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From Compromise to Crisis

From Compromise to Crisis. In the late 1800’s compromise between pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces became almost impossible.

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From Compromise to Crisis

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  1. From Compromise to Crisis In the late 1800’s compromise between pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces became almost impossible. 1819 – Alabama and Missouri apply for statehood as slave states. Congress did not question Alabama being a slave state because it was located far south, surrounded by other slave states and it would balance the slave and free states. BUT….. Most of Missouri lay north of where Ohio River flows into Mississippi. Slavery banned on eastern side of Mississippi River.

  2. Confronting the Issue of Slavery! • Issue: Missouri applied for statehood as a slave state. opposed favored

  3. Tallmadge Agreement Bill to make Missouri a state came before Congress, Representative James Tallmadge of NY proposed an amendment. It said… Missouri could join the Union but only as a free state! Guess who was happy? Northerners – It would stop the spread of slavery into the Louisiana Territory

  4. Southerners’ Protest • “ What right did Congress have to decide whether a new state should be free or slave?” • According to the theory of state’s rights, favored by many Southerners, Congress had no power to impose its will on a state. Southerners believed that if Missouri were admitted as a free state, the North would have the votes in Congress to end slavery!!

  5. Confronting Slavery • Issue: The Tallmadge agreement proposed that Missouri be admitted as a free state. favored opposed

  6. Missouri Compromise 1820

  7. The Missouri Compromise Unravels • During the 1830s abolitionists flooded Congress with anti-slavery petitions. Congress kept saying they had no power to interfere with slavery in the states. • Abolitionists asked for slavery to be banned in the nation’s capital of Washington D.C. • Rather than confront the issue Congress voted to table (set aside indefinitely) all anti-slavery petitions • Abolitionists called this action the “gag rule” because it silenced all congressional debate over slavery.

  8. What Actually Happened? The Missouri Compromise • Missouri entered the Union as a slave state. • Maine entered the Union as a free state. • Congress drew a line at 36l 30’ across the Louisiana Territory. Slavery was permitted south of that line and prohibited above it.

  9. The Missouri Compromise Unravels! • Issue: Abolitionists wanted to end slavery in Washington D.C but Congress refused to consider anti-slavery petitions pleased angered

  10. FUGITIVE SLAVES • Individual slaves continued to rebel by running away to freedom in the North. These fugitives were often helped in their escape by sympathetic people in the North. • To slave owners these Northerners were no better than bank robbers. They saw slaves a a valuable piece of property. • Slaveholders demanded Congress pass a fugitive slave law to help them recapture their property.

  11. The Missouri Compromises Unravels! • Issue: Some northerners assisted fugitive slaves. accepted condemned

  12. The Wilmot Proviso • President Polk sent a bill to Congress asking for money to fight the Mexican American War. David Wilmot, a representative from PA. added an amendment to the bill . • The Wilmot Proviso stated that “neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall ever exist” in any part of the territory that might be acquired from Mexico.

  13. The Wilmot Proviso! • Issue: The Wilmot Proviso states slavery would not be allowed in the Mexican Cession. favored opposed

  14. Statehood for California • For the next three years, Congress debated what to do about slavery in the territory gained from Mexico. • Southerners wanted all the the Mexican Cession open to slavery • Northerners wanted it all closed • California applies for statehood as a free state. However, this would upset the balance

  15. California Statehood! • Issue :California applied for admission as a free state. favored opposed

  16. What Actually Happened? • California was admitted as a free state. • New Mexico and Utah were organized as territories open to slavery. • The slave trade ended in Washington, D.C. • A strong fugitive slave law was passed.

  17. Fugitive Slave Act • A person arrested as a runaway slave had no legal rights. Many ran away to Canada instead of risk being caught and sent back to their owners. • Act stated anybody who assisted a slave in escaping could be jailed. • Northerners refused to support the act. • Of the tens of thousands of fugitives living in the North during the 1850’s, only 299 were ever returned to their owners.

