The Union of Peril

Bleeding Kansas Events

-Bleeding Kansas Describes the Violence Between Pro-and Anti-Slavery Forces From 1854-1860 -"Border Ruffians" From Missouri Crossed into Kansas to Vote For a Proslavery Legislature at Lecompton, Kansas -The Border Ruffians Used Violence to Prevent Voting By Antislavery Kansans -Pro-slavery forces resided in Lecomptom, Kansas. -Antislavery Forces Created Their Own Legislature at Topeka, Kansas -Border Ruffians Attacked Antislavery Lawrence, Kansas in 1856, Burning Buildings and Killing Several People -A Few Days Later, John Brown and His Sons Attacked a Proslavery Farm Settlement at Pottawatomie Creek, Killing 5 People -In 1857 Kansas Approved the Proslavery Lecompton Constitution But Congress Refused to Admit Kansas -Kansas Re-Voted and Rejected the Lecompton Constitution; Kansas Remained a Territory Until Admitted As a Free State in 1861

When did the Republican party form?

1854. The Republican party soon formed after the creation of the Kansas-Nebraska act.

Describe the Constitutional party during this time?

A middle-of-the-road group, fearing for the Union, hastily organized the Constitutional Union party sneered at as the " Do Nothing or Old Gentleman 's party. It consisted mainly of former Whigs and Know- Nothings, a veritable "gathering of graybeards." Desperately anxious to elect a compromise candidate, they met in Baltimore and nominated for the presidency John Bell of Tennessee. They went into battle ringing hand bells for Bell and 'Waving handbills for The Union, the Constitution, and the Enforcement of the Laws." They nominated John Bell. Constitutional Union Party nominated John Bell, pledging enforcement of the law and preservation of the Union

Describe Northern Abolitionists

Abolitionists pushed for an end of slavery everywhere; radicals pushed for full equality for blacks. They wanted the FULL and COMPLETE ending of american slavery everywhere. Abolitionism was only a small minority of Northern opinion. Most Northerners were free soilers, neutral, or indifferent.

Describe the attacks at Lawrence and Pottawatomie Creek.

Border Ruffians Attacked Antislavery Lawrence, Kansas in 1856, Burning Buildings and Killing Several People. A Few Days Later, John Brown and His Sons Attacked a Pro-slavery Farm Settlement at Pottawatomie Creek, Killing 5 People .

Who were the candidates for each party?

Abraham Lincoln (Republican), Stephen Douglas (Northern Democrat), John Bell (Constitutional Unionist), and John C. Breckinridge (Southern Democrat)

What were the political parties in the election of 1860?

Constitutional Union Party, Northern Democrats, Southern Democrats, and Republicans.

Who Seceded First?

South Carolina

Crittenden Compromise

The proposed Crittenden amendments to the Constitution, proposed within days of South Carolina's secession vote, were designed to appease the South. Slavery in the territories was to be prohibited north of 36° 30, but south of that line it was to be given federal protection in all territories existing or "hereafter to be acquired" (such as Cuba). Future states, north or south of 36 30', could come into the Union with or without slavery, as they should choose. In short, the slavery supporters were to be guaranteed full rights in the southern territories, as long as they were territories, regardless of the wishes of the majority under popular sovereignty. Federal protection in a territory south of 36 30 might conceivably though improbably, turn the entire area permanently to slavery.

What was the speech "The Crime Against Kansas." What was the impact of this speech?

Bleeding Kansas also spattered on the floor of the Senate in 1856. Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts, was a leading abolitionist-one of the few prominent in political life. Highly educated but cold, humorless, intolerant, and egotistical, he had made himself one of the most disliked men in the Senate. Brooding over the turbulent miscarriage of popular sovereignty, he delivered a blistering speech titled The Crime Against Kansas." Sparing few epithets, he condemned the pro-slavery men as "hirelings picked from the drunken spew and vomit of an uneasy civilization." He also referred insultingly to South Carolina and to its white-haired senator Andrew Butler, one of the best-liked members of the Senate. Hot-tempered Congressman Preston S. Brooks of South Carolina took vengeance into his own hands. Ordinarily gracious and gallant, he resented the insults to his state and to its senator, a distant cousin. His code of honor called for a duel, but in the South one fought only with one's social equals. And had not the coarse language of the Yankee, who prob- ably would reject a challenge, dropped him to a lower order? To Brooks, the only alternative was to chastise the senator as one would beat an unruly dog. On May 22, 1856, he approached Sumner, then sitting at his Senate desk, and pounded the orator with an eleven- ounce cane until it broke. The victim fell bleeding and unconscious to the floor, while several nearby senators refrained from interfering.

