The 1850s and the Coming of Civil War A Curriculum Unit for A.P. U.S. History Bill Hocking TAH: A More Perfect Union (Year 2) September 22, 2011 Introduction When the constitution was finally ratified and became the supreme law of the land numerous issues remained which could have jeopardized the fragile bonds that held the nation together. While sectional differences over economics, foreign policy, and politics occasionally brought these harsh feelings to light, they were never able to raise the level of hostility as effectively as the issue of slavery. When the 1850s began the nation had recently acquired significant western territory as a result of its’ victory in the Mexican War. While debates over the admission of Missouri and Texas had shown these divisions in the past, the stakes were significantly higher and the voices for and against slavery were becoming increasingly louder and more hostile towards anyone deviating from their point of view. Political, economic, and social events of the 1850s served to further widen gaps between north and south, eventually leading to civil war. This unit will analyze significant events of the 1850s and examine the extent to which the American Civil War was inevitable. Time Frame and Frameworks This unit will take place during five sixty‐five minute A.P. American History classes. Students will have recently examined the reform movements of the mid 19th century, including the various groups calling for the abolition of slavery. This unit will address U.S. History learning standards 1.31 (Describe the formation of the abolitionist movement, the roles of various abolitionists, and the response of southerners and northerners to abolitionism); 1.35 (Describe how the different economies and cultures of the North and South contributed to the growing importance of sectional politics in the early 19th century; and 1.36 (Summarize the critical developments leading to the Civil War). Student Objectives 1. Students will analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the Compromise of 1850. 2. Students will analyze key events leading to Civil War and decide the impact those events had on increasing or decreasing polarization between North and South. 3. Students will evaluate thesis statements on John Brown’s raid and assess the extent to which he should be considered a martyr. 4. Students will examine why the Southern Confederacy was formed. 5. Students will assess the extent to which the Civil War was inevitable. Background/Preparation Throughout the 19th century the issue of slavery, which some of the founding fathers believed would be resolved by future generations, was becoming an increasingly strong source of tension. The admission of Missouri exposed those hostilities towards restrictions on slavery. The formation of anti‐slavery societies and groups calling for immediate abolition began to win over followers, especially in northern areas where slavery had died out, or was outlawed. During the 1840s western land acquisition, once considered a positive for the nation, was becoming a source of disagreement due to questions about whether the territory would allow the expansion of slavery. While Texas desired admission to the United States, annexation was held up due to concerns by abolitionists that it might be divided into several slaveholding states. By the time the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo added substantial territory in the desert southwest, pro and anti‐slavery politicians were arguing their case in Congress. The Wilmot Proviso had originally called for the banning of slavery in all of these territories, but failed to pass the Senate after twice making it through the House of Representatives. As the 1850s dawned the lawmakers were still debating what should be done about slavery in the territories. While compromises worked in the past, by the end of this decade the North and South reached a point where they were unable to resolve their differences over the future of slavery, and Civil War ensued. This unit will examine some of the major events which further polarized North and South and when the nation reached a point of no return from civil war. Procedures for Each Lesson Day One: Document Analysis: The compromise of 1850 Students will be given a set of primary source documents related to the compromise of 1850. After reading through the documents students should list the obstacles facing the lawmakers charged with creating this compromise. After reading the actual compromise students will evaluate the extent to which the compromise has the potential to satisfy the North and South. Day Two: Analyzing events of the 1850s and their effect on polarization Students will be given a timeline of key events from the Mexican War through the start of the Civil War. For each event students will analyze the effect that event had on polarization between the North and South. Finally, students will choose a point on their timeline where they believe the Civil War was inevitable and justify their conclusion. Day Three: Analyzing John Brown as a martyr for abolitionism In preparation for this class, students will have read the article The Madness of John Brown in their companion text After the Fact: the Art of Historical Detection. At the beginning of class students will be assigned one of four thesis statements on John Brown for them to defend. They have been given these statements ahead of time and were told to take notes on each of them as they read the article. Each group will be given 20 minutes to prepare for a class debate on each of the four thesis statements which will be the focus of the remainder of class. Day Four: The Formation of the Confederacy Students will watch selections from part one of the PBS The Civil War on the election of 1860 and the secession of the Confederate States of America. Students will take notes on reactions to the election of Lincoln in the South and why the Confederacy was formed. After watching the film the students will read selections from several Confederate secession documents and identify their rationale for secession. Day Five: Essay Assessment on the causes of the Civil War Students will answer an essay question as a final assessment for this unit. Bibliography Bailey, Thomas A. (ed) and David M. Kennedy (ed). The American Spirit. Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath and Company, 1984. Brady, Marion and Howard Brady. Idea and Action in American History. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1977. Davidson, James West and Mark H. Lytle. After The Fact: The Art of Historical Detection. New York: McGraw Hill, 2005. Finkelman, Paul. Defending Slavery: Proslavery Thought in the Old South. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s Press, 2003. Lowen, James W. “Using Confederate Documents to Teach About Secession, Slavery and the Origins of the Civil War,” OAH Magazine of History. April 2011, 35‐40. The Civil War. Writ., Geoffrey C. Ward, Ric Burns, and Ken Burns. Videocassette. PBS, 1990. Touhill, Blanche M. (ed). Readings in American History. River Front, IL: Laidlaw Brothers, 1970.
