The Origins of the Civil War 1820-61 Review

The Supreme Court and the practical application of the US Constitution

1) Formed to decide whether the decisions and policies of the other parts of government kept to the Constitution 2) Also interpreted the Bill of Right (the first ten amendment) which protected the freedom of the individual 3) Had great legal authority but little practical power

Underground Railroads

1) A secret network of escape routes that provided protection and transportation for slaves fleeing north to freedom 2) Harriet Tubman was one of the most famous conductors and would risk her life returning to the South to help others escape

The Lincoln - Douglas Debates, 1858

1) A series of seven debates, that were covered by newspapers, reporters, and seen by thousands, which grew national attention 2) Douglas supported popular sovereignty and believed that the majority of people in a state or territory could rule as they wished; Lincoln did not believe the majority should have the power to deny a minority their right of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (Majority rule vs. Minority rule) 3) Many people felt Lincoln won the debates but was not elected; Senator Douglas won but it brought people to question the need for a direct election of Senators

The Wilmot Proviso and the Mexican Cession

1) A war started on the new western border between Mexico and the USA called 'Mr. Polk's War' 2) The Proviso was an attempt to prohibit slavery in lands expected to be acquired from Mexico, but it was rejected twice 3) A peace treaty was negotiated and Mexico was obliged to surrender areas of its northern provinces to the USA (The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo)

The Courts Ruling (Scott vs. Sanford)

1) An African American could not be an American citizen 2) Dredd Scott had no right to bring his case to court 3) Slave0owners could take their slaves anywhere governed by U.S. federal law 4) Congress had no authority to restrict the rights given to people by the constitution

The Corwin Amendment and the Peace Conference, 1861

1) An amendment where individual states were protected from abolition by Congress 2) Amendment was not ratified and never came into law

Fort Sumter and its impacts

1) Confederate forces fired upon a supply ship causing it to turn around, running out of supplies Lincoln needed a solution, he could not send forced but had to defend government property 2) Anderson refuse to surrender and General Beauregard opened fire on the fort, after 34 hours Anderson surrendered Fort Sumter 3) This started the Civil War and Lincoln called for volunteers to fight the seceding states

The rise of the Republican Party

1) Created in Michigan in 1854 due to Northerners protesting the Kansas-Nebraska Act 2) 1856 Election between Democrat Buchanan defeated Republican Fremont and Know-Nothing Fillmore 3) Republicans supported the federal government's ability to restrict slavery in the territories and the admission of Kansas as a free state

Dred Scott and Politicians

1) Democratic President James Buchanan supported the ruling which led him to support the Lecompton Constitution in Kansas (a pro-slavery group elected members to a convention to write the constitution required to attain statehood) 2) Democratic Senator Stephen Douglas opposed the decision because it overturned popular sovereignty (his solution to the slavery in the territories) 3) Republican Abraham Lincoln was opposed to the decision. Led to Abraham Lincoln running for Senator of Illinois in 1858 against Stephen Douglas.

The Compromise of 1850

1) Douglas believed in popular sovereignty and believed that the territories of New Mexico and Utah should have popular sovereignty (they would decide for themselves whether slavery would be legal) 2) Harriet Beecher Stowe published Uncles Tom's Cabin; fictional attack on the practice of slavery especially on the Fugitive Slave Act

Increasing Population

1) Factors pulling people to the USA included greater political freedom and economic opportunities 2) Increased flow of immigrants produced a reaction in 'nativism,' this affected the north more than the south resulting in the Northern population growing much faster than the south 3) The number of joining states and territories increase due to the need the new lands needing law and order again bringing into question slave states and free states

Bleeding Kansas, 1854-58

1) Fighting between pro-slavery and anti-slavery groups rushing into Kansas to form a majority to win the territories referendum on slavery 2) Anti-slavery groups set up the Emigrant Aid Society and sent 1,200 New Englanders to Kansas 3) Pro-slavery settlers in Missouri crossed into Kansas and voted illegally (Border Ruffians) 4) Violence erupted in towns: Lawrence pro-slavery mob burnt buildings; Pottawatomie abolitionist John Brown massacred 5 pro-slavery settlers who believed to have taken part in Lawrence; Osawatomie attacked by Border Ruffians

