Fill - Free fillable Secession Slavery and p0324-331aspe-0310s4 10/16/02 4:06 PM Page (Caggia Social Studies) PDF form

324 C

HAPTER 10

Terms & Names

MAIN IDEA

One American's Story

Slavery and

Secession

•Dred Scott

•Roger B. Taney

•Abraham Lincoln

•Freeport Doctrine

•Harpers Ferry

•Confederacy

•Jefferson Davis

A series of controversial

events heightened the

sectional conﬂict that

brought the nation to the

brink of war.

Secession created deep

divisions in American society

that persist to the present time.

WHY IT MATTERS NOW

On June 16, 1858, the Republican Party of Illinois nom-

inated its state chairman, Abraham Lincoln, to run for

the U.S. Senate against Democratic incumbent Stephen

A. Douglas. That night Lincoln launched his campaign

with a ringing address to the convention. It included a

biblical quotation.

A PERSONAL

VOICE ABRAHAM LINCOLN

“ ‘A house divided against itself cannot stand.’ I believe

this government cannot endure permanently half slave

and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved

—I do not expect the house to fall—but I do expect it

will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or

all the other. Either the opponents of slavery will arrest

the further spread of it . . . or its advocates will push it

forward, till it shall become alike lawful in all the

States, old as well as new, North as well as South.

”

—1858 speech

Lincoln was correct in that the United States could not survive for long with

such a deep gulf between the North and the South—but was he right that the

Union would not dissolve? With a weak president in James Buchanan and new

legal questions over slavery, the United States faced the future with apprehension.

Some suspected that events would lead like a trail of powder to a ﬁnal explosion.

Slavery Dominates Politics

For strong leaders, slavery was a difﬁcult issue. But it presented even more of a

challenge for the indecisive President Buchanan, whose administration was

plagued by slavery-related controversies. The ﬁrst one arose on March 6, 1857.

▼

This photograph

shows Lincoln in

about 1858,

before the Civil

War took its toll.

p0324-331aspe-0310s4 10/16/02 4:06 PM Page 324

Page 1 of 8

DRED SCOTT DECISION

In 1856 an important

legal question came before the Supreme Court.

The case concerned Dred Scott, a slave from

Missouri. Scott’s owner had taken him north of

the Missouri Compromise line in 1834. For four

years they had lived in free territory in Illinois

and Wisconsin. Later they returned to Missouri,

where Scott’s owner died. Scott then began a law-

suit to gain his freedom. He claimed that he had

become a free person by living in free territory for

several years.

On March 6, 1857, Supreme Court Chief

Justice Roger B. Taney handed down the deci-

sion. (See Dred Scott v. Sandford, page 332.) The

Court ruled that slaves did not have the rights of

citizens. Furthermore, said the court, Dred Scott

had no claim to freedom, because he had been

living in Missouri, a slave state, when he began

his suit. Finally, the Court ruled that the Missouri

Compromise was unconstitutional. Congress

could not forbid slavery in any part of the terri-

tories. Doing so would interfere with slaveholders’

right to own property, a right protected by the Fifth Amendment.

Sectional passions exploded immediately. Southerners cheered the Court’s

decision. Northerners were stunned. By striking down the Missouri Com-

promise, the Supreme Court had cleared the way for the extension of slavery.

Opponents of slavery now pinned their hopes on the Republican Party. If the Re-

publicans became strong enough, they could still keep slavery in check.

THE LECOMPTON CONSTITUTION

In fall 1857, the proslavery government at

Lecompton, Kansas, wrote a constitution and applied for admission to the Union.

Free-Soilers—who by this time outnumbered proslavery settlers in Kansas by near-

ly ten to one—rejected the proposed constitution because it protected the rights

of slaveholders. The legislature called for a referendum in which the people could

vote on the proslavery constitution. They voted against it.

At this point President Buchanan made a poor decision: he endorsed the

proslavery Lecompton constitution. He owed his presidency to Southern support

and believed that since Kansas contained only about 200 slaves, the Free-Soilers

were overreacting.

Buchanan’s endorsement provoked the wrath of Illinois Democrat Stephen A.