What was Bleeding Kansas?

Bleeding Kansas, Bloody Kansas or the Border War was a series of violent civil confrontations in the United States between 1854 and 1861 which emerged from a political and ideological debate over the legality of slavery in the proposed state of Kansas. The conflict was characterized by years of electoral fraud, raids, assaults, and retributive murders carried out by pro-slavery "Border Ruffians" and anti-slavery "Free-Staters" in Kansas and neighboring Missouri.At the heart of the conflict was the question of whether the Kansas Territory would allow or outlaw slavery, and thus enter the Union as a slave state or a free state. The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 called for popular sovereignty, requiring that the decision about slavery be made by the territory's settlers (rather than outsiders) and decided by a popular vote. Existing sectional tensions surrounding slavery quickly found focus in Kansas, with the pro-slavery element arguing that every settler had the right to bring his own property, including slaves, into the territory; anti-slavery "free soil" proponents argued not only that slavery was unethical, but that permitting slavery in Kansas would allow rich slaveholders to control the land to the exclusion of non-slaveholders. Missouri, a slave state since 1821, was populated by a large number of settlers with Southern sympathies and pro-slavery attitudes, many of whom tried to influence the decision in Kansas. The conflict was fought politically as well as between civilians, where it eventually degenerated into brutal gang violence and paramilitary guerrilla warfare.

What was the result of Brown's Plan?

Brown was convicted of murder an treason after a hasty but legal trial. He was executed for his crimes.

Who was Charles Sumner?

Charles Sumner was a senator of Massachusetts that was anti-slavery. He was hated among many.

Why was the admission of California into the union a problem?

California applied for statehood as a free state in 1850, which caused major controversy. California was a very influential and potentially powerful land and urged the united states to admit them as one huge free state. There were apprehensions about this from southerners because it would upset the slave state-free state balance in the senate, which was preserved at all costs. It would upset the 15 to 15 balance. There was not another slave state ready to balance out California. California simply shot down the idea of being split into two states, in which one was free and one was slave. The united states could not pass up he chance of adding California into the union and did it anyway. The compromise of 1850 had to be enacted to make up for this.

Describe the parts of the compromise of 1850

California was admitted to the Union as the 16th free state. In exchange, the south was guaranteed that no federal restrictions on slavery would be placed on Utah or New Mexico. Texas lost its boundary claims in New Mexico, but the Congress compensated Texas with $10 million. Slavery was maintained in the nation's capital, but the slave trade was prohibited. Finally, and most controversially, a FUGITIVE SLAVE LAW was passed, requiring northerners to return runaway slaves to their owners under penalty of law. The fugitive slave law was very harsh and was not always supported by the Northerners full-heartedly. Special federal commissions set up to handle cases of fugitive slaves. Fleeing slaves could not testify on their own behalf and denied jury trials. Federal commissioners who handled cases of fugitive slaves received $5 if the slave was set free, $10 if the slave was not set free. Northerners who helped slaves escape could be fined or jailed and could even be forced to help recapture slaves. Northerners Turned From Compromise to Abolition in Large Numbers Because of the Fugitive Slave Law. The Law Forced Northerners to Help Enforce Slavery, Which Many Hated. Mobs of Abolitionists Rescued Captured Slaves or Rioted When They Were Taken.

What happened to the Democratic party?

Deeply divided, the Democrats met in Charleston South Carolina, with Douglas the leading candidate of the northern wing of the party. But the southern fire-eaters regarded him as a traitor, as a result of his unpopular stand on the Lecompton Constitution and the Freeport Doctrine. After a bitter wrangle over the Angered southern Democrats promptly organized platform, the delegates from most of the cotton states a rival convention in Baltimore, in which many of the walked out. When the remainder could not scrape northern states were unrepresented. They selected as together the necessary two-thirds vote for Douglas, the their leader the stern-jawed vice president, John C. entire body dissolved. The Democrats tried again in Baltimore. This time of slave-populated Cuba. the Douglas Democrats, chiefly from the North, were firmly in the saddle. Many of the cotton-state delegates again took a walk, and the rest of the convention enthusiastically nominated their hero. The platform came out squarely for popular sovereignty and, as a sop to the South, against obstruction of the Fugitive Slave Law by the states of the Laws. Angered southern Democrats promptly organized es a rival convention in Baltimore, in which many of the northern states were unrepresented. They selected as their leader the stern-jawed vice president, John C. Breckinridge, a man of moderate views from the border state of Kentucky. The platform favored the extension of slavery into the territories and the annexation of slave-populated Cuba.

Describe the Democrat party during this time?

Democratic Party split over popular sovereignty (Stephen Douglas) and unrestricted extension of slavery (John C. Breckinridge)

How did the Kansas Nebraska act influence the Missouri Compromise?

Douglas's Kansas-Nebraska scheme flatly contradicted the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which had forbidden slavery in the proposed Nebraska territory north of the 36°30′ line. The only way to open the region to popular sovereignty was to repeal the compromise outright. Douglas was willing to take the chance of shattering the truce between the North and South from the compromise of 1850.

Why did Dred Scott want freedom?

Dred Scott was incredibly courageous and decided to file a freedom suit against his master. What was his reasoning? Well, you might remember that his master had moved him into the North, which was free territory. Recall, the Missouri Compromise outlawed slavery above the the 36°30′ parallel, excluding Missouri. Dred Scott had lived under his master's rule for five years in Illinois and Wisconsin Territory. He decided that he would sue for his freedom, due to the fact that he had resided on free soil for an extended period of time. Many interested abolitionists backed up his case because they thought that he should be emancipated.

What was the Freeport Doctrine?

Freeport Doctrine, position stated by Democratic U.S. Senator Stephen A. Douglas that settlers in a U.S. territory could circumvent the U.S. Supreme Court's Dred Scott decision—which held that neither states nor territories were empowered to make slavery illegal—simply by failing to provide for police enforcement of the rights of slave owners to their slaves. The doctrine was first presented during the second of the Lincoln-Douglas debates, in Freeport, Illinois, on August 27, 1858. The most famous debate came at Freeport, Illinois, where Lincoln nearly impaled his opponent on the horns of a dilemma. Suppose, he queried, the people of a territory should vote slavery down. The Supreme Court Dred Scott decision had decreed that they could not. Who would prevail, the Court or the people? Douglas' reply to Lincoln became known as the Freeport Doctrine. No. matter how the Supreme Court ruled, Douglas argued, slavery would stay down if the people voted it down. Laws to protect slavery would have to be passed by the territorial legislatures. These would not be forthcoming in the absence of popular approval, and black bondage would soon disappear. Douglas, in truth, had American history on his side. Where public opinion does not support the federal government, as in the case of Jefferson's embargo the law is almost impossible to enforce.

What did the Supreme Court rule on the Missouri Compromise? (remember this enacted on the Louisiana purchase)

It was also ruled that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional. This compromise stated that slavery was prohibited North of the 36°30' parallel, excluding Missouri. Chief Justice Taney specifically relied on the Fifth Amendment to make his claim, which stated that no one would be deprived of, "life, liberty, or property, without due process of law." Judge Taney stated that since a slave was private property, he or she could be taken to any area of the United States and be legally bound to slavery. Essentially, no one could prohibit Southerners from taking their slaves anywhere in the United States because it would mean that the Southerners would be denied of their Constitutional rights

Who was the leader of the confederate states of america?

Jefferson Davis, a Senator From Mississippi, Was Elected President

Who was John Brown?

John Brown (May 9, 1800 - December 2, 1859) was an American abolitionist who believed in and advocated armed insurrection as the only way to overthrow the institution of slavery in the United States. He was a radical extremist. The North saw him as a marytr, but the south saw him as a madman.

What was the decision on the statehood of Kansas?

Kansas became a free state in 1861.

What were personal liberty laws?

Laws enacted by northern states to counteract the Fugitive Slave Act by granting rights to escaped slaves and free blacks. Massachusetts and Other Northern States Passed "Personal Liberty Laws" That Denied Jails and Other Help to Federal Enforcement Officials. In the context of slavery in the United States, the personal liberty laws were laws passed by several U.S. states in the North to counter the Fugitive Slave Acts of 1793 and 1850. Different laws did this in different ways, including allowing jury trials for escaped slaves and forbidding state authorities from cooperating in their capture and return. States with personal liberty laws included Connecticut, Massachusetts, Michigan, Maine, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Vermont.

What was the impact of this controversial book?

Lincoln Met Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1862 and Greeted Her By Saying: "So you're the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war." The governments in London and Paris could not intervene on behalf of the South because of the "Tommania" in the population. The Southerners were horrified and thought that this was untrue propaganda. They burned the books at many locations and chided it. The North believed this book to be a masterpiece that depicted the truth of slavery.

Results of the election of 1860?

Lincoln won. Lincoln Won 39% of the Popular Vote and 59% of the Electoral Vote.

The North and South's reaction to what happened to John Brown?

Southerners were very disturbed by Brown's actions and believed that his death was just. They started to picture every Northerner as a crazed abolitionist that was out to sabotage their slavery, "just like brown." They thought that any Northerner would jump at the chance to cause a slave rebellion. The Northerners were upset by his death and failed to see his many faults. They branded him as a martyr. Many moderate Northerners disapproved of his actions openly. However, the Southerners didn't recognize them.

President Buchanan's response to the secession crisis.

President Buchanan took no action towards this crisis. James Buchanan Believed He Could Do Nothing to Stop Secession, Even Though He Thought It Was Illegal.

What was the reaction to the Crittenden compromise?

President-elect Lincoln flatly rejected the Crittenden scheme, which offered some slight prospect of success, and all hope of compromise evaporated. For this refusal he must bear a heavy responsibility. Yet he had been elected on a platform that opposed the extension of slavery, and he felt that as a matter of principle, he could not afford to yield, even though gains for slavery in the territories might be only temporary. Larger gains might come later in Cuba and Mexico. Crittenden's proposal, said Lincoln, "would amount to perpetual covenant of war against every people, tribe, and state owning a foot of land between here and Tierra del Fuego."

describe the Crittenden Compromise. Who wrote it?

Senator John Crittenden (Kentucky) Proposed an Amendment to Extend the Missouri Compromise Line Across the Country. 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

What was the Kansas Nebraska Act? Who founded it? Why did he propose it?

Senator Stephen A. Douglas proposed it. it was a counter stroke to offset the Gadsden thrust for southern expansion westward. An ardent booster for the West, he longed to break the North-South deadlock over westward expansion and stretch a line of settlements across the continent. He has also invested heavily in Chicago real estate and in railway stock and was eager to have the Windy City become the eastern terminus of the proposed pacific railroad. He would thus endear himself to the voters to Illinois, benefit his section, and enrich his own purse. The Act called for Nebraska to be sliced up into two territories Kansas and Nebraska. Their status regarding slavery would be settled by popular sovereignty- a democratic concept to which Douglas and his western constituents were deeply attached. The settlers would decide for themselves whether they wanted slavery or not. Kansas, which due west of slave holding Missouri, would presumably become a slave state. But Nebraska, lying west of free soil Iowa, would presumably become a free state.

What were the Lincoln-Douglas Debates?

The Lincoln-Douglas debates (also known as The Great Debates of 1858) were a series of seven debates between Abraham Lincoln, the Republican candidate for the United States Senate from Illinois, and incumbent Senator Stephen Douglas, the Democratic Party candidate. At the time, U.S. senators were elected by state legislatures; thus Lincoln and Douglas were trying for their respective parties to win control of the Illinois General Assembly. The debates previewed the issues that Lincoln would face in the aftermath of his victory in the 1860 presidential election. Although Illinois was a free state, the main issue discussed in all seven debates was slavery in the United States. In agreeing to the official debates, Lincoln and Douglas decided to hold one debate in each of the nine congressional districts in Illinois. Because both had already spoken in two—Springfield and Chicago—within a day of each other, they decided that their "joint appearances" would be held in the remaining seven districts.

What were the effects of the Mexican Cession on slavery in the US?

The Mexican Cession opened the issue of the extension of slavery into the territory. The bog question was whether the territory would be free or slave. This was a very large political issue. Northerners feared that the Southerners would take advantage of this territory and try to build a slave empire. The Southerners wanted all of the territories to be slave territories. Quarreling over slavery extension also erupted on the floors of Congress. In 1846, shortly after the shooting had started, Polk requested an approbation of 2 million which to buy peace.

How did the Kansas Nebraska act impact the compromise of 1850 and future compromises between the North and South?

