union soldier’s civil war and...

18451850

1854

1848

New Republican Party is formed

Italian War of Independence begins

Louis Pasteur discovers disease-causing bacteria

Compromiseof 1850 ispassed

1855

1850 United States

World

Civil War and

Reconstruction1846–1896

“A house dividedagainst itself

cannot stand.”

Civil War and

Reconstruction1846–1896

“A house dividedagainst itself

cannot stand.”—ABRAHAM LINCOLN, 1858

Portfolio Activity Draw a freehandoutline map of the United States as itexisted in 1850. As you read the unitabout the Civil War and Reconstruc-tion, note important events such asbattles, government actions, or evencultural events. Plot the location ofthese events on your map and labelthem.

AmericaAmericaMAPPINGMAPPING

Unit 6Unit 6

432

Union rifle

Union soldier’s glove and revolver

To learn more about theCivil War and Reconstruction, visit

the Glencoe Social Studies Web Site atwww.glencoe.com for information,

activities, and links to other sites.

http://www.glencoe.com

1885

1868 1871 1876

1877186718651861

1860

Japan begins to modernize

1861Czar Alexander IIfrees Russian serfs

Germanyis unified as a nation

Great Britain makes elementary school compulsory

Reconstruction ends

Congressional Reconstruction begins in the South

Civil War ends

Civil War begins

Abraham Lincoln is elected president

1865 1875

Battle of Gettysburg by an unknown artistAn accidental clash between troops near a small

Pennsylvania town developed into three of the bloodiest days offighting in the Civil War.

HISTORYAND ART

Confederate soldier’s cap (above) and Unionsoldier’s cap (right)

434 Unit 6 Civil War and Reconstruction

Various veterans had told himtales. Some talked of gray, be-whiskered hordes who were

advancing with relentless curses, andchewing tobacco with unspeakablevalor—tremendous bodies of fierce sol-diery who were sweeping along like theHuns. Others spoke of tattered and eter-nally hungry men who fired despondentpowders. “They’ll charge through hell’sfire an’ brimstone t’ git a holt on a haver-sack, an’ sech stomachs ain’t a-lastin’long,” he was told. From the stories, theyouth imagined the red, live bones sticking out through slits in the fadeduniforms.

Still, he could not put a whole faithin veterans’ tales, for recruits were theirprey. They talked much of smoke, fire,and blood, but he could not tell howmuch might be lies. They persistentlyyelled “Fresh fish!” at him, and were inno wise to be trusted.

However, he perceived now that itdid not greatly matter what kind of sol-diers he was going to fight, so long asthey fought, which fact no one disputed.There was a more serious problem. Helay in his bunk pondering upon it. Hetried to mathematically prove to himselfthat he would not run from a battle.

Previously he had never felt obligedto wrestle too seriously with this ques-tion. In his life he had taken certainthings for granted, never challenging hisbelief in ultimate success, and botheringlittle about means and roads. But here hewas confronted with a thing of moment.It had suddenly appeared to him thatperhaps in a battle he might run. He wasforced to admit that as far as war wasconcerned he knew nothing of himself.

The Red Badge ofCourage

by Stephen Crane

Stephen Crane (1871–1900)began his career in journalismwhile still in his teens. Later, as areporter, Crane covered severalwars in the late 1890s. He hadnot yet seen a battlefield, how-ever, when he wrote The RedBadge of Courage. Even so, he

described the experience of war so realistically thateven combat veterans admired his work. Critics stillconsider his novel The Red Badge of Couragea masterpiece.

■ READ TO DISCOVERWhat is it like to be a soldier facing battle for

the first time? Henry Fleming, the young recruit inThe Red Badge of Courage, offers some answersas he thinks about his role in the war. What battledoes Henry fight with himself before he fights in anactual Civil War battle?

■ READER’S DICTIONARYveterans: experienced soldiersvalor: braveryHuns: soldiers known for their fierce fightingdespondent: sadhaversack: bag soldiers used to carry personal itemstumult: uproar

A sufficienttime before hewould have allowed theproblem to kickits heels at the outer portals of his mind, but nowhe felt compelled to give serious attention to it.

A little panic-fear grew in his mind. As hisimagination went forward to a fight, he sawhideous possibilities. He contemplated the lurking menaces of the future, and failed in aneffort to see himself standing stoutly in the midst of them. He recalled his visions of broken-bladed glory, but in the shadow of theimpending tumult he suspected them to be impossible pictures.

He sprang from the bunk and began to pacenervously to and fro. “Good Lord, what’s th’matter with me?” he said aloud.

He felt that in this crisis his laws of life wereuseless. Whatever he had learned of himselfwas here of no avail. He was an unknownquantity. He saw that he would again be obliged to experiment as he had in early youth.He must accumulate information of himself,and meanwhile he resolved to remain close

upon his guard lest those qualities of which heknew nothing should everlastingly disgracehim. “Good Lord!” he repeated in dismay.

1. How did Henry view the veterans andtheir war tales?

2. Why did Henry express doubts abouthis belief in himself?

3. What feelings do you think you mighthave just before going to battle?

Activity

Drawing Draw a picture showing itemsyou think a young Civil War recruit wouldcarry in a soldier’s haversack. Include anitem that might give the soldier courage.

RESPONDING TO LITERATURE

Unit 6 Civil War and Reconstruction 435

Military engineers ofCompany K, 8th New YorkState Militia

Chapter Themes■ Section 1, Government and

Democracy■ Section 2, Civic Rights and

Responsibilities■ Section 3, Continuity and Change■ Section 4, Geography and History

Why It’s ImportantSlavery was a major cause of the worsening division be-

tween the North and the South in the decades preceding theCivil War. The struggle between the North and South turnedmore hostile, and there was talk of disunion and civil war.Americans today are still struggling with the legacy of slavery.

Road to Civil War

Chapter 15Chapter 15

View of Harpers Ferry by Ferdinand Richardt Danish artistFerdinand Richardt captured a peaceful view of Harpers Ferry,

Virginia (now West Virginia). The town was the location of the arsenal targetedfor attack by abolitionist John Brown in 1859.

HISTORYAND ART

1820–1861

436

See pages 964–965 for primary source readings to accompany Chapter 15

PRIMARY SOURCESPRIMARY SOURCES

LibraryLibrary

Chapter 15 Road to Civil War 437

The request by slaveholding Missouri tojoin the Union in 1819 caused an angry de-bate that worried former president Thomas

Jefferson and Secretary of State John QuincyAdams. Jefferson called the dispute “a fire-bell inthe night” that “awakened and filled me with ter-ror.” Adams accurately predicted that the bitterdebate was “a mere preamble—a title-page to agreat tragic volume.”

The Missouri CompromiseMany Missouri settlers had brought en-slaved African Americans into the territory

with them. By 1819 the Missouri Territory includ-ed about 50,000 whites and 10,000 slaves. WhenMissouri applied to Congress for admission as astate, its constitution allowed slavery.

In 1819, 11 states in the Union permitted slav-ery and 11 did not. The Senate—with two mem-bers from each state—was therefore evenlybalanced between slave and free states. The ad-mission of a new state would upset that balance.

In addition, the North and the South, withtheir different economic systems, were competingfor new lands in the western territories. At thesame time, a growing number of Northernerswanted to restrict or ban slavery. Southerners,even those who disliked slavery, opposed theseantislavery efforts. They resented the interferenceby outsiders in Southerners’ affairs. These differ-ences between the North and the South grew intosectionalism—an exaggerated loyalty to a partic-ular region of the country.

