America’s History Seventh Edition CHAPTER 13 Expansion, War, and Sectional Crisis 1844-1860 Copyright © 2011 by Bedford/St. Martin’s James A. Henretta.

America’s HistorySeventh Edition

CHAPTER 13Expansion, War, and Sectional Crisis

1844-1860

Copyright © 2011 by Bedford/St. Martin’s

James A. HenrettaRebecca Edwards

Robert O. Self

I. Manifest Destiny: South and NorthA. Push to the Pacific

1. Oregon• region claimed by both Britain and U.S., which agreed to allow people of

both nations to settle• 1840s American interest increased with reports of excellent harbors and

fertile soil• “Oregon Fever” began• Americans headed to the region with wagons, oxen, cattle• thousands migrated on the Oregon Trail to settle there and in California• 34,000+ died of disease and exposure during the 2,000-mile journey• approx. 10,000 migrants settled in the Willamette Valley• restricted voting to white men.

2. California

I. Manifest Destiny: South and NorthA. Push to the Pacific

2. California• approx. 3,000 migrants settled in California during the

1840s• a province of Mexico• Mexico granted land to the settlers to raise cattle• New England businesses sent agents to the area to buy

leather for shoes/boots, and they then married the daughters of elite Mexicans (Californios)

• Thomas Larkin was one of many agents who did not want to assimilate but instead annex California for the U.S.

1. Describe the settlement of Oregon City.

2. Notice the four Native Americans standing across the river. In your opinion, why did the British military officer who illustrated this settlement include these people in the drawing?

1. Identify the symbols of westward expansion in John Gast’s American Progress.

2. How does this painting illustrate the notion of manifest destiny?

2. How does this painting illustrate the notion of manifest destiny?

3. In your opinion, does this painting depict “progress”? Why/why not?

I. Manifest Destiny: South and NorthB. The Plains Indians

1. The Great Plains• grass from Texas north to Saskatchewan, Canada; from the

Missouri River to the Rocky Mountains• home to nomadic people who hunted buffalo• tribes included Pawnees, Mandan, Apache, Comanche, Kiowas,

Cheyennes, and Araphaos• desired European horses, weakened by European diseases;

smallpox epidemic 1779-1781 killed approximately half the Plains Indians

• others were killed by European weapons.

2. The Sioux

I. Manifest Destiny: South and NorthB. The Plains Indians

2. The Sioux• traded for guns and ammunition with French, Spanish, Americans• buffalo hunters• nomadic lifestyle enable them to avoid major outbreaks of disease• dominant tribe in the central and northern Plains• became very prosperous selling buffalo hides to American Fur

Company and Missouri Fur Company• herds were declining and Sioux did not understand the market

system well enough to demand proper prices• by the 1860s the number of buffalo herds had decline significantly.

I. Manifest Destiny: South and NorthC. The Fateful Election of 1844

1. “Oregon Conventions”• election significantly altered U.S. policy in the West• southerners wanted Texas annexed to keep the British from

making gains in North America• 1843 Americans in Ohio River Valley and Great Lakes states

organized conventions at which Democrats and Whigs called for U.S. control of Oregon Country (region that encompassed part of California and part of Alaska – began at 54°40’ north latitude)

• southerners renewed called for annexation of Texas.

2. “Fifty-four forty or fight!”

I. Manifest Destiny: South and NorthC. The Fateful Election of 1844

2. “Fifty-four forty or fight!”• 1844 Tyler administration wrote a treaty to annex Texas• Van Buren and Clay (both running for president) opposed

because they didn’t want the Senate to undertake debate on slavery

• 1844 election then centered on Texas and Oregon; James K. Polk (D-TN) used the campaign slogan “Fifty-four forty or fight” to show his support for claiming all of Oregon to the Alaska border

• Polk won• calls for annexation of Texas increased; a joint resolution

of Congress brought it into the Union (28th state).

II. War, Expansion, and Slavery, 1846-1850A. War with Mexico, 1846-1848

1. Polk’s Expansionist Program• Texas voted to join Union, Mexico broke off diplomatic relations with U.S.• Polk began efforts to gain other northern provinces of Mexico (CA, NM)• diplomatic relations broke down• Polk sent 2,000 soldiers to occupy disputed lands; war began between

Mexico and U.S.• Polk accepted a negotiated settlement with Britain at 49th parallel in

Oregon territory.2. American Military Successes

• army led by Gen. Zachary Taylor• end of 1846 U.S. controlled most of northeast Mexico• secured California early in 1847• fighting continued with U.S. attacking Mexico City, defeated Santa Anna.

