Ch.19 APUSH

Freeport Doctrine

A concept first espoused by Douglas in his debate with Lincoln at Freeport, Illinois. The idea was basically that no matter how the Supreme Court ruled, slavery would stay down if the people voted it down. Laws to protect slavery would have to be passed by territorial legislatures and these would not be approved in the absence of popular approval. This idea greatly angered Southern Democrats and caused them to split from Northern Democrats and Stephen Douglas, a divide that allowed Abraham Lincoln to win the presidency in 1860 as the Republican candidate.

Constitutional Union Party

A middle-of-the road group who were primarily concerned with the continued preservation of the Union. This group was often derided as the "Do Nothing" or "Old Gentleman's party" and consisted mainly of former Whigs and Know-Nothings. In the presidential election of 1860, they nominated John Bell from Tennessee as a candidate who represented their compromise ideals. Their rallying slogan was to ring hand bells and say "The Union, the Constitution, and the Enforcement of the Laws."

Uncle Tom's Cabin

A novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe that had far reaching effects both in the United States and abroad. Displaying the atrocities of slavery, the novel depicted the evils of slavery in a way to turn moderate Northerners against the Fugitive Slave Act. Hundreds of thousands of copies were sold within the first year and Uncle Tom became an iconic figure used in play reproductions (tom, Eva, and Simon Legree). Many foreign governments had their hands tied in helping the South because they would be opposed by the masses who had been caught up in "Tom-mania."

American or Know-Nothing Party

A party formed in the election of 1856 out of the ideas and concepts of the Order of the Star Spangled Banner. This group was primarily focused on antiforeignism and anti-Catholicism, which they saw as two factors to prevent the pollution of American society. Many were nativists against the influx of Irish and Germans. The group threw itself behind former President Millard Fillmore in 1856 but failed to win the election as a third party.

Charles Sumner

A senator of Massachusetts who was among the few leading political figures who was an outspoken abolitionists. he was a tall and imposing figure and through his various dealings had become a highly disliked senator. In 1856, Sumner delivered a speech titled, "The Crime Against Kansas," condemning the proslavery men and referring insultingly to one of the best-liked members of the Senate, Andrew Butler from South Carolina. His speech incited Congressmen Preston S. Brooks of South Carolina to beat him with a cane on the floor of Congress until the cane broke. Sumner suffered serious neurological damage and the blood that he shed could be considered among the first blows of the Civil War.

Lincoln-Douglas debates

A series of seven debates from August to October 1858 in which Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas went back and forth to decide the senator position from Illinois. Surprisingly, Lincoln held his own against the established Douglas and thus brought himself into the light of national politics. At the same time, Lincoln was able to goad Douglas into explicitly supporting the Freeport Doctrine, which greatly divided the Democratic Party and allowed for Lincoln to slip through as the Republican nominee for President in 1860.

James Buchanan

A weak president who was often swayed by his Southern supporters after his election in 1856. Buchanan was not a particularly adept politician and his presidency was marred by the Dred Scott decision, Bleeding Kansas, and the panic of 1857. On the matter of Kansas, Buchanan unwisely chose to throw his support behind the Lecompton Constitution for the statehood of Kansas. Opposed by Stephen Douglas on this matter, Buchanan's actions led to the beginning of the permanent split between Northern and Southern Democrats. Ultimately, Kansas would remain a territory and Buchanan's actions would cost him reelection in 1860, failing even to secure the Democratic nomination.

Crittenden Compromise

An amendment proposed by James Henry Crittenden of Kentucky as an attempt to permanently settle the issue of slavery without a dividing of the Union. Crittenden proposed that the 36 60 line be used as the divide between slavery in the new territories. Territories above would not allow slaves while those below would. Southerners opposed this measure because while the Northern territories were all but guaranteed of becoming free states, the Southern territories would still be in question as free or slave states left up to the question of popular sovereignty. Northerners opposed the compromise because the Amendment could not be overturned and thus abolitionists would be conceding the fact the slavery would exist forever in the South.

Roger Taney

The Chief Justice in the Dred Scott decision, Taney persuaded the rest of the Southern judges to go beyond dismissing the Scott case as a black who had no right to be represented in court. Instead, Taney probably thought that a more thorough ruling would put to rest any further debates on the matter of slavery. However, that was not the case. Under Taney's direction, the Supreme Court ruled that slave owners could not be prohibited from taking their slaves where they pleased because slaves were property that were protected from government legislation under the Fifth Amendment. Furthermore, Taney ruled that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional, thus bringing an end to the legislation that had kept a lid on the slavery issue for over a generation.

Jefferson Davis

The President of the Confederate States of America after those states seceded from the Union. Davis was a dignified and austere recent member of the U.S. Senate from Mississippi. He was a graduate of West Point and a former cabinet member with wide military and administrative experience. However, Davis often was not in good health and was known for his desires to be a Napoleonic strategist.