Missouri Compromiseis passed

Texas becomesa state

Free-Soil Party nominates Martin Van Buren

Compromise of 1850 diverts war

18451820 18481850

1820 18401830 1850

Slavery and the WestREAD TO DISCOVER . . .■ how the debate over slavery was related to

the admission of new states.■ what the Compromise of 1850

accomplished.

TERMS TO LEARNsectionalism secedefugitive abstain

“The deed is done. The . . . chains of slaveryare forged for [many] yet unborn. Humbleyourselves in the dust, ye high-minded citizensof Connecticut. Let your cheeks be red ascrimson. On your representatives rests thestigma of this foul disgrace.” These biting, fierywords were published in a Connecticut news-paper in 1820.They were in re-sponse to mem-bers of Congresswho had helpedpave the way forthe admission ofMissouri as a slave-holding state.

SThetoryteller

Section 1Section 1

Warning to African Americans

438 Chapter 15 Road to Civil War

Clay’s Proposal

Henry Clay of Kentucky, then Speaker of theHouse of Representatives, proposed a solution tothe Missouri question. Clay suggested that Con-gress admit Missouri as a slave state and Maine asa free state. Maine, formerly part of Massachu-setts, had also applied for admission to the Union.Clay also sought to settle the issue of slavery inthe territories for good. His proposal would pro-hibit slavery from any territory acquired in theLouisiana Purchase that was north of 36°30'N lat-itude—except Missouri.

This proposal, known as the Missouri Com-promise, passed in 1820. It preserved the balancebetween slave and free states in the Senate andbrought about a lull in the bitter debate in Con-gress over slavery.

New Western LandsFor the next 25 years, Congress managed tokeep the slavery issue in the background.

In the 1840s, however, this heated debate movedback into Congress. Once again the cause of thedispute was the issue of slavery in new territories.The territories involved were Texas, which hadwon its independence from Mexico in 1836, andNew Mexico and California, which were stillpart of Mexico.

Many Southerners hoped to see Texas, whereslavery already existed, join the Union. As a resultthe annexation of Texas became the main issue inthe presidential election of 1844. Democrat JamesPolk of Tennessee won the election and pressedforward on acquiring Texas, and Texas became astate in 1845. At the same time, support for takingover New Mexico and California also grew in theSouth. The federal government’s actions on theselands led to war with Mexico.

Conflicting Views

Just months after the Mexican War began,Representative David Wilmot of Pennsylvania in-troduced a proposal in Congress. Called theWilmot Proviso, it specified that slavery shouldbe prohibited in any lands that might be acquiredfrom Mexico. Southerners protested furiously.They wanted to keep open the possibility of in-troducing slavery to California and New Mexico.

Senator John C. Calhoun of South Carolinacountered with another proposal. It stated thatneither Congress nor any territorial governmenthad the authority to ban slavery from a territoryor regulate it in any way.

Neither Wilmot’s nor Calhoun’s proposalpassed, but both caused bitter debate. By the timeof the 1848 presidential election, the United Stateshad gained the territories of California and NewMexico from Mexico but had taken no action onthe issue of slavery in those areas.

The Free-Soil Party

The debate over slav-ery led to the formation ofa new political party. In1848 the Whigs choseZachary Taylor, a South-erner and a hero of theMexican War, as their pres-idential candidate. TheDemocrats selected Sena-tor Lewis Cass of Michi-gan. Neither candidatetook a stand on slavery inthe territories.

Polk campaign banner


This failure to take a position angered voters.Many antislavery Democrats and Whigs left theirparties and joined with members of the old Liber-ty Party to form the Free-Soil Party. The newparty proclaimed “Free Soil, Free Speech, FreeLabor, and Free Men,” and endorsed the WilmotProviso. The party nominated former presidentMartin Van Buren as its presidential candidate.

Whig candidate Zachary Taylor won the elec-tion by successfully appealing to both slave andfree states. Taylor defeated Cass 163 to 127 in elec-toral votes. Van Buren captured only 14 percent ofthe popular vote in the North, but 13 candidatesof the Free-Soil Party won seats in Congress.

California

Once in office President Taylor hoped toavoid congressional debate on the slavery ques-tion in California and New Mexico. He urgedleaders in the two territories to apply for state-hood immediately. Once these lands had becomestates, he reasoned, their citizens could decidewhether to allow slavery. New Mexico did notapply for statehood, but California did in 1849.

Taylor’s plan ran into trouble when Califor-nia’s statehood became tangled up with other is-sues before Congress. Antislavery forces wanted

to abolish slavery in the District of Columbia, thenation’s capital. Southerners wanted a strong na-tional law requiring states to return fugitive, orrunaway, slaves to their masters. Another disputeinvolved the New Mexico–Texas border.

The greatest obstacle to Taylor’s plan, howev-er, was renewed Southern concern over the bal-ance of power in the Senate. In 1849 the nationincluded 15 slave states and 15 free states. If Cali-fornia entered as a free state—and New Mexico,Oregon, and Utah followed as free states, whichseemed likely—the South would be hopelesslyoutvoted in the Senate. As tension reached a dan-gerous level, some Southerners began talkingabout having their states secede from, or leave,the United States.

A New CompromiseIn January 1850, Henry Clay, now a sena-tor, presented a five-part plan to settle all

the issues dividing Congress. First, Californiawould be admitted as a free state. Second, the New Mexico Territory would have no restric-tions on slavery. Third, the New Mexico–Texasborder dispute would be settled in favor of NewMexico. Fourth, the slave trade, but not slavery

This engraving shows the great Senate debate in 1850 about Clay’scompromise bill. What did Clay’s plan propose about slavery?

PicturingHISTORY


itself, would be abolished in the District of Co-lumbia. Finally, Clay pushed for a stronger fugi-tive slave law.

The Great Debate

Clay’s proposal launched an extremely emotional debate in Congress that raged forseven months. Opening that debate were Clayand two other distinguished Senators—John C.Calhoun of South Carolina and Daniel Websterof Massachusetts.

Calhoun opposed Clay’s plan. Almost 70 andtoo ill to deliver his own speech, he asked SenatorJames Mason of Virginia to read it for him. Cal-houn believed that the only way to save theUnion was to protect slavery. If Congress admit-ted California as a free state, Calhoun warned, theSouthern states had to leave the Union.

Three days later Webster gave an eloquentspeech in support of Clay’s plan. He claimed tospeak “not as a Massachusetts man, nor as aNorthern man, but as an American.” What wasmost important was to preserve the Union.

“I would rather hear of natural blastsand mildews, war, pestilence, andfamine, than to hear gentlemen talk of secession.”

The Compromise of 1850

Clay’s plan could not pass as a completepackage. Too many members of Congress object-ed to one part of it or another. President Tayloralso opposed the plan and threatened to use forceagainst the South if states tried to secede.

Then in July President Taylor suddenly died,the second president to die in office. The newpresident and Taylor’s vice president, MillardFillmore, supported some form of compromise.At the same time, Stephen A. Douglas, a youngsenator from Illinois, took charge of efforts to re-solve the crisis. Douglas divided Clay’s plan intoa series of measures that Congress could vote onseparately. In this way members of Congresswould not have to support proposals they bitter-ly opposed.

