Chapter #19: Drifting Toward Disunion – Big Picture Themes 1.Uncle Tom’s Cabin drove a wedge between the Northerner and Southerner. The South cried foul saying it gave a view of slavery that was too harsh and unrealistic, but it cemented each section’s feelings on the issue. 2. Kansas became the battleground over slavery. Since slavery there was to be decided by popular vote, each side passionately fought for their position. Bloodshed resulted. 3. The Supreme Court’s Dred Scott decision was huge. It said that Congress or a legislature cannot outlaw slavery in the territories. Effectively then, all new lands were possible slave lands. 4. A financial panic in 1857 added to the chaos and uncertainty. 5. Abe Lincoln arrived on the scene. Although he lost to Stephen Douglas for Illinois Senate, he made a name for himself there. 6. In 1860, Abe Lincoln won a very sectional race for president over 3 other candidates. The South had promised to leave the union if Abe won. He won, and the South indeed seceded. IDENTIFICATIONS: Hinton Helper – The Impending Crisis of the South Hinton Helper was a nonaristocratic white form north Carolina who wrote The Impending Crisis of the South. He attempted to prove by an array of statistics that indirectly the nonslaveholding whites were the ones who suffered most from the millstone of slavery. George Fitzhugh George Fitzhugh was an American social theorist who published racial and slavery-based sociological theories in the antebellum era. John Brown John Brown was a dedicated abolitionist who used violence to achieve his goals. He and his band of followers attacked Pottawatomie Creek in May 1856 and hacked to pieces five assumed proslaveryites. Charles Sumner Charles Sumner was a tall and imposing figure of Massachusetts and a leading abolitionist. Brooding over the turbulent miscarriage of popular sovereignty, he delivered a blistering speech titled “The Crime Against Kansas” speech. After insulting South Carolina and its respected senator, Andrew Butler, Sumner was beaten by Preston S. Brooks with his cane. He suffered major nerve system damage and had to get treated abroad. Dred Scott Dred Scott was a black slave, who had lived with his master for five years in Illinois and Wisconsin Territory. Backed by interested abolitionists, he sued for freedom on the basis of his long residence on free soil. Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln was Republican nominee for the election of 1860. He ran on the Republican platform, which had a seductive appeal for just about every important nonsouthern group. John Crittenden John Crittenden was a Senator from Kentucky who proposed Crittenden amendments to the Constitution in order to appease the South. Slavery in the territories was to be prohibited north of 36 30, but south of that line it was to be given federal protection in all territories existing or hereafter to be acquired. “Bleeding Kansas” Bleeding Kansas is a term used to describe the conflict that went on in Kansas State. The problem arose when northern abolitionists came to Kansas, an assumed slave state. Angered southerners and northern abolitionists fought violently, thus gaining the term, bleeding Kansas. American or “Know-Nothing” Party American or “Know-Nothing” Party was one of the political party during the election of 1856. During the election, an ugly dose of antiforeignism was injected into the campaign. The influx of immigrants from Ireland and Germany had alarmed “nativists” who organized the American party. The American Party nominates Millard Fillmore to run for president. Panic of 1857 Panic of 1857 was an economic crisis that was not as bad as the panic of 1837, but still considered as the worst of the nineteenth century. The panic was caused by the California gold, which inflated the currency. The demands of the Crimean War had over stimulated the growing of grain and over speculation in land and railroads had further ripped the economy. Lincoln-Douglas Debates Lincoln-Douglas Debates was a challenge started by Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln, as Republican nominee for the Senate seat, boldly challenged Douglas to a series of joint debates. The Lincoln-Douglas debate platform thus proved to be one of the preliminary battlefields of the Civil War. Freeport Doctrine Freeport Doctrine was Douglas’ answer to Lincoln’s question in the Lincoln-Douglas Debate. When Lincoln asked Douglas, “Who would prevail, the Court of the people?” Douglas answered, “No matter how the Supreme Court ruled, slavery would stay down if the people voted it down.” Harper's Ferry Raid Harper’s Ferry Raid was led by John Brown, who had the intention of invade the South secretly with a handful of followers and to call upon the slaves to rise and start uproar. At first, he succeeded in seizing the federal arsenal, but slaves were mostly ignorant, and John Brown was