Bleeding Kansas

The name given to the Kansas territory because of the violence that occurred there between abolitionists and supporters of slavery. Both sides sent in representatives to fight for their cause, epitomized by the election struggle over whether Kansas was to be free or slave as decided by popular sovereignty. Many illegal votes were cast with some people possibly voting several times, the end result of which was the decision that Kansas would be slave. However, abolitionists were unwilling to accept this "fraud" defeat and fought on with violence, leading both sides into bloody struggles that could be considered as the first battles of the Civil War in "Bleeding Kansas."

Bleeding Sumner

The name given to the incident in Congress when Preston S. Brooks of South Carolina savagely beat Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts after Sumner had made a speech that spoke out against supporters of slavery in a derisive way. Sumner was repeatedly beaten on the head until the cane broke and thus suffered various neurological damages. Brooks resigned but was then reelected by South Carolinians. Similarly, Sumner took an extended leave of absence to care for his injuries but the people of Massachusetts still kept his empty seat in the Senate in an act of defiance. This incident on the floors of Congress can be considered one of the first instance of bloodshed in the Civil War.

Beecher's Bibles

The nickname given to the deadly new breech-loading Sharps rifles that the New England Emigrant Aid Company supplied its representatives with in Kansas to fight for the abolitionist cause. The rifles were so named after the Reverend Henry Ward Beecher, the brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe, who had helped raise the money for the purchase of these weapons. The use of Beecher's Bibles helped to escalate the tensions and conflicts in the region and ultimately led to bloodshed in "Bleeding Kansas."

Dred Scott decision

The ruling of the Supreme Court in the case of a black slave, Dred Scott. The Court first dismissed Scott's case because a black, he was not an American citizen and thus could not be represented under the law. However, the Taney led Supreme Court did not stop there, going on to also say that slave owners could not be denied the right to bring their slaves wherever they wished because slaves were property that were protected under the Fifth Amendment. Additionally, the Court ruled that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional, thus inciting Northerners to not uphold the decision within their territories. The South was angered by such a disobedience of the Supreme Court and thus the two sides moved closer to war.

The Impending Crisis of the South

This book, written by Hinton R. Helper, attempted to use various statistics to argue that indirectly, the whites who did not own slaves were the ones who suffered the most from the continued existence of slavery. Helper was against both slavery and blacks and thus he had trouble publishing in the South. Many of the Southern elitists were quick to condemn the book as bringing up "dirty allusions" and wicked "lies." This book was burned along with Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin on many occasions.

Dred Scott

a black salve who had lived with his master for five years in Illinois and the Wisconsin Territory. After his owner had died, Scott, with the backing of abolitionists, sued the widow for his freedom. He claimed that by living on free soil for five years, he had established his residency and was thus a free man. Ultimately, Scott's case was shot down because blacks were not citizens of the United States and thus were not protected by the extension of court rights. The decision on Scott's case caused Northerners to become even more defiant while the Southerners became outraged at this defiance.

Lecompton Constitution

a document written up by proslavery forces in 1857 when Kansas applied for statehood. The abolitionist denomination had boycotted the convention as a protest but the Lecompton Constitution had gone through and was now submitted to Congress. Buchanan supported the document under the influence of Southerners, but Douglas strongly opposed it, bringing about a division within the Democratic Party. Ultimately, the Lecompton Constitution was shot down in a popular vote in which the free soilers did participate in so as to prevent Kansas from becoming a slave state.

southern nationalism

a feeling of identification with the South that developed with many southerners in the years leading up to the Civil War. Southern nationalism ran high as the election of 1860 got underway with the South becoming a subnation within the Union. Southerners had deeply held conviction about slavery and a protective tariff that were contrary to the beliefs of the Northerners and thus were very willing to join together as a section and oppose the North.

Abraham Lincoln

a gaunt, thin figure originally born in a log cabin in Kentucky, Lincoln won the presidency in 1860 as the Republican nominee. Lincoln was originally a political dead man after his spot resolutions during the Mexican American War. However, he developed a new reputation for himself by challenging and then holding his own against Stephen Douglas in a series of debates during their campaigns for the Illinois senator position. Although Lincoln lost the senator position battle, he had developed a name for himself while creating a divide within the Democrat Party by pushing Douglas into espousing the Freeport Doctrine. Thus, the stage was ripe of Lincoln's election as President in 1860, after which South Carolina and other states seceded during the lame duck period.

Hinton R. Helper

a non-aristocratic white from North Carolina who hated both slavery and blacks, he was the author of The Impending Crisis of the South, in which he attempted to prove with various statistics that indirectly, the non-holding whites were the ones who suffered the most from the institution of slavery. Helper's views were deeply scorned by the elite of the South and condemned as "dirty allusions" and spreading wicked "lies." They took efforts to ban the book that undermined their power and Helper's book was often burned along with Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin.

Pottawatomie Creek massacre

a retaliation attack by John Brown and his followers for the Southern attack on free-soil Lawrence, Kansas. "Old Brown" of Osawatomie claimed to be acting out of God's will and mutilated five bodies that are presumed to be those of proslaveryites. This massacre deeply angered the South and was opposed by many Northerners. However, the South's conception was that this massacre was a result of Northern ideology and thus all Northerners were to blame, building tensions towards the Civil War. This was also a stepping stone for John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry.