During months of complicated bargaining,President Fillmore persuaded several Whig rep-resentatives to abstain—not to cast votes—onmeasures they opposed. Congress finally passeda series of five separate bills in August and Sep-tember of 1850. Taken together these laws, knownas the Compromise of 1850, contained the fivemain points of Clay’s original plan. Fillmorecalled the compromise a “final settlement” of theconflict between North and South. The presidentwould soon be proved wrong.

Section 1 AssessmentSection 1 Assessment

Activity

Designing a Campaign Poster Create a cam-paign poster for the Free-Soil Party presidentialcandidate. Include slogans or symbols to gainpopular support.

Checking for Understanding1. Identify Henry Clay, Wilmot Proviso, John

C. Calhoun, Zachary Taylor, Free-Soil Party,Daniel Webster, Stephen A. Douglas.

2. Define sectionalism, fugitive, secede,abstain.

3. List the provisions of the Missouri Compromise.

Reviewing Themes4. Government and Democracy Why was

the Free-Soil Party created?

Critical Thinking5. Media Literacy Use the computerized

card catalog in your library to list threesubject headings you could investigate to learn more about the Missouri Compromise.

Cats make better pets than dogs. If you saythis—without ever having owned a dog—then you are stating a bias. A bias is a prej-

udice. It can prevent one from looking at asituation in a reasonable or truthful way.

Learning the Skill

Most people have feelings and ideas that af-fect their point of view. This viewpoint, or bias, in-fluences the way they interpret events. For thisreason, an idea that is stated as a fact may reallybe only an opinion. Recognizing bias will helpyou judge the accuracy of what you read.

To recognize bias, follow these steps:

• Identify the author of the statement andexamine his or her views and possible rea-sons for writing the material.

• Look for language that reflects an emotionor opinion—words such as all, never, best,worst, might, or should.

• Examine the writing for imbalances—lean-ing only to one viewpoint and failing toprovide equal coverage of other possibleviewpoints.

• Identify statements of fact. Factual state-ments usually answer the Who? What?Where? and When? questions.

• Determine how the author’s bias is reflect-ed in the work.

Practicing the Skill

Read the excerpts on this page. The first excerptis from a speech by Senator John C. Calhoun of South

Critical ThinkingCritical Thinking

Recognizing Bias

Recognizing Bias Look through the letters tothe editor in your local newspaper. Write ashort report analyzing one of the letters for evidence of bias.

Applying the Skill


Carolina. The second is from an 1858 newspaper ed-itorial. Then answer the four questions that follow.

“. . . [T]he two great divisions of society arenot rich and poor, but white and black; andall the former, the poor as well as the rich,belong to the upper classes, and are respect-ed and treated as such.”—Senator Calhoun

“Popular sovereignty for the territories willnever work. Under this system, each territorywould decide whether or not to legalizeslavery. This method was tried in the territoryof Kansas and all it produced was blood-shed and violence.”—The Republican Leader, 1858

1. Is Senator Calhoun expressing a proslaveryor antislavery bias?

2. What statements indicate the racism inCalhoun’s bias?

3. What political party’s view does theeditorial represent?

4. What biases or beliefs are expressed in theeditorial?

Glencoe’s Skillbuilder InteractiveWorkbook, Level 1 provides instruc-tion and practice in key social studiesskills.


The calm that followed passage of the Com-promise of 1850 did not last long. Many inthe North could not accept the Fugitive

Slave Act, a key part of the compromise.

The Fugitive Slave ActThe Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 required allcitizens to help catch runaways. Anyone

who aided a fugitive could be fined—up to$1,000—or imprisoned. People in the South be-lieved the law would force Northerners to recog-nize the rights of Southerners. Instead enforcementof the law led to mounting anger in the North, con-vincing more people of the evils of slavery.

Resistance to the Law

After passage of the Fugitive Slave Act, slave-holders stepped up their efforts to catch runawayslaves. They even tried to capture runaways whohad lived in freedom in the North for years.Sometimes they seized African Americans whowere not runaways and forced them into slavery.

In spite of the penalties, many Northerners re-fused to cooperate with the law’s enforcement.The Underground Railroad, a network of freeAfrican Americans and whites, helped runawaysmake their way to freedom. Antislavery groupstried to rescue African Americans who were beingpursued or to free those who were captured. InBoston members of one such group followed fed-eral agents shouting, “Slave hunters—there gothe slave hunters.” People contributed funds to

1850 1853 1856

Fugitive Slave Act is passed

Uncle Tom’s Cabinis published

Kansas-NebraskaAct is passed

“Bleeding Kansas”erupts in violence

18521850 1854 1856

A Nation DividingREAD TO DISCOVER . . .■ why the Fugitive Slave Act and the Kansas-

Nebraska Act made the division betweenNorth and South worse.

■ how popular sovereignty led to violence.

TERMS TO LEARNpopular sovereignty civil warborder ruffians

On May 24, 1854, the people of Bostonerupted in outrage. Federal officers had seizedAnthony Burns, a runaway slave who lived inBoston, to send him back to slavery. Abolition-ists tried to rescue Burns from the federalcourthouse, and city leaders attempted to buyhis freedom. All efforts failed. More than 1,000militia joined the marines and cavalry inBoston to keep order. Federal troops escortedBurns to a ship that would carry him back toVirginia and slavery. In agesture of bitterprotest, Bostoniansdraped buildings inblack and hung theAmerican flag upside down.

SThetoryteller

Section 2Section 2

Anthony Burns

buy the freedom of African Americans. Northernjuries refused to convict those accused of breakingthe Fugitive Slave Law.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin

Writer Harriet Beecher Stowe calledthe Fugitive Slave Act a “nightmareabomination.” The daughter of aNew England minister and wifeof a religion professor, Stowewas active in antislaverywork for much of her life. Shewrote a novel about the evilsof slavery. Her book, UncleTom’s Cabin, was publishedin 1852. Packed with dramat-ic incidents and vivid charac-ters, the novel shows slaveryas a brutal, cruel system. In onescene Simon Legree, a slavehold-er, tries to justify why Tom is a slave.

“Didn’t I pay down $1,200 cash. . . ?An’t yer mine, now, body and soul?” hesaid, giving Tom a violent kick with hisheavy boot. “Tell me!” . . . “No! no! no! mysoul an’t yours . . . [Tom replied]. Youhaven’t bought it—ye can’t buy it!”

Uncle Tom’s Cabin quickly became a sensation, sell-ing more than 300,000 copies within its first year.

Proslavery writers responded with worksthat defended slavery. They argued that enslavedAfrican Americans in the South lived better thanfree factory workers in the North. These bookshad little effect on the growing antislavery senti-ment in the North.

The Kansas–Nebraska ActFranklin Pierce, a New Hampshire Demo-crat who supported the Fugitive Slave

Law, became president in 1853. Pierce intended to

Biography

enforce the Fugitive Slave Law, and his actionshardened the opposition.

In 1854 the dispute over slavery erupted inCongress again. The cause was a bill introducedby Stephen A. Douglas, the Illinois senator whohad forged the Compromise of 1850.

Hoping to encourage settlement of the Westand open the way for a transcontinental railroad,

Douglas proposed organizing the region westof Missouri and Iowa as the territories of

Kansas and Nebraska. Douglas wastrying to work out a way for the

nation to expand that both theNorth and the South would ac-cept, but his bill reopened theconflict about slavery in theterritories. In this new sec-tional crisis, violence beganto infect the political debate.

