THE UNION IN PERIL

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THE UNION IN PERIL

• Leading up to the war and Angering the South!!
• 1850-1860

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THE SOUTH BEFORE THE WAR

• Rural plantation economy
• Relied on slave labor
• Southerners feared the loss of slavery would
  mean loss of culture

Family working the cotton field on a Plantation
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THE NORTH BEFORE THE WAR

• The North had a more diverse economy
• Industry flourished
• The North openly opposed slavery in the South and
  the new territories

BOSTON HARBOR
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SLAVERY IN THE TERRITORIES

• The issue of whether slavery in California and
  the West would be legal led to heated debates in
  Congress
• Gold rush led to application for statehood for
  California

CALIFORNIA BECAME A STATE IN 1850
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COMPROMISE OF 1850

• Southerners threatened secession over issue
• Henry Clay again worked a Compromise
• For the North California would be admitted as
  free state
• For the South A more effective fugitive slave
  law
• Residents of New Mexico Utah would vote
  themselves-popular sovereignty

CONGRESSIONAL DEBATE
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FUGITIVE SLAVE LAW

• Under the law, runaway slaves were not entitled
  to a trial by jury
• Anyone helping a slave escape was jailed for 6
  months and fined 1,000
• Northerners were upset by the harshness of the
  new law and often helped hide fugitive slaves

A HARSH FUGITIVE SLAVE LAW FURTHER INCREASED
TENSIONS
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UNDERGROUND RAILROAD

• Escape from slavery was dangerous and meant
  traveling on foot at night
• As time went on, African Americans and white
  abolitionists developed a secret network of
  people who would hide fugitive slaves
• Conductors would hide runaways in tunnels and
  even kitchen cupboards

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HARRIET TUBMAN

• One of the most famous conductors was Harriet
  Tubman
• Tubman escaped slavery and vowed to help others
  do the same
• She made 19 trips back to South and freed over
  300 slaves (Including her own parents)

HARRIET TUBMAN 1820-1913
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UNCLE TOMS CABIN

• In 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe published her
  influential novel, Uncle Toms Cabin
• The book stressed the moral evil of slavery
• Abolitionist protests increased

Instant best seller sold 500,000 by 1857
Author Harriet Beecher Stowe
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TENSION BUILDS IN KANSAS

• After Stephen Douglas worked to pass the
  Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854, Kansas would vote to
  decide on whether slavery would be legal or
  outlawed
• This contradicted the 36 30 of the Missouri
  Compromise

vs.
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BLEEDING KANSAS

• The race for Kansas was on. Both supporters and
  opponents attempted to populate Kansas to win the
  vote over slavery
• As the election neared, a group of pro-slavery
  border ruffians from Missouri attempted to
  cross into Kansas
• Violence erupted Bleeding Kansas is the legacy

Finally, after years of fighting, Kansas is
admitted as a free state in 1861
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NEW POLITICAL PARTIES EMERGE

• The political landscape by 1856 was very
  different than it had been just a few years
  earlier
• Gone was the Whig Party
• The Democrats were still alive but faced
  increasing challenge from new parties
• An alternative was the Know-Nothing Party

Know-Nothing members answered questions by
saying, I know Nothing
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THE FREE-SOILERS

• Another party that emerged in the mid-19th
  century was the Free-Soilers
• They were northerners who opposed slavery in the
  new territories
• Free-Soilers objections to slavery were based on
  economics not moral objection to slavery
• They believed slavery drove down wages for white
  workers

Soil
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REPUBLICANS EMERGE AS LEADING PARTY

• In 1854, opponents of slavery in the territories
  formed a new political party, the Republican
  Party
• As the party grew it took on Free-Soilers, some
  anti-slavery Democrats and Whigs, and
  Know-Nothings

Republicans won all but 3 presidential elections
from 1861-1933
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THE DRED SCOTT DECISION

• A major Supreme Court decision occurred when
  slave Dred Scott was taken by his owner to free
  states Illinois Wisconsin
• Scott argued that that made him a free man
• Finally in 1857, the Court ruled against Dred
  Scott citing the Constitutions protection of
  property
• The decision increased tensions over slavery

DRED SCOTT LOST HIS CHANCE AT FREEDOM
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LINCOLN DOUGLAS DEBATES

• The 1858 race for U.S. Senate in Illinois was
  hotly contested between Republican Lincoln and
  Democratic Douglas
• One of the most celebrated debates in history
  ensued as the topic was slavery in the
  territories
• Douglas favored popular sovereignty while Lincoln
  wanted a Constitutional Amendment

THE LITTLE GIANT VS. HONEST ABE
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HARPERS FERRY

• While politicians debated the slavery issue, John
  Brown plotted a major slave revolt
• On October 16, 1859, he led a band of 21 men,
  black and white, into Harpers Ferry, Virginia
• He hoped to seize a large federal arsenal, but
  troops put down the rebellion
• Brown was tried and executed

ARSENAL
BROWN
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1860 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

• Republicans nominated Abe Lincoln while the
  Democrats split
• Lincoln won the 1860 election with less than half
  the popular vote and no Southern electoral votes
• The Southern states were not happy

LINCOLN MEMORIAL
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1860 ELECTION RESULTS
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SOUTHERN SUCESSION

• Lincolns victory in 1860 election convinced
  Southerners that they had to act quickly
• South Carolina led the way, seceding from the
  union in December of 1860
• Mississippi was next, then Florida, Alabama,
  Georgia, Louisiana, Texas
• Southern delegates met in February, 1861 and
  formed the Confederate States with Jefferson
  Davis as President