CarolineOlsen

Chapter19

StoweandHelper:LiteraryIncendiaries
WhowasStowe?WhowasHelper?

TheNorthSouthContestforKansas
WhatwastheNorthSouthContestfor
Kansas?

HarrietBeecherStowe,whowas
white,publishedUncleTom'sCabinin
1852asanattempttoshowtheNorth
thehorrorsofslavery.Thenovelwas
publishedabroad,includingFrance
andBritain.IthelpedtostarttheCivil
WarandfortheNorthtowinit.
HintonR.Helper,anonaristocrat
fromNorthCarolina,wroteThe
ImpendingCrisisoftheSouthin1857.
Hehatedbothblacksandslavery,
andheattemptedtousestatisticsto
provethatthenonslaveholding
whitesweretheoneswhosuffered
themostfromslavery.
Mostofthepeoplewhocameto
Kansaswerejustwestwardmoving
pioneers.TheNewEnglandEmigrant
AidCompany,agroupofabolitionists,
paidsomepeopletomovetoKansas
tomakeitafreestate.(TheKansas
andNebraskaterritorieshadpopular
sovereigntyinchoosingslavery,
accordingtotheKansasNebraska
Act.Nebraskawassofarnorththatits
futureasafreestatewasneverin
question.)
In1855whenKansaswashavingits
legislatureelections,many
proslaverypeoplecamefrom
Missouritovote.Theysoughttoelect
proslaveryofficials.Theslavery
supporterswontheelectionsandset
uptheirowngovernmentatShawnee
Mission.Theabolitioniststhensetup
theirowngovernmentinTopeka,
givingtheKansasterritorytwo
governments.

KansasinConvulsion
WhywasKansasinConvulsion?

In1856,thecivilwarinKansas
startedwhenagroupofproslavery
ridersburneddownpartofthe
abolitionist'stownofLawrence.

JohnBrown:fanaticalabolitionistwho,
inMayof1856,hackedtodeath5
presumedproslaverymenat
PottawatomieCreekinresponseto
theproslaveryeventsinLawrence.
CivilwarflaredupinKansasin1856,
andcontinueduntilitmergedwiththe
nation'sCivilWarof18611865.
In1857,Kansashadenoughpeople
toapplyforstatehood.Itscitizens
weregoingtovoteagainonwhether
ornottohaveslaveryinthestateof
Kansas.Tokeeptheabolitionists
fromcreatingafreestate,the
proslaverypoliticianscreatedthe
LecomptonConstitution.The
documentstatedthatthepeoplewere
notallowedtovotefororagainstthe
constitutionasawhole,rather,they
couldvoteonwhethertheconstitution
wouldbe"withslavery"or"without
slavery."Ifslaverywasvotedagainst,
thenoneoftheprovisionsinthe
constitutionwouldprotectthosewho
alreadyownedslavesinKansas.
Manyabolitionistsboycottedvoting,
sotheconstitutionwasapprovedto
includeslavery.
JamesBuchanan,aDemocrat,
succeededPierceasthePresidentof
theUnitedStatesintheelectionof
1856.Hehadastrongsouthern
influenceandapprovedofthe
LecomptonConstitution.Senator
StephenDouglaswasstrongly
opposedtothedocumentandhe
campaignedagainstit.Eventually,a

"Bully"BrooksandHisBludgeon
WhowasBullyBrooksandwhatwas
hisbludgeon?w

compromisewasreachedthat
enabledthepeopleofKansastovote
ontheLecomptonConstitution,
itself.Itwasrevokedbythe
abolitionistsvoters,butKansasended
upremainingaterritoryuntil1861,
whenthesouthernstatesseceded
fromtheUnion.
PresidentBuchanandividedthe
powerfulDemocraticPartyby
enragingsomeDemocratsofthe
North.Hedividedtheonlyremaining
nationalpartyandwithit,theUnion.
JohnBrown:fanaticalabolitionistwho,
inMayof1856,hackedtodeath5
presumedproslaverymenat
PottawatomieCreekinresponseto
theproslaveryeventsinLawrence.
CivilwarflaredupinKansasin1856,
andcontinueduntilitmergedwiththe
nation'sCivilWarof18611865.
In1857,Kansashadenoughpeople
toapplyforstatehood.Itscitizens
weregoingtovoteagainonwhether
ornottohaveslaveryinthestateof
Kansas.Tokeeptheabolitionists
fromcreatingafreestate,the
proslaverypoliticianscreatedthe
LecomptonConstitution.The
documentstatedthatthepeoplewere
notallowedtovotefororagainstthe
constitutionasawhole,rather,they
couldvoteonwhethertheconstitution
wouldbe"withslavery"or"without
slavery."Ifslaverywasvotedagainst,
thenoneoftheprovisionsinthe
constitutionwouldprotectthosewho
alreadyownedslavesinKansas.
Manyabolitionistsboycottedvoting,
sotheconstitutionwasapprovedto
includeslavery.