Repeal of the Missouri Compromise

Because of their location,Kansas and Nebraska seemed likely

to become free states. Both lay north of36°30'N latitude, the line established inthe Missouri Compromise as the bound-ary of slavery. Douglas knew that South-

erners would object to having Kansas andNebraska become free states because it wouldgive the North an advantage in the Senate. As aresult Douglas proposed abandoning the Mis-souri Compromise and letting the settlers in eachterritory vote on whether to allow slavery. Hecalled this popular sovereignty—allowing thepeople to decide.

Passage of the Act

Many Northerners protested strongly. Dou-glas’s plan to repeal the Missouri Compromisewould allow slavery into areas that had been freefor more than 30 years. Opponents of the bill de-manded that Congress vote down the bill.

Southerners in Congress, however, providedsolid support for the bill. They expected thatKansas would be settled in large part by

Harriet Beecher Stowe



slaveholders from Missouri who would vote tokeep slavery legal. With some support fromNorthern Democrats and the backing of PresidentPierce, Congress passed the Kansas–NebraskaAct in May 1854.

Northern Democrats in the House split even-ly on the vote, revealing deep divisions in theparty. Many Northerners became convinced that

compromise with the South was no longer possi-ble. Sam Houston, senator from Texas, predictedthat the bill “will convulse [upset] the countryfrom Maine to the Rio Grande.”

Conflict in KansasRight after passage of the Kansas–Nebras-ka Act, proslavery and antislavery groups

rushed supporters into Kansas. In the spring of1855, when elections took place in Kansas, aproslavery legislature was elected.

Although only about 1,500 voters lived inKansas at the time, more than 6,000 people castballots in the elections. Thousands of proslaverysupporters from Missouri had crossed the borderjust to vote in the election. These Missourianstraveled in armed groups and became known asborder ruffians.

Soon after the election, the new Kansas legis-lature passed laws supporting slavery. One laweven restricted political office to proslavery can-didates. The antislavery people refused to acceptthese laws. Instead they armed themselves, heldtheir own elections, and adopted a constitutionthat banned slavery.

By January 1856, rival governments existed inKansas, one for and one against slavery. Eachasked Congress for recognition. To confuse mat-ters further, the president and the Senate favoredthe proslavery government, while the Housebacked the forces opposed to slavery.

“Bleeding Kansas”

With proslavery and antislavery forces inKansas arming themselves, the outbreak of vio-lence became inevitable. In May 1856, 800 slaverysupporters attacked the town of Lawrence, theantislavery capital. They sacked the town, burnedthe hotel and the home of the governor, and de-stroyed two newspaper offices. Soon after, forcesopposed to slavery retaliated.

John Brown, a fervent abolitionist, believedGod had chosen him to end slavery. Brown hadrecently come to Kansas from Ohio with six sonsand a son-in-law. When he heard of the attack on

MinnesotaTerritory

OregonTerritory

UtahTerritory

UnorganizedTerritory

New MexicoTerritory

MinnesotaTerritory

OregonTerritory

WashingtonTerritory

UtahTerritory

NebraskaTerritory

KansasTerritory

New MexicoTerritory

N

S

EW

The Compromise of 1850

N

S

EW

Kansas-Nebraska Act, 1854

Map Study

The Compromise of 1850 closed the area of Kansas and Nebraska Territories to slaveholding. 1. Region How did the Kansas- Nebraska Act affect the agreement reached in the Compromise of 1850? 2. Analyzing Information What territories were nonslaveholding in 1854?

Iowa1846

Wisc.1848

Texas1845

Mich.1837

Calif.1850

Free states

Slave states

Territory closed to slaveholding

Territory opento slaveholding

Indian Territory

400 kilometers0Lambert ConformalConic projection

400 miles0


Lawrence, Brown went into a rage. He vowed to“strike terror in the hearts of the proslavery peo-ple.” One night Brown led four of his sons andtwo other men along Pottawatomie Creek, wherethey seized and killed five supporters of slavery.

More violence followed as armed bandsroamed the territory. Newspapers began referringto “Bleeding Kansas” and “the Civil War inKansas.” A civil war is a conflict between citizensof the same country. Not until the fall of 1856could the United States Army stop the bloodshedin Kansas. By then more than 200 people had beenkilled.

Violence in Congress

The violence that erupted in Kansas spread toCongress as well. Abolitionist senator CharlesSumner of Massachusetts delivered a speech en-titled “The Crime Against Kansas.” Sumnerlashed out against proslavery forces in Kansas.He also criticized proslavery senators, repeatedlyattacking Andrew P. Butler of South Carolina.

Two days after the speech, Butler’s distantcousin, Representative Preston Brooks, walkedinto the Senate chamber. He hit Sumner again andagain over the head and shoulders with a cane.Sumner fell to the floor, unconscious and bleed-ing. He suffered injuries so severe that he did not

return to the Senate for several years. The Brooks-Sumner incident and the fighting in “BleedingKansas” revealed the rising level of hostility be-tween North and South.


Activity

Producing a Play With members of your class,choose a scene from Uncle Tom’s Cabin to por-tray in a one-act play. Write a short script, assignroles, and present it to the class.

Checking for Understanding1. Identify Fugitive Slave Act, Uncle Tom’s

Cabin, John Brown, Charles Sumner.2. Define popular sovereignty, border ruffi-

ans, civil war.3. Describe how the Northern abolitionists

reacted to the Fugitive Slave Act.Reviewing Themes

4. Civic Rights and Responsibilities Howdid popular sovereignty lead to violence inKansas?

Critical Thinking5. Predicting Consequences Do you think

the violence in Kansas could have beenprevented if Congress had not abandonedthe Missouri Compromise? Explain youranswer.

John Brown Calls Down the Storm of the Civil War, apainting by John Steuart Curry

The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 required runaways to be returned to their owners.After the passage of the law,many slaves fled to Canada. “I would not trust Uncle Samwith my people no longer,” Tubman said. “I brought themall clear off to Canada.” Tubmanherself settled in Auburn, NewYork, in 1857.

Born into slavery in Mary-land, Harriet Tubman escapedto the North where she becamethe most celebrated leader ofthe Underground Railroad.Called the Moses of her people,she made more than 19 tripsback to the South to conducthundreds of other slaves north,using underground stationsthrough New York State. Thismap traces her own journey tofreedom in the 1840s from nearCambridge, Maryland, to Phil-adelphia, then to New York, andon to Canada.

This printed handbill picturesa runaway slave. Southern slave-holders posted such handbills innewspapers, offering rewards toanyone who would capture andreturn runaways.

Levi Coffin wasknown as “Presidentof the UndergroundRailroad.” A Quakerborn in the South,he moved to theNorth in 1826 andbecame an activeabolitionist. For 33years he receivedinto his house morethan 100 enslavedpersons a year.

2

3

4

5

We knew not what night orwhat hour of the night wewould be roused from slumber by a gentle rap at the door.... Outsidein the cold or rain ... would be atwo-horse wagon loaded with fugi-tives.... I would invite them, in alow tone, to come in, and theywould follow me into the housewithout a word.... When theywere all safely inside and thedoor fastened, I would cover the

windows, strike a light, and build agood fire.... The fugitives wouldrest on pallets before the fire therest of the night.— From Reminiscence by Levi Coffin, published 1876.