Handouts Day One: Document Analysis: Compromise of 1850 Day Two: Events and Polarization Day Three: John Brown Thesis Statements Day Four: The Formation of the Confederacy Day Five: Essay Exam Question: The Causes of the Civil War A.P U. S History Name_________________________ The Compromise of 1850 Directions: Using the documents below, list the obstacles facing the lawmakers charged with deciding the future of slavery in the western territory recently acquired after the Mexican War. Document A Slavery follows in the rear of our armies. Shall the war power of our government be exerted to produce such a result? Shall this government depart from its neutrality on this question, and lend its power and influence to plant slavery in these territories? There is no question of abolition here, sir. Shall the South be permitted by aggression, by invasion of the right, by subduing free territory and planting slavery upon it, to wrest these provinces from Northern freemen, and turn them to the accomplishment of their own sectional purposes and schemes. This is the question. Men of the North, answer. Shall it be so? Shall we of the North submit to it? If we do, we are coward slaves, and deserve to have the manacles fastened upon our own limbs. David Wilmot (February 8, 1847) Document B I do not, then, hesitate to avow before this House and the country, and in the presence of the living God, that if by your legislation you seek to drive us from the territories of California and New Mexico, purchased by the common blood and treasure of the whole people, and to abolish slavery in this District, thereby attempting to fix a national degradation upon half the states of this confederacy, I am for disunion. And if my physical courage be equal to the maintenance of my convictions of right and duty, I will devote all I am and all I have on earth to its consummation. Robert Toombs (December 13, 1849) Document C …How can the Union be saved? To this answer, there is but one way by which it can be, and that is by adopting such measures as will satisfy the states belonging to the Southern section that they can remain in the Union consistently with their honor and their safety….The North has only to will it to accomplish it – to do justice by conceding to the South an equal right to acquired territory, and to do her duty by causing the stipulations relative to fugitive slaves to be faithfully fulfilled – to cease the agitation of the slave question, and to provide for the insertion of a provision in the Constitution, by an amendment, which will restore to the South, in substance, the power she possessed by protecting herself, before the equilibrium between the sections was destroyed by the action of this government. John C. Calhoun (March 4, 1850) Document D …Mr. President, instead of speaking of the possibility or utility of secession…let our comprehension be as broad as the country for which we act, our aspirations as high as its certain destiny. Let us not be pigmies in a case that calls for men. Never did there devolve on any generation of men higher trusts than now devolve upon us for the preservation of this Constitution and the harmony and peace for all who are destined to live under it. Let us make our generation one of the strongest and brightest links in that golden chain which is destined, I fully believe, to grapple the people of all the states to this Constitution for ages to come. Daniel Webster (March 7, 1850) Document E We find, then, that both the Old and New Testaments speak of slavery – that they do not condemn the relation, but, on the contrary, expressly allow it or create it; and they give commands and exhortations, which are based upon its legality and propriety. It can not, then, be wrong. What we have written is founded solely upon the Bible, and can have no force, unless it is taken for truth. If that book is of divine origin, the holding of slaves is right; as that which God permitted, recognized and commanded, cannot be inconsistent with his will De Bow’s Review (September 1850) editor, James D.B. DeBow Document F Document G Section 5: All marshals and deputy marshals must obey this act and issue warrants as required. If a fugitive is in the custody of a marshal or deputy marshal escapes, with or without the help of the marshal or deputy, the marshal will be prosecuted for the full price of the service of the slave… Section 7: Any person who hinders the capture and arrest of a fugitive, or tries to rescue any fugitive after he is captured, or hides and helps any fugitive, shall be fined not more than 1,000 dollars. Such person will be imprisoned for not more than six months, and will forfeit to the person claiming the fugitive, 1,000 dollars for each fugitive lost. Fugitive