"OldBuck"Versus"ThePathfinder"
WhatwasOldBuckversusThe
Pathfinder?

JamesBuchanan,aDemocrat,
succeededPierceasthePresidentof
theUnitedStatesintheelectionof
1856.Hehadastrongsouthern
influenceandapprovedofthe
LecomptonConstitution.Senator
StephenDouglaswasstrongly
opposedtothedocumentandhe
campaignedagainstit.Eventually,a
compromisewasreachedthat
enabledthepeopleofKansastovote
ontheLecomptonConstitution,
itself.Itwasrevokedbythe
abolitionistsvoters,butKansasended
upremainingaterritoryuntil1861,
whenthesouthernstatesseceded
fromtheUnion.
PresidentBuchanandividedthe
powerfulDemocraticPartyby
enragingsomeDemocratsofthe
North.Hedividedtheonlyremaining
nationalpartyandwithit,theUnion.
MeetinginCincinnati,theDemocrats
choseJamesBuchananastheir
presidentialcandidatetoruninthe
electionof1856becausehewasn't
involvedwiththedivisive
KansasNebraskaAct.The
Democraticplatformcampaignedfor
popularsovereignty.
MeetinginPhiladelphia,the
RepublicanschoseCaptainJohnC.
Fremontbecausehewasalsonot
influencedbytheKansasNebraska
Act.TheRepublicanplatform
campaignedagainsttheextensionof
slavery.
TheAmericanParty,alsocalledthe
KnowNothingParty,wasformedby
Protestantswhowerealarmedbythe
increasingnumberofimmigrants

comingfromIrelandandGermany.
TheychoseformerpresidentMillard
Fillmoreastheircandidateforthe
electionof1856.
TheElectoralFruitsof1856
Whatweretheelectoralfruitsof1856?

TheDredScottBombshell
WhatwastheDredScottBombshell?

JamesBuchananwontheelectionof
1856.
Itwasagoodthingthatthe
RepublicanPartydidnotwinthe
electionbecausesomesoutherners
saidthatifaRepublicanhadwon,
thentheywouldsecede.
Thiselectionwasasmallvictoryfor
theRepublicanPartybecausethe
partywasjust2yearsold,yetitput
upafightfortheDemocrats.
DreadScott,aslavewhohadlived
withhismasterfor5yearsinIllinois
andtheWisconsinTerritory,suedfor
hisfreedomonthebasisofhislong
residenceonfreesoil.In
DredScott
vs.Stanford
,theSupremeCourtfirst
ruledthatbecauseScottwasablack
slaveandnotacitizen,hecouldnot
sueinFederalcourts.TheCourtalso
ruledthatbecauseaslavewas
privateproperty,hecouldbetaken
intoanyterritoryandlegallyheldthere
inslavery.TheFifthAmendment
forbadeCongressfromdepriving
peopleoftheirpropertywithoutthe
dueprocessoflaw.TheCourtwent
furtherandstatedthattheMissouri
Compromiseof1820was
unconstitutionalandthatCongress
hadnopowertobanslaveryfromthe
territories,nomatterwhatthe
territoriallegislaturesthemselves
wanted.

TheFinancialCrashof1857
Whatwasthefinancialcrashof1857?

ThisvictorydelightedSoutherners,
whileitinfuriatedNorthernersand
supportersofpopularsovereignty.

Thepanicof1857wascausedby
overspeculationintheWestand
currencyinflationduetotheinrushof
Californiangold.TheNorthwasthe
hardesthit,whiletheSouthcontinued
toflourishwithitscotton.
Northernerscameupwiththeideaof
thegovernmentgiving160acreplots
offarminglandtopioneersforfree.
Twogroupsopposedtheidea:
Easternindustrialistsfearedthatthe
freelandwoulddrainitssupplyof
workers,andtheSouthfearedthat
theWestwouldfillupwithfreesoilers
whowouldformantislaverystates,
unbalancingtheSenateevenmore.
Congresspassedahomesteadactin
1860,makingpubliclandsavailableat
$0.25/acre,butitwasvetoedby
PresidentBuchanan.
TheTariffof1857loweredimport
taxestoabout20%.TheNorth
blameditforcausingthepanic,
becausetheyfelttheyneededhigher
dutiesformoreprotection.Thisgave
theRepublicanstwoeconomicissues
fortheelectionof1860:protectionfor
theunprotectedandfarmsforthe
farmless.

