Transcript debate over slavery, 14.1 notes

The Debate
Over Slavery
The Expansion of Slavery
• Victory for the U.S. in the Mexican War added approx. 500,000
square miles to the U.S.
• It also caused the debate over slavery to begin again.
• The Missouri Compromise of 1820 had settled the debate until
now.
The Expansion of Slavery,
Cont.
• The Missouri Compromise had divided the
Louisiana Purchase into free and slave territory.
Slavery was not allowed north of latitude 36,30.
• President Polk and others now wanted to extend
this line all the way to the Pacific Coast, which
would divide the Mexican Cession into slave and
free territories.
• Some northerners wanted to prohibit slavery in all parts
of the Mexican Cession.
• During the war, Representative David Wilmot had
proposed the Wilmot Proviso. It stated that “neither
slavery no involuntary servitude shall ever exist in any
part of the territory.”
• The Proviso did not pass through Congress, it’s impact
was felt in the growing sectionalism of the country.
Popular Sovereignty
• Another idea on how to solve the issue of slavery in the
territories was through popular sovereignty. This would
allow voters in the territory to decide whether or not they
wanted to allow slavery.
• The issue of slavery in the Mexican Cession dominated
the election of 1848. Neither the Whigs nor the Democrats
took a clear stand on the issue, so antislavery northerners
formed a new party called the Free-Soil Party.
• The members of the Free Soil
Party supported the Wilmot
Proviso and chose former
president Martin Van Buren as
their candidate.
• Van Buren won 10% of the
popular vote in the election
which helped the Whig
candidate Zachary Taylor
narrowly defeat Democrat
Lewis Cass.
Impact of the California Gold
Rush
• The California Gold Rush had allowed California to skip the
territorial stage and apply for statehood.
• This raised the question as to whether California would enter as
a free or slave state. Most Californians did not want slavery
and hoped to enter as a free state; however, this would upset
the balance in Congress of free and slave states.
The Compromise of 1850
• Henry Clay had helped settle the issue of slavery in
Missouri with his proposal of the Missouri
Compromise. He now stepped forward with a plan
that had five main parts:
1. He urged Congress to allow California to enter the
Union as a free state.
2. The rest of the Mexican Cession would be
organized into a federal territory. In this territory,
popular sovereignty would decide the status of
slavery.
The Compromise of 1850, cont.
3. He called on Texas to give up its claim to all
land east of the upper Rio Grande. In
exchange, the federal government would pay
Texas’s old debts.
3. An end to the slave trade-but not slavery-in
Washington D.C.
3. New, more effective fugitive slave law.
• Immediately, Clay’s plan was criticized. Senator
William Seward of New York spoke for antislavery
northerners. He demanded the admission of
California without conditions or compromise.
• Senator John C. Calhoun spoke for the South. Near
death, he was very weak and had to have another
senator read his speech. He argued that letting CA
enter as a free state would destroy the balance
between the two sections of the country. He said the
slave states would not be able to live with that
decision and should be allowed to “separate and part
in peace.”
• Senator Daniel Webster (Mass.) was in favor of
Clay’s plan. He was opposed to the expansion of
slavery, but he thought that preserving the Union
was more important than regional differences. He
criticized northern abolitionists and scolded
southerners who spoke of breaking away from the
Union. Webster also argued that fighting over
slavery in the west was unnecessary b/c the
climate and soil in that region would not grow the
crops needed for slave labor.
• The Compromise of 1850 became law in September. It
accomplished most of what Clay had wanted:
1. CA entered as a free state
2. The rest of the Mexican Cession was divided into
two territories-the states of slavery would be decided
by popular sovereignty.
3. Texas agreed to give up its claims in NM and the
fed. Gov’t would pay their debts.
4. The slave trade was banned in D.C. and a new
fugitive slave law was added.
Fugitive Slave Act
• The Fugitive Slave Act that was made part of the
Compromise of 1850 made it illegal to help runaway
slaves. The act even let officials arrest runaways in
areas where slavery was illegal.
• Slaveholders and their agents could take suspected
fugitive slaves before U.S. commissioners to try to
prove ownership. Slaves were not allowed to testify in
their own defense.
Fugitive Slave Act, Cont.
• Commissioners received $5 for their services,
those who returned a suspected fugitive to a
slaveholder received $10. Anyone who helped a
runaway slave faced 6 months in jail and a $1000
fine.
Anti-Slavery Literature
• No anti-slavery literature had the impact that Uncle
Tom’s Cabin had. This story, written by Harriet
Beecher Stowe, told the story of a kind, older slave
named Tom. He is separated from his wife and sold.
He becomes the slave of a cruel cotton planter who
treats him terribly.
• The book was published in 1852 and sold nearly 2
million copies within 10 years.
• After the Civil War had
started, Harriet
Beecher Stowe met
Abraham Lincoln.
When he met her he
said, “So this is the little
lady who started this
big war.” This shows
the impact Uncle Tom’s
Cabin had on the U.S.