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Period: to
The Road to Civil War
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Mexican American War
Cause: Mexico was furious with the United States for the annexation of Texas in 1845 and whether it belonged to Mexico or America Effect: United States won and gained over 500,000 square miles of Mexican territory Civil War Influence: - Encouraged movement west (Manifest Destiny)
- Created debate over how new states that entered the
nation would be categorized in terms of slavery (free or
slave state) Ended February 1848 -
Compromise of 1850
Cause: Debate over what to do with the land gained from the Mexican American War Effect: The land was divided in half
- everything north of 36°30´ latitude line = free states
- everything south of 36°30´ latitude line = slave sates
Band Slave Trade
Enforced Fugitive Slave Act
Civil War Influence: led to the breakup of the Union -
Underground Railroad
- secret network organized by people who helped men, women, and children escape from slavery to freedom
- provided hiding places, food, and transportation for the fugitives
- people provided directions for the safest way to get further north on the journey
- people who helped slaves escape were called conductors or engineers
- helped thousands of slaves reach freedom
- helped undermine the institution of slavery -
Fugitive Slave Law
- Said that slaves were not free even on the north side of the country They would only be free if they reached Canada -required that slaves be returned to their owners, even if they were in a free state
- made the federal government responsible for finding, returning, and trying escaped slaves
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Pro & Con Literature
Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852): book written by Harriet Beecher Stowe about a slave named Tom and the conflict he has with his violent owner,Simon Legree
- influenced the way Northerners viewed slave owners (saw them all as brutal people)
- Southerners saw the book as fake and inaccurate Impending Crisis of the South (1857): Hinter R. Helper's book used statistic to show that slavery actually weakened the South's economy Civil War Influence: spread awareness of the effects of slavery -
Bleeding Kansas
- after KS-NE Act overrode the Compromise of 1850, pro-slavery and free-state settlers flooded in to Kansas
- violence erupted as both sides fought for control which reached the level of a low intensity civil war
- ended in 1861
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Republican Party est.
Goal: to prevent slavery's westward expansion, not to abolish it
- felt abolition would increase tension between the north and the south
1860: Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln wins presidential election
- first platform of 1854 called for the repeal of both
the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Fugitive Slave Law Civil War Influence: drove states to secede from the Union -
KS-NE Act
- allowed people in the territories of Kansas and Nebraska to decide for themselves whether or not to allow slavery within their borders
- served to repeal the Missouri Compromise of 1820 which prohibited slavery north of latitude 36°30´
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Sumner-Brooks Incident
- Charles Sumner veritably attacked the democratic administration over the issue of slavery
- Calls out Congressmen Brookes
- Brooks was absent at the meeting but his nephew defended him by beating Sumner over the head with a cane The house voted to censor Brooks
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Panic of 1857
- a financial panic caused by the declining international economy and over-expansion of the domestic economy
- caused massive layoffs, railroad failures, & increased grain and land prices
- a financial panic caused by the declining international economy and over-expansion of the domestic economy
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Lecompton Constitution
Document that permitted slavery
- excluded black slaves from living in Kansas
- allowed only male citizens of US to vote
- rejected by Kansas voters Civil War Influence: divided the House -
Dred Scott v Sandford
Dred Scott
-sued master's widow for his freedom
-argued his master John Emerson escorted him onto free soil in Illinois and the Wisconsin Territory, so he'd legally granted him freedom.
-1857, case reached the United States Supreme Court.
justices ruled against Scott.
-court viewed slaves as property, said Fifth Amendment forbid congress from taking land from individuals without compensation Civil War Influence: North realized they needed to stop slavery now/ grew fear of the North -
Lincoln-Douglas Debates
7 campaign debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas
- Both campaigning for the Senate
- Lincoln attacked Douglas saying slavery was a moral issue
-Lincoln was concerned that if the US did not come to a common understanding on slavery, the nation would fall apart Douglas ended up winning the election
-the "Champion of Popular Sovereignty" Civil War Influence: Lincoln made so many speeches about slavery that he became very well known -
John Brown’s Raid
- Brown and 21 of his followers attacked and occupied the federal arsenal in Harpers Ferry, Virginia
- Goal: to start an armed slave revolt and capture supplies to arm the rebellion
- Brown was captured during the raid and later hanged
- Some people in the north viewed John Brown as a hero and they became inspired fight even harder against slavery
- increased tension between the north and the south -
Election of 1860
Candidates
- Stephan Douglas: Northern dems.
- Abraham Lincoln: Republican party
- John C Breckenridge: Southern dems.
- John Bell: Constitutional party
Lincoln own the election by many votes Civil War Influence: gave the Republicans an advantage of power (which helped them enforce their beliefs on slavery)
