U.S. I - Ch. 18 Notes: Sectional Struggle 1848-1854

CHAPTER 18 – RENEWING THE SECTIONAL STRUGGLE

I.                               Political Events and the Election of 1848

A.                Lewis Cass (Dem) Zachary Taylor (Whig) and Van Buren (Free Soil Party) Major parties hoped to avoid slavery issue

1.                  Cass: Popular sovereignty: People of territories choose for themselves whether or not to permit slavery

2.                  Taylor:  not committed to slavery though owned slaves.  Whig party waffled

3.                  Free Soil party: northerners who supported Wilmot Proviso abolitionists, others unhappy with other parties.  Opposed slavery in territories, supported federal aid, free govt. homesteads)
“Free soil, free speech, free labor, free men.”

4.                  Taylor won

II.                            California Gold 1848

A.                Huge numbers of prospectors poured into California, creating a crime wave as well as business opportunities serving miners

B.                 1849: California applied for admission as free state

III.                         Disputes over Slavery around 1850

1.                  Political balance between North and South about equal in 1850: 15 slave states and 15 free states

2.                  South worried that balance would tip in favor of free states

3.                  Texas claimed area that stretched into today’s New Mexico

4.                  Arguments over abolishing slavery in District of Columbia

5.                  Southerners angered by loss of 1000 runaway slaves per year

a.       Underground Railroad abolitionist network helped slaves escape (e.g. Harriet Tubman)

b.      Personal liberty laws

c.       South demanded stronger runaway slave laws

IV.                         Compromise of 1850

A.                Crisis between North and South provoked a debate in Congress

1.                  Whigs, urged compromise

a.       led by Sen. Henry Clay (“the Great Compromiser”) and Sen. Stephen A. Douglas (“The Little Giant”) 

b.      later Daniel Webster “Seventh of March Speech”

2.                  Southern Sen. John C. Calhoun (“The Great Nullifier”) rejected Clay’s compromises, wanted

a.       slavery left alone,

b.      runaway slaves returned

c.       2 presidents – 1 for North and 1 for South

3.                  Both South and North stood to lose financially if South seceded

4.                  Young Guard (north) not alert to dangers of breaking up union, urged abolition e.g. William H. Seward

5.                  Pres. Zachary Taylor died in 1850; Millard Fillmore took over, signed Compromise of 1850

B.                 Compromise of 1850- agreements:

1.                  Concessions to North:

a.       California admitted as free state

b.      Territory disputed by TX and New Mexico given to NM

c.       Abolition of slave trade (but not slavery) in District of Columbia

2.                  Concessions to South:

a.       Remaining Mexican Cession area formed into New Mexico and Utah territories, popular sovereignty would determine whether or not they would permit slavery

b.      Texas received $10 million compensation for territory given to NM

c.       Stricter fugitive slave law

C.                 Results of the Compromise of 1850:

1.                  Senate balance tipped against South (see Maps p. 399, 400)

2.                  In reality NM and UT likely to become free territories

3.                  abolition of slave trade in DC created dissent

4.                  harsh Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 stirred up powerful (sometimes violent) opposition in the North

a.       crowds protested capture of slaves

b.      Northern states refused to enforce Fugitive Slave Law by variety of means

5.                  Bitter antagonism between North and South

V.                            Election of 1852: End of the Whig Party

A.                Democrats choose “dark horse” Franklin Pierce (New Hampshire)

1.                  supported Compromise of 1850

B.                 Whigs nominated Gen. Winfield Scott

1.                  supported Compromise of 1850, though less than Dems

2.                  Whigs split between Northern abolitionist and Southern proslaveryWhigs, losing election

3.                  Whig party would dissolve within a few years

VI.                         Expansionism under President Pierce:
--“Young America:” Pierce seeks to extend Manifest Destiny
--South interested in new territory to expand slavery after Compromise of 1850 closed lands of Mexican Cession to slavery

A.                Central America:

1.                  Nicaragua, Panama proposed sites of canal to shorten route to California

a.       1850: Clayton-Bulwer Treaty – Britain and U.S. agree neither side would build or monopolize a canal in Central America without the other’s consent.

2.                   Southerners interested in territory to restore political balance

a.       1856 William Walker took over Nicaragua, legalized slavery (1860: Walker executed)

B.                 Asia: U.S. now has Pacific coastline in CA, OR so interested in Asian trade

1.                  1854:  Japan: Commodore Matthew Perry sails warships to Japan, strongarms Japanese to sign treaty to trade with U.S.

C.                 Cuba: Spanish-held island. South coveted to create new states out of this sugar island to restore political balance.

1.                  Polk offered to buy Cuba for $100 million; Spain refused.

2.                  1850-1851 – two American (mostly southerners) “filibustering” expeditions attempted to capture Cuba by force and failed

3.                  1854 - Spain seized U.S. ship Black Warrior – Southerners demanded U.S. war with Spain and seize Cuba.

4.                  Ostend Manifesto of 1854: On U.S. orders American diplomats drew up plan to buy Cuba for $120 million or seize it by force if Spain refused to sell.  Manifesto leaked out, caused embarrassment for U.S. govt.

D.                South and North each opposed each other’s plans to expand

VII.                      North and South: Divisions over Territory within United States

A.                Gadsden Purchase of 1853, and a Pacific Railroad

1.                  U.S. worried that CA and Oregon too hard to reach by land; sea routes long, impractical

2.                  Debate: Should transcontinental RR run through North or South?

a.       RR would provide huge benefits to regions it ran through

b.      Best route seemed partly below Mexican border

3.                  1853: U.S. purchased land from Mexico  for $10 million [today’s southern New Mexico and AZ]

4.                  Result:

a.       South now had advantage regarding railroad to Pacific

1.      proposed route would run through states or organized territories rather than thru unorganized territory like Nebraska;

2.      Rockies were lower in south

b.      North tried to organize Nebraska terr. but South blocked it.

B.                 Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 [See Map p. 407]

1.                  Sen. Stephen A. Douglas, IL (Little Giant) proposed splitting Nebraska Territory into Nebraska and Kansas

a.       New terrs. would decide slavery question by popular sovereignty

b.      expectation that KS would become slave and Nebraska free

c.       However, Missouri Compromise of 1820 prohibited slavery above 36º30' line; would have to be repealed

2.                  Douglas pushed bill through Congress (underestimated how north would react)

a.       Northerners shocked; saw Compromise of 1820 as sacred, reacted angrily

1.      refused to honor Fugitive Slave Law of 1850

2.      antislavery movement grew significantly

3.      North unwilling to compromise on future issues

b.      Southerners angry that free-soilers tried to make Kansas a free state

1.      Democratic party broken apart

c.       Kansas-Nebraska Act demolished Missouri Compromise of 1820 and the Compromise of 1850

3.                  Birth of the Republican Party 1854

a.       Republican party formed in response to Kansas-Nebraska Act

b.      Included Whigs, Democrats, Free-Soilers, Know-Nothings, and others opposed to KS-NB act

c.       Republican party not allowed in the South

4.                  Kansas-Nebraska Act considered by historians to be main short-term cause of Civil War