Douglas, who did not care “whether [slavery] is voted down or voted up.” What

he cared about was popular sovereignty. Backed by an antislavery coalition of

Republicans and Northern Democrats, Douglas persuaded Congress to authorize

another referendum on the constitution. In summer 1858, voters rejected the

constitution once again. Northerners hailed Douglas as a hero, Southerners

scorned him as a traitor, and the two wings of the Democratic Party moved still

farther apart.

Lincoln-Douglas Debates

That summer witnessed the start of one of Illinois’s greatest political contests: the

1858 race for the U.S. Senate between Democratic incumbent Douglas and

Republican challenger Abraham Lincoln. To many outsiders, it must have

seemed like an uneven match. Douglas was a two-term senator with an out-

standing record and a large campaign chest. Who was Lincoln?

The Union in Peril 325

MAIN IDEA

Analyzing

Effects

What was the

signiﬁcance of the

Dred Scott

decision?

MAIN IDEA

Analyzing

Motives

Why did

Buchanan support

the Lecompton

constitution?

A. Answer

It effectively

repealed the

Missouri

Compromise;

it declared that

slaves were

property.

B. Answer He

was trying to

appease the

Southerners.

He felt that the

small number of

slaves in Kansas

made the issue

relatively unim-

portant.

▼

Dred Scott’s

lawsuit dragged

on for years, and

set off even more

controversy over

slavery.

p0324-331aspe-0310s4 10/16/02 4:06 PM Page 325

Page 2 of 8

A self-educated man with a dry wit, Lincoln was known locally as a success-

ful lawyer and politician. Elected as a Whig to one term in Congress in 1846, he

broke with his party after the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854 and

became a Republican two years later.

LINCOLN CHALLENGES DOUGLAS

As the senatorial campaign progressed, the

Republican Party decided that Lincoln needed to counteract the “Little Giant’s”

well-known name and extensive ﬁnancial resources. As a result, Lincoln chal-

lenged Douglas to a series of seven open-air debates to be held throughout Illinois

on the issue of slavery in the territories. Douglas accepted the challenge, and the

stage was set for some of the most celebrated debates in U.S. history.

Lincoln and Douglas had very different speaking styles. Douglas exuded self-

conﬁdence, pacing back and forth on the stage and dramatically using his ﬁsts to

pound home his points. Lincoln, on the other hand, delivered his comments

solemnly, using direct and plain language.

POSITIONS AND ARGUMENTS

The two men’s positions were simple and

consistent. Douglas believed deeply in popular sovereignty, in allowing the

residents of a territory to vote for or against slavery. Although he did not think

that slavery was immoral, he did believe that it was a backward labor system

unsuitable to prairie agriculture. The people, Douglas ﬁgured, understood this

and would vote Kansas and Nebraska free. However, Lincoln, like many

Free-Soilers, believed that slavery was immoral—a labor system based on greed.

The crucial difference between the two was that Douglas believed

that popular sovereignty would allow slavery to pass away on its own,

while Lincoln doubted that slavery would cease

to spread without legislation outlawing it in the

territories.

In the course of the debates, each candi-

date tried to distort the views of the other.

Lincoln tried to make Douglas look like a

defender of slavery and of the Dred Scott

decision. In turn, Douglas accused

Lincoln of being an abolitionist

and an advocate of racial equal-

ity. Lincoln responded by say-

ing, “I am not, nor ever have

been, in favor of bringing about

in any way the social and political

equality of the white and black races.”

He did, however, insist that slavery was a

moral, social, and political wrong that

should not be allowed to spread.

THE FREEPORT DOCTRINE

In their

second debate, held at Freeport, Lincoln

asked his opponent a crucial question.

Could the settlers of a territory vote to

exclude slavery before the territory became a

state? Everyone knew that the Dred Scott decision

said no—that territories could not exclude slavery.

Popular sovereignty, Lincoln implied, was thus an

empty phrase.

Douglas’s response to Lincoln’s question

became later known as the Freeport Doctrine.

Douglas contended, “Slavery cannot exist a day or

326 C

HAPTER 10

The Lincoln-

Douglas debates

created quite

a spectacle,

partly due to

the opponents’

difference in

height.