The 1860 Democratic National Convention

1) For ten days, delegates from the North and South debated on the issue that had divided the nation for a decade: slavery in the territories 2)Southern Democrats argued the government should protect slavery in the territories while Northern Democrats still believed in popular sovereignty; John Breckinridge and other SD wanted to adopt federal slave codes 3) The Democratic convention split along sectional lines: ND nominated Stephen Douglas, SD John Breckinridge; Moderate Southerners who belonged to the Whig party and American party formed a new party the Constitutional Union Party and nominated John Bell

Manifest Destiny and the absorption of Texas

1) In 1836 Texas declared itself and independent republic and in looking for protection by the USA the American government offered at annex Texas 2) Texas first became a US territory before it became the 28th state 3) Texas wanted to stay a slave state which meant it had to give any land north of a latitude 36 30' to the US government

Freeport Doctrine

1) In the second of the debates, Douglas made an effort to revive the doctrine of popular sovereignty 2) He stated that slavery could legally be barred from the territories if the territorial legislatures simply refused to enact the type of police regulations necessary to make slavery work 3) Helped Douglas retain his seat but split the Democratic Party, Douglas lost support in the south, some Northern Democrats left the party and joined the Republicans

The growing strength of abolitionism, including John Brown

1) John Brown was an abolitionist who took part in "Bleeding Kansas" and led a raid against Border Ruffians in hope to start a slave uprising and decided to raid the arsenal at Harpers Ferry 2) Brown and his cohorts took control of the arsenal with little resistance and sent patrol out into the county to contact slaves, the slaves did not rise up, but local citizens and U.S. troops arrived and put down Brown and his cohorts 3) Brown was arrested, found guilty, and hung. The death further divided the country and the Northerners supported Brown and the Southerners were outraged over the Northern sympathy for Brown

Territorial expansion

1) Lands added from the west: The North West Territory, The Louisiana Purchase, Florida, Norther Borders, Texas, Mexican Cession, Alaska 2) Most new areas were sparsely populated but this attracted many who wanted to make a new life in the 'pursuit of happiness' that the Declaration of Independence declared

The Missouri Compromise of 1820

1) Missouri applied to become a state and would become another slave state, however it was blocked by James Tallmadge's proposed amendment preventing the expansion of slavery in Missouri, but this bill did not become a law 2) After much arguing the Missouri Compromise was formed and passed

What the Missouri Compromise stated

1) Missouri would be admitted as a state without an restrictions on slavery 2) Maine, in the north-east, keen to become a state, would be admitted at the same time as a free state, thus ensuring the balance of free and slave states 3) With the exception of Missouri itself, there would be no slavery in US lands gained via the Louisiana Purchase above the 36 30' line of latitude

Sectional interests and emancipation

1) Opponents to slavery believed they could get rid of slavery by: Peaceful emancipation, military emancipation, or violent emancipation 2) Slavery was seen as a matter of sectional politics as supports and opponents could be members of the same political party

The emerging of 'slave power' including Dred Scott 1857

1) Scott sued his slave owner for freedom after moving around from the South to the North and back to the South 2) The case eventually made it to the U.S. Supreme Court (2 days after Buchanan's inauguration) 3) In March 1857, The Supreme Court Ruled 7-2 against Scott ( 7 of the 9 Justices were appointed by a Democratic President and 5 of those 7 where from the South)

The Caning of Senator Summer, 1856

1) Senator Charles Sumner gave a speech attacking Southerners for forcing slavery on Kansas and insulted SC Senator Andrew Butler 2) Preston Brooks, Congressman and Butler's nephew was angered by Sumner's remarks and determined to defend the honor of the south 3) Two days after Sumner's speech, Brooks approached Sumner at his Senate desk and beat him with his cane