Underground

Railroad❝

❝

447

Many slaves fled northby water. Some seized smallsailing boats; others weretaken by ferry operators.Most stowed away on shipsbound for Northern ports.

1


Anger over the Kansas–Nebraska Actchanged the structure of American poli-tics. The Democratic Party began to di-

vide along sectional lines, with NorthernDemocrats leaving the party. The death of Whigleaders Henry Clay and Daniel Webster in 1852had discouraged the party. Differing views overthe slavery issue destroyed the party.

In 1854 antislavery Whigs and Democratsjoined forces with Free-Soilers to form the Re-publican Party. The new party was determined to“rally as one man for the establishment of libertyand the overthrow of the Slave Power.”

The Republican PartyThe Republicans began to challenge theproslavery Whigs and Democrats, choos-

ing candidates to run in the state and congres-sional elections of 1854. Their main message wasthat the government should ban slavery fromnew territories.

Gaining Ground in 1854

The Republican Party quietly showed itsstrength in the North. In the election, the Repub-licans won control of the House of Representa-tives and of several state governments. In theSouth the Republicans had almost no support.

Northern Democrats suffered a beating. Al-most three-fourths of the Democratic candidatesfrom free states lost in 1854. The party was in-creasingly becoming a Southern party.

Republican Partyis formed

James Buchanan is elected president

Dred Scott decisionstates that all slavesare property

John Brown raids Harpers Ferry, Virginia

18561854 1857 1859

1854 18581856 1860

Challenges to SlaveryREAD TO DISCOVER . . .■ why the Republican Party was formed.■ how the Dred Scott decision, the Lincoln-

Douglas debates, and John Brown’s raid affected Americans in the North and theSouth.

TERMS TO LEARNarsenal martyr

Many people considered John Brown tobe a radical murderer, while others viewedhim as a fighter for the cause of freedom.When he was executed in 1859, the Anglo-African Magazine wrote: “On leaving the jail,John Brown had on his face an expression ofcalmness and serenity characteristic of the pa-triot who is about to die with a living con-sciousness that he is laying down his life forthe good of his fellow crea-tures. . . . As he stepped outof the door, a black woman,with a little child in her arms,stood near his way. . . . He stopped for a momentin his course, stooped over,and with the tendernessof one whose love is asbroad as the brotherhoodof man, kissed the childaffectionately.”

SThetoryteller

Section 3Section 3

Kansas Free-Soil poster


The Election of 1856

Democrats and Republicans met againin the presidential election of 1856. TheWhig Party, disintegrating over theslavery issue, did not offer a candidateof its own.

The Republicans chose John C.Frémont of California as their candidatefor president. Frémont had gained fame asan explorer in the West and a champion of freeCalifornia. Party strategists considered Frémont’slack of a political record an asset and hoped that“the romance of his life” would win votes.

The Democrats decided not to nominate Pres-ident Franklin Pierce because of Pierce’s role inthe Kansas troubles. Instead the Democrats choseJames Buchanan of Pennsylvania, who had beenminister to Great Britain at the time and was nottainted by Kansas. The Democrats supportedpopular sovereignty. They attacked the Republi-cans as a sectional party and accused them ofbeing abolitionists.

A third party, the American Party or Know-Nothings, supported former president MillardFillmore as their candidate in 1856. The party tookits name from an organization that opposed im-migration. Its members, when questioned abouttheir organization, replied, “I know nothing.” TheKnow-Nothing Party appealed to voters who dis-liked the growing number of immigrants, but itwas divided on the subject of slavery.

Southern votes secured the presidency forBuchanan. Frémont won about one-third of thepopular vote even though he received almost novotes in the South. Fillmore carried only the stateof Maryland. Soon after this election, the Know-Nothings who opposed slavery joined forces withthe Republicans.

The Dred Scott DecisionPresident Buchanan took office on March 4,1857. Two days later the Supreme Court

announced a decision about slavery and the terri-tories that shook the nation.

The Dred Scott Case

Dred Scott was an enslaved African Americanbought by an army doctor in Missouri, a slavestate. In the 1830s the doctor moved his householdto Illinois, a free state, and then to the WisconsinTerritory, where slavery was banned by theNorthwest Ordinance of 1787. Later the family re-turned to Missouri, where the doctor died. In1846, with the help of antislavery lawyers, Scottsued for his freedom. He claimed he should befree because he had once lived on free soil. Elevenyears later, in the midst of growing anger over theslavery issue, the case reached the Supreme Court.

The case attracted enormous attention. Whilethe immediate issue was Dred Scott’s status, theCourt also had the opportunity to rule on thequestion of slavery in territories. Many Ameri-cans hoped that the Court would resolve the issuefor good.

James Buchanan and JohnFrémont campaigned for the

1856 presidential election. Whose supportenabled Buchanan to win the election?

PicturingHISTORY

A Humble Start Two presidents, Millard Fillmore and Andrew Johnson, were once indentured as apprentices. Andrew Johnsonran away from his master. Fillmore boughthis freedom for $30.

ootnotes to HistoryF


The Court’s Decision

The Court’s decision electrified the nation.Chief Justice Roger B. Taney (TAW•nee) said thatDred Scott was still a slave. As a slave, Scott wasnot a citizen and had no right to bring a lawsuit.Taney could have stopped there, but he decidedto address the broader issues.

Taney wrote that Scott’s residence on free soildid not make him free. An enslaved person wasproperty, and the Fifth Amendment prohibitsCongress from taking away property without“due process of law.”

Finally, Taney wrote that Congress had nopower to prohibit slavery in any territory. TheMissouri Compromise—which had banned slav-ery north of 36°30'N latitude—was unconstitu-tional. For that matter, so was popular sovereignty.Not even the voters in a territory could prohibitslavery because that would amount to takingaway a person’s property. In effect, the decisionmeant that the Constitution protected slavery.

Reaction to the Decision

Rather than settling the issue, the SupremeCourt’s decision divided the country even more.Many Southerners were elated. The Court hadreaffirmed what many in the South had alwaysmaintained: Nothing could legally prevent thespread of slavery. Northern Democrats werepleased that the Republicans’ main issue—re-stricting the spread of slavery—had been ruledunconstitutional.

Republicans and other antislavery groupswere outraged, calling the Dred Scott decision “awicked and false judgment” and “the greatestcrime” ever committed in the nation’s courts. Sev-eral state legislatures passed resolutions declaringthat the decision was “not binding in law andconscience.” Republicans promised that if theywon the presidency in 1860 they would changethe Supreme Court—by appointing new jus-tices—and reverse the decision.

African American abolitionist FrederickDouglass looked to the future. He hoped that thedecision would begin a “chain of events” thatwould produce a “complete overthrow of thewhole slave system.”

Lincoln and DouglasIn the congressional election of 1858, theSenate race in Illinois was the center of na-

tional attention. The contest pitted the currentsenator, Democrat Stephen A. Douglas, againstRepublican challenger Abraham Lincoln. Peopleconsidered Douglas a likely candidate for presi-dent in 1860. Lincoln was nearly an unknown.

