Pageant 16-19 Review

Southern Aristocracy• Planter aristocracy dominated society

and politics

• White farmers made up the majority of the population

• Landless whites- poor, supported slavery

• Mountain whites – opposed slavery and rich planters

Slavery• Population increased due to natural

reproduction • Most slaves raised in stable two-

parent homes• Discouraged immigrants from

migrating to the South• Most Southern whites could not afford slaves¼ of Southerners owned slaves

Upper South

• More common for forced separation of families and spouses

Cotton Kingdom• Accounted for half the value of all US

exports after 1840

• South produced more than half the world’s supply of cotton

• 75% of British supply came from the South

• Quick profits drew planters

to its economic enterprise

Abolitionists

• Southern- Silenced in the early 1830s

• Northern- Critics in North felt they were creating disorder in the US

American Colonization Society- 1817

• Dedicated to sending freed blacks to Africa

• 15,000 sent over the next three decades

Northerners

• Supported the black race, but disliked blacks as individuals

• Many were against the expansion of slavery, because they wanted to avoid blacks

Freed Blacks

• Prohibited from many trades and professions

• Segregated education

• Voting restrictions

Post 1830

• South was were the minority compared to the rest of the world with their support of slavery

Southern Subsistence Farmers• Too poor to have slaves

• Relied on corn as their main crop

• Defended slavery- possibility of upward mobility, and racism

Deep South

• South Carolina, Florida. Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana- near or over 50% of population was slaves

• More likely for slave families to be in tact than upper South

Election of 1840

• Harrison wins

• Tyler on the ticket as a states’ rightist

John Tyler

• From Virginia

• Joined the Whig Party because he was anti-Jackson

Manifest Destiny• View that God

ordained the US to stretch across the continent

• Motivations- land, trade with Asia, fear of foreign intervention

Election of 1844• Polk- Democrat- felt victory was a

mandate for Manifest Destiny

• Henry Clay- Whig- told Southerners he was for annexing Texas, told Northerners he was against annexation

War with Mexico

• Polk hoped to fight a limited war

• Anti slavery forces opposed Polk’s expansionist policies

• US eventually paid $15 million, and received territory

including New Mexico,

Arizona and California

War with Mexico

US – Britain Disputes• Oregon- resolved when the British thought

the area wasn’t worth fighting for

• Maine- concluded with the Webster-Ashburton Treaty

Oregon Territory• U.S. missionaries were instrumental

in strengthening and saving American claims

California• First European settlers were Spanish

Texas

• Coveted by British abolitionists

• Hoped to prove that cotton could be produced without slaves

Wilmot Proviso

• Slavery would be banned from all territory gained in the war with Mexico

• Twice passed the House, but never the Senate

Slavery

California Gold• Ended the power of Californios

• Help lead to statehood at an increased speed

John C. Calhoun

• Strong proponent of states rights and slavery

• Felt that local authorities should decide on slavery- not congress

Transcontinental Railroad• Douglas wanted a northern route

• Viewed as a way to keep the west “connected” to the rest of the US

International Attempts to Expand Slavery

• Nicaragua- Southern adventurers attempted to take it by force

• Cuba- Ostend Manifesto- take it by force if a sale price couldn’t be negotiated

Compromise of 1850• California- free, New Mexico and Arizona-

popular sovereignty

• No slave trade in Washington DC

• Tougher Fugitive Slave Law

• Daniel Webster’s March 7th speech was a call for compromise and national unity

• Aided by Taylor’s death and Fillmore’s ascension to the presidency

Free Soilers

• Supported westward expansion

• Felt slavery would have a negative affect on working men’s wages

• Wanted free government homesteads for settlers

Popular Sovereignty

• Promoted by Stephen Douglas

• Fit in with democratic tradition of self-determination

Matthew Perry• Opened Japan to the US

Kansas-Nebraska

• Douglas proposed popular sovereignty to determine slave status

• Lawrence recognized by the House of Representatives

• Lecompton recognized by Buchanan

• Dissolved into a civil war

1848 Presidential Election

• Zachary Taylor (Whig) defeat Lewis Cass (Dem)

• Taylor- national hero, slaveholder from Louisiana

• Cass- Michigan, pro-slavery leanings

• Slavery was not a main issue

Harriet Tubman

• Helped slaves escape to Canada

1850s Politics

• National leaders agreed to NOT discuss slavery

John Brown’s Raid

• Viewed as a martyr by some in the North

• Viewed as representing Northern Republicans by the South

1850s Nativists

• Anti-Catholic and anti-foreign attitudes

• Supported the Know-Nothing Party in 1856

Personal Liberty Laws

• Passed in the North stating people did not have to help return runaway slaves

• Response to Compromise of 1850

• Struck down by the Supreme Court

1852 Election

• Franklin Pierce- Democrats- reunited after divisions of ’48

• Winfield Scott- Whigs- divided on sectional lines

• Pierce wins- friendly with his Sec. of State- Jefferson Davis

Dred Scott Case• Ruled that slaves were not protected by

the Constitution

• Slavery could not be prohibited in territories by congress

• Owners could not have slaves

taken without due process

• Supported by proslavery

Southerners

Election of 1856• Buchanan (Pa)- nominated as a

Democrat- proslavery• Fremont (Ca)- nominated as a

Republican- anti-slavery• Fillmore (NY)- nominated Know-

Nothing- anti- immigrant• Victory for Buchanan• Southerners threatened that a

Republican victory would result in war

James Buchanan• Had a pro slavery cabinet

• Felt Congress could not legislate slavery

• Believed the Constitution did not authorize him to use force to prevent Southern secession

Brooks-Sumner Fight• Sumner (Mass) had verbally assailed

Butler (SC)

• Brooks attacked Sumner for revenge

• Revealed the passionate divisions over slavery

Uncle Tom’s Cabin• Brutal account of families separated by

slavery

• Resulted in many Northerners not enforcing the Fugitive Slave Law

• Widely read in Europe- made common person against slavery

Panic of 1857

• Affected by the end of the Crimean War

• Partially a result of over speculation and falling farm prices

• Led to a call for a higher tariff

• Revived the sectional controversy of tariff levels

Lincoln-Douglas Debates

• Douglas’s Freeport Doctrine- slavery would stay down if people voted it down

• Lincoln- believed congress had the right to regulate slavery

1860 Election

Lincoln- Republican- party widens their platform- doesn’t campaign in South

Democrats- split- Northern- nominate Douglas

Southern-nominate Breckinridge

Union Party- nominates Bell- attempting to prevent secession

Secession• South Carolina first- Dec. 20, 1860

• Followed by Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas