APUSH Vol. 1 to 1877 Ch. 19 Drifting Toward Disunion, 1854-1861

Charles Sumner (1811-1874)

Massachusetts senator and abolitionist, Sumner opposed the extension of slavery, speaking out passionately on the civil war in Kansas. Sumner is best known for the caning he received at the hands of Preston Brooks on the Senate floor in 1856. After his recovery, he returned to the Senate and led the radical Republican coalition against Andrew Johnson during Reconstruction. A leader of the Radical republicans along with Thaddeus Stevens. His two main goals were breaking the power of wealthy planters and ensuring that freedmen could vote.

Lincoln stated that he believed that the black race was a. equal to whites in moral and intellectual capacity. b. inferior but entitled to the same natural rights as white people. c. inferior and meant to be kept in bondage by whites. d. superior to whites in emotional and physical capabilities. e. equal in every way to the white race.

b. inferior but entitled to the same natural rights as white people.

Freeport Doctrine

Declared that since slavery could not exist without laws to protect it, territorial legislatures, not the Supreme Court, would have the final say on the slavery question. First argued by Stephen Douglass in 1858 in response to Abraham Lincoln's "Freeport Question". Doctrine developed by Stephen Douglas that said the exclusion of slavery in a territory could be determined by the refusal of the voters to enact any laws that would protect slave property. It was unpopular with Southerners, and thus cost him the election.

Hinton R. Helper

Individual who tried to convince southern yeoman farmers that slavery actually reduced their standard of living

New England Emigrant Aid Company

Organization created to facilitate the migration of free laborers to Kansas in order to prevent the establishment of slavery in the territory.

Lecompton Constitution

Proposed Kansas constitution, whose ratification was unfairly rigged so as to guarantee slavery in the territory. Initially ratified by proslavery forces, it was later voted down when Congress required that the entire constitution be put up for a vote. Supported the existence of slavery in the proposed state and protected rights of slaveholders. It was rejected by Kansas, making Kansas an eventual free state.

southern nationalism

The idea that the south would develop into its own country. This lead to the Confederate States of America

Stephen A. Douglas argued, in his Freeport Doctrine, during the Lincoln-Douglas debates that a. no matter what the people wanted, the Supreme Court was law. b. slavery would remain illegal if the people of a territory voted it down, regardless of the Supreme Court's contrary decision in the Dred Scott case. c. a new version of the Missouri Compromise was needed. d. Congress should reopen the Atlantic slave trade. e. the Dred Scott decision was unconstitutional.

b. slavery would remain illegal if the people of a territory voted it down, regardless of the Supreme Court's contrary decision in the Dred Scott case.

The panic of 1857 a. undermined demands for free farms of 160 acres from the public domain. b. was caused in part by California gold pouring in and inflating the currency. c. seemed to prove that cotton was a volatile and risky source of income. d. hit the South harder than the North. e. was far worse economically than the panic of 1837.

b. was caused in part by California gold pouring in and inflating the currency.

Crittenden amendments

Failed constitutional amendments that would have given federal protection for slavery in all territories south of 36°30' where slavery was supported by popular sovereignty. Proposed in an attempt to appease the South. 1860 - attempt to prevent Civil War by Senator Crittenden - offered a Constitutional amendment recognizing slavery in the territories south of the 36º30' line, noninterference by Congress with existing slavery, and compensation to the owners of fugitive slaves - defeated by Republicans

Harpers Ferry

Federal arsenal in Virginia seized by abolitionist John Brown in 1859. Though Brown was later captured and executed, his raid alarmed Southerners who believed that Northerners shared in Brown's extremism.

Constitutional Union party

Formed by moderate Whigs and Know-Nothings in an effort to elect a compromise candidate and avert a sectional crisis. Also known as the "do-nothings" or "Old Gentlemen's" party; 1860 election; it was a middle of the road group that feared for the Union- consisted mostly of Whigs and Know-Nothings, met in Baltimore and nominated John Bell from Tennessee as candidate for presidency-the slogan for this candidate was "The Union, the Constitution, and the Enforcement of the laws."

