The Secession of South Carolina

     Abraham Lincoln's election in 1860 brought along fears and concerns across the South.  Many white Southerners believed that the newly elected President and his Republican supporters would enact a series of measures that would end slavery.  In their eyes any attack on slavery was an attack on the Southern way of life as well as state's rights.
     From the Southern perspective the 1850s had been a decade of Northern aggression.  Northern ministers and newspapers had attacked slavery through literature and propaganda.  The Fugitive Slave Act was passed yet the Underground Railroad was being supported by many people living in the North.  John Brown had murdered innocent Southern citizens yet was claimed a hero in many Northern towns and cities.  Lincoln's election was the final straw, the North was out to punish the South and destroy their way of life.  Many in the South debated on what the next move should be.
    On November 10, 1860, U.S. Senator James Chestnut from South Carolina submitted a letter of resignation to the Vice President.  Chestnut believed that he would not be able to work with the Republican President and felt that he was needed back home.  Chestnut would be the first of 17 U.S. Senators to withdraw from their post during the Civil War.
     Back in South Carolina the State Legislature quickly proposed an Ordinance of Secession that would nullify South Carolina's union with the other states.   On December 20th, the ordinance was passed 169-0 and South Carolina had declared it's relationship with the United States to be over.  In the eyes of many South Carolinians the Union had effectively been dissolved.
    South Carolina's decision sent a shockwave across the country and many wondered how the federal government would respond.  President Buchanan denounced the decision to secede and declared that it was illegal but did not use his authority to bring South Carolina back into the Union.  More Southern states soon followed and by February of 186; Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas had all seceded from the Union.

The Election of 1860

       Our "Final Straw" in our Road to the Civil War Unit is the Election of 1860 a major turning point in American History.  The Democratic Party had become fractured over the issue of slavery and could not put a single candidate to go against Abraham Lincoln and the Republicans.
    After years of political service in the House of Representatives and in the U.S. Senate, Stephen Douglas was ready to set his sights on the White House.  He had the political experience and the background to be the front runner for the Democratic Party's nomination for President but it was not meant to be.  The issue of slavery had divided the once dominate Democratic Party and during the Democratic National Convention Douglas struggled to get enough votes to secure the nomination.  When Douglas finally one the nomination, several Southern delegates stormed out in protest and held their own convention where they nominated Vice President John C. Breckinridge as their presidential candidate.
     Upset over the growing problems with the country a group led by John Bell of Tennessee organized the Constitutional Union Party on the belief that the nation needs to be held together no matter what.  Bell was chosen to be the candidate for President and ran a campaign hoping that neither candidate would win enough electoral votes and that the decision for President would be decided by the House of Representatives.
 
  Here is a link to today's notes.

Party Platforms and Extra Credit

    
      In May of 1860 the Republican Party held it's second National Convention in the city of Chicago. Republican delegates arrived in Chicago with a sense of optimism, many believed that a Republican would win the Presidential election.
     The Republican Party was created by former members of the Whig, Democrats, and Know-Nothing  Parties.  They were looked down upon by the Democrats but over the years had developed a strong following in the North and West.  As the Buchanan Presidency was winding down, many Republicans believed that the Democratic Party was to sharply divided over slavery to win the Presidential Election.
    The Republican Platform had 17 different principles that the party believed in these included:
                 

• Establishing a Transcontinental Railroad
• Freedom of immigration to the United States and full rights to immigrants
• Stopping the expansion of slavery
• Repealing the Fugitive Slave Act
• Blaming the Democrats for "Bleeding Kansas"

     Republicans understood that they would not win in the South so in order to win the national election they would need to win all of the Northern and most of the Western states.  Their platform was designed to appeal to a majority of those voters. 

Your Extra Credit Assignment for the Third Quarter is a civic assignment. 

     Many of you will be able to vote for the Presidential Election of 2016 while others will have to wait for the elections of 2017.  No matter when you caste your first vote, your opinions matter greatly to political parties.   You represent their future their success depends on how well they appeal to your values and beliefs.

   Choose an issue that is important to you and contact either the Democratic or Republican Party of Massachusetts and let them know what your beliefs are and how you want them addressed.  Feel free to choose an issue from the list below that was created in class.  

