Ch 20

What happened to the Democrat party before the Election of 1860?

After failing to nominate a candidate in Charleston, South Carolina, the Democrats split into North and South, and at Baltimore, the Northern Democrats nominated Stephen Douglas for president while the Southern Democrats chose John C. Breckinridge.

What were the beliefs of the Republican Party?

Against Slavery Purely Sectional

What was the Homestead Act and what did people think of it?

Also, in 1860, Congress passed a homestead act that would provide 160 acres of land at a cheap price for those who were less fortunate, but it was vetoed by Buchanan.This plan, though, was opposed by the northeast(industrialists), which had long been unfriendly to extension of land and had feared that it would drain its population even more, and the south, which knew that it would provide an easy way for more free soilers to fill the territories. Also, slavery couldn't benefit on such small lands.

What were the different views of John Brown between the North and South?

Brown, though insane, was not stupid, and he portrayed himself as a martyr against slavery, and when he was hung, he instantly became a martyr for abolitionists; northerners rallied around his memory. The South was happy, but abolitionists were infuriated by his execution (they conveniently forgot about his violent past). The South thought the North was all like John Brown and that they were out to get them.

What role did the Election of 1856 play in the later years?

Buchanan won because there were doubts about Fremont's honesty, capacity, and sound judgment. Perhaps it was better that Buchanan won, since Fremont was not as strong as Lincoln, and in 1856, many people were still apathetic about slavery, and the South could have seceded more easily.

What did the Lecompton Constitution do?

By 1857, Kansas had enough people to apply for statehood, and those for slavery devised the Lecompton Constitution, which provided that the people were only allowed to vote for the constitution "with slavery" or "without slavery."

What did Justice Taney think of the case?

Chief Justice Taney said that no slave could be a citizen of the U.S. in his justification. He also went as far as saying Congress cannot abolish slavery because it is in the Constitution. In effect, he ruled that the Missouri Compromise had been unconstitutional: Congress had no right to ban slavery from the territories.

What was the result of the Lecompton Constitution?

If the constitution was passed "without slavery," then those slaveholders already in the state would still be protected. So the slaveholders couldn't lose. Angry free soilers boycotted the polls and Kansas approved the constitution with slavery

What role did Uncle Tom's cabin play?

In 1852, Harriet Beecher Stow published Uncle Tom's Cabin, a popular book that awakened the passions of the North toward the evils of slavery. The book helped Britain stay out of the Civil War because its people, who had read the book and had now denounced slavery, wouldn't allow intervention on behalf of the South.

Who were the candidates in the Election of 1856?

In 1856, the Democrats had chosen James Buchanan, someone untainted by the Kansas-Nebraska Act and a person with lots of political experience, to be their nomination for presidency against Republican John C. Fremont, a fighter in the Mexican-American War. Another party, the American Party, also called the "Know-Nothing Party" because of its secrecy, was organized by "nativists," old-stock Protestants, who nominated Millard Fillmore.

What was stated between Douglas and Lincoln during their debate?

Lincoln rashly challenged Douglas, the nation's most devastating debater, to a series of seven debates, which the senator accepted, and despite expectations of failure, Lincoln held his own. The most famous debate came at Freeport, Illinois, where Lincoln brought this scenario: if the people had a territory voted slavery down, would they be right, despite the Supreme Court saying that they could not do so? This trapped Douglas because he had said there should be popular sovereignty but also supported the Dred Scott decision. Douglas replied with his "Freeport Doctrine," which said that no matter how the Supreme Court ruled, slavery would stay down if the people voted it down; the people had the power. Douglas won, but more people voted for Abe, so he won the moral victory.

What happened on election day in 1855 for Kentucky?

On election day in 1855, hordes of Southerners from Missouri flooded the polls and elected Kansas to be a slave state; free soilers unable to stomach this set up their own government in Topeka. Thus, confused Kansans had to chose between two governments: one illegal (in Topeka) and the other fraudulent (in Shawnee).

How did President Buchanan affect the democratic party?

President Buchanan angered the Douglas democrats in North. As a result, the Democratic Party was hopelessly divided, ending the last remaining national party for years to come (the Whigs were dead and the Republicans were sectional).

