Transcript Ch. 10 the nation splits apart Ch. 10

AMERICAN HISTORY
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1850—Slavery had existed for over 200 years
By 1790—more than 90% of enslaved Americans
lived in the South
The developing debate over slavery was largely
one of property rights vs. human rights
“Shall the Government be a commonwealth
where all are citizens, or an aristocracy where
man owns his brother man”
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After the Mexican-American War more than
500,000 square miles of territory were add
Would new states created be free or slave?
Missouri Compromise of 1820 had banned
slavery in most of the northern part of the
Louisiana Purchase
March 1850—California applies to be a state
Currently 15 free states and 15 slave states
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California’s population in 1850 was 93,000
Residents adopted a state constitution banning
slavery and applied for statehood
January 29, 1850—Henry Clay introduces a plan
in which he proposes compromises on several
slavery issues
The Senate debate was one of the greatest in
history—Daniel Webster (MA) vs. John C.
Calhoun (SC)
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Calhoun indicated that states might secede from
the Union if the slavery question was not
resolved
Webster was dismayed by Calhoun’s threat of
secession. He believed that preserving the union
was more important then the disagreement over
slavery
Not all northern senators agreed with Webster
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NY Senator William Seward opposed any
compromise on slavery
Seward was labeled a RADICAL (person with
extreme views)
Debate on Clay’s proposal dragged on through
the summer
Calhoun’s death March 31 removed one obstacle
President Zachary Taylor opposed Clay’s plan
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President Taylor died a few months later
President Millard Fillmore supported the plan
September 1850—The Senate passed 5 laws that
became the COMPROMISE OF 1850
FUGATIVE SLAVE ACT—a federal crime to aid
runaway slaves; allowed the arrest of escaped
slaves in states where slavery was illegal
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UNCLE TOM’S CABIN
Written by Harriet Beecher Stowe
300,000 copies were sold
Described the cruelty and horror of slavery
The book outraged southerners
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Clay and Webster both die within 2 years
Stephen Douglas (Sen-IL) gained power and
influence
Popular Sovereignty—people decide
Kansas and Nebraska would be allowed to
determine whether slavery was legal or not
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Northerners protested the Kansas-Nebraska Act
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SHIFTS IN POLITICS
Whig Party was suffering from serious divisions
Conscience Whigs—northern Whigs—opposed
slavery on moral grounds
Cotton Whigs—(north and south) strongly
supported slavery
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Cotton Whigs joined southern Democrats
Conscience Whigs joined northern Democrats and
Free Soil Party members to form a new political
party to further resist the spread of slavery
THE RISE OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY
Rally held at a church in Ripon, WI February 1854
Republican Party born
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The party’s new name adopted @ Jackson, MI
meeting
End of 1854—Republican groups were operating
in states across the North
Members of the Know-Nothings also joined
Republicans
Relationship between Republicans and KnowNothings kept one prominent Whig out—William
Seward
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Seward joined Republicans in 1855 after being reelected to the Senate
Another, much less famous, northern Whig
politician joined the Republicans also.
His name was Abraham Lincoln.
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THE END
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