History Chapter 16 Questions

Bleeding Kansas

A band of pro-slavery men raided the town of Lawrence, an antislavery stronghold, in 1856. The attackers destroyed homes and smashed the press of a Free-Soil newspaper. John Brown, an abolitionist, decided to strike back. Brown had moved to Kansas to help make it a free state. In the middle of the night, they dragged five pro-slavery settlers from their beds and murdered them. The killings at Pottawatomie Creek led to even more violence.

The Republican Party

A group of Free-Soilers, northern Democrats, and antislavery Whigs gathered in 1854. They formed the Republican party. Its main goal was to keep slavery out of the western territories. A few Republicans were abolitionists. They hoped to end slavery in the South as well. Most Republicans, however, wanted only to stop the spread of slavery. Frémont's main opponent was Democrat James Buchanan of Pennsylvania. Buchanan won the election with support from a large majority of southerners and many northerners.

Uncle Toms Cabin Reaction

Although Uncle Tom's Cabin was popular in the North, southerners objected to the book. They claimed that it did not give a true picture of slave life. Indeed, Stowe had seen little of slavery firsthand. Despite such objections, Uncle Tom's Cabin helped to change the way northerners felt about slavery. No longer could they ignore slavery as a political problem for Congress to settle.

Other Part of Missouri Compromise

As part of the Missouri Compromise, Congress drew an imaginary line across the southern border of Missouri at latitude 36°30′ N. Slavery was permitted in the part of the Louisiana Purchase south of that line. It was banned north of the Missouri Compromise line. The only exception to this was Missouri itself.

Western Expansion and the effect on Slavery

As the debate heated up, people found it hard not to take sides. Abolitionists wanted slavery banned throughout the country. They insisted that slavery was morally wrong. Southern slaveholders thought that slavery should be allowed in any territory. They also demanded that slaves who escaped to the North be returned to them. Even white southerners who did not own slaves generally agreed with these ideas. People wanted slavery to be in different places or just no slavery at all.

Norths view of John Brown

Because he conducted himself with such dignity during his trial, John Brown became a hero to many northerners. Some considered him a martyr because he was willing to give up his life for his beliefs.

Western Expansion more Moderate Positions

Between these two extreme views were more moderate positions. Some moderates argued that the Missouri Compromise line should be extended across the Mexican Cession to the Pacific. Any new state north of the line would be a free state. Any new state south of the line could allow slavery. Other moderates supported the idea of popular sovereignty. Under popular sovereignty, voters in a new territory would decide for themselves whether or not to allow slavery.

Clay vs Calhoun

Calhoun refused to compromise. He insisted that slavery be allowed in the western territories. In addition, Calhoun demanded that fugitive slaves be returned to their owners. Webster then joined and thought that slavery was evil.

The Dred Scott Case

Dred Scott had been enslaved for many years in Missouri. Later, he moved with his owner to Illinois and then to the Wisconsin Territory, where slavery was not allowed. After they returned to Missouri, Scott's owner died. Antislavery lawyers helped Scott to file a lawsuit, a legal case brought to settle a dispute between people or groups. Scott's lawyers argued that, because Scott had lived in a free territory, he had become a free man.

Lincoln vs Douglas

During the Senate campaign, Lincoln challenged Douglas to a series of debates. During the campaign, the two debated seven times. Slavery was the important issue. Douglas wanted to settle the slavery question by popular sovereignty. He personally disliked slavery, but stated that he did not care whether people in the territories voted "down or up" for it. Lincoln was totally opposed to slavery in the territories. He had no wish to interfere with slavery in the states where it already existed. Douglas won the election by a slim margin.

Free-Soil Party effect on Presidency in 1848

For the first time, slavery was an important election issue. Van Buren called for a ban on slavery in the Mexican Cession. Cass supported popular sovereignty. Taylor did not speak on the issue. However, because he was a slave owner from Louisiana, many southern voters assumed that he supported slavery.

Uncle Toms Cabin

Harriet Beecher Stowe, a New England woman, published a novel called Uncle Tom's Cabin. Stowe wrote the novel to show the evils of slavery and the injustice of the Fugitive Slave Act. Stowe told the story of Uncle Tom, an enslaved African American noted for his kindness and piety.