captured by Lieutenant Colonel Robert E. Lee of U.S. Marines. Constitutional Union Party Constitutional Union Party was a political party that was hastily formed by a middle of the road group, which feared for the Union. It consisted mainly of former Whigs and KnowNothings. GUIDED READING QUESTIONS: Stowe and Helper: Literary Incendiaries Know: Harriet Beecher Stowe, Hinton Helper 1. Which book, Uncle Tom's Cabin or The Impending Crisis of the South was more important? Explain. The success of Uncle Tom’s Cabin at home and abroad was sensational. It left a profound impression on the North. Uncounted thousands of readers swore that henceforth they would have nothing to do with the enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Law. It was so influential that it is said that the book caused the Civil War. However, the influence of Hinton Helper’s The Impending Crisis of the South was negligible among the poorer whites to whom he addressed his message. Yet the South’s planters feared that the nonslave-holding majority might abandon them. The North-South Contest for Kansas Know: Beecher's Bibles, Border Ruffians 2. What went wrong with popular sovereignty in Kansas? Southerners supported the Kansas-Nebraska scheme of Douglas with the unspoken understanding that Kansas would become slave and Nebraska free. However, northern “Nebrascals” were apparently out to abolitionize both Kansas and Nebraska. This resulted in two governments in Kansas State. The slavery supporters set their government at Shawnee Mission and free-soilers put their government in Topeka. Kansas in Convulsion Know: John Brown, Pottawatomie Creek, Lecompton Constitution 3. What was the effect of "Bleeding Kansas" on the Democratic Party? Proslavery forces devised the Lecompton Constitution, which ensured a black bondage in Kansas State. However, Senator Douglas, who had championed true popular sovereignty, would have none of this semipopular fraudulency. And President Buchanan, by antagonizing the numerous Douglas Democrats in the North, hopelessly divided the Democratic Party. This caused southern democrats to separate away from northern democrats. "Bully" Brooks and His Bludgeon Know: Charles Sumner, Preston Brooks 5 What was the consequence of Brook's beating of Sumner in the North? The South? Every blow that struck Sumner made thousands of Republican votes. The South, although not unanimous in approving Brooks, was angered not only because Sumner had made such an intemperate speech but because it had been so extravagantly applauded in the North. The SumnerBrooks clash and the ensuing reactions revealed how dangerously inflamed passions were becoming, North and South. "Old Buck" versus "The Pathfinder" Know: James Buchanan, John C. Fremont, The American Party 6. Assess the candidates in the 1856 election. In Democratic Party, James Buchanan was nominated because President Pierce was thought to be weak, and Douglas was too tainted by the Kansas-Nebraska Act. During the Kansas-Nebraska Act, Buchanan was a minister to London, which made him “Kansas free” to be nominated to run for president. In Republican Party, John C. Fremont was nominated. He was without political experience, but like Buchanan he was not tarred with the Kansas brush. The Republican platform came out vigorously against the extension of slavery into the territories, while the Democrats declared no less emphatically for popular sovereignty. American Party, or the Know-Nothing Party was formed by nativists, who nominated Millard Fillmore. The Electoral Fruits of 1856 7. Interpret the results of the election of 1856. Buchanan won with the Electoral College vote of 174. Fremont got 114 votes and Fillmore, 8. Fremont lost much ground because of grave doubts as to his honesty, capacity, and sound judgment. Also, southern fire-eaters declared that the election of Fremont would be same as declaring a war on them. The Dred Scott Bombshell Know: Dred Scott, Roger B. Taney 8 Why was the Dred Scott decision so divisive? A majority of the Court decreed that because a slave was private property, he or she could be taken into any territory and legally held there in slavery. The reasoning was that the Fifth Amendment clearly forbade Congress to deprive people of their property without due process of law. The court ruled that the Compromise of 1820 had been unconstitutional all along and that Congress had no power to ban slavery from the territories, regardless even of what the territorial legislatures themselves might want. Angered northerners started to insist that the ruling of the Court was merely an opinion, not a decision. South in turn were inflamed b all the defiance of north. The Financial Crash of 1857 9 How did the Panic of 1857 make Civil War more likely? The North, including its grain growers, was hardest hit. The South, enjoying favorable cotton prices abroad, rode out the storm with flying