▼

p0324-331aspe-0310s4 10/16/02 4:06 PM Page 326

Page 3 of 8

The Union in Peril 327

an hour anywhere, unless it is supported by local police reg-

ulations.” If the people of a territory were Free-Soilers, he

explained, then all they had to do was elect representatives

who would not enforce slave property laws. In other words,

regardless of theory or the Supreme Court’s ruling, people

could get around the Dred Scott decision.

Douglas won the Senate seat, but his response had

worsened the split between the Northern and Southern

wings of the Democratic Party. As for Lincoln, his attacks

on the “vast moral evil” of slavery drew national attention,

and some Republicans began thinking of him as an excel-

lent candidate for the presidency in 1860.

Passions Ignite

If 1858 was a year of talk, then 1859 turned out to be a year

of action. Most Americans probably would have welcomed

a respite from the issue of slavery. Instead, “God’s angry

man,” John Brown, reemerged on the scene and ended all

hopes of a compromise over slavery between the North and

the South.

HARPERS FERRY

While politicians debated the slavery

issue, John Brown was studying the slave uprisings that had

occurred in ancient Rome and on the French island of Haiti.

He believed that the time was ripe for similar uprisings in

the United States. Brown secretly obtained ﬁnancial back-

ing from several prominent Northern abolitionists. On the

night of October 16, 1859, he led a band of 21 men, black

and white, into Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West

Virginia). His aim was to seize the federal arsenal there, dis-

tribute the captured arms to slaves in the area, and start a

general slave uprising.

Sixty of the town’s prominent citizens were held

hostage by Brown who hoped that their slaves would then

join the insurrection. No slaves came forward. Instead, local

troops killed eight of Brown’s men. Then a detachment of

U.S. Marines, commanded by Colonel Robert E. Lee, raced

to Harpers Ferry, stormed the engine house where Brown

and his men had barricaded themselves, killed two more of the raiders, and cap-

tured Brown. Brown was then turned over to Virginia to be tried for treason.

Historians have long debated Brown’s actions. There is no doubt that he

hated slavery with all his heart. However, why did he fail to tell slaves in the area

about his plans beforehand? Why didn’t he provide his men with enough food to

last for even one day? In any case, Brown certainly hoped that his actions would

arouse Northern fury and start a war for abolition.

JOHN BROWN’S HANGING

On December 2, 1859, Brown was hanged for high

treason in the presence of federal troops and a crowd of curious observers. Public

reaction was immediate and intense. Although Lincoln and Douglas condemned

Brown as a murderer, many other Northerners expressed admiration for him and

for his cause. Bells tolled at the news of his execution, guns ﬁred salutes, and huge

crowds gathered to hear ﬁery speakers denounce the South. Some Northerners

began to call Brown a martyr for the sacred cause of freedom.

MAIN IDEA

Comparing

Explain the

similarities and

differences

between Lincoln’s

position on slavery

and that of

Douglas.

C. Answer

Both were

against slavery;

however,

Lincoln thought

the federal gov-

ernment should

keep slavery out

of the territories,

while Douglas

thought the

states should

decide.

POLITICAL DEBATES

In the mid-19th century, people

ﬂocked to public grandstands,

where the politcal candidates

debated the issues of the day.

When Lincoln debated Douglas,

thousands of people came to lis-

ten. Each debate lasted for three

hours, and listeners stood the

entire time, interrupting the speak-

ers with cheers and an occasional

heckle. When the debate ended,

spectators adjourned to tables of

barbecued meat and ice cream.

Tor chlit parades ended the day.

The ﬁrst televised presidential

debate, in 1960, featured candi-

dates Kennedy and Nixon. Since

then, presidential candidates,

including Bush and Gore (above),

have made televised debating a

cornerstone of presidential cam-

paigning.

p0324-331aspe-0310s4 10/16/02 4:06 PM Page 327

Page 4 of 8

328 C

HAPTER 10

The response was equally extreme in the South, where outraged mobs assault-

ed whites who were suspected of holding antislavery views. Harpers Ferry terriﬁed

Southern slaveholders, who were convinced the North was plotting slave upris-

ings everywhere. Even longtime supporters of the Union called for secession. As

one former Unionist explained, “I am willing to take the chances of . . . disunion,

sooner than submit any longer to Northern insolence and Northern outrage.”