The Crittenden Compromise, 1860-61

1) Senator Critten proposed six amendments to the Constitution which protected slavery in the existing slave states and restoring the Missouri Compromise extending it west ward to the Pacific 2) Rejected by Republicans because they felt it gave too much to the south

The rapid decline of the Whig Party

1) Slavery was the undoing of the Whig Party. Founded in 1834, the Whigs achieved political rise and success as 2 Whigs were elected President Zachary Taylor and William Henry Harrison (both died in office) 2) The issue of slavery divided the Whig Party in two with Northern Whigs and Southern Whigs 3)In 1854, the Whig Party ended and by 1855 were no more

Secession of the seven Deep South states

1) Southerners were outraged that a President could be without winning southern electoral votes so the south seceded arguing that since the states had voluntarily joined the U.S. they could also choose to leave it 2) First state to secede (South Carolina), Second (Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana)c, then (Texas) 3) Lincoln responded by calling on volunteers to fight the seceding states which caused Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Arkansas as they saw it as an act or war against them

Slavery and the American South

1) States to the south of the Mason-Dixon Line owned slaves, states to the north did not, creating a divide 2) Slavery wasn't the only issue tariffs (taxes) on imported goods, a national bank, power of the federal government, and public investment in canals and railroads were also issues 3) Abolitionists saw slavery as an insult to the US Constitution

The Kansas-Nebraska Act, 1854

1) Stephen Douglas introduced the Kansa-Nebraska Act for two reasons: Douglas wanted Chicago to benefit from the development of the west & to gain the approval of southern Democrats 2) On May 30, 1854 the law was passed: it repealed the Missouri Compromise, created the two new Territories, and allowed for popular sovereignty in the territories 3) Nebraska wouldn't be an issue as many settlers filled the territory from the Midwest, where there was not slavery

Significance of states' rights

1) Struggle focused heavily on the institution of slavery and whether the federal government had the right to regulate or even abolish slavery within an individual state 2) Abolitionists argued the slavery was never mentioned by name in the Constitution and the government had the right to impose conditions on any new state joining the U.S.

The application of the Fugitive Slave Act

1) The FSA ordered all citizens of the U.S. to assist in the return of enslaved people who had escaped from their owners 2) Denied a jury trial to escaped slaves 3) Anyone convicted of helping a fugitive was liable for a fine of $1,000 and imprisonment for up to six months

6 Points of the Compromise of 1850

1) The admission of California as a free state 2) The creation of a territorial government for Utah 3) The creation of a territorial government for New Mexico 4)Texas agreed that its northern border should be 36 30' parallel and the U.S. paid off the public debts of Texas 5) The abolition of the slave trade, but not slavery, in Washington D.C. 6) The Fugitive Slave Act

The wealth of the USA

1) The increased cotton production by the slave plantation helped boost the economy and slavery became more important to the wealth of the whole country 2) Assumptions of Southern poverty is because there was such poverty after the Civil War 3) However, with fewer immigrants, the south has a more established (white) population which had a chance to accumulate wealth whereas the immigrants in the north had very little money

Sectional interests and the defense of slavery

1) Those against slavery could regain slaves who escaped to free states and/or take their slaves as personal property or limit slavery only to those slave states which were apart of the original 13 2) Slave owners could find new lands to become slave states or separate from the USA as an independent country (secession)

The federal government and the states

1) Two key institution of the federal government - The White House: Decides national policy and can veto new laws; US congress: includes the House of Representatives (people) and the Senate (state); drew up laws 2) (The approval of both Houses was needed to pass a law) Two key concepts - The separation of powers; maintains distinction between the different branches of government; checks and balances: makes them work together