•   Gun Control: Either for or Against
• Renewable Energy
• Defense Spending
• Foreign Policy
• Military Salaries
• Education: Affordable Colleges, Student Loans, School Programs
• Environmental Concerns: Treatment of Animals, Global Warming, Climate Change
• Same Sex Marriage
• Veteran Programs
• Preserving our National Parks and Historic Sites
• Improving Public Transportation

When presenting your beliefs to a large organization, I have found it most useful to be direct and to speak from the heart.  If you feel more comfortable using a model format, you can use this format for your address.

   Dear  _____________ Party Staff,

     I am _____ years old and I live in _______________ Massachusetts. As a a future voter there is a certain issue that I feel your party should pay attention to.  I believe that the ________ Party should support programs that would....

 *** If you decide to do this assignment I highly encourage  you speak to your parents about the assignment beforehand.  Once you contact a party you may become on their e-mail list or mailing list, something that your parents may not want.  If that is the case, please let me know and we can discuss another method for obtaining extra credit.  

It is only through contact with current and future members that political parties are able to form their platforms. By choosing to share your beliefs and values you can have a serious impact on shaping party policy.   

In order for you to obtain credit for this assignment please submit me a copy of your work via e-mail or 

a typed copy.  

E-mails to the Political Party are worth 2 Points

Letters to the Political Party are worth 3 Points. 

Assignment is Due Thursday March 28th

Tonight's Honework

    Complete the John Brown and Harper's Ferry part your "Final Straws"handout.  When you are finished please read pages 561-565 in your textbook.  On p. 565 complete the Identify section as well as numbers 1-3.

For the Identify on page 565 follow this format.

The Republican Party: formed in 1854 by members of the Whig and Democratic parties who were against the spread of slavery.

James Buchanan: 15th President of the United States.  Buchanan was a member of the Democratic Party who was elected after the election of 1856. This election highlighted how divided the nation had become.

Here are the notes on John Brown.

Quiz Tomorrow

  Tomorrow's Quiz is on the first "5 Straws" of this Unit.  They are:  Missouri Compromise, Compromise of 1850, The Fugitive Slave Act, Uncle Tom's Cabin, and The Kansas-Nebraska Act.
The Quiz is between 27-30 questions, depending on which one you get.  There is one question on the quiz that you are not allowed to omit though.

Choose of the "5 Straws" that we have studied in class that you think had the greatest negative  impact on the United States.  When you give your answer please be specific and use examples to support your opinion. 

Also,

Here is a survey that we are giving to 8th graders that I would like you to work on before Monday.  It should take you less than one minute to complete.

    To help you get organized here is a list of important people and the "straws" they are matched with that you should be able to identify for the quiz.


Missouri Compromise

James Tallmadge:



Henry Clay:




Compromise of 1850


President Taylor:



Daniel Webster:



John C. Calhoun:




Henry Clay:



Stephen Douglas:



Sam Houston:


Uncle Tom's Cabin


Harriet Beecher Stowe:



Kansas-Nebraska Act/Bleeding Kansas


President Franklin Pierce:



Stephen Douglas:



Preston Brooks:



Charles Sumner:



Eli Thayer:



David Atchinson:



Border Ruffians:



Jayhawkers:



Bushwackers:



John Brown:



Henry Ward Beecher:


During the Quiz you should have the following:

Compromise of 1850 Notes, Missouri Compromise Notes, Daniel Webster Reading, Bleeding Kansas Notes.

Bleeding Kansas

      With the passing of the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854, the fate of Kansas now rested in the hands of the residents through popular sovereignty.  This sparked a frenzy in the North and South with thousands of people prepared to move out West to either stop the spread of slavery or to encourage it.
       In Massachusetts the Rev. Eli Thayer formed the Emigrant Aid Company, a non profit set up to help move anti-slavery settlers to Kansas.  Thayer was successful, and in 1855 1,200 New Englanders had moved to Kansas and established the communities of Lawrence, Topeka, and Osawtomie. Thayer's success caused panic in the South and a rumor circulated that 20,000 New Englanders had moved to Kansas.  Fearing that Kansas would become a free territory, thousands of Southerners moved to Kansas in preparation for the territory's upcoming elections.
      On March 30, 1855, Missouri Senator David Atchinson who had previously vowed to, "kill every God damned abolitionist in the region", arrived in Kansas with 5,000 men to intimidate voters in electing a pro-slavery state legislature.  When the election results came in the territory legislature was filled with pro-slavery candidates.
    The new government of the Kansas Territory went to work quickly on creating a set of rules to govern the region.  The pro-slavery government went to work quickly and passed the following laws:

1.        slavery was legal in Kansas
2.        it was illegal to speak out against slavery
3.        anyone caught aiding or assisting a runaway slave would be sentenced to death
4.       Printing or publishing any book, pamphlet, ect. calculated to produce "dangerous dissatisfaction"among slaves punishable by five years hard labor.