Slave Law (September 18, 1850) Document H Sir, there is not a man in this body – there is not an intelligent man in the free states – but knows, if he delivers a fugitive into the custody of his pursuers, that he will be carried to the South and sold to the sugar and cotton plantations. And his life will be sacrificed in five years if employed on the sugar plantations and in seven years on the cotton plantations. The men of the North, who look upon this as murder, would as soon turn out and cut the throats of the defenseless Negro as to send him back to a land of chains and whips. As soon would they do this as comply with a law which violates every principle of common justice and humanity. Joshua Giddings (Ohio Congressional Representative), (December 9, 1850) Obstacles facing lawmakers deciding the fate of slavery in the newly acquired western territories How effective was the actual Compromise of 1850 at resolving the differences between North and South? What problems might arise from this compromise? A.P U.S History Name___________________________ Events and Polarization Directions: Below is a list of important events taking place during the 15 years leading up to the Civil War. Rate each event from 0‐10 in terms of how it increased polarization in the United States (0=absolutely no polarizing effect) (10=should appear in Webster’s Dictionary next to the term polarization). Finally, choose a point where you feel the civil war was inevitable. Be prepared to justify your choices. Year (Event) 1 2 1846 (Wilmot Proviso) 1848 (Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo) 1848 (Free Soil Party formed) th
1850 (Webster’s 7 of March Speech) 1850 (John C. Calhoun dies) 1850 (Compromise of 1850 passed) 1850 (Fugitive Slave Law passed) 1852 (Uncle Tom’s Cabin published) 1852 (Election of 1852) 1853 (Gadsden Purchase) 1854 (Kansas‐Nebraska Act passed) 1854 (Ostend Manifesto) 1856 (Bleeding Kansas) 1856 (Crime Against Kansas Speech) 1856 (Election of 1856) 1857 (Dred Scott decision) 1857 (Impending Crisis published) 1857 (Panic of 1857) 1857 (Lecompton Constitution) 1858 (Freeport Doctrine) 1859 (John Brown’s raid) 1860 (Election of 1860) 1860 (Crittenden Compromise) 1860 (South Carolina Secedes) 1861 (Fort Sumter Attacked) At what point was the Civil War inevitable? Explain. 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
A.P U.S. History Name_______________________________ John Brown Thesis Statements Directions: Take notes on each of the four thesis statements listed below. Be sure to include supportive as well as contradictory evidence. 1. John Brown was insane and should not be considered as a hero or martyr. 2. John Brown was a disreputable fanatic, but not insane. 3. John Brown was not insane. He was a hero to his cause and a martyr. 4. John Brown’s actions are due to the fact that he was trying to resolve his own childhood issues with his own father. A.P U.S History Name___________________________ The Election of 1860 and Secession Part One: The Civil War (Election of 1860 and Secessionitis) As you watch the film take notes on the following: 1. How did the South react to the election of Lincoln and why? 2. How did southern states justify secession? Part Two: Justification for Secession Directions: Read the following excerpts from secession resolutions passed in South Carolina and Mississippi South Carolina …Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Iowa have enacted laws which either nullify the Acts of Congress or render useless any attempt to execute them. In many of these States the fugitive is discharged from service or labor claimed, and in none of them has the State Government complied with the stipulation made in the Constitution… South Carolina’s Declaration of the Immediate Causes Which Induce and Justify the Secession of South Carolina from the Federal Union (December 24, 1860) Mississippi …Our position is thoroughly identified with the institution of slavery, the greatest material interest of the world...A blow at slavery is a blow at commerce and civilization…There was no choice left us but submission to the mandates of abolition, or dissolution of the Union… Journal of the State Convention (1861) Georgia The people of Georgia having dissolved their political connection with the Government of the United The people of Georgia having dissolved their political connection with the Government of the United States of America, present to their confederates and the world the causes which have led to the States of America, present to their confederates and the world the causes which have led to the separation. For the last ten years we have had numerous and serious causes of complaint against our separation. For the last ten years we