The party system

1) Two main parties the Democrats and the Whigs (In the North: Conscience Whigs; In the south: Cotton Whigs) 2) Other Parties: Liberty Party - to support the abolition of slavery Native American Party - to restrict large-scale immigration from Catholic Europe, such as Ireland and Italy Free Soil Party - to limit the expansion of slavery into wester territories in order to defend paid fee labor against competition from unpaid slave labor 3) None of the smaller parties lasted very long

The 1860 Republican National Convention

1) William Steward was favored but Lincoln won the nomination because many Republicans were worried about Steward's views on antislavery 2) During this time it was tradition for candidate to not attend the convention. Lincolns team planned to be second in voting to Seward on the first ballot and as candidates dropped off the ballot, Lincoln would gain those votes to beat Seward

William Lloyd Garrison, 1854

Abolitionist who burned a copy of the Constitution at an abolitionist rally in Framingham, Massachusetts

Anthony Burns and the Boston Slave Riot, 1854

Anthony Burns, and escaped slave from Virginia escaped to Boston where he was found and arrested. People protested in Boston which forced the governor to place Boston under martial law and caused President Franklin Pierce to send troops.

The Aims of Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis

Lincoln's aims - Wanted to preserve the Union. Defeat what he labeled a rebellion, to win the Civil War Davis's aims - Wanted to turn a rebellion into a war for Southern Independence

The impacts of territorial expansion: westward expansion and absorption of Texas

Manifest Destiny and the absorption of Texas The Wilmot Proviso and the Mexican Cession Territorial expansion

Causes of the American Civil War

Slave labor vs. Free labor Industry vs. Agriculture Urban vs. Rural North vs. South

Why did the Civil War begin in April 1861

Reactions to the 1860 presidential election results Secession of the Deep South states Fort Sumter and its impacts The Aims of Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis

The election campaign of 1860 and the division of the Democratic Party

The 1860 Democratic National Convention The 1860 Republican National Convention The 1860 presidential election campaign

Secession of the seven Seep South states

The Crittenden Compromise, 1860-61 The Corwin Amendment and the Peace Conference, 1861

The issue of Kansas and its impact

The Kansas-Nebraska Act, 1854 Bleeding Kansas, 1854-58 The Caning of Senator Summer, 1856

Attempts at compromise

The Missouri Compromise of 1820 The party system The compromise of 1850

Problems arising from the implementation of the Compromise of 1850

The application of the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act Underground Railroads The escape of William Parker, 1851 The Jerry Rescue, 1851 Anthony Burns and the Boston Slave Riot, 1854 William Lloyd Garrison, 1854

Why did the Republicans with the 1860 presidential election?

The emerging notion of 'slave power' including Dred Scott 1857 The Lincoln-Douglas Debates, 1858 The Growing strength of abolitionism, including John Brown Increasing confrontation within and between the North and the South The election of 1860 and the divisions of the Democratic Party

The political system and the balance of sectional interests

The federal government and the states The Supreme Court and the practical application of the US Constitution Slavery and the American South Sectional interests and the defense of slavery Sectional interests and emancipation

The 1860 Presidential election campaign

Usual Features 1) Douglas toured the country (traditionally candidates did not openly campaign) 2) Fusion ticket in the states of New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey (All 2 non-Republican candidates agreed to combine the popular vote in an attempt to stop Lincoln) 3) "the Wide-Awake movement" a movement which tried to help voter turnout in the favor of Lincoln

How was the issue of slavery addressed between 1820 and 1850

The political system and the balance of sectional interests in 1820 The impact of territorial expansion: westward expansion and absorption of Texas Impact of population growth and movement Attempts at compromise

Changes in the party-political system

The rapid decline of the Whig Party The rise of the Republican Party

Impact of population growth and movement

The wealth of the USA

The Jerry Rescue, 1851

William Henry was arrested and being held in Syracuse when a crowd broke into the jail, freed Jerry (when by the name Henry) and helped him escape to Canada

The escape of William Parker, 1851

William Parker and ex-slave killed a Maryland slave owner Edward Gorsuch