The North was utterly appalled by what the South had done to breach such a long standing agreement. The North refused to form any more contracts with such a dishonest section. The North was very distrusting of the south. In addition, the North completely stopped even half enforcing the fugitive slave law (compromise of 1850) because of this.

The North and South Reaction of the violent events relating to Charles Sumner.

The Northerners believed Sumner to be a martyr and a victim. They thought that Brooks was incredibly cruel and started to view every Southerner as a violent person like him. The Southerners believed Sumner to be a cruel antagonizer. They applauded Brooks for his actions and even sent him more hickory canes.

Describe the Republican party during this time?

The Republican platform had a seductive appeal for just about every important nonsouthern group: for the free-soilers, nonextension of slavery; for the northern manufacturers, a protective tariff; for the immigrants, no abridgment of rights; for the Northwest, a Pacific railroad; for the West, internal improvements at federal expense; and for the farmers free homesteads from the public domain. Alluring slo- gans included "Vote Yourselves a Farm" and "Land for the Landless." Republicans nominated Abraham Lincoln, who opposed to extension of slavery (free soil)

What was the South worried about in the 1850s

The South was worried about Northerners gaining free states from new territories. They saw attacks on slavery as attacks on Constitutional protections of property. Moderate southerners were willing to extend the Missouri compromise across the united states. However, most southerners were not. If the North gained any more free states then they might have more control over the south in congress. The slave state-free state balance would be upset. The south loathed the possibility of the North being able to veto any amendment or decision they wanted to enact.

The reaction of the North and South to the Dred Scott Case.

The Southerners were in favor of the ruling of the case and believed that it vindicated their rights. Southerners believed that they had a bundle of rights relating to slavery that should be sanctioned. Some of the rights that the Southerners believed that they should have is to be able to own slaves in the South, take slaves to the West, take slaves to the North, recapture fugitive slaves who escaped, and more. They had a positive viewpoint towards the Supreme court and thought that the justices were on their side. Southerners especially appreciated the judgements of Chief Justice Taney. The Northerners did not agree with the decision that the Supreme Court made and thought that it was unacceptable. They saw the actions of the Supreme Court as further evidence that the court was dominated by the views of the Southerners or Democratic party. Therefore, they stated that the ruling was not just and too corrupt to be taken seriously. The Northerners then stated that the ruling would only be regarded as a mere suggestion and that it would not be applied. Many of the angered abolitionists decided to split off and join the Republican party.

What did the Supreme Court rule on slavery in the territories?

The Supreme Court ruled that Congress had no power to regulate whether any land was free or allowed slavery. No land in the United States was to outlaw slavery. The Court thought that the Southerners should be able to transport their slaves to any area in the country, while keeping them legally bound to slavery. This ruling was also based upon the principles of the Fifth Amendment. The Fifth Amendment stated that no one would be deprived of, "life, liberty, or property, without due process of law." To prohibit Southern slave owners from legally transporting their slaves to free lands would be denying them their liberties, in relation to property. Remember, slaves were seen as private property and not people. ONLY IN TERRITORIES BECAUSE THE BILL OF RIGHTS ONLY APPLIED TO CONGRESS RULED PLACES (WHICH TERRITORIES WERE)

Describe the Underground Railroad

The Underground Railroad was a network of secret routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early to mid-19th century, and used by African-American slaves to escape into free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists, both black and white, free and enslaved, who aided the fugitives.Various other routes led to Mexico or overseas. An earlier escape route running south toward Florida, then a Spanish possession (except 1763-83), existed from the late 17th century until Florida became a United States territory in 1821 (ending the safe haven for escaped slaves was the main reason Florida changed nationality).However, the network now generally known as the Underground Railroad was formed in the late 1700s, ran north to the free states and Canada, and reached its height between 1850 and 1860. One estimate suggests that by 1850, 100,000 slaves had escaped via the "Railroad". It was an informal chain of stations (anti-slavery homes) through which many runaway slaves were helped by abolitionists to escape bondage.

Describe the Whig party during this time?

The Whig Party was nonexistent.

What was the book that was published around this time that was very controversial? Who wrote it? What was one of its main themes?

The book "Uncle Tom's Cabin," was written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. It demonstrated the wickedness of slavery and was an incredibly popular book. In fact, plays of the book were put on for illiterate people. A main theme of the book was the separation of families. Specifically, the separation of mother and child.

what was the order of secession?