Uncle Tom's Cabin

Harriet Beecher Stowe's widely read novel that dramatized the horrors of slavery. It heightened Northern support for abolition and escalated the sectional conflict. Written by Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1853 that highly influenced England's view on the American Deep South and slavery. A novel promoting abolition, it intensified sectional conflict.

Harper Ferry Raid

Occurred in October of 1859. John Brown of Kansas attempted to create a major revolt among the slaves. He wanted to ride down the river and provide the slaves with arms from the North, but he failed to get the slaves organized. Brown was captured. The effects of this were as such: the South saw the act as one of treason and were encouraged to separate from the North, and Brown became a martyr to the northern abolitionist cause.

Stephen A. Douglas (1813-1861)

U.S. senator and Democratic presidential candidate, Douglas played a key role in passing the Compromise of 1850, though he inadvertently reignited sectional tensions in 1854 by proposing the Kansas-Nebraska Act. In 1858, Douglas famously sparred with Abraham Lincoln in the Lincoln-Douglas debates, defeating Lincoln in the Senate race that year but losing to the Illinois Republican in the presidential election of 1860.

John C. Breckinridge (1821-1875)

Vice president under James Buchanan, Breckinridge ran as the candidate of the southern wing of the Democratic party in 1860 and lost the election to Abraham Lincoln. A Kentucky slave owner, Breckinridge acknowledged the South's right to secede but worked tirelessly to hammer out a compromise in the weeks before Lincoln's inauguration. Once the Civil War began, he served as a Confederate general, briefly serving as Jefferson Davis's secretary of war in 1865.

Opposition to the Homestead Act of 1860 included all of the following EXCEPT a. Southerners who felt that free land would be filled rapidly by free-soilers. b. President Buchanan, who sided with southern sympathizers in vetoing the legislation. c. free-soilers who feared the legislation would tip the political balance against the South. d. Southerners who felt that gang-labor slavery could not flourish on a mere 160 acres. e. eastern industrialists who feared that their underpaid workers would be drained off to free land in the West.

c. free-soilers who feared the legislation would tip the political balance against the South.

The political career of Abraham Lincoln could best be described as a. greatly aided by the political influence of his wife, Mary Todd. b. a steady rise through the party ranks to power. c. fueled by his personal charisma more than his political beliefs. d. largely a failure until his meteoric rise after 1854. e. based on his success in the U.S. House and Senate.

d. largely a failure until his meteoric rise after 1854.

The reaction of most Northerners to John Brown was to a. regard Brown as insane and dismiss his raid as the act of a madman. b. express remorse that Brown had been able to garner so much support from northern intellectuals. c. see Brown's raid as the first step in an inevitable Civil War. d. join a write-in campaign to cast protest votes for Brown as president. e. condemn the raid on Harper's Ferry but mourn Brown as a martyr after his execution.

e. condemn the raid on Harper's Ferry but mourn Brown as a martyr after his execution.

Pottawatomie Creek Massacre

In reaction to the sacking of Lawrence by pro-slavery forces, John Brown and a band of abolitionist settlers killed five pro-slavery settlers north of Pottawatomie Creek in Franklin County, Kansas

Tariff of 1857

Lowered duties on imports in response to a high Treasury surplus and pressure from Southern farmers. created in response to the financial crash of 1857, reduced duties to 20%, northerners angered about low tariff walls, yet another source of north-south tension.

Freeport Question

Raised during one of the Lincoln-Douglas debates by Abraham Lincoln, who asked whether the Court or the people should decide the future of slavery in the territories. Abe Lincoln asked Douglas whether the court of the people should decide the future of slavery in the territories.

Lincoln-Douglas debates

Series of debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas during the U.S. Senate race in Illinois. Douglas won the election, but Lincoln gained national prominence and emerged as the leading candidate for the 1860 Republican nomination. 1858 Senate Debate, Lincoln forced Douglas to debate issue of slavery, Douglas supported popular sovereignty, Lincoln asserted that slavery should not spread to territories, Lincoln emerged as strong Republican candidate.

self-determination

The right of people to choose their own form of government

The border ruffians were a. proslavery Missourians who rushed into Kansas to vote illegally and battle antislavery forces there. b. proslavery raiders who shot up and burned a part of the free-soil town of Lawrence. c. the leaders of a puppet government at Shawnee Mission. d. antislavery men who established an extralegal regime of their own in Topeka. e. Republican party agitators who stuffed ballot boxes in Kansas.

a. proslavery Missourians who rushed into Kansas to vote illegally and battle antislavery forces there.

