Lead Up To Civil War Flashcards
5.4.-5.5+slideshows
“i owe a paramount allegiance to the whole union–a subordinate one to my own state”
henry clay
southerners resented the missouri compromise
b/c it prevented slavery in the louisiana purchase lands
southerners disappointment towards Mexican war
b/c they felt territorial gains were not large enough to cultivate new land with enslaved labor
acquisition of cuba
1850s, southerners wanted to acquire new territories
- they thought plantations were economically feasible in latin america
polk’s initial offer for cuba
president polk offered spain $100 million for cuba, but spain didn’t want to sell the last of its emprire
- southerner adventurers lead expeditions to take cuba by force
- failed, obviously
ostend manifesto
franklin pierce, following president, adopted pro-south polices
- he dispatched 3 diplomats to ostend, Belgium
- secretly negotiated to buy cuba” “the ostend manifesto”
- leaked to press eventually and antislavery congress members forced president pierce to stop
walker expedition (1853)
expansionists were seeking new empires without federal government support
- southerner William walker tried to take Baja California from mexico
- his regime had temp recognition
- his scheme to develop a proslavery Central American empire ended when a coalition of Central American countries invaded his country and executed him 1860 (Honduran)
clayton-bulwer treaty
major american & british ambition was to build a canal through central america
- they created the clayton bulwer treaty to prevent either of them from getting exclusive control
hay-paunceforte treaty
the clayton bulwer treaty held in place until the end of the century. 1901, the hay pauncefote treaty gave the us power to build a canal without british participation
gadsden purchase
though pierce failed to get cuba, he bought a small strip of land from mexico
- 1853, 10 mill
- semidesert, but best route for a railroad
- forms southern sections of New Mexico and arizona
wilmot proviso
excluded slavery from new territories
upsets the compromise of 1820 and the balance between 15 free and 15 slave states
3 main opinions on slavery expansion (1840s)
- free-soil movement
- southern positions
- popular sovereignty
opinions on wiltmot proviso
abolitionists: eliminating slavery everywhere
northern democrats&whigs: supported it & the position that all African americans should be excluded from Mexican cession
- however, many northerners who opposed westward expansions did not oppose it in the south
- “west is a land of opportunity for whites only”
free soil party (1840s)
(1848)
- northerners who opposed allowing slavery in territories organized
- “free soil, free labor, free men”
- free homesteads, internal improvements
southern positions (1840s)
southern plantation owners
- wealth, social status, politically powerful
- restricted expansion of slavery as violations of constitutional rights to take property
moderate southerners: agree to extend missouri compromise line west to the Pacific Ocean, permit territories north to be free of slavery
popular sovereignty (1840s)
aka squatter sovereignty
democratic senator from Michigan, lewis cass, proposed popular sovereignty through a cmrpomise solution
- the matter determined by a vote of people who settled a territory
election of 1848
expansion of slavery was a key issue.. 3 parties:
- democrat’s senator cass - popular soveriengty
- whigs’s Zachary Taylor - no position
- free-soil party’s Martin van buren
Taylor narrowly defeated cass b/c of the vote given to free soil party in NY and Pennsylvania
barnburners
members of free soil party were called this because their defection threatened to destroy democrats
- they consisted of conscience whigs and antislavery democrats
gold rush
1849
influx of 100,000 settlers in to california, created need for law and order
california’s admissions
- 1849, cali drafted a constitution for their new state (banned slavery)
- altohugh taylor was a southern slaveholder, he supported immediate admission of California & new Mexico as free states
1849 new mexico
little interest in applying for statehood
taylor’s plan for admitting cali & nm free
- sparked talks of secession among “fire eater” radicals in the south
- southern extremists began meeting in Nashville 1850 to discuss secession
- Henry clay tried to resolve this with another comrpomise
compromise of 1850
- admit cali as a free state
- divide Mexican cession into utah and new mexico
- give land between texas and New Mexico to new territories if govt. assumes Texas’s 10 mil debt
- ban slave trade in DC (whites can continue to own slaves)
- enforce a new fugitive slave law
senate debate over 1850 compromise
3 congressional giants delivered last speeches before death
- henry clay, kentucky
- daniel webster, masachusetts
- john c calhoun, south carolina
daniel webster 1850
- compromise in order to save the union
- alienated the Massachusetts abolitionists who formed the base of his support
john c. calhoun
- argued against compromise
- south needs equal rights in acquired territory
northern opposition to compromise
younger antislavery lawmakers
- senator William h Seward, ny
- argued a higher law of there cosntution existed
resolution of 1850 compromise debates
- president Taylor, who opposed compromise, died
- succeeding him was someone who believed in compromise: millard Fillmore!
