Steps to the Civil War

New Issues in the Slavery Controversy• Arkansas and Michigan added as states

• TX admitted 1845, could be divided into 4 states

• Congress extends 36’30 line west through TX

• Arguments emerge over land won from Mexican War - who has the right to regulate slavery?– Polk’s proposal– Popular sovereignty– Wilmot Proviso

Steven Felzenberg onJames K. Polk

“James K. Polk was the first president to take office determined to wage a war of choice…When it comes to extending the full freedoms of Jacksonian Democracy to aspiring slaveholders and other white males and restricting them to non-whites, Polk proved himself worthy of being considered Jackson’s heir.”

- Do you agree with Felzenberg’s statement?

Wait there’s more..Felzenberg continues

“Polk, an advocate of manifest destiny, drew a line on his territorial designs for the U.S. when he oppossed annexing all of Mexico, a move several congressional leaders advocated…Polk did this not because of concern for the Mexican people, but because he did not want to extend citzenship to a large number of Roman Catholics, who shared their church’s opposition to slavery.”

The Zinger (if you will…)Felzenberg’s final sentence

“Polk’s vision for his country proved harmful over time, igniting the fuse that would set off civil war. Regrettably, he possessed the administrative skills necessary to impose it.”

Why is Polk rated so highly in the C-Span poll?

10.1 Notes

Slavery Divides the Nation

• What were some sectional differences between the North and South

• How had slavery numbers chanted in the North by 1860?

• What were some arguments for and against slavery in the North?

• What arguments supported slavery in the South?

The Election of 1848

• What was the main goal of the Free Soil Party?

“free soil, free speech, free labor, free men”

• Zachary Taylor, what was his stance on slavery?

The 1848 Candidates……

Lewis Cass, secretary of war under Jackson, ambassador to France, senator from Michigan

Zachary Taylor, “Old Rough and Ready” had 40-year military career before becoming president, from LA

Martin Van Buren, only person besides Jefferson to be president, vice president and secretary of state

1848 Election• Before election, no decision on CA or NM, Southerners

in Congress block territory bill for OR– Both major parties avoid the slavery issue

• Democrats nominate Lewis Cass, popular sovereignty• Whigs nominate Zachary Taylor, no real platform• Anti-slavery Whigs and Democrats form Free Soil Party

– Want prohibition of slavery in territories

– Support free western homesteads, higher tariff

– Want federal funding for internal improvements

– Van Buren gets 291,000 votes out of 2.9 million

– Free Soil candidates win several seats in the House

1848 Election

Great Debate in the Senate

Promotes compromise at all cost, no banning slavery in territoriesSupports new FSLLeaves Senate to become secretary of state, dies 1852

Calhoun is near death, says North must admit that South had equal rights in territoriesWants dual presidency, each with veto powerDies March 1850

Oversees six months of debate, wants all measures passed together

Leaves when proposal fails, dies in 1852

Historian David M. Potter on the death of Zachary Taylor

Potter describes this event as “one of those extraneous events which…alter the course of history.”

Is this hyperbole? Why was Zachary Taylor’s death so significant?

Problems leading up to 1850• When Congress meets in Dec. 1849, House votes 62

times before selecting a speaker• CA has 100,000 residents by end of 1849, applies for

statehood, constitution bans slavery• Taylor supports CA statehood and wants NM to apply

as well, based on popular sovereignty– Hopes to have many territories become states, so federal

government won’t be responsibly for dealing with slavery

– Addition of CA and NM would further tip balance towards free states, Oregon and Utah also possibilities

• Anti-slavery supporters want to end slave trade in DC• Pro-slavery supporters want stronger FSL

Creation of the Compromise• New leaders: Seward (PA) opposes compromise, wants to

focus on elimination of slavery, Davis (MS) wants to focus on economic self-interest for South, Douglass (IL) focuses on sectional gain, personal promotion

• Taylor threatens to veto any measure that doesn’t deal with CA and NM first

• July 9, 1850 - Taylor dies, Fillmore supports Douglass’ plan to break up compromise into five parts– CA admitted as a free state– Slave trade abolished in DC– TX paid $10 million to give up claim for NM– NM Territory split into NM and UT, popular sovereignty determines

slavery– Tougher fugitive slave law

Felzenberg on Zachary Taylor

“Taylor took these stands in full knowledge that admitting new free states would permanently alter the politcal balance in Congress and in the Electoral College and that, in time, Congress and the states could pass a constitutional amendment abolishing slavery where it already existed.”