James Henry Crittenden

a senator from Kentucky who proposed the Crittenden amendment as a compromise method to permanently settle the slavery issue without going to war. Crittenden proposed that the 36 60 line be used as the divide between slavery in the new territories. Territories above would not allow slaves while those below would. Southerners opposed this measure because while the Northern territories were all but guaranteed of becoming free states, the Southern territories would still be in question as free or slave states left up to the question of popular sovereignty. Northerners opposed the compromise because the Amendment could not be overturned and thus abolitionists would be conceding the fact the slavery would exist forever in the South.

John Brown

a spare, gray-bearded, and iron-willed man who was believed to be insane, Brown was the controversial figure in the beginning stages of the battles within Kansas and the infamous raid on Harpers Ferry. Brown and his followers mutilated five bodies in retaliation against the Southern attack on Lawrence. Later on, Brown would become the mastermind behind the raid on Harpers Ferry, believing that God was leading him to free the slaves. Brown took over the arsenal with the belief that the slaves would rally to his position and start an uprising for a free state for blacks. However, such a response never came and Brown was captured by Marines under Robert E. Lee. Brown was sentenced to death for murder and treason, but he died as a martyr in the eyes of many Northern abolitionists, much to the dismay of the Southerners.

John C. Fremont

a war hero in California during the Mexican American War, Fremont was chose as the Republican nominee in 1856 with the nickname Pathfinder of the West. Fremont was largely chosen for his lack of association with the Kansas issue, even though he had little to no political experience. Ultimately, doubts over his honesty, capacity, and sound judgment cost him the election. The threats of Southern proslavery men also intimidated some northerners to vote for Buchanan so as to avoid a bloody conflict.

Harriet Beecher Stowe

the daughter of influential preacher Lyman Beecher, Harriet was influenced by the religious crusades of the Second Great Awakening to adopt an abolitionist perspective. After the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act, Stowe published the highly influential Uncle's Tom Cabin to bring the atrocities of slavery into the light of the public consciousness, especially within the North. Stowe's book outraged the South while hundreds of thousands of copies were sold in the North and abroad within the first year. The novel is considered to be a major stepping stone towards the Civil War and thus Abraham Lincoln is reported to have said, "So you're the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war" when he first met Stowe in person.

panic of 1857

the financial crash of 1857 was not as bad economically as the one in 1837 but had greater psychological effects in a time of tension. The in-pouring of gold from California helped to inflate American currency while overspeculation also contributed to the crash. The Northerners took the blunt of the damage as the Southerners were still able to live off exporting cotton during this time. Northerners called for a higher tariff to increase duties during this time since a lower tariff was instituted right before the crash, leading some to believe that the tariff was the issue in the whole thing.

self-determination

the idea that each state or territory could determine for itself, the course of its political association. The idea came about from close interpretation of the Declaration of Independence. That document implied that if seceders felt that the government above them was doing anything wrong, they had the right to secede, much like how the colonies had separated from Britain when they had accused King George III of infringing upon their rights.

Harpers Ferry raid

the last stand of John Brown. The raid on Harpers Ferry was intended to be the beginning of a slave uprising that would eventually establish a free state for blacks. However, the slaves in the immediate area did not respond when Brown and his men seized control of the federal armory. Thus, the group was eventually captured by Marines under the command of Robert E. Lee and Brown was sentenced to death on counts of murder and treason. The Harpers Ferry incident was looked down upon by both Northerners and Southerners, but Southerners viewed it as the result of Northern influence because there was a minority of Northern abolitionists who supported John Brown's actions as a martyr.

New England Immigrant Aid Society

the most famous of the antislavery organizations, this company sent two thousand people to the Kansas territory to combat the Southern influence there. Many of those who were dispatched to the Kansas territory carried deadly new breech-loading Sharps rifles, nicknamed "Beecher's Bibles" after the Reverend Henry Ward Beecher who had helped raise the money for their purchase. Thus, this society helped contribute to the growing crisis within Kansas that led to the territory's being labeled as "Bleeding Kansas."

John C. Breckinridge

the nominee for the Southern Democrats in the election of 1860, he would eventually lose to Abraham Lincoln in the presidential election. The Southern Democrats split away from their Northern counterparts after they felt they could not support the Northerners' choice of Stephen Douglas for the presidency. Instead, they formed a rival convention and nominated vice president John C. Breckinridge, a man of moderate views from the state of Kentucky. Under Breckinridge, the Southern Democrats supported the positions of extension of slavery into the territories and the annexation of slave-populated Cuba.

John Bell

the presidential nominee for the Constitutional Union party in the election of 1860. The party itself looked to take a middle-of-the-road stance towards politics and thus nominated the compromise candidate of John Bell of Tennessee. Bell's campaign was spurred on by the ringing of hand bells and handbills saying, "The Union, the Constitution, and the Enforcement of the Laws."