Stowe & Helper Harriet Beecher Stowe- Uncle Tom’s Cabin- Impact?

1. Stowe & Helper Harriet Beecher Stowe-Uncle Tom’s Cabin-Impact? Hinton Helper-Impending Crisis of the South-Nonslaveholding whites were the ones suffering from slavery Kansas Popular Sovereignty-newcomers to Kansas? Most looking for land yet some sent in by Free Soilers South began to protest-thought deal was for Kansas to be slave South began sponsoring proslavery bands into Kansas Putting slaves in Kansas was dangerous-Violence 1855-Process of electing to Legislature-border ruffians poured in for voting-Antislavery set up their own government-1856 proslavery raiders destroyed part of Lawrence

2. John Brown • Obsessively Abolitionist-May of 1856-Pottawatomie Creek-hacked 5 proslavery men to death • 1857 Kansas had enough people for statehood- • Lecompton Constitution-vote for Constitution as slave or free & if free current slaveholders could stay-Free Soilers stayed away poll & proslaveryites passed the Constitution • New president James Buchanan supported the Lecompton Constitution • Stephen A. Douglas would not accept-new vote on Lecompton and Free Soilers won-territory until 1861 • Buchanan-Douglas split the Democratic Party-Repubs already sectional

3. Sumner-Brooks • Senator Charles Sumner of Mass. Gave a nasty speech about Kansas & proslaveryites. Insulted S. Carolina Senator Andrew Butler • Preston Brooks of S. Carolina-took vengeance and beat Sumner • Brooks resigned yet reelected-Sumner-a long recovery • Bleeding Kansas-Bully Brooks-first blows of Civil War

4. 1856 Election • Dems. chose James Buchanan • Reps. chose John C. Fremont-no extension of slavery • Know Nothings-Millard Fillmore-”Americans must rule!”-Xenophobes!! • Mudslinging-Buchanan-single/Fremont-born illigitimate-Catholic • Buchanan won 174 -114-not a majority in popular vote • Election of Fremont may have been a declaration for war • No secession was good-Fremont was no Lincoln & North not really willing to fight-Republicans happy with showing

5. Dred Scott • Supreme Court decision: March 6, 1857-Opening Blast of the Civil War • Scott, a slave who lived w/ master in free areas for 5 years, backed by abolitionists, sued for his freedom • Supreme Court ruled: Scott was a slave and no citizen, therefore he could not sue in federal court-Roger B. Taney the Chief Justice should have stopped there. Slave was private property and could be taken into any territory & legally held there in slavery-5th Amendment • Congress had no power to ban slavery in territories regardless of what territories wanted-Missouri Compromise? • North and South reactions? • Further questions of Union arose

6. Crash of 1857 • Psychologically the worst panic of 19th • Gold from California inflated currency, Crimean War over stimulated grain growth, speculation of land and RR-over 5,000 businesses closed within year • North & grain growers hardest hit-South and cotton flourished • North wanted free farms & no selling of land govmnt for revenue • Gifts of homesteads opposed: Eastern merchants fearful work would leave, South argued slavery could not exist on 160 acres & Free Soilers would tip scales towards North • 1860 Homestead Act passed-25 cents peracre-vetoed by Buchanan • Tariffs had been lowered in 1857 yet panic hit & surplus melted away • Republicans of 1860---Protection and Farms

7. Lincoln • The Man? • Elected to state legislature in 1834, then House, ran for Senate in 1858-Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 spurred Lincoln Lincoln-Douglas • Challenged Douglas to a series of debates-7 meetings from August--October-1858 • Lincoln at first appeared overmatched • Freeport: Lincoln asked-people of a territory vote slavery down-Supreme Court in the Dred Scott case said they could not-Who gets their way? • Douglas answered: No matter how the Supreme Court ruled, slavery would stay down if people voted it down • Douglas won-Popular Sovereignty still popular • Lincoln playing for larger stakes • Douglas was done w/presidency

8. John Brown • Invade South w/followers, call upon slaves to rise & revolt, furnish w/ arms • $ came from Abolitionists for firearms • Seized federal arsenal in Harper’s Ferry, VA-Oct. 1859 • Slaves knew nothing of the plan-crushed by federal troops under Rbt E. Lee • Convicted of murder & treason yet maybe should have ended in asylum-crazy relatives • Brown’s conduct at the trial was dignified-died unflinching • South feared more problems-many Northerners condemned actions • Many were furious w/ the execution

9. Democrats • 1860 Presidential Election: Douglas considered front runner for Northern Dems.-South walked out-first secession was done by Southern Dems. • Dems. Tried again in Baltimore and nominated Douglas • S. Dems. Organized in Baltimore too & nominated J. Breckinridge of Kentucky • Constitutional Union Party nominated John Bell of Tennessee • Repubs nominated Lincoln(Seward was too radical) • Repub. Platform: nonextension of slavery, protective tariff, Pacific RR, immigrant friendly, federal help w/ infrastructure, free homesteads • Lincoln feared by South-kept quiet about slavery

10. 1860 Election • Lincoln was a minority and sectional president-60% chose someone else • Two elections-one in North and one is South • Douglas had an impressive showing-Democratic showing? Could they have beaten Lincoln? • Breckinridge-favored extension-polled fewer votes than Douglas and Bell • South still had 5-4 in Supreme Court, Repubs. did not control the House or Senate, Congress could not pass a constitutional amendment to ban slavery, 15 slave states

11. Secessionist Exodus • 4 days after Lincoln elected/S. Carolina voted to call special convention & in December voted to secede-next six weeks six more followed-AL, MS, FL, GA, LA, TX-eventually four more • 7 states on Feb. 1861 formed Confederate States of America • Jefferson Davis as president • Lame Duck problem! Buchanan did not act-surrounded by proslave advisors. Believed South could not legally secede yet found nothing to justify stopping with guns • Buchanan only had 15,000 standing army-mostly used to control natives in West-public opinion in North did not favor military action • Weakness lay in Union?

12. No Compromise • Attempts to compromise: James Crittenden of Kentucky-Appease the South, reestablish the 36 30’-slavery prohibited North of line, future states N/S could come in with or without slavery, federal protection for areas South • Lincoln rejected plan-Blame? • Buchanan didn’t act yet this was good-if North moved in-Border states would have seceded

13. Farewell to Union • Secession caused by many factors: Slavery, political balance, Census, Republican victory, desired to be left alone • Many supported but felt they would be unopposed • Thought Northern banks would not cut throats-war would mean debt repudiated • Perfect to rid themselves of North-control trade-set low tariffs • Declaration of Independence & self determination applied to them • Felt they were not guilty-voluntarily joined-could voluntarily leave