01:512:104 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Fugitive Slave Laws, Slave Power, Constitution Of Alabama
16 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
Chapter 15 - The Coming Crisis
- Lincoln/Douglas debates showed the sectional divides that appeared in the
mid 1800’s
- Lincoln - Abolition
- Douglas - Pro-Slavery
America in 1850
- Economically, culturally, and politically, Americans had a strong sense of
identity
Expansion and Growth
- America is hugely expanding
- Through war / diplomacy, country triples in size from 890,000 to 3,000,000
mi2
- Population grows from 5.3 mil to 23 mil (4 mil Blacks, 2 mil Immigrants)
- Cotton still #1 export, but manufacturing has grown in the Northeast
- Railway systems opened the door for rich farmland
- As South’s share in the economy waned, so did it’s political importance
- Undermined the role of the slave South in national politics
Cultural and Social Issues
- Many forms of media availiable to the masses
- Increasingly becoming less Jacksonian
- This time period became known as the “American Revolution”
- Series of famous books and plays written
- Includes Moby Dick (Melville) and Uncle Tom’s Cabin (Beecher Stowe)
- Cabin became an instant bestseller
- Called to action after Fugitive Slave Law (1850)
Political Parties and Slavery
- No solution to south because things were becoming increasingly sectional
- No more appealing to a nation with big sectional differences
- Sectional differences began to split apart Whigs and Democrats
- Slavery disagreements also began to split religious groups
- Presbyterians (1837), Baptists (1845), Methodists (1844)
States’ Rights and Slavery
- John C. Calhoun argued that slaveowners, as a minority, should have full
access to territories because territories are property of both the North and the
South
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Northern Fears of “The Slave Power”
- “The Slave Power” - a small oligarchy of slave owners who run the southern
economy, politics, and society
- James Birney felt this was a conspiracy against the federal government
Two Communities, Two Perspectives
- Southerners wanted expansion into Cuba and supported the Mexican-
American War because they were running out of land in which to expand the
slave system
- Free Soilers - Believe in the liberty of all
- South - Believed in the freedom to own slaves as property and as a way of
life
- Both groups wanted to expand
- South did not want exposure to abolitionist literature
- Accused the North of helping slaves escape and revolt
- Northern View - South: Blocked work for other whites because of plantations
- North: Freedom for all
- Southern View - South: Owning slaves was a right and a way of life
- North: Practiced “wage slavery” and were hypocrites
- These conflicted views brought questions of unity to the divided country
Compromise of 1850
- Question arose if new states admitted to the Union should be slave or free
Debate and Compromise
- Henry Clay (West), John C. Calhoun (South) and Daniel Webster (North)
met in Congress to discuss a Compromise
- Stephen Douglas brought it all together and ended up pushing it through
Congress
- The Compromise - California admitted as a Free State
- Former Mex. territories use pop. sovereignty (vote by inhabitants)
- Texas cedes land to New Mexico, govt assumes $10 mil debt
- Slave trade but not slavery ended in the District of Columbia
- Stronger Fugitive Slave Laws
- Union is saved for a while
- Sectional animosity grew and Southern Whigs and Northern Democrats lost
popularity
The Fugitive Slave Act
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Lincoln/douglas debates showed the sectional divides that appeared in the mid 1800"s. Economically, culturally, and politically, americans had a strong sense of identity. Through war / diplomacy, country triples in size from 890,000 to 3,000,000 mi2. Population grows from 5. 3 mil to 23 mil (4 mil blacks, 2 mil immigrants) Cotton still #1 export, but manufacturing has grown in the northeast. Railway systems opened the door for rich farmland. As south"s share in the economy waned, so did it"s political importance. Undermined the role of the slave south in national politics. Many forms of media availiable to the masses. This time period became known as the american revolution . Series of famous books and plays written. Includes moby dick (melville) and uncle tom"s cabin (beecher stowe) Called to action after fugitive slave law (1850) No solution to south because things were becoming increasingly sectional. No more appealing to a nation with big sectional differences.
