III. Road to Ft. Sumter part II

The Gateway to War

A. Struggle for Kansas• LA Purchase/Mexican Cession were being

settled• 36°30’ line worked as long as states entered

in pairs– Missouri & Maine– Arkansas & Michigan– Florida/Texas & Iowa/Wisconsin– California was the only exception

• Territories above the Ohio River had already outlawed slavery by 1787– Northwest Ordinance

B. Kansas-Nebraska Territory

• These territories were above the 36°30’ line

• Both were nearing ready to enter the Union

• The South could not let these two states join without having 2 slave states join

• South begins to see the unfairness of 36°30’ line– Above fertile farmland– Below is arid & dry

C. Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)• Authored by Stephen Douglas (IL)

• Wanted to bypass the slavery issue due to presidential aspirations

• Douglas introduced the idea of Popular Sovereignty– People decide which side to embrace

– Takes the burden off Congress & places it on the people

– This act eliminated the 36°30’line

Reactions

• Northern:– Did not like it b/c it

lost control of states’ destiny

• Southern:– Small victory– Destiny back in the

hands of the states

D. Bleeding Kansas (1855-1856)• Kansas becomes the 1st battleground

over slavery

• Both sides had trouble getting a voting majority in Kansas

• Border Ruffians– Pro-slavery

– Stuffed ballot boxes

– Intimidated anti-slavery settlers

• Violence became more commonplace in KS

• Anti-slavery settlers began arming themselves with the help of Henry Ward Beecher– Presbyterian Minister

– Brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe

• Rifles were shipped in boxes labeled “Bibles”– “Beecher’s Bibles”

• Lawrence, KS– Anti-slavery– May 21, 1856, a group of pro-slavery attacked– Free State Hotel burned– 2 printing press destroyed– Homes & stores were ransacked– 2 men were killed

• Pottawatomie Creek, KS- May 24, 1856– Northern retaliation for Lawrence, KS– Led by New England abolitionist John Brown– Brown and a group hacked 5 pro-slavery men

to death with broad swords– Lawlessness in KS/Congress did nothing

Reaction

• Northern:– Some praised

Brown’s actions– Most condemned

them– Determined not to

be pushed out of KS

• Southern:– Outraged over lack

of justice

E. Violence in the Capitol (1856)• Abolitionist Senator Charles Sumner

delivered a speech in the Senate– “Crime Against Kansas”

• Speech targeted two pro-slavery senators– David Atchison (MO)– Andrew Butler (SC)– Accusing the two of “cavorting with the harlot,

slavery”

• The speech drew the wrath of many southerners including Butler’s nephew Preston Brooks

• Brooks Retaliates

• Sumner was reading his mail in the Senate chambers when Brooks came and beat him senseless with a cane

• Sumner was trapped under the desk and Brooks broke his cane over Sumner’s head– Sumner was near death– He never full recovered

• Southerners respond be sending Brooks new canes inscribed “Hit him again”

Reactions• North:

– Furious as no action was taken against Brooks

– Began arming themselves in the Capitol

• South:– Praised Brooks

F. Rise of the Republican Party (1856)

• Democrats supported state’s rights instead of a strong central government

• Whigs – Progress– Modernization– Internal improvements – Strong central government– Expansion of power

• Democrats

• Small farmers

• Frontiersmen

• expansionists

• Whigs

• Prosperous farmers

• Manufacturers

• City-dwellers

After the compromise of 1850- Democrats became a southern party, while the Whigs slowly began to disappear

Political Realignment

NORTH

SOUTH

DEMOCRATS

WHIGS

NORTH

SOUTH

WHIGS

DEMOCRATS

• Northern & Southern Democrats start to split

• Northern Democrats support the KS-NE act

• Southern Whigs became democrats

New Parties Form• Free-Soil Party

– No extension of slavery

– Northern Democrats & anti-slave Whigs

– Platform: Stop expansion of slavery

• Know Nothing Party– Tired of slavery

issue– Enlisted both north

& south Whigs– Platform:

immigrants & alcohol

The Republican Party• Began in 1856

• Anti-slavery Whigs

• Free-soil & Know Nothings

• Platform: Keep slavery out of the new territories

• Abraham Lincoln was their biggest spokesman– Not an abolitionist– No intention of interfering with slavery where it

already existed

Election of 1856

Rep: John C. Freemont (western explorer)

Dem: James Buchanan (pro-south PA)

Whig/KN: Millard Fillmore (ex-pres)

• Buchanan wins the election

• Last southern political victory

• Republicans become a northern party

• Rep flood the House & Senate

Reactions• Northern

– Pleased with their political domination

• Southern– Politically

suffocated– Secession may be

only option

G. Dred Scott Case (1857)• Dred Scott belonged to Dr. John Emerson, a

military surgeon

• Scott accompanies Emerson to posts in IL & WI

• 1843: Emerson dies & Scott is hired out by Mrs. Emerson

• 1846: Scott sues for his freedom, he loses but is allowed to refile

• 1856: Scott’s case goes before the Supreme Court. His argument is that he lived in free states the majority of his life

• Scott vs. Sanford– Supreme Court decides to end the slavery issue once and for all– Why is this a problem?

• 1857: Supreme Court rules against Scott 7-2• Chief Justice Roger B. Taney gives majority opinion

Dred Scott Majority Opinion• African Americans

can never be citizens of he US

• Slaves are personal property and therefore do not have the right to sue for their freedom

• Missouri Compromise is unconstitutional- Congress did not have the right to outlaw slavery ANYWHERE!

Reactions• Northern:

– Condemned the decision

– Ignored Fugitive Slave Act

• Southern– Celebrated a victory– Slavery now

protected by the 5th Amendment

Results of the Decision• Slavery was now legal anywhere in the US

• The only way to get rid of slavery was constitutional amendment

• Turned out to be disastrous for the South

• Republican party grew exponentially

• Left the united Democratic party hanging by a thread

H. Lincoln-Douglas Debates (1858)

• 1858 Illinois Senate Race:– Abraham Lincoln vs. Stephen Douglas– Limiting Slavery vs. Popular Sovereignty– Lincoln cornered Douglas with the

inconsistency of popular Sovereignty & the Dred Scott Decision

– If Douglas sides with the Dred Scott decision, he loses support in the North - If he sides with Popular Sovereignty he loses support in the South

– Douglas won the election but lost all southern support

I. John Brown’s Raid (1859)

• John Brown believed he was an instrument of God to end slavery- he decides to end slavery once and for all

• His plan was to lead a nation-wide slave rebellion- all he needed were weapons

• Harper’s Ferry, VA– Federal arsenal– Base of operation– Brown wanted to create a free black nation in

South Carolina

• Oct. 16, 1859:– 11pm, John Brown gains and several men (incl.

2 sons) take control of the federal arsenal– The arsenal hostages didn’t cooperate and the

slaves didn’t revolt

• Military was sent in to capture Brown– Led by Col. Robert E. Lee– J.E.B. Stuart was with Lee– Fighting was quick & fierce– Brown was wounded & captured/ 2 sons were

killed

• John Brown was tried and convicted of treason & sentenced to death

• Dec. 2, 1859- John Brown was hanged

• "I John Brown am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away, but with Blood."