A Divided Nation

Sectional Differences

Social Differences

The North and South shared the same British heritage.
Planters dominated the South.
Education was more in the North.
The North's population grew rapidly, the South slow.
Immigration brought variety to the North.
There were a large number of slaves in the South.

Economic Differences

The South was where slaves were most important.
The South was mostly agricultural, with plantations that grew tobacco, rice, sugar cane, and cotton. Most of this work was done with slave labor.
The South strongly supported states rights.
Southern leaders were against high taxes, government spending, and federal banks; also, against raising tariff rates because the South imported manufactured goods.
The North developed an industrial economy.
Northern industry created large cities and many factories.
Northern leaders favored federal banks and government spending, wanted roads and better transportation, and favored high tariffs to protect American industries from imported goods.
The North used hired workers for labor and not slaves.

Political Differences

State's Rights: The South wanted southern protection of slavery.
Federal Supremacy: The North thought the federal government promoted national unity and progress.

The Peculiar Institution

Slave Trade

Most Slaves were from the west coast of Africa.
Slavery in the Americas: 10 million slaves were brought to the New World (5% went to the United States)
Growth of Slavery: In 1793, the invention of the cotton gin increased the demand for slaves. In 1808, Congress stopped the importation of slaves. Slaves were then smuggled into the U.S. Efforts were made to keep slave birth rates high.
The number of slaves in the United States changed between 1820 and 1850 as they increased from 1.5 million to over 3 million.
From 1850 to 1860, the slave population grew from 3 million to 4 million.

People in Bondage

Most slaves worked in agriculture, but some worked in mines, on railroads, or in crafts.
Slave Auctions: Slaves were bought and sold at slave auctions.
Slave Codes: These were strict rules for slaves. Slave codes regulated the distance a slave could travel, what time a slave had to be in at night, and where a slave could go to learn to read and write. Punishments for breaking them included whipping, branding, and death.
1/4 of southerners owned slaves.

Forms of Slave Protest

Slave Revolts: In 1800, Gabriel Prosser and Jack Bowler led a revolt in Richmond Virginia; in 1822, Denmark Vesey rebelled in Charleston, South Carolina; and in 1831, Nat Turner revolted in Southampton County, Virginia.
The Underground Railroad: This was an escape network for slaves. Most escaped to Canada because slavery was banned there. Harriet Tubman assisted slaves in escaping on the Underground Railroad.

Northern Attitudes Toward Slavery

Many people had mixed feelings toward slavery. Many were prejudiced, some didn't want it to spread to new states.
Some people who did not own slaves favored slavery because they felt it was the only way to control blacks and allow blacks and whites to live together.
The goals of abolitionists were to end slavery and receive equal treatment.
Sojourner Truth and Frederick Douglass wanted freedom and equality for blacks.
Southern Response
In 1836, a gag rule was passed in the House of Representatives which prevented the reading of anti-slavery petitions in the House.
The southern argument for slavery was it was an economic necessity, and they stated northern factory conditions were worse than life for slaves.

Slavery and Politics

The position the major political parties took on the issue of slavery before the 1840s was they tried to keep slavery out of politics.
The Missouri Compromise and the Compromise of 1850 were two compromises that attempted to settle the issue of slavery.

The Missouri Compromise

In 1820, Missouri was added to the Union as a slave state, Maine as a free state.
Slavery was not allowed in the Louisiana Territory north of latitude 36 degrees 30' (north of the Missouri southern border).
This solved the slavery issue for over 25 years.

Wilmot Proviso and Popular Sovereignty

In 1846, the Wilmot Proviso was proposed to outlaw slavery in land gained from Mexico, it failed.
In 1847, popular sovereignty was suggested, which meant people could vote whether to have slavery or not.

Free-Soil Party

The purpose of the Free-Soil party was to bring the question of expansion of slavery to the country's attention.
It was made up of people who were strongly opposed to slavery.
They favored the Wilmot Proviso, free homesteads, and federal money for internal improvements.
The party was not successful politically, but it did bring the issue of slavery to the country's attention.

