Chapter #18: Renewing the Sectional Struggle Big Picture Themes 1.

. The main question facing the nation was, Will new lands won from Mexico have slaves or be free? 2. The answer to the question was hammered out in the Compromise of 1850. It said California was to be free, popular sovereignty (the people decide) for the rest of the lands. 3. A tougher fugitive slave law was a major concession to the South, but it wasnt enforced. This angered the Southerners. 4. The NorthSouth rift was widened with the Kansas-Nebraska Act. It repealed the Missouri Compromise which had kept the peace for a generation. In its place, popular sovereignty opened the Great Plains to potential slavery. Whereas the slave-land issue had been settled, now it was a big question mark. IDENTIFICATIONS: Stephen Douglas Douglas was a politician from Illinois and was a Democrat. Ran against Lincoln but lost. He was responsible for the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Douglas also takes Henrys place during the Compromise of 1850. Franklin Pierce Franking Pierce was the 14th President of the United States. He served as a Democrat and was one of the worst presidents the United States had ever had. He supported the Compromise of 1850 and as well as the Fugitive Slave Laws. Compromise of 1850 The Compromise of 1850 was a series of bills proposed by the great compromiser, Henry Clay. It states that California would become a free state and it would prohibit slave trade in Washington D.C.

Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor was the 12th President of the United States. He was considered a American hero after winning the Mexican American war. This enabled him to gain a handsome amount of votes and winning.

John C. Calhoun Calhoun promoted the secession of South Carolina and was a pro-slave. Calhoun began his political career as a nationalist and proponent of protective tariffs. Matthew C. Perry He was the military leader who convinced the Japanese to sign a treaty in 1853 and allowed commerce in Japan and helped provide a stable relationship.

Henry Clay Clay was known as the Great Compromiser in his time. He solved many issues regarding land disputes and slavery. But in fact he actually bottled all the problems and pushed them to the side and until there is no room left and it explodes. Free-Soil Party It was a minor political party in the United States. They hated slavery and would do anything to stop it. There were seen as Radicals against slavery. It was largely incorporated in the Republican Party.

Fugitive Slave Law The Fugitive Slave Laws stated that the North was obliged to report and fugitive slaves to the south and return the slaves to their rightful owner. Harriet Tubman Tubman was an abolitionist and served as a conductor of the Underground Railroad. She was a free slave that made 13 trips to the south to smuggle slaves into Canada. Ostend Manifesto The Ostend Manifesto was written in 1854 by a group of southerners that met with Spanish officials in Belgium in an attempt to gain more slave territory. They felt this would balance out the number of delegates in congress. Kansas-Nebraska Act The Kansas-Nebraska Act, proposed in 1854, said that Kansas and Nebraska should come into the Union under popular sovereignty. This event brought the United States closer to Civil War.