Political Compromises to Save the Union

Political Compromises to Save the Union

Review

• 1. The economy of the North was based on...• a. cotton farming• b. factories, trade and farming• c. social movements like abolitionists• d. railroads, mining and cattle ranching

• 2. The greatest American export by 1860 was• a. cattle• b. gold• c. manufactured goods• d. cotton

3. True or False: In the mid-1800s the South saw the development of several social movements like the abolitionists and women suffrage.

a. Trueb.False

• 4. In 1848, the United States gained a whole lot of new land (southwest and California) after a war with...

• a. France• b. England• c. Mexico• d. Texas

Missouri Compromise of 1820

•An imbalance of states would give more political power to the majority (more senators)

•Congress decides to keep a balance of free and slave states.

SlaveStates

Free States

Maine a free state

Missouri a slave state

In the West: North of the

36 30 latitude would be

free, south of this line, slave

How do they do this in 1820?

The 36 30 line was supposed to extend all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Any new states below that line would be slave, any above would be free. Do you think this was a fair line?a.Yesb.No

Be ready to explain your answer.

The 36 30 line was supposed to extend all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Any new states below that line would be slave, any above would be free. Do you think this was a fair line?a.Yesb.No

Be ready to explain your answer.

“As an express condition to the acquisition of any territory from the Republic of Mexico...neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall ever exist in any part of the said territory.”

Congressman David Wilmot, 1846

The Wilmot Proviso, as it was called, along with the new lands of the Mexican-American War, reignited the debate between free and slave states.

Free States

SlaveStates

Problems in 1850

•Continued growing tension between free and slave states

•What to do with all the new land in the West (from Mexico)?

•Compromise of 1820: Should California be half slave, half free?

•South is angry that northern authorities ignore runaway slave laws

Problems in 1850

•Continued growing tension between free and slave states

•What to do with all the new land in the West (from Mexico)?

•Compromise of 1820: Should California be half slave, half free?

•South is angry that northern authorities ignore runaway slave laws

Compromise of 1850

Fugitive Slave ActWhat it did for the South:

Northern states had to cooperate with runaway slave catchers

Over 300 runawaysreturned

What it did for the South:

Northern states had to cooperate with runaway slave catchers

Over 300 runawaysreturned

How the North Reacted:

Blacks fled to Canada; white abolitionists were outraged

Some states passed laws challenging the federal governments authority (almost nullification)

How the North Reacted:

Blacks fled to Canada; white abolitionists were outraged

Some states passed laws challenging the federal governments authority (almost nullification)

Many northerners are outraged by seeing slave

catchers hauling off runaway slaves in the North!

Many northerners are outraged by seeing slave

catchers hauling off runaway slaves in the North!

Many southerners are outraged by the resistance of the

fugitive slave law in the North

Many southerners are outraged by the resistance of the

fugitive slave law in the North

Given the fact that slaves at this time were considered property, did southerners have the right to be angry at northerners for frustrating their efforts to recover runaway slaves?

a.Yesb.No

Be ready to explain your answer.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin, 1852"I have lost two, one after another,--left 'em buried there when I came away; and I had only this one left. I never slept a night without him; he was all I had. He was my comfort and pride, day and night; and, ma'am, they were going to take him away from me,--to sell him,--sell him down south, ma'am, to go all alone,--a baby that had never been away from his mother in his life!" - Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Ch. 9

This book by Harriet Beecher Stowe did what abolitionists had been trying to do for years: put a human face on slave life.

By 1854, more than 1 million copies had been sold.

This book by Harriet Beecher Stowe did what abolitionists had been trying to do for years: put a human face on slave life.

By 1854, more than 1 million copies had been sold.

This act allowed for the residents of these territories to decide the slave/free question

for the state.

This led to a bloody mess in Kansas!

Bloody Kansas

Bleeding Kansas, 1855-56After massive voting fraud on both sides. Kansas emerges as a SLAVE STATE. Antislavery voters refuse to accept it.

In 1856, a proslavery group marched into an antislavery town and destroyed two antislavery printing presses, burned a hotel, and looted the buildings.

Antislavery forces under John Brown responded by killing five residents of a small proslavery settlement.

In Congress, Congressman Preston Brooks of South Carolina attacked abolitionist Senator, Charles Sumner from Mass., after Sumner had insulted his family. Sumner was clubbed severely.

Dred Scott Decision, 1857Dred Scott was a slave that had traveled and lived for many years with his master.

When his master died, he sued his mistress for his freedom. The federal court agreed with him, since he had lived so long in the North.

The Supreme Court decided against this ruling. The Court said:

1.Slaves are not citizens; therefore, they have no right to sue2.Slaves are property (like luggage); they can be taken wherever.

are

What does this mean to “free” states?

Slaves

Property

John Brown’s Raid, 1859John Brown’s Raid, 1859

The head of the massacre in Kansas, John Brown, leads a group of 18 black and white men to a federal arsenal—his intent is to steal weapons and start a slave revolution.

Brown captures the arsenal but is caught by the Marines on the way out. He and his men are killed or hung.

The head of the massacre in Kansas, John Brown, leads a group of 18 black and white men to a federal arsenal—his intent is to steal weapons and start a slave revolution.

Brown captures the arsenal but is caught by the Marines on the way out. He and his men are killed or hung.

In the 1830s, a black pastor named Nat Turner had led a slave rebellion that was eventually quashed. Why would this event be even more terrifying to white southerners?

In the 1830s, a black pastor named Nat Turner had led a slave rebellion that was eventually quashed. Why would this event be even more terrifying to white southerners?

Election of 1860Election of 1860

Democratic Party splits

Lincoln wins by a landslide! He is antislavery and hated

by the South. The South begins to secede.

Use this map to answer the question about secession