The eleven states of the CSA, in order of their secession dates (listed in parentheses), were: South Carolina (December 20, 1860), Mississippi (January 9, 1861), Florida (January 10, 1861), Alabama (January 11, 1861), Georgia (January 19, 1861), Louisiana (January 26, 1861), Texas (February 1, 1861), Virginia (April 17, 1861), Arkansas (May 6, 1861), North Carolina (May 20, 1861), and Tennessee (June 8, 1861). Secession was declared by pro-Confederate governments in Missouri and Kentucky (see Confederate government of Missouri and Confederate government of Kentucky), but did not become effective as it was opposed by their pro-Union state governments.

Describe Southern Fire Eaters

The fire eaters were the most robust Southerners. They were incredibly aggressive pro-slavery individuals in this time period. They wanted the expansion of slavery everywhere. They wanted slavery EVERYWHERE, even in FREE states. Later in time, impassioned Southerners called 'Fire-eaters' vigorously called for Southern secession if Lincoln won the election, and many of their neighbors agreed. Lincoln did win, and the South was faced with a choice: remain in the Union with a Republican president or take decisive action and secede.

Describe Free Soilers

The free soilers did not want to end slavery. Instead, they simply wanted to confine slavery to where it already was. Their main concern was keeping the "fire" of slavery from spreading across the united states. They believed in free speech, free labor, and free men. They condemned slavery not so much for enslaving blacks but for destroying the chances of free white workers to rise up from wage-earning dependence to the esteemed status for self-employment. They had the agrarian Jeffersonian idea on society. They believed that costly wage labor would be scarce if slavery was in the further territories.

What did Brown plan do at Harper's Ferry?

The gaunt, grim figure of John Brown of bleeding Kansas infamy now once again took the stage. After studying the tactics of the black rebels Toussaint L'Ouverture and Nat Turner he hatched a daring scheme to invade the South secretly with a handful of followers, call upon the slaves to rise, furnish them with arms, and establish a kind of black free state as a sanctuary. Brown secured several thousand dollars for firearms from northern abolitionists and finally arrived in hilly western Virginia with some twenty men including several blacks. At scenic Harper's Ferry, he seized the federal arsenal in October 1859, incidentally killing seven innocent people, including a free black, and injuring ten or so more. But the slaves, largely ignorant of Brown's strike, failed to rise, and the wounded Brown and the remnants of his tiny band were quickly captured by U.S. Marines under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Robert E. Lee.

What did the Supreme Court rule on Scott's citizenship?

The ruling of the Supreme Court was very controversial and is seen as one of the worst decisions by the Supreme Court in U.S. history. First of all, the court ruled that Dred Scott was a slave and not a citizen of the United States. It was stated that any negro whose ancestors were imported into the United States from Africa and sold as slaves, could not be an American citizen. Therefore, Scott should have not been able to sue in federal courts, since he wasn't a citizen. In essence, his case should have been dismissed, according to Taney's judgement.

What were the immediate and long-term effects of the debate?

The upshot was that Douglas defeated Lincoln for the Senate seat. The Little Giant's" loyalty to popular sovereignty, which still had a powerful appeal in Illinois, probably was decisive. Senators were then chosen by state legislatures; and in the general election that fol- lowed the debates, more pro-Douglas members were elected than pro-Lincoln members. Yet thanks to inequitable apportionment, the districts carried by Douglas supporters represented a smaller population tha those carried by Lincoln supporters. "Honest Abe" thus won a clear moral victory. Lincoln possibly was playing for larger stakes than just the senatorship. Although defeated, he had sham- bled into the national limelight in company with the most prominent northern politicians. Newspapers in the East published detailed accounts of the debates and Lincoln began to emerge as a potential Republican nominee for president. But Douglas, in winning Illinois, hurt his own chances of winning the presidency while further splitting his splintering party. After his opposition to the Lecompton Constitution and his further defiance of the Supreme Court at Free- port, southern Democrats were determined to break up the party (and the Union) rather than accept him. The Lincoln-Douglas debate platform thus proved to be one of the preliminary battlefields of the Civil War.

What was the Wilmot Proviso?