The Candidates

Douglas, a successful lawyer, had joined theDemocratic Party and won election to the Housein 1842 and to the Senate in 1846. Short, stocky,and powerful, Douglas was called “the LittleGiant.” He disliked slavery but thought that the controversy over it would interfere with thenation’s growth. He believed the issue could beresolved through popular sovereignty.

The Supreme Court ruledthat Dred Scott had no right

to sue for his freedom in the federal courtsbecause he was not a citizen. What did theSupreme Court rule unconstitutional in theDred Scott case?

PicturingHISTORY


Born in the poor backcountry of Kentucky,Abraham Lincoln moved to Indiana as a childand later moved to Illinois. Like Douglas, Lincolnwas intelligent, ambitious, and a successfullawyer. He had little formal education—but ex-cellent political instincts. Although Lincoln sawslavery as morally wrong, he admitted there wasno easy way to eliminate slavery where it alreadyexisted. He was certain, though, that slaveryshould not be allowed to spread.

The Lincoln–Douglas Debates

Not as well known as Douglas, Lincoln chal-lenged the senator to a series of debates. Douglasreluctantly agreed. The two met seven times inAugust, September, and October of 1858 at loca-tions all over Illinois. Thousands came to thesedebates. The main topic, of course, was slavery.

Lincoln had launched his campaign in Junewith a memorable speech, in which he declared:

“‘A house divided against itself cannotstand.’ I believe this Government cannotendure permanently half slave and halffree.”

to HISTORYEyewitness

In the debates, Douglas accused Lincoln ofcontributing to the breakup of the Union.

“[If the states] cannot endure thus divided,then [he] must strive to make them allfree or all slave, which will inevitably bringabout a dissolution of the Union.”

During the debate at Freeport, Lincolnpressed Douglas about his views on popular sovereignty. Could the people of a territory legal-ly exclude slavery before achieving statehood?Douglas replied that the people could excludeslavery by refusing to pass laws protecting slave-holders’ rights. Douglas’s response, which satis-fied antislavery followers but lost him support in the South, became known as the Freeport Doctrine.

Douglas claimed that Lincoln wanted AfricanAmericans to be fully equal to whites. Lincoln de-nied this. Still, Lincoln said, “in the right to eat thebread . . . which his own hand earns, [an AfricanAmerican] is my equal and the equal of [Senator]Douglas, and the equal of every living man.” The realissue, Lincoln said, is “between the men who think slavery a wrong and those who do notthink it wrong. The Republican Party thinks it wrong.”

Thousands attended the Lincoln-Douglas debates. Douglas sits to Lin-coln’s right in the debate at Charleston, Illinois, in September 1858. Whatwas the Freeport Doctrine?

PicturingHISTORY


Lincoln Emerges as a Leader

Following the debates Douglas won reelec-tion to the Senate in 1858. However, he lost sup-port in other areas. By saying that voters couldkeep slavery out of a territory, Douglas further an-gered the South. In 1860 he lost Southern supportin the presidential election. Lincoln, by contrast,lost the Senate race, but his performance in theIllinois debates catapulted him into the nationalspotlight. He campaigned for Republican candi-dates in other states and gained support as a can-didate for president.

The Raid on Harpers FerryPolitical tensions heightened after the elec-tion of 1858. Southerners felt threatened by

growing Republican power. In October 1859, anact of violence further fed their fears.

John Brown’s Raid

On October 16 the abolitionist John Brown led18 men, both whites and free African Americans,on a raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia. His targetwas an arsenal, a storage place for weapons andammunition. Brown—who had killed 5 proslav-ery Kansans in 1856—was encouraged and fi-nanced by some abolitionists to carry out his plan.

Brown had the idea to seize the federal arse-nal and spark an uprising of enslaved people,whom he would arm with the weapons he cap-tured. The plan failed. No slaves rebelled, andUnited States Marines under the command ofColonel Robert E. Lee captured Brown and sever-al of his followers. During Brown’s raid, whichlasted only 36 hours, 10 of his men—including 2of Brown’s sons—were killed. One marine, 4 civil-ians, and 2 slaves also were killed in the fighting.

Brown was tried and found guilty of murderand treason and was sentenced to hang on De-cember 2, 1859. Six of his followers met the samefate over the next few months.

Sectional Response

Brown’s trial and execution created an uproarin the North. Some antislavery Northerners, in-cluding Republican leaders, denounced Brownfor promoting violence. To some Northerners,though, Brown was a great hero. Writer RalphWaldo Emerson called Brown a martyr—a personwho dies for a great cause—who would “makethe gallows as glorious as the cross.”

John Brown’s death became a rallying pointfor abolitionists. When Southerners learned ofBrown’s connection to abolitionists, their fears ofa great Northern conspiracy against them seemedto be confirmed. The nation was on the brink of disaster.


Activity

Creating a Political Cartoon Draw a politicalcartoon that illustrates Lincoln’s statement “Ahouse divided against itself cannot stand.”

Checking for Understanding1. Identify Republican Party, John C.

Frémont, James Buchanan, Dred Scott,Roger B. Taney, Abraham Lincoln.

2. Define arsenal, martyr.3. Discuss the stages in the development of

the Republican Party.Reviewing Themes

4. Continuity and Change How did the

Dred Scott decision reverse a previousdecision made by Congress?

Critical Thinking5. Making Inferences Why did Lincoln

emerge as a leader after the Douglas–Lincoln debates?


Would the Union break up? That was theburning question in the months beforethe presidential election of 1860. Ten-

sions between the North and the South had risento dangerous levels. In the North antislavery sen-timent took on new strength. In the South the Al-abama legislature declared that the state wouldsecede if a Republican became president.

The Election of 1860Despite heightening tensions, efforts tosave the Union continued. “One after an-

other,” wrote a Mississippian, “the links whichhave bound the North and South together havebeen severed . . . [but] the Democratic Party loomsgradually up . . . and waves the olive branch overthe troubled waters of politics.” The party tried tomake peace between the two sides but, like thenation, the Democrats were deeply divided.

The Candidates

The Democrats met in Charleston, South Car-olina, in April 1860 to choose their presidentialcandidate. Many Democrats supported StephenA. Douglas, but Southern delegates insisted thatthe party promise to protect slavery in the territo-ries. When Douglas and most Northern delegatesrefused, many Southern delegates walked out.The convention adjourned.

The Democrats met again in Baltimore in June.Northern and Southern factions still could notagree on the slavery issue. When anti-Douglas

1860 1861 1862

Abraham Lincolnis elected president;South Carolina secedes

Southern states formthe Confederate Statesof America

Confederate forces attack Fort Sumter; the Civil War begins

February 18611860 April 1861

Secession and WarREAD TO DISCOVER . . .■ how the 1860 election led to the breakup

of the Union.■ why secession led to the outbreak of the

Civil War.

TERMS TO LEARNsecession states’ rights

In April 1861, Emma Holmes witnessedthe Confederates’ attack on Fort Sumter.About 4:30 in the afternoon—just 12 hoursafter the first shot was fired—she observed thatbullets and shells were still “pouring into FortSumter from Fort Stevens where our ‘Palmettoboys’ [South Carolina soldiers] have won thehighest praise. . . . Though everyshot is distinctly heard andshakes our house, I feelcalm and composed.. . . The great bodyof the citizensseem to be so impressed with thejustice of ourCause that theyplace entire confi-dence on the God of Battles. . . . ”

SThetoryteller

Section 4Section 4

Secessionist ribbon


Southerners walked out again, the party loyalistswho remained chose Douglas and endorsed pop-ular sovereignty.

