Chapter 16 Toward Civil War (1840-1861)

Lesson 2 Challenges to Slavery

A New Political Party

• After the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the Democratic Party began to divide among sectional lines
• Northern Democrats left the party
• Differing views over the slavery issue destroyed the Whig Party
• 1854- antislavery Whigs and Democrats joined forces with the Free-Soilers to form the Republican Party

Election of 1854

• The Republicans challenged the pro-slavery Whigs and Democrats
• Ran in state and congressional elections of 1854
• Main message was that the government should ban slavery in NEW territories
• In the elections, the Republicans took control of he House of Representatives and several state governments
• Almost all support was from the North
• Almost ¾ of the Democratic candidates from free states lost in 1854
• Democrats were becoming a Southern Party

House of Representatives 1854

Election of 1856

• The Whigs fell apart and had no candidate
• The Republicans chose John C. Frémont of California
• “Free soil, Free speech, Frémont”
• The Democrats nominated James Buchanan of Pennsylvania
• Buchanan wanted to appease the South in order to save the Union
• Therefore, the Democrats endorsed the idea of popular sovereignty

The Election of 1856 Continued

• The American Party, or the Know Nothing Party (Anti-immigration) nominated former president Millard Fillmore
• Most of the Northern delegates walked out of the convention when the party refused to call for a repeal of the Kansas-Nebraska Act
• The presidential vote divided along rigid sectional lines
• Buchanan won- took all Southern states except Maryland
• John C. Frémont did not receive a single electoral vote south of the Mason-Dixon Line
• John C. Frémont carried 11 of the 16 Free States

Lesson 2

1. A
2. B
3. C
4. D

What is popular sovereignty?

A. The idea that slaves � should be free

B. The idea that the popular � vote, not electoral votes, � should decide an election

C. The joining together of � members from different � political parties to form a new party

D. The idea that each state or territory should� decide on the issue of slavery independently

Dred Scott

• Dred Scott was a slave living in Missouri with his owner, a doctor
• In the 1830s the doctor moved to Illinois and then to Wisconsin Territory
• Both were free and slavery was banned
• They then returned to Missouri, where the doctor died
• In 1846, with the help of antislavery lawyer, sued for his freedom

The Dred Scott Case

• Scott claimed he should be free because he lived where slavery was prohibited (Illinois and Wisconsin)
• 11 years later the case hit the Supreme Court
• The Court’s decision electrified the nation
• Chief Justice Roger B. Taney said that Scott was still an enslaved person
• Since he was a slave, he was not a citizen and had no right bring a lawsuit

Taney’s Decision

• Taney said that Scott’s residence on free soil did not make him free (he is not free)
• An enslaved person is property
• The 5^th Amendment prohibits taking away property without “due process of law”
• Taney also said that Congress had no power to prohibit slavery in any territory
• The Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional
• So was popular sovereignty
• The Constitution protects property, so the Constitution protected slavery

Reaction to the Dred Scott Decision

• This divided the country even more
• Nothing could legally stop the spread of slavery
• The Republicans’ main issue (limiting the spread of slavery) was unconstitutional
• Republicans and other antislavery groups called the Dred Scott decision “a wicked and false judgment”
• “The greatest crime” ever committed in the nation’s courts”

Dred Scott was freed 4 months before his death.

Illinois Senate Race

• 1858- Senate race between Democrat Stephen A. Douglas and-
• Republican Abraham Lincoln
• Douglas was a likely candidate for president in 1860
• Lincoln was unknown
• Douglas, a lawyer, was short, stocky, and powerful and was known as the “Little Giant”

Lincoln and Douglas

• Douglas disliked slavery, but thought the issue would interfere with the nation’s growth
• Douglas believed the issue could be resolved through popular sovereignty
• Lincoln was intelligent, ambitious, and a successful lawyer
• Lincoln had little formal education, but excellent political skills
• Lincoln saw slavery as morally wrong, but admitted there was no easy way to end slavery where it existed
• Lincoln was certain the spread of slavery should not be allowed

The Lincoln-Douglas Debates

• August, September, and October 1858
• Lincoln and Douglas had 7 debates
• The main topic was slavery
• In Freeport, Lincoln asked – Could people of a territory legally exclude slavery before becoming a state?
• Douglas replied- Yes, by refusing to pass laws protecting slaveholders’ rights
• This became known as the Freeport Doctrine- Douglas won support from antislavery followers, but lost support from the South

The Lincoln-Douglas Debates Continued

• Douglas claimed Lincoln wanted African-Americans fully equal to whites
• Lincoln denied this
• Still, Lincoln said, “in the right to eat the bread… which his own hand earns, [an African-American] is my equal and the equal of Douglas, and the equal of every living man”
• Lincoln said the real problem is between those that think slavery is wrong and those that don’t
• “The Republican Party think it wrong”
• In the end, Douglas won the senate election
• Lincoln gained a national reputation as a man of clear thinking who could argue with force a persuasion

The Raid on Harpers Ferry

• 1858- After the election, Southerners felt threatened by Republicans
• October 16, 1859- John Brown led a group on a raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia
• Brown’s target was an arsenal (weapons)
• Brown wanted to arm slaves and start a revolt against slaveholders
• Abolitionists had paid for the raid

Harper Ferry Continued

• Brown’s raid was defeated by local citizens and federal troops – but was bloody
• Brown was convicted of treason and sentenced to be hanged
• Some antislavery Northerners denounced Brown’s use of violence
• Other antislavery Northerners saw Brown as a martyr
• John Brown’s death rallied abolitionists
• When Southerners learned about Brown’s abolitionist ties, their fears of a great Northern conspiracy seemed confirmed
• The nation was on the brink of disaster

Chapter 16 Lesson 2 Quiz

The Whig Party selected Millard Fillmore as its candidate for president.

1. True
2. False

The Know-Nothing Party was concerned about immigrants.

1. True
2. False

Lincoln saw slavery as morally right.

1. True
2. False

The federal arsenal held weapons and ammunition.

1. True
2. False

A martyr is a person who dies for a great cause.

1. True
2. False

Antislavery Whigs, Democrats, and Free-Soilers joined together to form the

1. Northern Party.
2. Abolitionist Party.
3. Republican Party.
4. Antislavery Society.

What Supreme Court decision meant that the Constitution protected slavery?

1. Missouri Compromise
2. Lincoln–Douglas debates
3. the Dred Scott case
4. the raid on Harpers Ferry

Who believed the conflict over slavery would interfere with the nation’s growth?

1. Stephen A. Douglas
2. Roger B. Taney
3. Dred Scott
4. Abraham Lincoln

Which man's death became a rallying point for abolitionists?

1. John Brown
2. Stephen A. Douglas
3. Dred Scott
4. Abraham Lincoln

Lincoln was relatively unknown throughout the country before the

1. congressional election of 1860.
2. congressional election of 1858.
3. presidential election of 1856.
4. presidential election of 1860.