II. War, Expansion, and Slavery, 1846-1850B. A Divisive Victory

1. The Wilmot Proviso• northern Whigs had opposed the war on moral grounds; split

Democrats across sectional lines• Congressman David Wilmot (D-PA) proposed that slavery be

prohibited in any territory obtained through the war with Mexico• Whigs and anti-slavery Democrats supported Wilmot• rejected by Senate; expansionist fervor continued, but not without

hesitation by some who feared more war• Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848) U.S. paid Mexico $15 million in

return for one-third of its territory• agreements were reached on granting land in Oregon.

2. Free Soil3. The Election of 1848

II. War, Expansion, and Slavery, 1846-1850B. A Divisive Victory

2. Free Soil• fears that there was a “slave power conspiracy” growing in the

U.S. to spread the institution across North America• northerners started a “free-soil movement” and organized

Free-Soil Party• claimed slavery threatened republicanism and Jeffersonian

ideals.3. The Election of 1848

• Polk did not run for re-election• Whigs nominated Gen. Taylor (LA slave owner) who did not

support expansion of slavery to the new territories• Taylor won 47% of the popular vote and an electoral majority.

II. War, Expansion, and Slavery, 1846-1850C. California Gold and Racial Warfare

1. The Forty-Niners• 1848 gold discovered in California• rush of men, ships, and wagons to the West began – 80,000 men

by end of 1849• lived in cramped quarters, gambling, alcohol, prostitution• ruthless treatment of Indians, Mexicans, Chileans, Chinese• disease killed many• many men were disillusioned by failure to find wealth.

2. Racial Warfare and Land Rights

II. War, Expansion, and Slavery, 1846-1850C. California Gold and Racial Warfare

2. Racial Warfare and Land Rights• Indians received no protection from what little law

enforcement existed in California• Disease• settlers murdered Indians to take their land• creation of a slave-like trade among whites taking Indians as

labor• despite treaties with Mexico, whites wanted to push

Californios off their land• many sold the land to whites simply to leave the region• whites who settled in the northern part of California had

more success with crops.

II. War, Expansion, and Slavery, 1846-1850D. 1850: Crisis and Compromise

1. Constitutional Conflict• California ratified an antislavery constitution, opening debate for

admission to union• debate ensued about whether California to be admitted free or

slave• Sen. Stephen Douglas (D-IL) called for “popular sovereignty” – gave

power of choice to the people.2. A Complex Compromise

• Douglas achieved passage of five law “Compromise of 1850”: 1) Fugitive Slave Act, 2) California as a free state, 3) settled boundary dispute between New Mexico and Texas in favor of New Mexico, 4) abolished slave trade in District of Columbia, 5) established New Mexico and Utah with popular sovereignty on the slavery issue.

1. This image of Senators debating in 1850 provides insight into who participated in American politics in the antebellum years and who observed, but did not partake in, the political process. Look closely at this image. What do you see?

III. The End of the Second Party System, 1850-1858A. Resistance to the Fugitive Slave Act

1. Fugitive Slave Act of 1850• most controversial piece of Compromise• federal judges in the North were to determine the status of alleged fugitive slaves• no jury trial, no right to testify for blacks• northerners almost immediately resented the sight of slave catchers in their

states• abolitionists assisted runaways.

2. Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852)B. The Political System in Decline

1. The Election of 18522. President Pierce

III. The End of the Second Party System, 1850-1858A. Resistance to the Fugitive Slave Act2. Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1852)• aided opposition to the Fugitive Slave Act• increased the northern public’s outrage to slavery on moral grounds• sold millions of copies and increased antislavery action in Britain• northerners called for “personal-liberty laws” to enhance their

rights, including the rights of fugitives in free states• Supreme Court ruled, Ableman v. Booth, that the act violated states’

rights.

B. The Political System in Decline1. The Election of 18522. President Pierce

III. The End of the Second Party System, 1850-1858B. The Political System in Decline

1. The Election of 1852•both major parties split over slavery•Democrats nominated Franklin Pierce (NH) because he was sympathetic to the South•won easily•Whigs never waged another national campaign.