- Stephen a. douglas, a young democratic senator from illinois engeineered coalitions to pass each part of the compromise seperately
- millard Fillmore signed them all!
passage. of compromise of 1850
the passage brought time for the union
however, b/c cali was admitted as a free state, the compromise added to the north political power
political debate deepened around secession and saving the union
“I did not write it. god wrote it I merely did his dictation”
harriet beecher stowe
another pressing issue dividing people in the 1880s
immigration–particularly by Roman Catholics
& how to promote and respond to industrial growth
irish immigrants
almost half of all immigrants (2 million)
came due to crop failures and the potato famine (1840)
- limited interest in farming, few skills, little money
- discriminated for being roman chatolic
irish communities
many couldn’t move past where they landed
- strong irish communities developed in northern cities
- Boston, NY, philly
- people continued customs, spoke their won languages, and had specific church services
irish valuable skills
- they spoke English well (colonization by british)
- understood electoral poltiics
they entered local politics, organized fellow immigrants, joined democratic parties, adn took on anti-British and pro-worker values
tammany hall
NYC’s democratic organization
- originally excluded irish
- by 1850s, the irish secured jobs and influence
- by 1880s, they controlled the hall
german immigrants
1 million
came due to economic hardships and failure of democratic revolutions (1840s-1850s)
- modest means of skills for farming and artisans
german communities
they could move westward in search of farmland
established homesteads throughout the old northwest
formed close-knit communities where they spoke German and practiced Roman Catholic or lutheran
german immigrant politics
political influence was limited, but became active in support for public education and were anti-slavery
nativist beliefs
feared that newcomers would take their jobs and dilute the culture of the anglo majority.
most nativists were protestants and most immigrants were Roman Catholics
know nothings
they formed a secretive anti foreign society which evolved into a political organization
responded “I know nothing” to political questions
supported increasing time required for immigrants to gain citizenship from 5–>21 years, and allowing only native born citizens to hold office
1850s rise of know nothings
as the whig party disintegrated, the know nothings gained strength in New England and the mid Atlantic states
1856, the party unsuccessfully ran former president millard fillmore
1850s fall of know nothings
anti-foreign feeling faded in importance as sectional issues over slavery grew… but nativism periodically returns when native citizens begin feeling threatened by increasing in immigrations
ethnic conflict beyond immigrants
native American Indians and mexican americans who became part of the us though settlement and expansion also faced religious discrimination
Elias howe
invention of sewing machine took production of clothing out of homes and into factories
Samuel f. b. morse
electric telegraph – went hand in hand with growth of railroads in enormously speeding up communication and transportation
railroad
1820-1830s, replaced canal-building
emerged as America’s largest industry. required complex business organization.
- linked farmers in illinois and Iowa
-n
govt. helped it grow by granting special loans and tax breaks
first grant to railroads
1850, us gov gave 26 million acres of federal land to build illinois central railraod
panic of 1857
a financial panic caused a decrease in prices for midwestern agricultural products & increase in unemployment in northern cities
- cotton prices remained high & south was less affected
- south believed plantation economy was superior to northern economy
fugitive slave law
- helps owners track down runaway slaves who escaped to a northern state capture them
- put fugitive slave cases under federal gov jusridiction
- authorized us commissioners to issue warrants to arrest fugitives
- denials right of trial by jury to captured people who claimed to be free
opposition to fugitive slave law
anyone who hid a runaway or obstructed enforcement of law was subject to heavy penalities
- black and white activists bitterly resisted
- protected African americans from being taken into slavery
underground railroad
a loose network of activists helping enslaved people escape to the north or canada
- those operating stations were free African americans or white abolitionists
harriet tubman
most famous conductor
- escaped slavery
- 19 trips into the south to help some 300 people escape
vigilance committees
free black citizens in the north and abolitionists organized these to protect fugitive slaves from slave catchers
uncle tom’s cabin
most influential book of its day
- conflict between enslaved man tom and brutal slave owner Simon degree
- 1852, by Harriet Beecher stowe
uncle tom’s cabin political influence
- moved a generation of northerners and many europeans to regard all slave owners as cruel and inhuman
- southerners called it untrue and looked at it as proof of incurable prejudice against southerners
“so you’re the little woman who write the book hat made this Great War”
when Lincoln met stowe
aunt phillis cabin
a pro-slavery novel in response to Stowe’s book
- written by Mary eastment
- portrayed a world of kind slaveowners and happily enslaved people
impending crisis of the south
1857, Hinton r. helper
- attacked slavery from a statistical angle
- slavery weakened the souths economy
- southern states banned this but it was widely distributed in the north
southern defense in slavery
- slavery was good for the master and the enslaved
- slavery was sanctioned by the Bible and grounded in philosophy and history
- slavery was permitted by the us constitution
wage slaves
southern authors contrasted wage slaves “northern wage workers” who were forced to work long hours with the “bonds” on plantations
George fitzhugh
best known proslavery author
- questioned principle of equal rights for unequal man
- wage system “worse than slaveryu”
- sociology fort he south (1854) and cannibals all! (1857)
secession of south carolina
southern democrats control senate and supreme court
lincoln election spooks the south
1860: sc votes to secede to protect slavery
secession of deep south
shortly followed by → georgia, florida, alabama, mississippi, louisiana, texas
formation of confederacy
shortly followed by → georgia, florida, alabama, mississippi, louisiana, texas
feb 1861: meeting of the states in montgomery alabama to form confederacy
mimics US constitution + restrictions of tariffs and slavery regulation
lincoln enters office
after 1st round of secession
in the south’s hands is the issue of civil war. there will be no conflict unless they attack
fort sumner
first conflict of civil war
- federal fort located in charleston south carolina
- cut off by southern secession
- lincoln sends provisions (supplies) but does not prepare to attack or defend. acts as if it is still a federally controlled fort
attack on fort sumner
april 12, 1861 (civil war begins) (a month after lincoln takes office)
fort is attacked and falls after 2 days
official war → virginia, north carolina, tennessee, and arkansas join the confederacy after the war begins
slave states in union
missouri, kentucky, and maryland were slave states but stayed in the union