AnIllinoisRailSplitterEmerges
WhatwastheIllinoisRailSplitter
emergence?

InIllinois'ssenatorialelectionof1858,
theRepublicanschoseAbraham
LincolntorunagainstDemocrat
StephenDouglas.Lincolnservedin
theIllinoislegislatureasaWhig
politicianandheservedonetermin
Congress.

TheGreatDebate:Lincolnversus
Douglas
WhatwastheGreatDebate?

JohnBrown:MurdererorMartyr?
WasJohnBrownaMurdereroraMartyr?

TheDisruptionoftheDemocrats
Whatwasthedisruptionofdemocrats?

LincolnchallengedDouglastoa
seriesofsevendebatesthatwere
arrangedfromAugusttoOctober
1858(LincolnDouglasdebates).
Themostfamousdebatehappenedin
Freeport,Illinois.Lincolnasked
Douglas,"Whatifthepeopleofa
territoryshouldvotedownslavery?"
TheSupremeCourtintheDredScott
decisionhadsaidthatthepeople
couldnotdothis.Douglas'sreplyto
himbecameknownasthe"Freeport
Doctrine."Douglasarguedthatno
matterhowtheSupremeCourtruled,
slaverywouldstaydownifthepeople
voteditdown.Lawstoprotectslavery
wouldhavetobevotedonbythe
territoriallegislatures.
Douglaswonthesenatorialelection,
butLincolnwonthepopularvote.
AbolitionistJohnBrowndevelopeda
plantosecretlyinvadetheSouth,call
upontheslavestorise,givethe
slavesweapons,andestablisha
blackfreestate.
InOctober1859,heseizedthe
federalarsenalatHarpersFerry.
Becausemanyofhissupportersfailed
toshowup,hewascaughtandsent
todeathbyhanging.WhenBrown
died,helivedonasamartyrtothe
abolitionistcause.
Fortheelectionof1860,the
DemocratsmetinCharleston,South
Carolinatochoosetheircandidate.
Thenorthernpartofthepartywanted
tonominateStephenDouglas,butthe
southern"fireeaters"sawhimasa
traitorforhisunpopularoppositionto
theLecomptonConstitutionandhis

ARailSplitterSplitstheUnion
Whatwastherailsplitterthatsplitthe
union?

unpopularFreeportDoctrinereply.
Afterthedelegatesfrommostofthe
cottonstateswalkedout,the
DemocratsmetagaininBaltimoreto
electacandidate.Thistime,Douglas
waselected,despitethefactthatthe
southernersagainwalkedout.
ThesouthernDemocratsmetin
Baltimoretochoosetheirown
Democraticpresidentialcandidate.
TheychosevicepresidentJohnC.
Breckenridge.Theplatformfavored
theextensionofslaveryintothe
territoriesandtheannexationof
slavepopulatedCuba.
TheConstitutionalUnionPartywas
formedbyformerWhigsand
KnowNothings.Theynominated
JohnBellastheirpresidential
candidate.
TheRepublicanPartymetinChicago
andnominatedAbrahamLincolnas
theirpresidentialcandidate.
TheRepublicanplatformappealedto
nearlyeverypartofthenation.For
thefreesoilers,theRepublicans
supportedthenonextensionof
slavery.Forthenorthern
manufacturers,theysupporteda
protectivetariff.Fortheimmigrants,
thesupportednoabridgementof
rights.FortheNorthwest,they
supportedaPacificrailroad.Forthe
West,theysupportedinternal
improvementsatfederalexpense.For
thefarmers,theysupportedfree
homesteads(plotsofland)fromthe
publicdomain.
TheSouthernerssaidthatifAbraham
LincolnwaselectedasPresident,the
Unionwouldsplit.

TheElectoralUpheavalof1860
Whatwastheelectoralupheavalof1860?

AbrahamLincolnwontheelectionof
1860,buthedidnotwinwiththe
popularvote.60%ofthenationvoted
foranothercandidate.10southern
statesdidn'tevenallowLincolnto
appearontheballot.
SouthCarolinawashappyatthe
outcomeoftheelectionbecauseit
nowhadareasontosecede.
EventhoughtheRepublicanswonthe
presidentialelection,theydidnot
controltheHouseofRepresentatives,
theSenate,ortheSupremeCourt.