Southern Democrats met in Richmond, Vir-ginia, and Baltimore, Maryland. They nominatedJohn Breckinridge of Kentucky, the current vicepresident, as their candidate. They adopted theposition that neither Congress nor territorial leg-islatures could prevent citizens from taking “theirproperty”—enslaved people—into a territory.

The Republicans, meanwhile, met in Chicagoin May to choose their candidate. The leading con-tenders for the nomination were Senator WilliamSeward of New York and Abraham Lincoln ofIllinois. Although Seward had long been a leaderin the Republican Party, the Republicans choseLincoln because of his more moderate views. Theparty did, however, declare its opposition to the“legal existence of Slavery in any Territory.”

A fourth candidate entered the campaign.John Bell of Tennessee was nominated by moder-ates from both the North and the South who hadformed the Constitutional Union Party. This partytook no position on slavery.

The campaign stirred political forces in boththe South and the North. Many Southernersfeared that a Republican victory would encour-age abolitionist radicals—inspired by JohnBrown—to start slave revolts. Douglas cam-paigned tirelessly, urging moderation.

The Election Outcome

With the Democrats divided, Lincoln won aclear majority of the electoral votes—180 out of 303.He received only 40 percent of the popular vote,

but this was more than anyother candidate. Douglaswas second with 30 percentof the popular vote.

The vote was alongpurely sectional lines. Lin-coln’s name did not evenappear on the ballot in mostSouthern states, but he wonevery Northern state. Breck-inridge swept the South,and Bell took most border

states. Douglas won only the state of Missouriand three of New Jersey’s seven electoral votes.

In effect, the more populous North had out-voted the South. The victory for Lincoln was ashort-lived one, however, for the nation Lincolnwas to lead would soon disintegrate.

The South SecedesLincoln and the Republicans had promisednot to disturb slavery where it already ex-

isted. Nevertheless, many people in the Southmistrusted the party, fearing that the Republicangovernment would not protect Southern rightsand liberties. On December 20, 1860, the South’slong-standing threat to leave the Union became areality when South Carolina held a special con-vention and voted to secede.

Attempt at Compromise

Even after South Carolina’s action, many peo-ple still wished to preserve the Union. The ques-tion was how. As other Southern states debatedsecession—withdrawal from the Union—leadersin Washington, D.C., worked frantically to fash-ion a last-minute compromise. Senator John Crit-tenden of Kentucky proposed a series ofamendments to the Constitution. Central to Crit-tenden’s plan was a provision to protect slaverysouth of 36°30'N latitude—the line set by the Mis-souri Compromise—in all territories “now heldor hereafter acquired.”

Republicans considered this unacceptable.They had just won an election on the principle

The portraitsof Lincoln

and Douglas on these 1860campaign ribbons were photographed by MathewBrady. What other candi-dates participated in the1860 presidential election?

PicturingHISTORY

LinkingPAST & PRESENTLinkingPAST & PRESENT

Soldier’shardtack

MREs


that slavery would not be extended in any territo-ries. “Now we are told,” Lincoln said, “the gov-ernment shall be broken up, unless we surrenderto those we have beaten.”

Leaders in the South also rejected the plan.“We spit upon every plan to compromise,” ex-claimed one Southern leader. “No human powercan save the Union,” wrote another.

The Confederacy

By the first of February 1861, Texas, Louisiana,Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, and Georgia hadjoined South Carolina and also seceded. Dele-gates from these states and South Carolina met in Montgomery, Alabama, on February 4 to form a new nation and government. Callingthemselves the Confederate States of America,they chose Jefferson Davis, a senator from Mississippi, as president.

Southerners justified secession with the theoryof states’ rights. The states, they argued, had vol-untarily chosen to enter the Union. They definedthe Constitution as a contract among the indepen-dent states. Now because the national governmenthad violated that contract—by refusing to enforcethe Fugitive Slave Act and by denying the South-ern states equal rights in the territories—the stateswere justified in leaving the Union.

Reactions to Secession

Many Southerners welcomed secession. InCharleston, South Carolina, people rang churchbells, fired cannons, and celebrated in the streets.A newspaper in Atlanta, Georgia, said the South“will never submit” and would defend its liber-ties no matter what the cost.

Other Southerners, however, were alarmed. ASouth Carolinian wrote, “My heart has been rent[torn] by . . . the destruction of my country—thedismemberment of that great and gloriousUnion.” Virginian Robert E. Lee expressed con-cern about the future. “I see only that a fearfulcalamity is upon us,” he wrote.

In the North some abolitionists preferred al-lowing the Southern states to leave. If the Unioncould be kept together only by compromising on

slavery, they declared, then let the Union be de-stroyed. One Republican newspaper wrote of theSouthern states, “Let the erring sisters depart inpeace.”

Most Northerners, however, believed that theUnion must be preserved. For Lincoln the issuewas “whether in a free government the minorityhave the right to break up the government when-ever they choose.”

From Hardtack to Unmeltable Chocolate

Feeding troops has always been a prob-lem of warfare. During the Civil War, rationstypically consisted of dried salt pork, hardtack(a saltless,hard flourbiscuit) orcornmeal,and coffee.

With age, hardtack could become infest-ed with weevils. Some soldiers thought itbetter to eat it in the dark. Rations for today’ssoldier are far different. Meals Ready to Eat(MREs) were distributed to soldiers duringthe Persian Gulf War. MREs are dehydratedfoods in airtight containers. Soldiers add hotwater to make them edible. The military evenfound a way to make unmeltable chocolate!Why is it important for modern soldiers tohave dehydrated foods?

Present

Past

Presidential Responses

Lincoln had won the election, but he was notyet president. James Buchanan’s term ran untilMarch 4, 1861. In December 1860, Buchanan senta message to Congress saying that the Southernstates had no right to secede. Then he added thathe had no power to stop them from doing so.

Lincoln disagreed. He believed it was thepresident’s duty to enforce the laws of the UnitedStates. That meant preserving the government.He warned that “no state . . . can lawfully get outof the Union.”

As Lincoln prepared for his inauguration onMarch 4, 1861, people in both the North and theSouth wondered what he would say and do. Theywondered, too, what would happen in Virginia,

North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri,and Arkansas. These slave states had chosen to re-main in the Union, but the decision was not final.If the United States used force against the Con-federate States of America, the remaining slavestates also might secede.

In his Inaugural Address, the new presidentmixed toughness and words of peace. He saidthat secession would not be permitted, vowing tohold federal property in the South and to enforcethe laws of the United States. At the same time,Lincoln pleaded with the South for reconciliation:

“We are not enemies, but friends. Wemust not be enemies. Though passionmay have strained, it must not breakour bonds of affection.”

DakotaTerritory

Nebraska Territory

ColoradoTerritory

IndianTerritory

UtahTerritory

WashingtonTerritory

NevadaTerritory

New MexicoTerritory

Oregon

Calif.

Vt.N.H.

Mass.

R.I.Conn.

Maine

N.Y.

Pa. N.J.

Del.Md.Va.

W.Va.

Ohio

Ky.

Ind.

Mich.

Ill.

Wis.

Mo.

Iowa

Minn.

Kansas

Ark.

Texas La.

Miss. Ala. Ga.

Fla.

S.C.Tenn.

N.C.