colors. Panic conditions seemed further proof that cotton was king and that its economic kingdom was stronger than that of the North. This fatal delusion helped drive the overconfident southerners closer to a shooting showdown. An Illinois Rail-Splitter Emerges 10. Describe Abraham Lincoln's background. Lincoln was no silver-spoon child of the elite. Born in 1809 in a Kentucky log cabin to impoverished parents, he attended a frontier school for not more than a year. Being an avid reader, he was mainly self-educated. Although narrow-chested and somewhat stoop-shouldered, he shone in his frontier community as a wrestler and weight lifter, and spent some time, among other pioneering pursuits, as a splitter of logs for fence rails. After reading a little law, he gradually became a lawyer. The Great Debate: Lincoln versus Douglas Know: Freeport Doctrine 11. What long term results occurred because of the Lincoln-Douglas debates? Because of Douglas’ Freeport Doctrine, he won the senatorship in Illinois. However, his defiance toward Supreme Court and the opposition of Lecompton Constitution caused his chance of becoming the president. In contrast, Lincoln became a potential nominee for the president after this debate even though he lost the senatorship of Illinois. John Brown: Murderer or Martyr Know: Harper's Ferry, Robert E. Lee 12. Why were the actions of one (crazy?) man so important in the growing conflict between North and South? Many southerners asked how they could possibly remain in the Union while a murderous gang of abolitionists was financing armed bands. Abolitionists and other ardent free-soilers were infuriated by Brown’s execution. These difference in point of views resulted in further disputes between north and south. The Disruption of the Democrats Know: John C. Breckenridge, John Bell 13. What happened when the Democratic Party attempted to choose a candidate for the presidency in 1860? The Democratic Party was deeply divided. When they met in Charleston, South Carolina, with Douglas as the leading candidate of the northern wing of the party, the Convention dissolved as southern fire-eaters refused to vote for Douglas. When they met again in Baltimore, Douglas was finally nominated with the help of Douglas Democrats. However, angered southern democrats organized a rival convention and nominated John C. Breckinridge, whose platform favored the extension of slavery into the territories and the annexation of slavepopulated Cuba. A Rail-Splitter Splits the Union 14. Why was Lincoln chosen as the Republican candidate instead of Seward? William H. Seward was by far the best known of the contenders. But his radical utterances, including his “irrepressible conflict” speech at Rochester in 1858, had ruined his prospects. Lincoln on the other hand was a stronger candidate because he had made fewer enemies. The Electoral Upheaval of 1860 15. Did the South have any power in the national government after Lincoln’s election, or were they helpless? Despite its electoral defeat, South was not badly off. It still had a five-to-four majority on the Supreme Court. Although the Republicans had elected Lincoln, they controlled neither the Senate nor the House of Representatives. The federal government could not touch slavery in those states where it existed except by a constitutional amendment, and such an amendment could be defeated by one-fourth of the states. The fifteen slave states numbered nearly one-half of the totals. The Secessionist Exodus Know: Secession, Jefferson Davis 16. What did President Buchanan do when the South seceded? Why? President Buchanan has been blamed for not holding the seceders in the Union by force. Although he was devoted to the Union he was surrounded by pro southern advisers. Another important reason why he did not resort to force was that the tiny standing army of some 15,000 men were widely scattered, because they were urgently needed to control the Indians in the West. The Collapse of Compromise 17. What was the Crittenden Compromise and why did it fail? The proposed Crittenden amendments to the Constitution were designed to appease the South. Slavery in the territories was to be prohibited north of mason Dixon but south of that line it was to be given federal protection in all territories existing or “hereafter to be acquired”. In short, the slavery supporters were to be guaranteed full rights in the southern territories, as long as they were territories, regardless of the wishes of the majority under popular sovereignty. However Lincoln rejected the Crittenden scheme. Farewell to Union 18. What advantages did southerners see in secession? Who did they compare themselves to? Southern leaders regarded secession as a golden opportunity to cast aside their generations of vassalage to the North. An independent Dixieland could develop its own banking and shipping and trade directly with Europe.