes but Lincoln won without needing a single electoral vote from the south
- Secession of the Deep South
- December 1860, convention in South Carolina voted unanimously to secede
- Other states held similar conventions and in February 1861, reps met in Montgomery, Alabama to create the Confederate States of America
- Created constitution similar to US constitution but limited government’s power
- Jeffreson Davis was president while Alexander Stephens was VP
- Crittenden Compromise
- Buchanan did nothing to conserve the nation but Senator JohnCrittenden proposed constitutional amendment the allowed right to hold slaves south of 36 30
- Lincoln rejected the compromise as it violate Republican position against slavery
- South thought they were acting in tradition of the Revolution of 1776 and argued they had the right to nation independence as north was like a tyrant
- Many thought Lincoln would let the secede without a fight but was badly mistaken.
Apush Chapter 13 Notes
Course: History Of The United States: From First Contact To The Present (HIST 1130)
University: Northeastern University
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