What happened between Senator Charles Sumner and Congressman Preston S. Brooks?

Senator Charles Sumner was a vocal antislaveryite, and his blistering speeches condemned all slavery supporters.Congressman Preston S. Brooks decided that since he couldn't challenge Sumner to a duel, he'd beat the senator with a cane like a dog, which is just what he did until his cane broke; nearby senators did nothing but watched, and Brooks was cheered on by the South. However, the incident touched off fireworks, as Sumner's "The Crime Against Kansas" speech was reprinted by the thousands, and it put Brooks and the South in the wrong.

What did Stephen Douglas think of the Lecompton Constitution?

Senator Stephen Douglas, refusing to have this fraudulency, threw away his Southern support when he fought for a fair election, and the result was the Lecompton Constitution voted on as a whole.

What happened when Lincoln was elected president in 1860?

South Carolina had threatened to secede if Lincoln was elected president, and now it went good on its word, seceding in December of 1860.Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas followed in the next six weeks.The seven seceders met in Montgomery, Alabama in February of 1861 and created the Confederate ,b>States of America, and they chose Jefferson Davis as president.President Buchanan did nothing to force the confederacy back into the Union, partly because the Union troops were needed in the West and because the North was still apathetic toward secession; they felt that it was better that the South had seceded.

What did the Impending Crisis of the South say about slavery?

The Impending Crisis of the South, was written by Hinton R. Helper, a non-aristocratic white North Carolinian who tried to prove, by an array of stats, that the non-slave-holding Southern whites were really the ones most hurt by slavery.

What was the result of Brown's actions?

The brutal violence surprised even the most ardent abolitionists and brought swift retaliation from proslaveryites. The South generalized that all the North was like John Brown and were out to get the South.

What were the results of the Dred Scott case?

The case inflamed millions of abolitionists against slavery and even though who didn't care against it. Northerners complained; Southerners were inflamed by northern defiance, and more tension built.

What caused the Panic of 1857?

The panic was caused by inflation and overgrowth of grain and nowhere to export it.The North was especially hard hit, but the South rode it out with flying colors, seemingly proving that cotton was king and raising their egos. The panic also brought calls for a higher tariff rate, which had been lowered to about 20% only months before.

Why did the South secede?

The seceding states did so because they feared that their rights as a slaveholding minority were being threatened, and were alarmed at the growing power of the Republicans, plus, they believed that they would be unopposed despite what the Northerners claimed. The South also hoped to develop its own banking and shipping, and to prosper. Besides, in 1776, the 13 colonies had seceded from Britain and had won; now the South could do the same thing.

What advantages did the Republican party have in terms of support?

Their platform had an appeal to every important non-southern group: for free soilers it proposed non-extension of slavery; for northern manufacturers, a protective tariff; for the immigrants, no abridgement of rights; for the West, internal improvements at federal expense; and for the farmers, free homesteads.

What did the Compromise of 1850 do?

There were several aspects of the compromise. It admitted California as free state, abolished the slave trade in DC, land gotten from Mexico would decide on popular sovereignty, and the Fugitive Slave Law would be more stringent.

What was the premise of the Dred Scott case?

Dred Scot had been a slave whose master had taken him north into free territory, where he had lived for many years. After his master's death, he sued for his freedom from his new master, claiming that he had been in free territory. The Missouri Supreme Court agreed, freeing him, but his new master appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which overruled the decision.

What did President James Buchanan think of the Lecompton Constitution?

In Washington, James Buchanan had succeeded Franklin Pierce, but like the former president, Buchanan was more towards the South, and firmly supported the Lecompton Constitution.

What did James Henry Crittendan propose in a last ditch effort to save the Union?

In an attempt at compromise (again), James Henry Crittenden of Kentucky proposed the Crittenden amendments, which would ban slavery north of the 36°30' line and would leave the issue in territories south of the line up to the people; also, existing slavery south of the line would be protected. Lincoln rejected it however.

What did John Brown do?

John Brown, a crazy man (literally), led a band of followers to Pottawatomie Creek in May of 1856 and hacked to death five presumable proslaveryites.