ATLANTICOCEAN

PACIFICOCEAN

West Virginia seceded from Virginia in 1861 and was admitted to the Union in 1863.

Union free state

Union slave state

Slave state secedingbefore Fort Sumter, April 1861

Slave state secedingafter Fort Sumter, April 1861

Confederate states

South Carolina was the first state to secede from the Union.

On February 4, 1861, delegates met in Alabama to form a new nation.

N

S

EW

Seceding States, 1860–1861

Map Study

After the attack on Fort Sumter, four more Southern states joined the seven that had already seceded from the Union. 1. Region Which slave states remained in

the Union after the Fort Sumter attack?2. Analyzing Information Which states did not secede until after the Fort Sumter attack?

400 kilometers0Lambert Conformal Conic projection

400 miles0


Fort SumterThe South soon tested President Lincoln’svow to hold federal property. Confederate

forces had already seized some United States fortswithin their states. Although Lincoln did notwant to start a war by trying to take the forts back,allowing the Confederates to keep them wouldamount to admitting their right to secede.

On the day of his inauguration, Lincoln re-ceived a dispatch from the commander of FortSumter, a United States fort on an island guard-ing Charleston Harbor. The message warned thatthe fort was low on supplies and that the Confed-erates demanded its surrender.

The War Begins

Lincoln responded by sending a message toGovernor Francis Pickens of South Carolina. Heinformed Pickens that he was sending an un-armed expedition with supplies to Fort Sumter.Lincoln promised that Union forces would not“throw in men, arms, or ammunition” unless theywere fired upon. The president thus left the deci-sion to start shooting up to the Confederates.

Confederate president Jefferson Davis and hisadvisers made a fateful choice. They ordered theirforces to attack Fort Sumter before the Union sup-plies could arrive. Confederate guns opened fire

on the fort on April 12,1861. Union captainAbner Doubledaywitnessed the at-tack from insidethe fort:

“Showers ofballs . . . andshells . . .poured intothe fort in oneincessantstream, causinggreat flakes of masonry to fall in all directions.”

High seas had prevented Union relief shipsfrom reaching the besieged fort. The Union garri-son held out for 33 hours before surrendering onApril 14. Thousands of shots were exchangedduring the siege, but there was no loss of life oneither side.

News of the attack galvanized the North.President Lincoln issued a call for 75,000 troops tofight to save the Union, and volunteers quicklysigned up. Meanwhile, Virginia, North Carolina,Tennessee, and Arkansas voted to join the Con-federacy. The Civil War had begun.


Activity

Creating a Political Slogan Make up a cam-paign slogan or song for Abraham Lincoln,Stephen A. Douglas, John C. Breckinridge, orJohn Bell in the 1860 presidential election.

Checking for Understanding1. Identify John Breckinridge, William

Seward, John Bell, John Crittenden, Jeffer-son Davis, Fort Sumter.

2. Define secession, states’ rights.3. Explain how Southern states used the

theory of states’ rights to justify secession.Reviewing Themes

4. Geography and History What role didsectionalism play in Lincoln’s winning the1860 election?

Critical Thinking5. Identifying Assumptions Do you think

either Northerners or Southerners believedthat secession would not lead to war?Explain.

JeffersonDavis

Reviewing Key TermsOn a sheet of paper, define the following terms:sectionalismfugitivesecedepopular sovereigntyborder ruffianscivil wararsenalmartyrsecessionstates’ rights

Reviewing Key Facts1. What was the purpose of the Missouri

Compromise?2. List the five parts of the Compromise of

1850.3. What was Stephen Douglas’s solution

to the slavery issue in the Kansas andNebraska territories?

4. What was the Dred Scott decision?5. How did Lincoln plan to prevent

secession?

Critical ThinkingDrawing Conclusions

Even after South Carolina seceded, the nation’s leaders worked hard to come up with a last-minute compromise to save theUnion.

1. Why did newly elected Republicans refuseto compromise any further on the slaveryissue?

2. Why do you think people in the Southrejected compromise efforts altogether bysaying “We spit upon every plan to compromise”?

Time Line ActivityCreate a time line on which you place the followingevents in chronological order.

• Civil War begins• Dred Scott decision• Missouri Compromise passes• Lincoln is elected president• Uncle Tom’s Cabin is published• Kansas–Nebraska Act is passed

Skill Practice ActivityRecognizing BiasThe excerpt below was written by Dr. Martin R. De-lany, an abolitionist, to the mayor of Pittsburgh abouthis opinion of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850. Readthe excerpt, then answer the questions.

“Honorable mayor, whatever ideas of lib-erty I may have, have been receivedfrom reading the lives of your revolu-tionary fathers. I have therein learnedthat a man has a right to defend his cas-tle with his life, even unto the taking oflife. Sir, my house is my castle. . . . If anyman approaches that house in search ofa slave—I care not who he may be,whether constable or sheriff, magistrateor even judge of the Supreme Court . . .with the Declaration of Independencewaving above his head as his banner . . .—if he crosses the threshold of my door,and I do not lay him a lifeless corpse atmy feet. . . . O, no! he cannot enter thathouse and we both live.”

1. Who is the author?2. What is his view toward slavery?3. What language reflects emotion or opinion?4. What is the author’s bias toward the

Fugitive Slave Law?


Assessment and Activities


Geography ActivityStudy the map below, then answer the questions thatfollow.

1. Location Which states supported Douglas?2. Region In what region(s) was the Republi-

can Party strongest?3. Region In what region did Breckinridge

find support?

Reviewing Themes1. Government and Democracy Why was the

balance of free and slave states in the Sen-ate such an important issue?

2. Civic Rights and Responsibilities Why didNortherners protest Douglas’s plan torepeal the Missouri Compromise?

3. Continuity and Change How did pro- andantislavery groups change the structure ofpolitical parties in the 1850s?

4. Geography and History How did theNorth’s larger population give it an edgeover the South in the 1860 election?

Technology ActivityUsing a Word Processor Search theInternet or your library for a list ofpolitical parties in existence today.Using your word proces-sor, make a table thatbriefly summarizes eachparty’s current goals. Then research to find thedate that the party was founded and who its firstand prominent party leaders have been. Includethis information on your table, too. Then com-pare your table to the political parties discussedin Chapter 15.

Cooperative ActivityHistory and Citizenship With a partner, think ofa controversial issue that is a source of disagree-ment today. Take opposite sides on the issue,then work together to come up with a list ofthree compromises that would make the solutionto this problem acceptable to both sides. Sharethe issue and your compromises with the class.


0

5

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Conn.Calif.

NonvotingTerritories

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Del.Md.

Mich.

Ark.

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Ill. Ind.OhioPa.

N.Y.

Ky.Tenn.

Va.

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Ga.Ala.Miss.

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MaineVt.N.H.

Mass.

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LincolnBreckinridge

BellDouglas

RepublicanSouthern DemocratConstitutional UnionNorthern Democrat

Electoralvote:303

Popularvote:

4,689,5681,865,593848,356592,906

1,382,713

180723912

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Election of 1860

HHiissttoorryy JJoouurrnnaall Imaginewhat it was like forPresident Lincoln afterhis election when South Carolinaseceded and other states were likelyto follow. Write a diary entry thatexpresses Lincoln’s fears and hopesfor the nation.

ActivityPortfolioPortfolio

union soldier’s civil war and...

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