California's Impact

In 1849, there were 15 slave states and 15 free states in the nation. If California entered the union as a free state, the balance of power would be broken. Furthermore, it seemed quite possible that Oregon, Utah, and New Mexico might also join the Union as free states. Many southerners feared that the South would be hopelessly outvoted in the Senate. Some even suggested that southern states might want to secede, from the United States. California should enter the Union as a free state because most of territory lay north of the Missouri Compromise line.

Two Governments

In 1855, Kansas held elections to choose lawmakers. Hundreds of Border Ruffians crossed into Kansas and voted illegally. They helped to elect a pro-slavery legislature. The new legislature quickly passed laws to support slavery. Antislavery settlers refused to accept these laws. They elected their own governor and legislature.

Kansas Nebraska Act

In January 1854, Senator Stephen Douglas introduced a bill to set up a government for the Nebraska Territory. This territory stretched from Texas north to Canada, and from Missouri west to the Rockies. Douglas knew that white southerners did not want to add another free state to the Union. He proposed that the Nebraska Territory be divided into two territories, Kansas and Nebraska. The settlers living in each territory would then be able to decide the issue of slavery by popular sovereignty.

The Supreme Courts Decision

In time, the case reached the Supreme Court. The Court's decision shocked and dismayed Americans who opposed slavery. First, the Court ruled that Scott could not file a lawsuit because, as an enslaved person, he was not a citizen. Also, the Court's written decision clearly stated that slaves were considered to be property. The Court's ruling did not stop there. Instead, the Justices went on to make a sweeping decision about the larger issue of slavery in the territories. According to the Court, Congress did not have the power to outlaw slavery in any territory. The Court's ruling meant that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional.

Lincolns Decision

Jefferson Davis, however, had already ordered Confederate forces to begin seizing federal forts in the South. President Lincoln faced a difficult decision. Should he let the Confederates take over federal property? If he did, he would seem to be admitting that states had the right to leave the Union. On the other hand, if he sent troops to hold the forts, he might start a civil war. He might also lose the support of the eight slave states that had not seceded from the Union.

Wilmot Proviso

Many northerners feared that the South would extend slavery into the West. David Wilmot, a member of Congress from Pennsylvania, called for a law to ban slavery in any territories won from Mexico. Southern leaders angrily opposed Proviso. They said that Congress had no right to ban slavery in the West. The House passed the Wilmot Proviso in 1846, but the Senate defeated it. As a result, Americans continued to argue about slavery in the West even while their army fought in Mexico.

Norths Reaction

Many northerners were unhappy with the new law. The Missouri Compromise had already banned slavery in Kansas and Nebraska, they insisted. In effect, the Kansas-Nebraska Act would repeal the Missouri Compromise. The northern reaction to the Kansas-Nebraska Act was swift and angry. Slavery could now spread to areas that had been free for more than 30 years.

South Carolinas Secession

Many southerners believed that the North had put an abolitionist in the White House. They felt that secession was their only choice. On December 20, 1860, South Carolina became the first state to secede. By 1861, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas had also seceded.

Conflict in Missouri Compromise

Missouri's admission would give the South a majority in the Senate. Determined not to lose power, northerners opposed letting Missouri enter as a slave state. The argument lasted many months. Finally, Senator Henry Clay made a proposal. During the long debate, Maine had also applied for statehood. Clay suggested admitting Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. His plan, called the Missouri Compromise, kept the number of slave and free states equal.

The Confederacy

Most southerners believed that they had every right to secede. At a convention in Montgomery, Alabama, the seven states formed a new nation, the Confederate States of America. Jefferson Davis of Mississippi became the first president of the Confederacy.

Fort Sumter

President Lincoln learned that food supplies at Fort Sumter were running low. The Confederates, however, felt that they could not leave the fort in Union hands. On April 11, 1861, they demanded that Fort Sumter surrender. Major Robert Anderson, the Union commander, refused to give in until he had run out of food or was ordered to surrender by the United States government. Confederate guns then opened fire. The Union troops quickly ran out of ammunition. The then surrendered the fort

Border Ruffians

Pro-slavery settlers moved into Kansas as well. They wanted to make sure that antislavery forces did not overrun the territory. Pro-slavery bands from Missouri often rode across the border. These Border Ruffians, as they were called, battled the antislavery forces in Kansas.

Extension of Missouri Compromise

Senator John Crittenden of Kentucky made a last effort to save the Union. He introduced a bill to extend the Missouri Compromise line to the Pacific. Crittenden also proposed an "unamendable" amendment to the Constitution that would guarantee forever the right to hold slaves in states south of the compromise line. The compromise bill received little support.

