Disunion – Ch. 14, “The Politics of Sectionalism,” pgs. 365-377
Overall main idea: Between 1859 and 1861, a series of events escalated sectionalism and caused the South to secede from the Union and begin the American Civil War.
The Road to Disunion
Main idea: A number of events led to growing sectionalism that created a crisis of disunity in the U.S.
North-South Differences
Main idea: Ideological differences between the North and South were underscored by numerous other differences along economic, social, religious, and cultural lines.
North was and grew more urbanized and industrialized; South was and remained rural and agricultural
North produced and used more consumer manufactured products
Southern culture: violence(?), courtesy, honor, courage, military service, higher illiteracy
Religion: Evangelical Protestantism grew in both North and South (Second Great Awakening), but churches split over slavery; Northern churches were more inclined to be socially involved and dedicated to reform, while Southern churches’ involvement with social issues were mostly just defending the Southern way of life, including slavery
Slavery reduced the demand for manufactured products and machinery; discouraged public education; encouraged violent enforcement of laws and control; although most southerners were not slaveowners, they were tied to slavery through the market, labor force, and social status
Differences were exaggerated into stereotypes where each side hardly viewed each other as similar Americans anymore
Southern defense of slavery was hardly moral anymore
See chart on p. 366!
John Brown’s Raid
Main idea: John Brown’s attack on a U.S. arsenal and attempt at a slave insurrection brought forth support from many Northerners and condemnation from Southerners, igniting further sectional tension.
1859 – supported and funded by the “Secret Six” New Englanders, Brown planned a slave insurrection in northern Virginia; he equipped and trained whites and blacks and led the attack on the Federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, VA
Slaves did not rise up as planned; Col. Robert E. Lee, U.S. Marines, and VA militia put down raid and capture Brown; Brown is hung for treason.
Some called Brown a lunatic (including Lincoln); some Northerners supported Brown, comparing him to a religious martyr; Thoreau and Emerson spoke highly of him
Southerners condemned Brown and his raid as a Northern agitator trying to bring down the Southern way of life and interfere in its business; Southerners accuse the Republican party as the embodiment of radical, anti-Southern Northern politics
Tensions rise in Congress
John Brown on the day of his execution: "I, John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away but with blood."
The Election of 1860
Main idea: A division of parties and a surge of support for Republicans led to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President in 1860.
Democrats were divided between Northern Democrats (Stephen Douglas) and Southern Democrats (John C. Breckinridge); others defected to the new Constitutional Union Party (John Bell)
Republicans avoided controversial and immoderate William Seward and nominated Lincoln; his campaign was mostly spent at home in Springfield, Illinois
Douglas saw the showing of Republican support early on and abandoned his campaign to try to convince the Southern states to stay in the Union in the event of Lincoln’s election
Lincoln wins the election with a significant majority of electoral votes (winning almost all Northern states), but 40% of popular votes; Breckinridge wins almost all of the South
Secession Begins
Main idea: In response to Lincoln’s election, seven southern states seceded from the Union, forming the Confederate States of America.
South Carolina was the first to secede, on Dec. 20, 1860; Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas had seceded by February 1861
Confederate States of America (CSA) was formed in Montgomery, AL in Feb. 1861 – Jefferson Davis of Mississippi was elected President
Secessionists tried to convince southerners that they were the true heirs of the American Revolution and Republicanism
Presidential Inaction
Main idea: The lame-duck Buchanan administration fell apart and did little to resolve the secession crisis leading to Lincoln’s inauguration in March 1861.
Southern representatives left Washington in an emotional atmosphere, “as if the pillars of the temple where being withdrawn and the great government structure was tottering.”
Buchanan thought waiting the South out would help resolve the problem; passive resolution
Peace Proposals
Main idea: Peace proposals to ameliorate the secession crisis were unsuccessful
Crittenden Plan – John L. Crittenden from Kentucky proposed to draw the Missouri Compromise line all the way to CA; the plan was rejected because it was unlikely to result in any new slave states.
Ex-President John Tyler also suggested a peace plan
Lincoln’s Views on Secession
Main idea: While President-elect Lincoln favored passively resolving the secession crisis, he also felt the slavery issue must take action in order to solve it.
Lincoln thought the Upper South would stay in the Union; they expected a compromise would bring it back together
Lincoln felt that in the slavery issue, “The tug has to come, and better now, than any time hereafter.”
Fort Sumter: The Tug Comes
Main idea: Confederate troops fired on the Union-held Fort Sumter in 1861, sparking the start of the American Civil War.
Lincoln’s inaugural address vowed to stand firm and uphold Federal laws, but also tried to be peaceful, telling southerners, “We are not enemies but friends…” Yet Lincoln didn’t reach out very far to make concessions.
Fort Sumter in Charleston harbor, SC, is still occupied by U.S. forces, but needs supplies; Lincoln at first holds back, but then sends supplies
Confederate troops did not wait for the provisions and fire cannon on the fort on April 12, 1861, the first official shots of the Civil War; the fort surrenders the next day with no casualties
Lincoln called for troops to put down the rebellion; Upper South states seceded – Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas
Overall main idea: Between 1859 and 1861, a series of events escalated sectionalism and caused the South to secede from the Union and begin the American Civil War.