Preston S. Brooks (1819-1857)

Fiery South Carolina congressman who senselessly caned Charles Sumner on the Senate floor in 1856. His violent temper flared in response to Sumner's "Crime Against Kansas" speech, in which the Massachusetts senator threw bitter insults at the southern slaveocracy, singling out Brooks's South Carolina colleague, Senator Andrew Butler. A hot tempered Congressman of South Carolina took vengeance in his own hands. He beat Sumner with a cane until he was restrained by other Senators. He later resigned from his position, but was soon re-elected.

Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887)

Preacher, reformer, and abolitionist, Beecher was the son of famed evangelist Lyman Beecher and brother of author Harriet Beecher Stowe. In the 1850s, he helped raise money to support the New England Emigrant Aid Company in its efforts to keep slavery out of Kansas Territory. After the Civil War, Beecher emerged as perhaps the best-known Protestant minister, in part because of his ability to adapt Christianity to fit the times, emphasizing the compatibility of religion, science, and modernity. Theologically liberal American Congregationalist clergyman and reformer, and author. One of his elder sisters was Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of Uncle Tom's Cabin. An advocate of women's suffrage and for temperance, and a foe of slavery, he bought guns to support Bleeding Kansas.

Jefferson Davis

An American statesman and politician who served as President of the Confederate States of America for its entire history from 1861 to 1865

Dred Scott

A black slave, had lived with his master for 5 years in Illinois and Wisconsin Territory. Backed by interested abolitionists, he sued for freedom on the basis of his long residence on free soil. The ruling on the case was that He was a black slave and not a citizen, so he had no rights.

The Impending Crisis of the South

Antislavery tract, written by white Southerner Hinton R. Helper, arguing that nonslaveholding whites actually suffered most in a slave economy. A book written by Hinton Helper. Helper hated both slavery and blacks and used this book to try to prove that non-slave owning whites were the ones who suffered the most from slavery. The non-aristocrat from N.C. had to go to the North to find a publisher that would publish his book.

Roger B. Taney (1777-1864)

Chief justice of the Supreme Court from 1836 to 1864, Taney overturned Marshall's strict emphasis on contract rights, ruling in favor of community interest in the famous Charles River Bridge case in 1837. Maryland-born Taney also presided over the landmark Dred Scott decision, which ruled that Congress had no power to restrict slavery in the territories.

Bleeding Kansas

Civil war in Kansas over the issue of slavery in the territory, fought intermittently until 1861, when it merged with the wider national Civil War. A sequence of violent events involving abolitionists and pro-Slavery elements that took place in Kansas-Nebraska Territory. The dispute further strained the relations of the North and South, making civil war imminent.

Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896)

Connecticut-born abolitionist and author of the best-selling Uncle Tom's Cabin, a novel that awakened millions of northerners to the cruelty of slavery.

Crimean War in Russia (1853-1856)

Crimean War in Russia had overstimulated the growing of grain, while frenzied speculation in land and railroads had further ripped the economic fabric. When the collapse came, over five thousand businesses failed within a year. Unemployment, accompanied by hunger meetings in urban areas, was widespread. "Bread or Death" stated one desperate slogan.

"Beecher's Bibles"

Deadly rifles paid for by New England abolitionists and brought to Kansas by antislavery pioneers.

panic of 1857

Financial crash brought on by gold-fueled inflation, overspeculation, and excess grain production. Raised calls in the North for higher tariffs and for free homesteads on western public lands. Began with the failure of the Ohio Life Insurance Company and spread to the urban east. The depression affected the industrial east and the wheat belt more than the South.

Confederate States of America

Government established after seven southern states seceded from the Union. Later joined by four more states from the upper South. (1860) A group of eight Southern states that seceded from the Union, beginning with South Carolina, The Confederacy was led by Jefferson Davis; He eventually attacked the federally controlled Fort Sumter on April 12th 1861, marking the first battle of the Civil War. The Confederacy struggled economically during the war, lagging behind the Union's industrialization. This desperately contribute to their defeat.

