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Growth of a Nation (…2 Nations?). As a result of the American Revolution, Britain ceded it's territory east of the Mississippi. What a Deal!. In 1803, the Louisiana Purchase nearly doubles the size of the young nation. Slave States vs. Free States.
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As a result of the American Revolution, Britain ceded it's territory east of the Mississippi
In 1803, the Louisiana Purchase nearly doubles the size of the young nation
Slave States vs. Free States • As U.S. territory grows, new states are created. • States in the North are considered Free States (no slavery) • Southern states are considered Slave States. • …it’s not necessarily all about slavery.
Slave States vs. Free States • The abolition movement is still in it’s infancy. • The creation of slave states vs. free states is mostly about political and economic power. • To understand, we have look at how America had developed two very different and ways of life…
Life in the North • Greater population - Two and a half times the population of the south (why so many immigrants? • More railroad track -70% of U.S. total • More industrial – 90,000 more factories than the south • Wealthier - In 1860 – produced over $1.3 billion more in goods!
Life in the South • Primarily agrarian. “Cotton Is King!”by 1860, over half of U.S. exports were southern cotton! • Weaker financial system. $160 million LESS in Bank Deposits than the North. • Outdated transportation – river commerce and water shipping instead of railroads. • Slavery!
Why does the South want Slave States? • The South needs to expand their agricultural economy and sees the addition of new states as perfect answer. HOWEVER… • The addition of a new Free State meant 2 more senators and additional congressmen in the House of Representatives that would vote in agreement with other northern states on issues such as tariffs on imported goods.
Protecting a Way of Life • Southerners needed to at least maintain an equal number of slave states to free states that would mean equal representation in congress. • …otherwise, legislation would be passed that was agreeable to the northern way of life – not the southern.
How do we keep the balance of power and let the South expand? • Slave states vs Free states • Admitting new states may shift the balance of power • We Either Fight or …….Lets Compromise!
The Missouri Compromise • Maine is admitted as a free state • Missouri is admitted as a slave state, but what about the future?... • Slavery is not allowed in any new states created above Missouri’s southern border.
In 1819, Spain cedes Florida to the U.S. in return for the nullification of a Five Million Dollar debt
Texas • Southern farming spreads into Mexico • Mexico does not allow slavery • Texans Rebel against Mexico (remember the Alamo) • Texans gain their independence but seek admission to the U.S. as a state
Manifest Destiny • Many Americans dreamed of a empire stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific • It was our nation’s “Manifest Destiny” to overspread and possess the whole continent
War with Mexico • After nearly 10 years, the United States decides the time is right to annex Texas. • Mexico protests – war is declared
New Land! • War ends with the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hildalgo • The U.S. obtains land in what is now California, New Mexico, Arizona and Texas (1.2 million square miles!) • The Gadsen Purchase completes our southwest territory which is referred to as the Mexican Cession.
Uh Oh – more land, more issues • Slave states vs Free states again… • What area is free and what is slave? • How will we keep the balance of power between the North and South the same?
The Compromise of 1850 • California admitted as a free state • The slave “trade” (not slavery itself) is abolished in Washington D.C. • Texas actually loses territory and the rest of the “Cession” is organized into territories with no mention of slavery …so what exactly did the South get?
The Fugitive Slave Act! • The Fugitive Slave Act Escaped slaves are now the responsibility of the government. The government and all its citizens were now required to return slave owner’s “property”
Northern Outrage! • Even Free Blacks now feared of being forced back into slavery • Thousands flee to Canada • Abolitionist movement now becomes a powerful force
Uncle Tom’s Cabin 1852 • Sold 300,000 copies in the first year. • 2 million in a decade!
Uncle Tom’s Cabin HarrietBeecherStowe 1811 - 1896 So this is the lady who started the Civil War. -- Abraham Lincoln
…and the Nation is still growing • The territory that now makes up Kansas and Nebraska are lobbying hard to become states! • Both are above Missouri’s southern border – so should they be free or slave? • If they were one or the other – what would that do to the balance of power in the U.S.? • Sounds like its time for another Compromise!
Kansas – Nebraska Act - 1854 • “popular sovereignty” to decide free or slave • Pro-Abolition and Pro-Slavery forces flood Kansas to sway the vote BLOODY KANSAS!
Bloody Kansas • Militant abolitionist John Brown and a few followers crept into a pro slavery settlement outside of Lawrence, Kansas • They dragged five men out of their homes and hacked them to death with swords • Violence escalates in Kansas! • Issue inflamed all sides of the slavery issue, dragging the country closer to war.
Dred Scott - 1857 • Slaves are property • Slaves (and former slaves) were not citizens • Property rights are guaranteed by the Constitution (5th amendment) • Missouri Compromise is declared unconstitutional
John Brown • Brown returns east from Kansas and plans a war in Virginia against slavery. • On October 16, 1859, he and 21 other men -- 5 blacks and 16 whites -- raided the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry.
Birth of the Republican Party • Who was their first candidate? • The Republicans win the election without winning any Southern States • The South sees this as a complete loss of political power in Washington Election of 1860