Lincoln Is Elected President

Despite the tide of hostility that now ﬂowed between North and South, the

Republican Party eagerly awaited its presidential convention in May 1860. When

the convention began, almost everyone believed that the party’s candidate would

be Senator William H. Seward of New York. However, events took a dramatic turn.

THE REPUBLICAN CONVENTION

The convention took place in Chicago,

which had quickly transformed itself into a convention city with more than 50

hotels and an 18,000-square-foot wooden meeting center named the Wigwam.

Republicans ﬂooded into the frontier city in such crowds that despite the prepa-

rations, many ended up sleeping on pool tables in the hotels.

The convention opened to a surging crowd of delegates, newsmen, and spec-

tators. The 4,500-person delegate ﬂoor overﬂowed within minutes. To gain seat-

ing in the galleries, which were reserved for gentlemen who had come with ladies,

determined single men even offered schoolgirls a quarter for their company. The

ﬁrst day of the convention was passed in forming committees, listening to

prayers, and gossiping about politics. As events came to a close, campaign man-

agers for the candidates retreated to their headquarters and began bargaining for

delegates’ votes, some working late into the night.

MAIN IDEA

Analyzing

Effects

Why did

Harpers Ferry

increase tensions

between the North

and the South?

History Through

JOHN BROWN GOING TO

HIS HANGING (1942)

This scene, painted by the African-American

artist Horace Pippin in 1942, shows John Brown

being transported by wagon to his execution. The

artist has focused our attention on the cruelty of

Brown’s fate.

The abolitionist is shown tied with the rope that

will be used to hang him, and sitting on the cof-

ﬁn that will receive his body after death. Brown’s

dark shape is silhouetted by the large white

building behind him, a structure that combines

the features of both courthouse and prison.

SKILLBUILDER

Interpreting Visual Sources

Why do you think the African-American woman

in the right-hand corner is looking away from

the scene?

How has the artist expressed the

hopelessness of the situation?

SEE SKILLBUILDER HANDBOOK,

PAGE R23.

D. Answer

Southerners

feared that the

North was

inciting slaves

to revolt, while

Northerners

viewed Brown

as a martyr

whose abolition-

ist cause was

worthy of

support.

p0324-331aspe-0310s4 10/16/02 4:06 PM Page 328

Page 5 of 8

SEWARD AND LINCOLN

Senator William H.

Seward appeared to have everything one

needed in order to be a successful presidential

candidate: the credential of having led anti-

slavery forces in Congress, the ﬁnancial sup-

port of New York political organizations—

and a desire to be the center of attention. In

fact, Seward himself had little doubt that he

would be nominated. Well before the voting

took place, Seward drafted his senatorial

resignation speech, which he planned to

deliver when his nomination became ofﬁcial.

Seward’s well-known name and his reputation

may have worked against him, however. Abraham Lincoln’s being relatively

unknown probably won him the nomination. Unlike Seward, Lincoln had not

had much chance to offend his fellow Republicans. The delegates rejected Seward

and his talk of an “irrepressible conﬂict” between North and South. On the third

ballot, they nominated Lincoln, who seemed more moderate in his views.

Although Lincoln pledged to halt the further spread of slavery “as with a chain of

steel,” he also tried to reassure Southerners that a Republican administration

would not “directly, or indirectly, interfere with their slaves, or with them, about

their slaves.” His reassurances fell on deaf ears. In Southern eyes, he was a “black

Republican,” whose election would be “the greatest evil that has ever befallen

this country.”

THE ELECTION OF 1860

Three major candidates vied for ofﬁce in addition to

Lincoln. The Democratic Party split over the issue of slavery. Northern Democrats

backed Stephen Douglas and his doctrine of popular sovereignty. Southern

Democrats backed Vice-President John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky. Former

Know-Nothings and Whigs from the South, along with some moderate

Northerners, organized the Constitutional Union Party, which ignored the issue

of slavery altogether. They nominated John Bell of Tennessee.

The Union in Peril 329

Because Lincoln

was virtually

unknown in the

East, his ﬁrst

name was written

incorrectly as

“Abram” on this

1860 election

ﬂag.

▼

MAIN IDEA

Drawing

Conclusions

How did

slavery affect U.S.

political parties in

1860?