Support for the Act

Southern leaders especially supported the Kansas-Nebraska Act. They were sure that slave owners from neighboring Missouri would move with their slaves across the border into Kansas. In time, they hoped, Kansas would become a slave state.

Election of 1860

Southerners wanted the party to support slavery in the territories. However, northern Democrats refused to do so. In the end, the party split in two. Northern Democrats chose Stephen Douglas to run for President. Southern Democrats picked John Breckinridge of Kentucky. Some Americans tried to heal the split between the North and the South by forming a new party. The Constitutional Union party chose John Bell of Tennessee to run for President. He got support only in a few southern states that were still seeking a compromise. Douglas was sure that Lincoln would win. However, he believed that Democrats "must try to save the Union." When the votes were counted, Lincoln had carried the North and won the election

Compromise of 1850 Five Parts

The Compromise of 1850 had five parts. First, it allowed California to enter the Union as a free state. Second, it divided the rest of the Mexican Cession into the territories of New Mexico and Utah. Voters in each would decide the slavery question according to popular sovereignty. Third, it ended the slave trade in Washington, D.C., the nation's capital. Congress, however, declared that it had no power to ban the slave trade between slave states. Fourth, it included a strict fugitive slave law. Fifth, it settled a border dispute between Texas and New Mexico.

Fugitive Slave Law Reaction

The Fugitive Slave Act enraged antislavery northerners. By forcing them to catch runaways, the law made northerners feel as if they were part of the slave system. In several northern cities, crowds tried to rescue fugitive slaves from their captors. Despite the compromise, tensions remained high because neither side got everything that it wanted. The new Fugitive Slave Act was especially hard for northerners to accept. Each time the act was enforced, it convinced more northerners that slavery was immoral and evil

Fugitive Slave Law

The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 required all citizens to help catch runaway slaves. People who let fugitives escape could be fined and jailed. The new law also set up special courts to handle the cases of runaways. Suspects were not allowed a jury trial. Judges received $10 for sending an accused runaway to the South but only $5 for setting someone free. Lured by the extra money, some judges sent African Americans to the South whether or not they were runaways.

Slavery in the West

The Missouri Compromise applied only to the Louisiana Purchase. In 1848, the Mexican War added vast western lands to the United States. Once again, the question of slavery in the territories arose.

Free-Soil Party

The debate over slavery led to the birth of a new political party. By 1848, many northern Democrats and Whigs opposed the spread of slavery. However, the leaders of both parties refused to take a stand. They did not want to lose any southern votes. Some also feared that the slavery issue would split the nation. In 1848, antislavery members of both parties met in Buffalo, New York. There, they founded the Free-Soil party. The main goal of the Free-Soil party was to keep slavery out of the western territories. Only a few Free-Soilers were abolitionists who wanted to end slavery in the South.

Republican Party Representing Sectional Politics

The people from the different parties spilt because they didn't like their groups look on slavery. This represented sectional politics and how people from three groups split off to form one. The democrats also spilt into two parties, the anti and pro-slavery

John Browns Raid's

The radical abolitionist John Brown led a group of followers, including five African Americans, to the town of Harpers Ferry, Virginia. There, Brown planned to raid a federal arsenal. He thought that enslaved African Americans would flock to him at the arsenal. He would then give them weapons and lead them in a revolt. Most people, in both the North and the South, thought that Brown's plan to lead a slave revolt was insane. Brown did nothing further to encourage a slave revolt. Court found him guilty of murder and treason,

The Missouri Compromise

There were 11 free states and 11 slave states in 1819. That year, Congress considered Missouri's application to join the Union as a slave state. Immediately, a crisis erupted.

The Nations Reaction

This meant that slavery was legal in all the territories. This was just what white southerners had been demanding for years. African Americans responded angrily to the Dred Scott decision. In the North, many held public meetings to condemn the ruling. White northerners were also shocked by the ruling. Many had hoped that slavery would eventually die out if it were restricted to the South. Now, however, slavery could spread throughout the West.

Souths Reaction

To many southerners, Lincoln's election meant that the South no longer had a voice in national government. They believed that the President and Congress were now set against their interests, especially slavery.

Souths view of John Brown

To white southerners, the northern response to John Brown's death was outrageous. People were singing the praises of a man who had tried to lead a slave revolt! Many southerners became convinced that the North wanted to destroy slavery. The nation was poised for a violent clash.