Slavery Divides the Nation, 1820–1861

Slavery Divides the Nation, 1820–1861

Chronological Order

• Missouri Compromise 1819

• Nullification Crisis 1832

• Compromise of 1850

• Kansas-Nebraska Act 1854

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The Missouri CompromiseIn 1819, there were 11 free states and 11 slave

states.

Representation in the Senate was evenly balanced between the North and the South.

Missouri wanted to join the Union as a slave state. That would give the South a majority in the Senate.

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The Missouri Compromise

Henry Clay proposed the Missouri Compromise. – Missouri would join the Union as a slave

state.– Maine would join the Union as a free state. – Congress drew an imaginary line across the

southern border of Missouri at latitude 36º30´N. Slavery would be permitted in the Louisiana Purchase south of that line.

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The Issue of Slavery in the West

The ProblemAs a result of the Mexican War, the United States acquired a vast amount of land.

The Missouri Compromise applied only to the Louisiana Purchase, not the new western lands.

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Nullification Crisis

1. A sectional crisis during the Presidency of Andrew Jackson

2. Created by South Carolina’s 1832 Ordinance of Nullification:

A- declared the power of the state

B- rejected federal tariffs of 1828 and 1832

C- argued they were unconstitutional and therefore null and void

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3- Tariff of 1828, known as :Tariff of Abominations” enacted by President John Quincy Adams

4- South Carolina repealed its Nullification Ordinance on March 11,1833

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The Compromise of 1850

• A series of five (5) bills

• Intended to stave off sectional strife

• To keep spread of slavery to territories in balance

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5 Bills1. California was entered as a free state

2. New Mexico and Utah were each allowed to use popular sovereignty to decide the issue of slavery

3. The Republic of Texas gave up lands it claimed in present day New Mexico and received $10 million to pay its debt to Mexico

4. The slave trade was abolished in District of Columbia

5. The Fugitive Slave Act was enacted9

The Slavery Debate Erupts Again

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The Crisis Deepens

• What was the goal of the Kansas-Nebraska Act?

• Why did violence erupt in Kansas and in the Senate?

• What impact did the Dred Scott case have on the nation?

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The Kansas-Nebraska Act

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The Problem

The Compromise of 1850 dealt mainly with the Mexican Cession, and not with the lands that were part of the Louisiana Purchase.

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Provisions of the Kansas-Nebraska Act

• Nebraska Territory was to be divided into two territories— Kansas and Nebraska.

• The settlers in each territory would decide the issue of slavery by popular sovereignty.

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The Argument for the Act

• Many people thought the act was fair because the Compromise of 1850 had applied popular sovereignty in New Mexico and Utah.

• Southerners hoped slave owners from Missouri would move into Kansas and make Kansas a slave state.

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The Argument Against the Act

• The Missouri Compromise already banned slavery in Kansas and Nebraska. In effect, the Kansas-Nebraska Act would overturn the Missouri Compromise.

• Northerners protested by challenging the Fugitive Slave Act.

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Violence Erupts in the Senate• Charles Sumner of Massachusetts was the

leading abolitionist senator. In one speech he denounced the proslavery legislature of Kansas and viciously criticized his southern foes, especially Senator Andrew Butler of South Carolina.

• A few days later Butler’s nephew, Congressman Preston Brooks, marched into the Senate chamber and with his cane beat Sumner until he was unconscious.

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The Dred Scott Case

What did the Supreme Court decide?

• Scott could not file a lawsuit because, as an enslaved person, he was not a citizen.

• Slaves were considered to be property.

• Congress did not have the power to outlaw slavery in any territory. This decision meant the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional.

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The Election of 1860

The Democratic party split into two groups:

Northern Democrat and Southern Democrat.– Northern Democrats nominated

Stephen Douglas.

– Southern Democrats nominated John Breckinridge.

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How the South Reacted to the Election of 1860

• Many southerners thought that Lincoln’s election meant the South no longer had a voice in national government.

• They believed the President and Congress were against them.

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How the South Reacted to the Election of 1860

• Senator John Crittenden of Kentucky introduced a bill to extend the Missouri Compromise line to the Pacific.

• He proposed an amendment to the Constitution that would guarantee slavery south of the compromise line forever.

• His proposals received little support.

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How the South Reacted to the Election of 1860

• Other southerners believed secession was their only choice.

• On December 20, 1860, South Carolina became the first state to secede.

• By late February 1861, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas had followed.

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How the South Reacted to the Election of 1860

• At a convention in Montgomery, Alabama, the seven states formed a new nation, The Confederate States of America. Jefferson Davis became its president.

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How the Civil War Began

• When Lincoln took office, he warned that no state could lawfully leave the Union.

• Jefferson Davis had already ordered Confederate forces to begin seizing federal forts in the South.

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• President Lincoln had to make a decision.

• Should he let Confederates take over federal property and look like he was admitting that states had a right to leave the Union?

• Or should he send troops to hold the forts and risk a war?

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