TheSecessionistExodus
Whatwasthesecessionistexodus?

InDecember1860,SouthCarolina's
legislaturemetinCharlestonand
votedunanimouslytosecede.6other
statesjoinedSouthCarolina:
Alabama,Mississippi,Florida,
Georgia,Louisiana,andTexas.
The7secedersmetatMontgomery,
AlabamainFebruary1861and
createdagovernmentknownasthe
ConfederateStatesofAmerica.The
stateschoseJeffersonDavis,arecent
memberoftheU.S.Senatefrom
Mississippi,asPresident.
Duringthistimeofsecession,
Buchananwasstillthe"lameduck"
president,becauseLincolnwasnot
sworninuntil1861.President
Buchanandidnotholdtheseceders
intheUnionbyforcebecausehewas
surroundedbyprosouthernadvisors
andhecouldfindnoauthorityinthe
Constitutiontostopthemwithforce.
Anotherreasonthatforcewasnot
usedwasbecauseatthetime,the
Union'sarmywasneededtocontrol
theIndiansoftheWest.The
Northernerswerenoteagertouse

forceagainsttheSoutherners
becausethatwouldhaveendedthe
possibilityofpeacefulnegotiations.
TheCollapseofCompromise
Whatledtothecollapseofcompromise?

TheCrittendenamendmentstothe
Constitutionweredesignedto
appeasetheSouth.The
amendmentsprohibitedslaveryin
0
territoriesnorthof36
30',butit
permittedslaveryintheterritories
southofthisline.Futurestates(north
andsouthofthisline)wouldgetto
voteontheissueofslavery.President
Lincolnrejectedtheamendments.

FarewelltotheUnion
WhatwasthefarewelltotheUnion?

Thesouthernstatesseceded,fearing
thattheRepublicanPartywould
threatentheirrightstoownslaves.
Manysouthernersfeltthattheir
secessionwouldbeunopposedbythe
North.Theyassumedthatthe
northernmanufacturersandbankers,
dependentuponsoutherncottonand
markets,wouldn'tdarecutoffthe
South.

SectionalCrisisTimeLine
1819Missouriappliesforstatehood(1111)
TailmadgeAmendment
1820MissouriCompromise
1828TariffofAbominations
18302ndGreatAwakening
1831NatTurner'sRevolt
1832NullificationCrisis
1845TexasAnnexationproblemsarisewhencountriesexpand
1846Oregonagreementat49thparallel
1846
WilmotProviso
TheWilmotProvisowasdesignedtoeliminateslaverywithintheland
acquiredasaresultoftheMexicanWar(184648).Soonafterthewarbegan,PresidentJames
K.Polksoughttheappropriationof$2millionaspartofabilltonegotiatethetermsofatreaty.
1850Compromiseof1850
PopularSovereigntyintheterritoryacquiredfromMexico

ProblemsofSectionalBalancein1850

Californiastatehood(CaliforniahelpstheNorth)
Southern"fireeaters"threateningsecession
UndergroundRR(TheUndergroundRailroadwasanetworkofsecretroutesandsafehouses
usedby19thcenturyenslavedpeopleofAfricandescentintheUnitedStatesineffortsto
escapetofreestatesandCanadawiththeaidofabolitionistsandallieswhoweresympathetic
totheircause)&fugitiveslaveissues
Compromiseof1850(packageoffiveseparatebillspassedbytheUnitedStatesCongressin
September1850,whichdefusedafouryearpoliticalconfrontationbetweenslaveandfree
statesregardingthestatusofterritoriesacquiredduringtheMexicanAmericanWar
(18461848)thegamechangeswithnewideaofpopularsovereigntywhereyougettochoose
HarrietBeecherStowe(1811)"thisistheladythatstartedtheCivilWar"Abe
sold300,000copiesinthefirstyear
2millioninadecade
The"knownothings"(theAmericanParty)
Nativists
AntiCatholics
AntiImmigrants
1852PresidentialElection
FrankPiece(Democrat),WinfieldScott(Whig)JohnParkerHale(FreeSoil)
KansasNebraskaActMissouriCompromisenownullified
"BleedingKansas"BleedingKansas,BloodyKansasortheBorderWarwasaseriesofviolent
politicalconfrontationsintheUnitedStatesinvolvingantislaveryFreeStatersandproslavery
"BorderRuffian"elementsinKansasbetween1854and1861.