2. President Pierce•expansionist foreign policy•Gadsden Purchase of 1853 to begin a transcontinental rail line from New Orleans to California•supported covert military expeditions to Cuba and Nicaragua•criticized for aggressive diplomacy.

III. The End of the Second Party System, 1850-1858C. The Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Rise of New Parties(The Act repealed the Missouri Compromise, formed the Kansas and Nebraska

territories, and organized region on basis of popular sovereignty.)1. The American and Republican Parties

• northern Whigs and “anti-Nebraska” Democrats joined Free-Soilers and abolitionists in the “Republican Party”

• party leadership staunchly antislavery (degraded manual labor and drove down wages or free whites)

• advocated republican liberty and individual enterprise• competition from American or “Know-Nothing” Party (anti-immigrant, anti-

Catholic).

2. Bleeding KansasD. Buchanan’s Failed Presidency

1. The Election of 18562. Dred Scott: Petitioner for Freedom

III. The End of the Second Party System, 1850-1858C. The Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Rise of New Parties(The Act repealed the Missouri Compromise, formed the Kansas and Nebraska

territories, and organized region on basis of popular sovereignty.)2. Bleeding Kansas

• thousands migrated to Kansas to settle, supporting both sides of the political debate

• Missouri residents crossed the border to elect a proslavery government• most Kansas residents supported free soil• violence erupted• John Brown, abolitionist, led a militia which murdered five proslavery

settlers• guerrilla war began.

D. Buchanan’s Failed Presidency1. The Election of 18562. Dred Scott: Petitioner for Freedom

III. The End of the Second Party System, 1850-1858D. Buchanan’s Failed Presidency

1. The Election of 1856• Republicans denounced Kansas-Nebraska Act and

nominated John Frémont (free-soiler)• American Party split over slavery• James Buchanan (D-PA) won a three-way race; Democrats

now the only national party• Republicans split over sectional issues.

III. The End of the Second Party System, 1850-1858D. Buchanan’s Failed Presidency

2. Dred Scott: Petitioner for Freedom• 1856 Dred Scott had lived with his master in Illinois and Wisconsin territory

where slavery was prohibited• argued that he was free as a result• 7/9 judges declared that Scott was still a slave but disagreed on the legal

rationale• Judge Taney (slave owner from MD) argued that since slaves were not citizens

they had no right to sue in federal court, that Congress could not prevent a person from taking his property into new territories, that the Northwest Ordinance and Missouri Compromise were not constitutional, that Congress could not give to territorial governments any powers that it did not possess

• Republicans accused Taney and Buchanan of being part of the Slave Power Conspiracy

• Buchanan recommended Kansas be admitted as a slave state and resumed negotiations to buy Cuba.

IV. Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Triumph, 1858-1860

A. Lincoln’s Political Career1. An Ambitious Politician

• born in Kentucky, lived in Indiana and Illinois• store clerk, read Shakespeare, studied law• volatile relationship with wife, Mary; joined the Whig Party• elected to Congress in 1846• opposed the spread of slavery, advocated gradual emancipation and

colonization of freed blacks in Africa• viewed as moderate; lost reelection bid.

2. The Lincoln-Douglas DebatesB. The Union under Siege

1. The Rise of Radicalism2. The Election of 1860

IV. Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Triumph, 1858-1860

A. Lincoln’s Political Career2. The Lincoln-Douglas Debates

• leader of the Republican Party in Illinois• ran against Douglas for Senate in 1858• famous “House Divided” speech about slavery dividing the nation• seven debates• Douglas supported white supremacy• Lincoln advocated economic opportunity for black Americans but not

political rights• Douglas won.

B. The Union under Siege1. The Rise of Radicalism2. The Election of 1860

IV. Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Triumph, 1858-1860

B. The Union under Siege1. The Rise of Radicalism

•southern Democrats divided in 1858 into moderates (Southern Rights, protection for slavery) and fire-eaters (in favor of secession)•Oct. 1859 John Brown led a raid on Harpers Ferry, VA, federal arsenal to arm slaves and start a rebellion•Republicans condemned Brown, Democrats blamed his actions on the Republicans•northern and southern Democrats split at party’s convention.

2. The Election of 1860•Republicans chose Lincoln as candidate•argued for a free-soil platform•opposed slavery and racial equality.