Analyzing

“A POLITICAL RACE”

This cartoon depicts the major candidates in the

1860 presidential election. Three of the candi-

dates, Bell, Breckinridge, and Douglas, are in

hot pursuit of the front runner—Republican

Abraham Lincoln. It was a close race. Lincoln

defeated Douglas in the North. Breckinridge

carried most of the South. Because the North

had a higher population than the South, Lincoln

won the election.

SKILLBUILDER

Analyzing Political Cartoons

Who, in the opinion of the artist, is the ﬁttest

man in the race?

How does this cartoon suggest the course of

the election of 1860?

SEE SKILLBUILDER HANDBOOK,

PAGE R24.

E. Answer

The Democratic

Party split over

slavery. Those

who felt the

issue was too

central to poli-

tics left other

parties and

formed the

Constitutional

Union Party.

p0324-331aspe-0310s4 10/16/02 4:06 PM Page 329

Page 6 of 8

Lincoln emerged as the winner,

but like Buchanan in the previous

election, he received less than half

the popular vote. In fact, although

Lincoln defeated his combined

opponents in the electoral vote by

180 to 123, he received no electoral

votes from the South. Unlike

Buchanan, Lincoln had sectional

rather than national support, carry-

ing every free state but not even

appearing on the ballot in most of

the slave states. The outlook for the

Union was grim.

Southern Secession

Lincoln’s victory convinced South-

erners that they had lost their

political voice in the national gov-

ernment. Fearful that Northern

Republicans would submit the

South to what noted Virginia agri-

culturist Edmund Rufﬁn called “the

most complete subjection and polit-

ical bondage,” some Southern states

decided to act. South Carolina led

the way, seceding from the Union

on December 20, 1860. Four days later, the news reached William Tecumseh

Sherman, superintendent of the Louisiana State Seminary of Learning and

Military Academy. In utter dismay, Sherman poured out his fears for the South.

A PERSONAL VOICE WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN

“ This country will be drenched in blood. . . . [T]he people of the North. . . . are not

going to let the country be destroyed without a mighty effort to save it. Besides,

where are your men and appliances of war to contend against them? . . . You are

rushing into war with one of the most powerful, ingeniously mechanical and deter-

mined people on earth—right at your doors. . . . Only in spirit and determination

are you prepared for war. In all else you are totally unprepared.

”

—quoted in None Died in Vain

Even Sherman underestimated the depth and intensity of the South’s com-

mitment. For many Southern planters, the cry of “States’ rights!” meant the

complete independence of Southern states from federal government control.

Most white Southerners also feared that an end to their entire way of life was at

hand. Many were desperate for one last chance to preserve the slave labor system

and saw secession as the only way. Mississippi followed South Carolina’s lead and

seceded on January 9, 1861. Florida seceded the next day. Within a few weeks,

Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas had also seceded.

THE SHAPING OF THE CONFEDERACY

On February 4, 1861, delegates from

the secessionist states met in Montgomery, Alabama, where they formed the

Confederacy, or Confederate States of America. The Confederate constitution

closely resembled that of the United States. The most notable difference was

that the Confederate constitution “protected and recognized” slavery in new

330 C

HAPTER 10

Election of 1860

Party Candidate Electoral votes Popular votes

Republican Abraham Lincoln 180 1,865,593

Southern J.C. Breckinridge 72 848,356

Democratic

Constitutional John Bell 39 592,906

Union

Northern Stephen Douglas 12 1,382,713

Democratic

4 (Lincoln)

3 (Douglas)

MAIN IDEA

Analyzing

Effects

How did

Lincoln’s election

affect the South?

F. Answer

Lincoln’s elec-

tion convinced

the South that

Northerners

intended to

attack slavery

everywhere and

that it was time

to secede.

Skillbulder

Answer

The North and

the West Coast

formed one vot-

ing block, the

South another,

and the “border

states” of

Virginia,

Kentucky, and

Tennessee, a

third.

GEOGRAPHY SKILLBUILDER

Region

How did the election reﬂect the political divisions

in the United States in 1860?

p0324-331aspe-0310s4 10/16/02 4:06 PM Page 330

Page 7 of 8

The Union in Peril 331

MAIN IDEA

2. TAKING NOTES

List six major events described in

this section and explain how each

one sharpened the North-South

conﬂict.