This Proviso came to be after the Mexican Cession. It was crafted by Dave Wilmot. The Wilmot Proviso never became a federal law, but it was eventually endorsed by the legislatures of all but one of the free states, and it cam to symbolize the burning issue of slavery in the territories. Northern antislavery people rallied behind this proviso. It flatly would have prohibited slavery in any territory acquired in the Mexican War. The Wilmot Proviso was a proposal to prohibit slavery in the territory acquired by the United States at the conclusion of the Mexican War. In 1846, David Wilmot a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania, proposed the Wilmot Proviso.

What was the Mexican Cession?

This was the Territory that was ceded by Mexico to the United States in 1848. The "Mexican Cession" refers to lands surrendered, or ceded, to the United States by Mexico at the end of the Mexican War. The terms of this transfer were spelled out in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo of 1848. Under the terms of the cession, the United States acquired the territory that became the states of California, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona, with the exception of that territory that later was added by the Gadsden Treaty in 1853.

Describe Popular sovereignty

This was the doctrine that stated that the sovereign people of a territory, under the general principles of the Constitution, should themselves determine the status of slavery. A pre-Civil War doctrine asserting the right of the people living in a newly organized territory to decide by vote of their territorial legislature whether or not slavery would be permitted there.

What Happened when Lincoln was elected?

When Lincoln Was Elected, 7 Deep South States Seceded and the Confederate States of America (CSA) Created

Describe the Lecompton Constitution.

Yet by 1857 Kansas had enough people, chiefly free-soilers, to apply for statehood on a popular- sovereignty basis. The proslavery forces, then in the saddle, devised a tricky document known as the Lecompton Constitution. The people were not allowed to vote for or against the constitution as a whole, but for the constitution either "with slavery" or "with no slavery." If they voted against slavery, of the remaining provisions of the constitution would protect the owners of slaves already in Kansas. So what- ever the outcome, there would still be black bondage in Kansas. Many free-soilers, infuriated by this ploy, boycotted the polls. Left to themselves, the proslaveryites approved the constitution with slavery late in 1857. The scene next shifted to Washington. President Pierce had been succeeded by the no-less-pliable James Buchanan, who was also strongly under southern influence. Blind to sharp divisions within his own Democratic party, Buchanan threw the weight of his administration behind the notorious Lecompton Constitution. But Senator Douglas, who had championed true popular sovereignty, would have none of this semi-popular fraudulency. Deliberately tossing away his strong support in the South for the presidency, he fought courageously for fair play and democratic principles. The outcome was a compromise that, in effect, submitted the entire Lecompton Constitution to a popular vote. The free - soil voters thereupon thronged to the polls and snowed it under. Kansas remained a territory until 1861, when the southern secessionists left Congress. On 4 January 1858, Kansas voters, having the opportunity to reject the constitution altogether in the referendum, overwhelmingly rejected the Lecompton proposal by a vote of 10,226 to 138. And in Washington, the Lecompton constitution was defeated by the federal House of Representatives in 1858. Though soundly defeated, debate over the proposed constitution had ripped apart the Democratic party. Kansas was admitted to the Union as a free state in 1861.

The South's political position towards the nation after Lincoln's election?

Yet the South, despite its electoral defeat, was not all that badly off in terms of political power. It retained a five-to-four majority on the Supreme Court. And although the Republicans had elected Lincoln to the presidency, they controlled neither the Senate nor the House of Representatives. The federal government could not touch slavery in those states where it existed except by a constitutional amendment, and such an amendment could be defeated by one-fourth of the states. The fifteen slave states numbered nearly one- half of the total-a fact not fully appreciated by southern firebrands. Nonetheless, hot passions, not cool reason, now began to drive events. South Carolina, which had threatened to go out if the "sectional" Lincoln came in, proved as good as its word. Four days after the election of the "Illinois baboon" by "insulting" majorities, its legislature voted unanimously to call a special convention. Meeting at Charleston in December 1860, the delegates unanimously voted to leave the Union. The fuse had now been lit that would eventually ignite a chain reaction of secession.

Who got the better deal in the Compromise of 1850?

the North (1) CA tipped the Senate balance permanently against the south (2) New Mexico and Utah territories were open to slavery by popular sovereignty, but leaned towards free (3) south urgently needed more slave territory (look towards the Caribbean) (4) outlawing of slave trade in DC, step towards complete emancipation (5) The Northerners tried to rebel against the fugitive slave act. Personal liberty laws defied the compromise. The Northerners also became more anti-slavery because now slavery directly impacted them.