John Brown (1800-1859)

Radical abolitionist who launched an attack on a federal armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, in an effort to lead slaves in a violent uprising against their owners. Brown, who first took up arms against slavery during the Kansas civil war, was captured shortly after he launched his ill-conceived raid on the armory and was sentenced to hang.

Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)

Sixteenth president of the United States. An Illinois lawyer and politician, Lincoln briefly served in Congress from 1847 to 1848, when he introduced the famous "spot" resolutions on the Mexican War. He gained national prominence in 1858 during the Lincoln-Douglas debates in the Illinois senate race and emerged as the leading contender for the Republican nomination in 1860. Lincoln's election in 1860 drove South Carolina from the Union, eventually leading to the Civil War. Sixteenth president of the United States, he promoted equal rights for African Americans in the famed Lincoln- Douglas debates. He issued the Emancipation Proclamation and set in motion the Civil War, but he was determined to preserve the Union. He was assassinated in 1865.

Dred Scott v. Stanford

Supreme Court decision that extended federal protection to slavery by ruling that Congress did not have the power to prohibit slavery in any territory. Also declared that slaves, as property, were not citizens of the United States. Supreme Court case that decided US Congress did not have the power to prohibit slavery in federal territories and slaves, as private property, could not be taken away without due process - basically slaves would remain slaves in non-slave states and slaves could not sue because they were not citizens.

John Jordan Crittenden (1787-1863)

U.S. senator from Kentucky who introduced a compromise in 1860 in an effort to avoid a civil war. Crittenden proposed to amend the Constitution to prohibit slavery in territories north of 36° 30' but to extend federal protection for slavery in territories to the south.

As presented to Congress, the Lecompton Constitution provided for a. a statewide referendum on slavery to be held after Kansas's admission to the Union. b. the admission of Kansas as a slave state. c. the admission of Kansas as a free state. d. John Brown to be governor of the new state of Kansas. e. a prohibition against either New England or Missouri involvement in Kansas politics.

b. the admission of Kansas as a slave state.

Hinton R. Helper's The Impending Crisis of the South a. argued that slavery was contrary to the religious values held by most Americans. b. was banned and burned throughout the South. c. aroused strong hostility to slavery among poorer, non-slaveholding whites. d. predicted and called for a violent civil war between North and South. e. was shunned by supporters of the Republican party.

b. was banned and burned throughout the South.

Despite Abraham Lincoln's impressive and persuasive seven performances in the Lincoln-Douglas Senate debates in 1858 a. Lincoln was elected to the Senate. b. Stephen Douglas increased his chances of winning the presidency. c. Senator Stephen Douglas defeated Lincoln. d. Lincoln's national stature was diminished. e. the concept of popular sovereignty continued to enjoy overwhelming political support in Illinois after the election.

c. Senator Stephen Douglas defeated Lincoln.

At the Democratic convention of 1860, Senator Stephen Douglas a. favored the extension of slavery into the territories and the annexation of slave-populated Cuba. b. gained support of southern fire-eaters as a result of his stand on the Freeport Doctrine. c. won the presidential nomination on the first ballot. d. supported the proslavery Lecompton Constitution, meaning that he completely repudiated his doctrine of popular sovereignty. e. could not muster the necessary two-thirds vote, so the entire body dissolved.

e. could not muster the necessary two-thirds vote, so the entire body dissolved.

All of the following were true of the Dred Scott decision except that a. a majority of the Court decreed that because a slave was private property, he or she could be taken into any territory and legally held there in slavery. b. the case could have been thrown out on technical grounds alone. c. the Court ruled that the Compromise of 1820 had been unconstitutional all along: Congress had no power to ban slavery from the territories, regardless even of what the territorial legislatures themselves might want. d. the Supreme Court ruled that because Scott was a slave, and not a citizen, he had no right to sue for his freedom in federal court. e. the Missouri Compromise, banning slavery north of 36° 30', was repealed.

e. the Missouri Compromise, banning slavery north of 36° 30', was repealed.