have had numerous and serious causes of complaint against our non‐slave‐holding confederate States with reference to the subject of African slavery. They have non‐slave‐holding confederate States with reference to the subject of African slavery. They have endeavored to weaken our security, to disturb our domestic peace and tranquility, and persistently endeavored to weaken our security, to disturb our domestic peace and tranquility, and persistently refused to comply with their express constitutional obligations to us in reference to that property, and refused to comply with their express constitutional obligations to us in reference to that property, and by the use of their power in the Federal Government have striven to deprive us of an equal enjoyment by the use of their power in the Federal Government have striven to deprive us of an equal enjoyment of the common Territories of the Republic. This hostile policy of our confederates has been pursued with of the common Territories of the Republic. This hostile policy of our confederates has been pursued every circumstance of aggravation which could arouse the passions and excite the hatred of our people, with every circumstance of aggravation which could arouse the passions and excite the hatred of our and has placed the two sections of the Union for many years past in the condition of virtual civil war people, and has placed the two sections of the Union for many years past in the condition of virtual civil war. Georgia Secession Resolution (January 29, 1861) What are the main reasons why these three states decided to secede? A.P U.S History Essay: The Causes of Civil War Name______________________ Essay Question “By 1850 the civil war was an inevitable conflict and little could have been done in the ensuing decade to prevent it from happening.” Assess the validity of this statement Essay Rubric Exemplary Proficient Developing Introductory Paragraph *establishes setting *contains an insightful comment for basis of analysis *establishes major sub‐
topics including appropriate evidential examples *contains clear thesis statement *easily identifiable *original thesis *plausible * complex‐split or “gray area” thesis *conveys complexity of the subject *extensive relevant evidence throughout the essay *supports thesis *no significant historical errors *shows deep understanding of topic *establishes setting *contains an insightful comment for basis of analysis *establishes major sub‐topics *contains clear thesis statement *may be lacking setting and/ or insightful comment *contains major sub‐
topics *contains thesis statement *easily identifiable *original complex thesis *contains a partition *contains analysis *identifiable but may be unclear *complex‐simple or simple‐split thesis *may be lacking partition or analysis *not clearly identified *simple thesis *no partition or analysis * evidence provided to support each major point * supports thesis *no significant historical errors *demonstrates understanding of topic *some deeper analysis *some discussion of conflicting information *analysis supports the thesis *evidence not as extensive *may contain significant historical errors *shows basic understanding of topic *basic evidence *evidence may be irrelevant *contains significant historical errors which detract from essay *lacks understanding of topic *basic analysis *lack of discussion of conflicting information *analysis relates to the thesis but may not obviously support it *lacks analysis and discussion of conflicting information *simple explanations *no analytical support for thesis *organized and well‐
written *essay moves logically from point to point *writing enhances main arguments *some organization *inconsistent transitions *writing may detract from main arguments *may lack adequate introduction or conclusion *may simply re‐state thesis and opening paragraph’s main points *confusing organization *lacks clear transitions *conclusion or introduction is non‐
existent or confusing Thesis Historical Evidence Analysis Essay Organization Concluding Paragraph *extensive in depth analysis *confrontation and discussion of conflicting sources and/ or information throughout the essay *analysis clearly supports the thesis *clearly organized and well‐written *transitions skillfully move the reader from point to point *essay invites the reader to think beyond presented issue *restates thesis differently *puts essay answer in a larger not so obvious historical perspective (trends/movements/ideas) *summarizes information in thesis in a different way *contains some simple historical perspective Beginning *lacks setting, insightful comments * thesis and major sub‐topics are not clearly identified *may contradict thesis *simple summary