The Forces that Divide the Nation
The Forces that Divide the Nation
I. PoliticsI. Politics A. Agricultural
South vs. Industrial North– 1. Northern cities,
population, manufacturing.
– 2. Plantations, cotton.
– 3. Protective Tariffs. a. make imported items more expensive,
benefit north b. hurts southern planters.
B. NullificationB. Nullification 1. The states have the right to
declare a federal law illegal.– a. The rights of the states versus the
power of the federal government.– b. What does the Constitution mean by
power reserved to the States?– c. 1798 Jefferson developed the
argument of nullification to oppose Alien/Sedition act.
C. 1828 Tariff of Abominations
C. 1828 Tariff of Abominations
1. Great voices in the Senate– a. John C. Calhoun,
South Carolina– b. Daniel Webster,
Massachusetts– Henry Clay, Kentucky
2. States Rights vs. Federal Union– South vs North.
Webster, Clay and Calhoun
Webster, Clay and Calhoun
3. South Carolina– a. 1832, passed Nullification Act to battle
the tariff– b. Threatened to secede if Act was
enforced against their state law. 4. President Jackson
– a. Jackson threatened to send in federal troops if South Carolina to enforce the law. South Carolina backed down.
II. ReformII. Reform A. Change
society for the better– 1. cities– 2. temperence– 3. education– 4. women’s rights
B. AbolitionB. Abolition 1. End Slavery
– a. political reasons, all men created equal
– b. religious all are equal in God’s eyes, quakers
– The Underground Railroad, painted by Charles T. Webber, 1891.
2. Three Methods– a. Monroe Colonizationsociety,
Liberia, avoid the issue– b. Moderates- it will die out– c. Hard core activists
i. William Loyd Garrison ii. Frederick Douglass iii. Harriet Tubman
III. Westward ExpansionIII. Westward Expansion A. 1819 - balance in the Senate
– 1. Eleven Northern states a. OH,PA,NJ,NY,CT,RI,MA,NH,VT,IN,IL
– 2. Eleven Southern states a. MD,VA,TN,NC,SC,GA,DE,KY,MISS,LA,AL
B. 1820 Missouri Compromise– 1. 1818 MO petitioned Congress to enter
the Union as a slave state. Northern Senators oppose admission
– 2. Henry Clay-the great compromiser a. 1820 ME petitions to enter as free b. Clay proposes the 36’30” line be used to
divide the LA purchase between slave and free
– 3.MI,IO,WI, free, FL,TX,AK enter as slave
C. War with MexicoC. War with Mexico 1. 1846 Wilmot Proviso
– a. Representative David Wilmot proposes any lands won from Mexico be declared slave free
– b. Senate defeats it debate rages over slavery in Mexican session.
2. Free soilers– a. 1848 a political party forms
dedicated to keeping western lands free.
– b. Presidential candidate loses but they win 13 seats in Congress
– c. means there is a voice in congress dedicated to ending slavery.
Compromise 1850Compromise 1850 -1850, California petitioned to enter
as a free state - Southerners refused to let this
happen. Compromise- popular sovereignty to
the new territories of New Mexico and Utah
New fugitive slave law Slavery illegal in Washington DC
Uncle Tom’s CabinUncle Tom’s Cabin In 1852, Harriet
Beecher Stowe’s novel convinced many northerners to join the cause of abolition.
Bleeding KansasBleeding Kansas In 1854 Senator Stephen Douglas
proposed the Kansas-Nebraska Act– Split the remainder of the Louisiana
Purchase into Kansas and Nebraska Territories
– Allowed people in territory to decide whether slave or free based on popular sovereignty
Bleeding Kansas cont.Bleeding Kansas cont. Began race to fill Kansas by
proslavery and abolitionists to sway the vote.
In 1855 both sides established their own government
In 1856 pro slavery border ruffians rode in to Lawrence, shot up town and killed 5
John Brown, Pottawatomie Creek
Violence in the senateViolence in the senate Charles Sumner gave speech
denouncing proslavery activists in Kansas. He singled out Senator Andrew Butler in his attack. Preston Brooks in response beat him with his cane on the floor of the Senate.