  18. The Fugitive Slave Law! • Issue : The Fugitive Slave Law caused bitterness between the North & the South dissatisfied dissatisfied

  19. Uncle Tom’s Cabin • A novel By Harriet Beecher Stowe that brought the horrors of slavery to the public. • Parts of the book were published in an abolitionist newspaper • Plays based on the book toured the country

  20. Compromise Fails! Issue: The book Uncle Tom’s Cabin told the story of a slave and his master. popular unpopular

  21. Kansas – Nebraska Act • Act passed in 1854 and created two new territories, Kansas and Nebraska. It also abolished the Missouri Compromise by leaving it up to the settlers themselves to vote on whether to permit slavery in the two territories. This policy is called popular sovereignty.

  22. Bloodshed in Kansas • After the Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed settlers poured into Kansas. Most were farmers,but some settlers moved to Kansas to either support or oppose slavery. This struggle over slavery soon turned violent. he conflict in Kansas destroyed millions of dollars worth of property, froze agriculture, and cost many lives.

  23. The Compromise Satisfies no one! • Issue 3: The Kansas-Nebraska Act states that the issue of slavery in those territories would be decided by popular sovereignty. Both pro-slavery & anti-slavery forces rushed to the territories to vote. unhappy pleased

  24. Dred Scott • In 1857 the slavery controversy shifter from Congress to the Supreme Court. • Years earlier a slave named Dred Scott had traveled with his owner to Wisconsin, where slavery was banned. • When he returned to Missouri, Scott went to court to win his freedom, arguing his stay in Wisconsin had made him a free man.

  25. Questions of the Case? • 1. As a slave, was Dred Scott a citizen who had the right to bring a case before a federal court? • 2. Did his time in Wisconsin make him a free man? • Chief Justice Taney hoped this case would settle the slavery controversy once and for all so….

  26. More Questions?? • He asked the court to consider 2 more questions… • 1. Did Congress have the power to make any laws concerning slavery in the territories? • 2. And, if so, was the Missouri Compromise a constitutional use of power?

  27. Two Judicial Bombshells • March 6, 1857 • By a vote of 5-4, the court had decided that Scott could not sue for his freedom in a federal court because he was not a citizen. Nor, could he become a citizen • Second, Rejected the argument that his stay in Wisconsin had made him a free man. Slaves are property. The fifth amendment says property cannot be taken without due process and that banning slavery is the same as taking property.

  28. Compromise Fails! • Issue: The Dred Scott Case. Scott was a slave who believed his trip to Wisconsin made him a free man. free still a slave

  29. What Actually Happened? • Congress cannot ban slavery in the territories. • Scott could not sue for his freedom in a federal court because he was not a citizen, nor could any African American ever become an American citizen. • Scott’s stay in Wisconsin did not make him a free man because the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional

  30. Lincoln-Douglas Debates • Lincoln vs. Stephen Douglas in the Senate race. • Douglas believed the country could survive being half free and half slave. • Lincoln disagreed stating that slavery was a moral issue not a legal issue. • Lincoln lost the Senate race but the debates made him a national figure and brought the moral issue of slavery to the public stronger than ever.

  31. Compromise to Crisis • Issue: During the Lincoln Douglas Debates, positions regarding slavery were made clear. moral legal

  32. Compromise to Crisis • Issue: John Brown attacked the arsenal at Harper’s Ferry to get weapons for a slave rebellion fearful upset

  33. Compromise to Crisis • Election of 1860 and secession • The election showed just how divided the country had become • The Republicans were united behind Lincoln • Democrats were divided: Northern Democrats supported Stephen Douglas Southern Democrats supported John Breckinridge The Constitutional Union party elected John Bell

  34. Lincoln Elected President • With his opposition divided three ways – Lincoln won election – but it was odd • Lincoln won with 40% of the votes – all from the North • In 10 southern states – he was not even on the ballot • The South was now in the minority!!! • Southerners feared Congress would try to abolish slavery. • Newspaper” the loss of liberty, property home, country – everything that makes life living.

  35. Compromise to Crisis • Issue: Abraham Lincoln elected President unhappy happy

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