Overview
This lecture examines the growing sectional crisis in the United States during the 1840s, with a focus on the divisive issues related to slavery that nearly led to civil war.
Growing Sectional Divisions
- By mid-19th century, North and South had developed into two distinct societies divided over slavery.
- The aftermath of the Mexican-American War intensified disputes about the expansion of slavery into new territories.
- Key issues causing division included slavery in U.S. territories, slavery in Washington D.C., fugitive slaves, and the admission of California and New Mexico as states.
Slavery in the Territories: Wilmot Proviso and Calhoun Resolutions
- The Wilmot Proviso (1846) proposed banning slavery in territories acquired from Mexico, gaining Northern support but failing in the Senate.
- John C. Calhoun’s resolutions argued that Congress could not prohibit slavery in the territories, making it a Southern constitutional right.
- Both North and South developed uncompromising positions, with the North supporting the exclusion of slavery and the South demanding its expansion.
Attempts at Compromise: Popular Sovereignty
- Some national politicians sought middle ground, including extending the Missouri Compromise line or letting settlers decide (popular sovereignty).
- Popular sovereignty gave territorial settlers the right to determine the legality of slavery.
The Presidential Election of 1848
- Democrat Lewis Cass supported popular sovereignty, but his party rejected it in their platform.
- Whig candidate Zachary Taylor, a Southern slaveholder, opposed expansion of slavery into new territories.
- The Free Soil Party, focused on stopping slavery’s spread (not abolition), nominated Martin Van Buren.
- Taylor won, but the Free Soil Party’s emergence signaled a growing anti-expansion movement.
Slavery in Washington D.C.
- Abolitionists pushed to end slavery in the nation’s capital, citing hypocrisy given American ideals of freedom.
- Regular, public slave markets in D.C. became a source of Northern outrage.
Fugitive Slaves and the Underground Railroad
- The Fugitive Slave Act of 1793 required states to return escaped slaves, making Northerners complicit in slavery.
- The 1842 Prigg v. Pennsylvania decision shifted enforcement responsibility to the federal government, leading Northern states to pass personal liberty laws resisting the Act.
- The Underground Railroad, run by abolitionists like Harriet Tubman, helped slaves escape, angering Southerners and increasing demands for stricter laws.
California, New Mexico, and Texas Disputes
- Gold rush migration made California rapidly ready for statehood as a free state in 1849.
- New Mexico formed a free-state government, including territory claimed by Texas.
- Southerners opposed admitting new free states, fearing loss of power, and threatened secession.
- Tensions over state boundaries and slavery’s expansion nearly led to disunion by 1850.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Wilmot Proviso — Proposal to ban slavery in territory acquired from Mexico.
- Popular Sovereignty — Idea that settlers in territories decide on slavery’s legality.
- Free Soil Party — Political party aiming to prevent slavery’s expansion into western territories.
- Fugitive Slave Act — Law requiring return of escaped enslaved people to their owners.
- Underground Railroad — Secret network helping enslaved people escape to free states or Canada.
- Personal Liberty Laws — Northern state laws counteracting the Fugitive Slave Act.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Review the outcomes of the Compromise of 1850 in the next lecture.
- Read about the rise of the Republican Party and further escalation to Civil War.