Sectionalism and Secession

Download Report

Transcript Sectionalism and Secession

Sectionalism and Secession
King Cotton
Factors that
contributed to rise of
Cotton Kingdom:
Demand from British
textile mills
Invention of cotton gin,
1793
Availability of land in
the “Old Southwest”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Cotton-gin.jpg
Non-Cotton Agriculture
Sugar (Texas and Louisiana)
Rice (S.C.)
Tobacco (Md., N.C., Tenn., Ky.)
Hemp (Ky., Tenn., and Mo.)
Wheat (Md., Va., Ky., and Tenn.)
Corn (everywhere)
Livestock (Southeast)
Sectionalism
Southerners dominated early national
politics
Early sectional divisions led by New
Englanders
opposition to the Louisiana Purchase
Opposition to War of 1812
Hartford Convention, 1814
Nullification
J. C. Calhoun proposed doctrine
of nullification in opposition to
tariffs
States should decide what was
constitutional
1832 Tariff
S.C. called for a state convention
to determine the constitutionality
of the tariff bill
Calhoun resigned as vice-president
as part of the protest
convention ruled the tariffs null
and void in S.C.
Congress passes Force Bill
S.C. nullifies Force Bill
Conflict averted with passage of
the compromise tariff
Abolition
William Lloyd Garrison
1831, the Liberator.
Reject "gradualism"
freedom, and equality
1833, founded American Antislavery
Society
Frederick Douglass
Born a slave in Md., Douglass escaped
in 1838
Published the North Star
1845, Narrative of the Life of
Frederick Douglass
Uncle Tom’s Cabin, 1852
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Sold 300,000+ copies first year
Brought abolitionism to an enormous
new audience
Anti-Abolition
Bible, history and biology used to justify slavery
Josiah Nott, Types of Manhood (1855)
John C. Calhoun was perhaps the greatest proslavery advocate, arguing:
the end of slavery would mean a race war
no reason to destroy a system that benefited the U.S.
slavery had civilized Africans from a “low, degraded
and savage condition”
tariffs, not slavery, retarded economic development
Southern slavery was superior to Northern and
European“wage slavery”
Kansas-Nebraska Act, 1854
opened two territories (Kansas, Nebraska) to
slavery by declaring that they would become free
or slave states as their constitutions would allow
when they applied for statehood – i.e. popular
sovereignty would apply
effectively voided the 36’ 30” line of 1820
Bleeding Kansas
Between 1854-58 elections held in Kansas were marred
by fraud and intimidation
pro-slavery forces gained control of the Kansas legislature, and
passed a pro-slave constitution (Lecompton Constitution)
Free-soilers set up their own government in Topeka
War erupts between anti-slavery and pro-slavery forces
1856, sack of the free-soil settlement of Lawrence
Pottawattomie Creek Massacre, 1856
Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857)
Dred Scott sued for his freedom, claiming that he was
no longer a slave because he had lived on free soil.
In a 7 to 2 decision, the court declared that Scott was
still a slave and not a citizen and so had no
constitutional right to sue
Led to fears of the possible spread of slavery into free
states
Outraged abolitionists
Dred Scott v. Sanford (1857)
Ruling provoked outrage among
abolitionists in the North
John Brown’s Raid, October 1859
John Brown planned to spark a
slave rebellion which would force
the South to emancipate.
attacked U.S. arsenal at Harpers
Ferry, Va., with 18 followers
Brown and 6 of his followers
were promptly captured, tried,
found guilty, and executed
John Brown’s raid enflamed
passions both north and south
After John Brown’s Raid,
Southern militias—the beginnings
of the Confederate Army—began
to be raised, trained, and equipped
The Development of the Republican
Party
People in both major parties who opposed the KansasNebraska bill began to call themselves Anti-Nebraska
Democrats and Anti-Nebraska Whigs.
In 1854, they formed the Republican Party
The GOP:
opposed the expansion of slavery into the territories
advocated high tariffs, homesteads, and internal improvements
G.O.P. a purely sectional party—no support in the South
“Bleeding Sumner”
1856, abolitionist Senator
Charles Sumner delivered
speech entitled "The Crime
Against Kansas."
attacked slavery and the South
Speech enraged S.C. Rep.
Preston Brooks
Several days later Brooks
attacked Sumner at his desk
in the Senate with a cane
Sumner was injured
severely, and became a
symbol in the North as to the
barbarism of the South
Preston Brooks was hailed
as a Southern hero
Lincoln-Douglas Debates 1858
1858 Senate campaign in IL
Abraham Lincoln - candidate for new
Republican party
Lincoln claimed Dred Scott decision could
force slavery into all states
Lincoln’s “House Divided Speech”
“I believe this government cannot
endure permanently half Slave and half
Free”
Republicans lost the campaign; Lincoln’s
fame led to his nomination for President in
1860
Election of 1860—Democratic Conventions
Democratic Convention held at Charleston, S.C.
Many Southern delegates walked out and established their
own convention with a pro-slavery platform
After failing to agree on a nominee, the regular convention
adjourned
Baltimore Convention
Northerners and Southerners still could not agree and the
party split into sectional halves
• Northern Democrats nominated Stephen Douglas
Southern Democrats again walked out and established their
own faction, the Constitutional Democrats
• nominated VP John C. Breckenridge (TN) on a pro-slavery platform
Election of 1860—Republican Convention
Republican Convention held in Chicago
Only 5 of the 15 slave states represented
Republicans nominated Lincoln on 3rd ballot
GOP platform a direct threat to Southern interests
embodied the political and economic program of the North:
•
•
•
•
•
upward revision of the tariff
free farms in the West (Homestead Act)
railroad subsidies by federal government
Preservation of Union
No extension of slavery into the territories
Election of 1860
Two separate elections in 1860:
Lincoln v. Douglas in the North
Breckenridge v. Bell (Constitutional Union) in South
GOP not even on the ticket in 10 Southern States.
Lincoln won the election due to Democratic split
Lincoln won only 39.8% of popular vote, easily won the
Electoral College by sweeping the free states (except NJ).
Breckenridge won 44.7% of the South’s popular vote and 10 of
the 15 slave states, but it was not nearly enough.
Election of 1860
Secession
December 20, 1860, the S.C. state convention voted
unanimously to seceded from the Union
election of Lincoln deemed an “overt act” of aggression
By February 1861, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia,
Florida, Louisiana, and Texas had all seceded
February 8, 1861, delegates from the seceding states met
in Montgomery, Ala., and established the Confederate
States of America.
A provisional constitution was adopted
Jefferson Davis of Miss. was appointed President, with
Alexander Stephens of Ga. named VP.
Causes for Secession
Southerners feared infringement of “right”
to take their property, slaves, into western
territories
Northern non-compliance with the Fugitive
Slave Act
South believed that it had lost political
weight in balance of the Union
Believed that the extension of slavery essential
to preserving the rights of Southerners
Feared Lincoln presidency would mean
subjugation of South and eventual
emancipation of slaves