CRITICAL THINKING

3. CONTRASTING

How did Lincoln and Douglas

disagree about slavery? Which of

their views were facts, and which

were opinions?

4. EVALUATING

If you had been voting in the

presidential election of 1860, for

whom would you have voted, other

than Abraham Lincoln? Explain your

reasoning by using speciﬁc

references to the chapter.

5. ANALYZING PRIMARY SOURCES

In Dred Scott v. Sandford of 1857,

the Supreme Court found that:

“ A free negro of the African

race, whose ancestors were

brought to this country and sold

as slaves, is not a "citizen"

within the meaning of the

Constitution of the United

States.

”

How did the Supreme Court

decision add to the tensions over

slavery in the 1850s?

territories. The new constitution also stressed that each

state was to be “sovereign and independent,” a provision

that would hamper efforts to unify the South.

On February 9, delegates to the Confederate consti-

tutional convention unanimously elected former

senator Jefferson Davis of Mississippi as president

and Alexander Stephens of Georgia as vice-president.

Davis had made his position clear, noting that to

present a show of strength to the North, the South

should “offer no doubtful or divided front.” At his

inauguration, Davis declared, “The time for compro-

mise has now passed.” His listeners responded

by singing “Farewell to the Star-Spangled Banner”

and “Dixie.”

THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM

As the nation awaited

Lincoln’s inauguration in March, its citizens were confused.

What would happen now? Seven slave states had seceded

and formed a new nation. Eight slave states remained with-

in the Union. Would they secede also?

President Buchanan was uncertain. He announced that

secession was illegal, but that it also would be illegal for

him to do anything about it. He tied his own hands, but in

truth there was not much that he could have done.

One problem was that Washington, D.C. was very

much a Southern city. There were secessionists in Congress

and in all of the departments of the federal government, as

well as in the president’s cabinet. Consequently, mass resig-

nations took place. To some people it seemed as if the fed-

eral government were melting away. One key question

remained in everyone’s mind: Would the North allow the

South to leave the Union without a ﬁght?

HISTORICAL

SECESSION AND THE

BORDER STATES

Four slave states—Maryland,

Kentucky, Missouri, and

Delaware—were undecided about

secession. Lincoln believed that

these states would be essential to

the success of the Union if war

broke out. They had thriving indus-

tries and good access to impor-

tant rail and water routes. Also,

bordering North and South made

the four states crucial to the

movement of troops and supplies.

Moreover, Maryland almost

surrounded Washington, D.C.,

the seat of government.

As president, Lincoln faced a

choice: free the slaves and make

abolitionists happy, or ignore

slavery for the moment to avoid

alienating the border states. He

chose the latter, but that did not

prevent violent conﬂicts between

secessionists and Unionists in

Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri.

With militia intervention, and

some political maneuvering,

Lincoln kept the four border states

in the Union.

Event Result

•Dred Scott

•Roger B. Taney

•Abraham Lincoln

•Freeport Doctrine

•Harpers Ferry

•Confederacy

•Jefferson Davis

1. TERMS & NAMES For each term or name, write a sentence explaining its signiﬁcance.

▼

This 1864 playing

card bears the

portrait of

Jefferson Davis,

president of the

Confederate

States of

America.

p0324-331aspe-0310s4 10/16/02 4:06 PM Page 331

Page 8 of 8

Download
Save PDF to desktop

Email
Email completed PDF

Send for Signing
Email for others to sign

Print
Print document

NAME

Secession Slavery and p0324-331aspe-0310s4 101602 4:06 PM Page (Caggia Social Studies)

View Audit Log
Print With Audit Log
Duplicate Document

Fill Online, Printable, Fillable, Blank Secession Slavery and p0324-331aspe-0310s4 10/16/02 4:06 PM Page (Caggia Social Studies) Form

Related forms

Fillable Secession Slavery and p0324-331aspe-0310s4 10/16/02 4:06 PM Page (Caggia Social Studies)

Fill Online, Printable, Fillable, Blank Secession Slavery and p0324-331aspe-0310s4 10/16/02 4:06 PM Page (Caggia Social Studies) Form

Related forms

First 20 documents completely FREE!