Felzenberg (cont’d)

“Such a course, had the nation followed it, would have spared the lives of 620,000 Americans who died in the Civil War, the maiming of hundreds of thousands of others, and a century’s legacy of sectional bitterness and racial injustice…Had he failed and a civil war erupted in 1850 rather than 1860, a slaveholding commander in chief might have held more states in the Union than would the Republican president from Illinois who was elected a decade later.”

Compromise of 1850

Election of 1852

Young America and the Ostend Manifesto• Pierce states at his inauguration: “The policy of my

administration will not be controlled by any timid forebodings of evil from expansion.”– Thinks expansion of democracy will divert attention away from

slavery, inspired by 1848 European revolutions– Appoints expansionists to diplomatic posts throughout Europe,

sends Pierre Soulé, proponent of Cuban annexation, to Spain

• Filibusters failed to overthrow Spanish gvt despite considerable support among Cubans for independence

• Oct. 1854 - Soulé, James Buchanan (Polk’s secretary of state), and US minister to France meet in Ostend Belgium– Produce document stating that: “Cuba is as necessary to the North

American republic as any of its present members, and that it belongs naturally to that great family of states of which the Union is the Providential Nursery.”

Filibuster William Walker• October 15, 1853 - Walker

conquers the Mexican territories of Baja California and Sonora– Declared the capital of a new Republic

of Lower California

• 1855 - During Nicaraguan war, Liberal party wants Walker’s help– Walker defeats Legitimist army,

elected president, re-instates slavery

• Dec. 1856 - Central American coalition defeats Walker’s army

• 1860 - After attempt to help support the British in Honduras, killed by Honduran gvt

Expansion of the Sectional Conflict• By 1850s, line of white settlement moved beyond

Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota and into the Great Plains– Americans realize the land has great potential for farming– Americans in Old Northwest urge government to open up

the territories for settlement, remove Native Americans in the region

• Broad support emerges for a trans-continental railroad, but argument occurs over where it will be– Also debate over the eastern terminus that will connect

western railroad to eastern railroad network– Northerners want Chicago, Southerners want St. Louis,

Memphis or New Orleans

Stephen Douglas and the KS-NB Act• Douglas is the leader of the northwestern Democrats,

wants terminus of the railroad in his own city and section of the nation– Realizes argument against route – it would run through a

region with a large Indian population not settled by whites

• Jan. 1854 – introduces bill to organize (open to white settlement) a territory west of Iowa and Missouri– Status of slavery would be determined by territorial

legislature according to popular sovereignty– Agrees to an additional clause repealing the MO

Compromise, agrees to divide the area into two territories– Pierce supports the bill, becomes law in May with unanimous

support of the South, partial support from Northern Democrats

1854 - Kansas Nebraska Act

Impact of the KS-NB Act• Divides and destroys Whig party, hurts Northern Dems

– Many former Southern Whigs become Democrats, increasing Southern influence in Democratic party

– Divides Northern Democrats, many oppose repeal of the MO Comp, and drive many out of the party

• Members of both parties who oppose the act call themselves Anti-Nebraska Whigs, Anti-Nebraska Dems– Soon form new organization, named the Republican party

• In 1854 Congressional elections, Republicans combine with Know-Nothings to with a majority in the House, win control of most Northern gvts

Bleeding Kansas 1855-56• Spring of 1855 - Pro and anti-

slavery forces clash over legislative elections– 5,000 Missouri residents enter

KS, elect pro-slavery legislature– Only 1,500 legal voters, over

6,000 votes cast

• Anti-slavery supporters create Free State party– Elect own legislature and

governor, adopt a constitution outlawing slavery

• Pierce supports pro-slavery forces, calls Free party traitors

John Brown

Opposition to Pro-Slavery Forces

May 1856 - Violence in Congress

Free Soil Ideology vs. Slavery Argument

• Develop in 1854 when anti-slavery Whigs and Democrats join Free Soil Party

• In 1856, remaining Whigs join with pro-slavery Know-Nothings to created the American party– Nominate Fillmore for president

• Democrats drop Pierce, nominate Buchanan of PA– Promote popular sovereignty

• Republicans nominate western explorer James Fremont– “Free Soil, Free Speech, Free Men, Fremont and Victory!”

Republican Party and 1856 election • Develop in 1854 when anti-slavery Whigs and

Democrats join Free Soil Party

• In 1856, remaining Whigs join with pro-slavery Know-Nothings to created the American party– Nominate Fillmore for president

• Democrats drop Pierce, nominate Buchanan of PA– Promote popular sovereignty

• Republicans nominate western explorer James Fremont– “Free Soil, Free Speech, Free Men, Fremont and Victory!”

