The Antebellum Era (1781-1860)
Slavery Divides the Nation Part 2
2. Antebellum America
B. Identify and evaluate the major events and issues that
promoted sectional conflicts and strained national
cohesiveness in the antebellum period.
D. Identify the major characteristics of the abolition
movement in the antebellum period, its achievements,
failures, and Southern opposition to it.
E. Analyze the women’s rights and the suffrage movements
and the impact of women on other reform movements in
the antebellum period.
F. Compare and contrast the economic, social, and cultural
differences of the North and South during the antebellum
period.
Slavery and the Western Territories
-Many in the North wanted the new western regions
to abolish slavery and many the South wanted
slavery to exist in the new areas of the USA.
-When California pursued statehood, they tried to ban
slavery. This alarmed the South. Areas south of
36’ 30’ were supposed to be allowed to have slaves
due to the agreement of the Missouri Compromise.
-Southern States threatened secession (leaving the
Union) in response to limiting slavery in the West.
Map of the Missouri Compromise
California wanted to be a state, but had land above and
below the Missouri Compromise.
The Compromise of 1850
- Henry Clay developed a compromise.
- California could be entered as a free state and the
North would enforce the fugitive state law more
strictly, a law in which slaves would be returned
to masters if they ran away.
- Also, New Mexico and Utah could use popular
sovereignty (letting the people vote on the issue)
to determine if they wanted slavery.
Henry Clay helped
developed the
Missouri
Compromise of
1820, a
compromise
addressing the
Nullification Crisis
of 1833, and the
Compromise of
1850.
Only a Temporary Fix
-The Compromise of 1850 calmed the tension
between the North and the South for the time
being.
-However, it was clear that the issue of slavery was
causing massive hostility between the North and
South.
-Abolitionism was gaining momentum in the
industrial North. However, the South’s agrarian
economy depended on forced human labor.
Violence Erupts: Bleeding Kansas
-Kansas and Nebraska were north of the Missouri
Compromise. It was decided that popular
sovereignty would determine slavery if this area
became a state.
-People flocked to the area to sway the vote. Some
wanted slavery, others did not.
-Rival governments were set up in Lecompton (Proslavery) and Topeka (Anti-slavery) that led to
violence in Kansas between the two groups.
Kansas wanted to use popular sovereignty (letting people vote) on
whether or not to have slavery. This caused massive groups of antislavery and pro-slavery factions to flood the area to swing the vote.
This also led to violence in Kansas on the issue.
Violence in Congress
-A proslavery representative named Preston Brooks
of South Carolina radically opposed the abolitionist
movement.
-On May 22, 1956, Senator Charles Sumner of
Massachusetts was delivering an anti-slavery speech
in Washington D.C.
-Preston Brooks attacked Sumner with a cane for
speaking against the South and slavery in the Senate
chambers.
Preston Brooks of South Carolina attacks Charles Sumner of
Massachusetts as tensions grew over the issue of slavery.
Political Parties and Slavery
-The Republicans were mostly anti-slavery and
controlled the North
-The Democrats were mostly pro-slavery
controlled the South.
-The Whigs, which earlier had broken away
from the Democrats, became divided over
slavery.
More on Political Parties and Slavery
-The Know Nothing Party claimed “I know
nothing,” when asked of their activities. This
party supported nativism (valuing American
citizens over immigrants) and were split over the
issue of slavery.
-The Free Soil Party wanted new states to ban
slavery.
-The Liberty Party wanted to end slavery in all
states.
THE
END
Do you need more resources?
GO TO
www.ushistroyteachers.com
Copyright, © USHistoryTeachers.com
All Rights Reserved.