Chapter 6 -----Sectional Conflict Intensifies (1848-1860)
Chapter 6 Section 1------Slavery and Western Expansion
I. The Impact of the War with Mexico (pp. 218-219)
A. Opened the debate if slavery should be allowed to spread westward
1. Wilmot Proviso—Slavery should not exist in any territory gained from Mexico
a. Passed in the House of Reps., but failed in the Senate
2. Popular Sovereignty—Lewis Cass
a. Citizens of each new territory would decide whether or not slavery was permitted.
3. Free-Soil Party—Opposed the spread of slavery in the western territories
***Election of 1848—Zachary Taylor won because he avoided the issue & stressed his leadership in the Mexican War***
II. Congress Struggles for a Compromise (pp. 220-221)
A. 49ers—80,000 gold seekers in California
1. California needed a strong central government to maintain order & applied for statehood as a free states
B. Compromise of 1850—Henry Clay (Great Compromiser)
1. California admitted as a free state, but the rest of the Mexican Cession would not have any restrictions on slavery (Popular Sovereignty decides it)
2. The Texas/New Mexico border question was solved in favor of New Mexico, but the federal government took on Texas’s debts
3. Slave trade abolished in the District of Columbia, but not slavery
4. Stronger Fugitive Slave act Passed
Great debate between—John Calhoun—defended States’ Rights & Daniel Webster---pleaded for National unity above sectional loyalties
C. Compromise of 1850 passed, but did not contain a permanent solution to the slavery issue.
III. The Fugitive Slave Act (pp. 221-222)
A. The Fugitive Slave Act created hostility toward slavery among Northerners
1. African American accused of being a runaway slave was arrested & brought to a federal commissioner
2. Sworn statement or testimony by a white witness was all a court needed to send the person South
3. African Americans had no rights to a trial but could testify in court
4. Required citizens to help return runaway slaves or be jailed
B. The Underground Railroad---Help slaves escape to the North & Canada
1. “Conductors”—secretly transported runaways to freedom in Northern states or Canada
2. Ex: Harriet Tubman—freed hundreds of slaves
Levi Coffin---assisted slaves crossing the Ohio River to freedom
C. Uncle Tom’s Cabin—Harriet Beecher Stowe
1. Aroused the Antislavery Movement & public opinion of slavery
2. Southerners tried to have the Book banned
IV. New Territorial Troubles (pp. 223-224)
A. Transcontinental Railroad Debate –Should it be in North or South?
B. Gadsden Purchase (1853)—Paid Mexico $10 Million for land South of the Gila River
C. Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)—Stephen Douglas
1. Repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820
2. Slavery issue decided by Popular Sovereignty
a. Missourians illegally voted in Kansas
D. Bleeding Kansas---Severe Violence in Kansas
Chapter 6 Section 2------The Crisis Deepens
I. Political Developments (pp. 226-228)
A. Republican Party Formed in 1854---Slavery should be kept out of the territories
B. Election of 1856—James Buchanan defeats John Fremont
II. Sectional Division Grows (pp. 228-229)
A. Dred Scott Decision
1. Scott v. Sandford(1857)—Ruled against Dred Scott
a. African Americans not U.S. citizens & had no right to sue in federal courts
b. Missouri Compromise of 1820 declared unconstitutional—Slaves considered property
III. Lincoln and Douglas (pp. 229-230)
A. Lincoln-Douglas Debates (U.S. Senate Race)-1858
Lincoln—opposed the spread of slavery in the western territories
Douglas—favored popular sovereignty
1. Freeport Doctrine
a. Douglas accepts the Dred Scott ruling, but also said that slavery could be kept out if they did not pass slave codes to regulate it
b. Pleased Illinois voters, but angered Southern voters
2. Douglas Elected Senator & Lincoln became known as a great thinker & debater
IV. John Brown’s Raid (page 231)
A. Harpers Ferry, Virginia(1859)
1. Plan: Seize the Federal arsenal & arm the slaves against their slaveholders
2. Failed & Brown was sentenced to death
3. Northerners viewed Brown as a martyr for the slaves’ cause
Southerners viewed Brown’s raid as proof that Northerners were plotting the murder of slaveholders
Chapter 6 Section 3------The Union Dissolves
I. The Election of 1860 (pp. 232-234)—4 Candidates
A. Stephen Douglas—Northern Democrat—supported popular sovereignty
B. John Breckinridge—Southern Democrat—supported the Dred Scott Decision & a federal slave code for the western territories
C. John Bell—Constitutional Union—Uphold the Constitution & the Union
D. Abraham Lincoln—Republican --against slavery in the western territories, against John Brown’s raid, & campaigned for Southern states to preserve slavery within their borders
***Lincoln won the election & the South voted to secede from the Union***
South Carolina—1st state to secede
II. Compromise Fails (pp. 234-235)
A. Crittenden’s Compromise:--Failed to pass
1. guarantee slavery where it already existed
2. reinstate the Missouri Compromise line & extending it to California
B. Confederate States of America—Feb. 8, 1861—Jefferson Davis—President of the Confederacy
III. The Civil War Begins (pp. 235-236)
A. Fort Sumter---April 12, 1861—Civil War began
B. Martial Law imposed in Baltimore to prevent Maryland’s secession
C. Kentucky remained neutral until Confederate forces invaded & then the Kentucky legislature voted to stay in the Union
D. Missouri—Voted to stay in the Union, but needed help from federal forces