Compromise of 1850

Clay's Proposal: California would be admitted as a free state to offset Texas being added as a slave state. Mexican lands would be divided into two territories, New Mexico and Utah, and people could decide whether to be free or slave (popular sovereignty). Land claimed by Texas and New Mexico would be given to New Mexico, and Texas would receive $10 million. Slavery would also be abolished in Washington D.C.
The Compromise Becomes Law: The Compromise of 1850 admitted California as a free state, granted popular sovereignty to the territories, ended the slave trade in the District of Columbia, and instituted the Fugitive Slave Act.
The Fugitive Slave Act was passed to allow the capture of runaway slaves.

Road to Disunion

The Fugitive Slave Act

The Fugitive Slave Act stated that federal law officers were to help return runaway slaves to the South.
The oath of a slave owner could prove a slave had escaped.
Northern states passed personal liberty laws to stop officials from obeying fugitive slave laws.

An American Best-Seller

In 1852, Uncle Tom's Cabin , was written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. The book dramatized the story of slave life.
Stowe was opposed to slavery.
300,000 copies of the first printing were sold.
Many people joined the fight against slavery after reading the book.

Kansas-Nebraska Act

In 1854, Illinois Senator Douglas introduced bills for two new territories.
He suggested popular sovereignty be used in the territories.
The position on slavery shown by the Kansas-Nebraska Act and by the concept of popular sovereignty was they suggested that the people of a territory could vote on the issue of slavery.
The act, when it passed, repealed the Missouri Compromise.

"Bleeding Kansas"

After the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act pro-slave people and anti-slave people showed up in Kansas to vote.
In 1856, two governments, pro-slave and anti-slave, existed in Kansas.
This led to a mini-civil war.

Election of 1856

Northern Whigs joined with the Free-Soil party and anti-slavery Democrats formed the Republican party in 1854.
Republicans wanted to repeal the Fugitive Slave Act, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and wanted to stop the further spread of slavery.
The Democrats won the presidency in 1856, but Republicans won a surprising number of votes.
The new Republican party alarmed southern leaders.

Dred Scott Case

The Issue: Scott was the slave of an army doctor who lived in Missouri. He had been taken to Illinois, a free state, and into a territory (later Minnesota) in which Congress had forbidden slavery. Scott believed he had become free because of his stay in free territory. One Missouri court held that Scott was free, while the state supreme court ruled that he was still a slave. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States.
The Court Decision: The Supreme Court ruled slaves were considered property and could not be taken away. Congress could not take slaves from people who moved to free territories. The decision suggested slavery could not be kept out of the territories.
Many southern slave owners favored the Supreme Court's Dred Scott decision because it supported southern views on the spread of slavery.

Lincoln-Douglas Debates

The two ran against each other for the Illinois Senate seat.
Lincoln pointed out that Douglas' support of the Dred Scott Case and popular sovereignty conflicted.

John Brown's Raid

In 1859, an attempt to steal weapons for a slave revolt led to a raid at Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.

Final Break

Party Conventions

The Democratic party in 1860 split into northern and southern groups. Each nominated a different candidate for President.
The Republicans chose Abraham Lincoln as their candidate, and they did not demand an end to slavery.

Election of 1860

The election for President was a four way race.
The candidates for President in 1860 were: Abraham Lincoln, Stephen Douglas, John C. Brekenridge, and John Bell.
Lincoln campaigned only in northern cities and won.

Confederate States of America

When Abraham Lincoln was first elected President, southern states withdrew from the Union.
On December 20, 1860, South Carolina seceded from the United States.
In 1861, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas withdrew from the Union.
The leaders of the Confederate States of America were: President Jefferson Davis and Vice-President Alexander H. Stephens.

Hokanson's Social Studies

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