Election of 1856

Impact of the Dred Scott Case• Taney rules that Scott not a citizen, cannot initiate a law

suit in US courts• Even if Scott had right to sue in court, claim to freedom

had no merit– Missouri Compromise violated 5th Amendment, which forbade

Congress to deny people their right to property without due process of the law

– Slaves classified as property, unconstitutional to ban slavery north of 36’30

• Seem like now way to stop slavery from spreading after passage of the KS-NB Act

Lecompton Constitution• 1857 - Kansas holds elections to choose delegates for a

constitutional convention– Anti-slavery supporters boycott election completely

– Pro-slavery convention writes constitution protecting rights of slaveholders in Kansas

• In election for a new legislature, anti-slavery supporters win a majority of the legislature– New legislature rejects Lecompton Constitution

• Buchanan still urges KS to be admitted as a slave state– Senate agrees, Douglas and western Dems in House opposed

• Eventually, KS admitted as a free state in 1861

Rise of Lincoln• 1834 - begins public career in

Illinois legislature as a Whig• 1846 - Elected to House of

Representatives, publicly opposes the Mexican War

• Returns to Illinois in 1848 to practice law

• Re-enters politics after KS-NB, speaks out against slavery’s spread

• 1858 - Joins Republican Party, selected as Republican candidate for Stephen Douglas’ Senate seat

Lincoln-Douglas Debates• To get state-wide exposure for 1858 Senate race,

Lincoln challenged Douglas to seven debates • Lincoln attacks Dred Scott decision, says he would

tolerate slavery in South, but opposed its expansion– At Freeport, asks Douglas how popular sovereignty would

work in light of Dred Scott

• Douglas said people of a territory could refuse to pass laws that would protect rights of slave owners– Slavery can’t exist without police forces, territorial laws

recognizing rights of slave holders– Statement helps Douglas win election, but hurts his standing

with the South

John Brown’s Raid• Aided by New England

abolitionists, Brown and 18 men seize federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry– Under Robert E. Lee, federal

troops kill half, take rest prisoner

• Brown convicted of murder, criminal conspiracy, treason– Hung on Dec. 2, 1859– Abolitionists see him as a hero– Secessionists think he helps their

cause

“LAST MOMENTS OF JOHN BROW

N”A reproduction

of Thomas Hovenden’s

painting (1887)

"Tragic Prelude" (1938-40) by John Steuart Curry

1860 Election Candidates• Southern moderates (Whigs/Know-Nothings) form

Constitutional Union party - Bell of TN– Support restoration of the Union at all costs

• Democrats nominate Douglas at second convention• Southern Dems have own convention, nominate John

Breckenridge - wants to protect slavery in territories• Republicans select Lincoln

– Platform opposes slavery in territories, wants free homesteads for farmers, federal aid for internal improvements, tariff to protect industry

– Support liberal immigration policy to help factory owners

Outcome of the 1860 Election

Secession Begins!

• Within days of Lincoln’s victory, South Carolina’s legislature votes to secede– MS, FL, AL, GA, LA, TX pass similar acts

• Early 1861, Confederate States of America created

• Constitution like US Constitution, except it guaranteed right to own slaves, stressed that each was sovereign and independent

• Support for secession far from unanimous, but dissenters give in to public pressure

Secession of the South

Crittenden Compromise

• SC, MS, FL, AL, GA, LA, TX seceded by Inauguration Day

• Sen. Crittenden proposes to re-draw Missouri Compromise line through remaining territories– North of the line slavery prohibited, slavery allowed

south of the line

• Lincoln refuses - halting slavery’s spread was part of the Republican platform– Does support protecting slavery where it exists to

retain as many Southern states as possible

After Fort Sumter

North vs. South• North’s population - 22 million• South’s population - 9 million (3.5 million slaves)

• North has 85% of industry, almost all railroads and railroad equipment, superior navy

• South has to fight a defensive war, North must conquer huge area of land

• Has better military leaders, population more ready to fight

Building Armies• End of 1861 - Union has 527,000 soldiers, Confederacy

has 258,000

• Draft begins in April 1862 for South, March 1863 for North

• South - anyone with 20 or more slaves exempt from fighting

• North - wealthy can hire substitutes or pay government for an exemptions

• Overall - North has 2,670,000, South has 750,000