     Following the elections violence soon broke out across the region with attacks made by both pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces. Reverend Henry Ward Beecher sent dozens of rifles to support the abolitionists in their struggles.  These rifles became known as "Beecher Bibles" by members of the press.   Settlers were attacked in broad daylight in the streets and in their homes during the middle of the night.  On May 21, 1856, 800 Bushwackers and Border Ruffians attacked the anti-slavery community of Lawrence.   They destroyed the Liberty Hotel, offices, businesses, and the homes of several abolitionists.

       The attack on Lawrence inspired abolitionist John Brown to retaliate.  On May 24th, Brown and four of his followers attacked five men who were connected to the attack on Lawrence killed them with swords.  More attacks soon followed between the two groups for the next two months until U.S. troops were sent into the region to restore order.

Here are the Notes for Bleeding Kansas and Kansas-Nebraska Act

         Beginning in the late 1840s, there was talk of creating a railroad that would run from the East Coast to the West Coast. This would make it faster and easier  to ship people and goods to California. By early1854, there were two routes that were being considered, one had the railroad starting in Chicago then heading West to California, the other route began at New Orleans and would travel through Texas before heading south through New Mexico and Arizona. The railroad would bring millions of dollars to what ever city became the home to it and would guarantee business for local factories and new jobs for residents. Business leaders and politicians of Chicago saw the transcontinental railroad to fuel the continuing growth of their city. Senator Stephen Douglas faced the daunting task of convincing Southern Congressmen to approve of Chicago's request to be the starting point of the railroad and abandon the New Orleans railway bid.  Southern Senators agreed to abandon the proposition of a southern if the remaining territory from the Louisiana Purchase would be open to slavery.

              In February 1854, Senator Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois proposed a Bill to Congress that would divide the remaining land of the Louisiana Purchase into two territories: Kansas and Nebraska. The Bill also mentioned that the citizens of those territories would get to decide if they were to become slave states or free states.  By using popular sovereignty to decide the issue of slavery, Douglas was essentially killing the Missouri Compromise and stating that the power to make a decision on slavery is from the states not the Federal Government.   Douglas was hoping that once the Bill was passed then he would 

get enough votes for the Transcontinental  Railroad to go through Chicago.

        Douglas was one of the leading Democrats in the Senate. He used his influence in Washington to get the Bill to pass the House and the Senate with ease. Many people in the North were outraged over the Kansas-Nebraska Act. The Kansas and Nebraska Territories were both north of the 36 30 line from the Missouri Compromise. This land had been declared off limits to slave owners in 1820, now the National Government was overturning the Missouri Compromise.

         Across the nation Pro-Slavery and Anti-Slavery groups attempted to get the settlers into Kansas. Since the residents of Kansas were going to decide if the territory would be a slave state or a free state, thousands of emigrants traveled to Kansas. The New England Emigrant Society sent "Free Soilers" to Kansas hoping that the land would become slave free. "Border Ruffians" from the South traveled to Kansas to ensure that Kansas would become a slave state. Both groups were passionate about their beliefs prepared to fight for their cause.

        In March of 1855, there was elections held to form the legislative branch of the Territory of Kansas. In Missouri (slave state) groups were formed that took thousands of men from Missouri into Kansas to vote for pro-slavery members of the government. Since there was no clear way of deciding if the people voting were actual residents of Kansas, the people from Missouri were able to decide the fate of Kansas. Voter fraud was rampant in Kansas for that election, with both pro-slavery and anti-slavery residents and non-residents voting more than once.

A Pro-Slavery government was elected and those that opposed slavery established their own government in Lawrence Kansas.

Uncle Tom's Cabin

        Published on March 20, 1852, Uncle Tom's Cabin was the top selling book of the 19th Century selling over one million copies in Great Britain, and 300,000 copies in the United States during its first year of publication.  For many the novel became a rallying cry for the abolition of slavery while at the same time outraging many Southerners.
         Author Harriet Beecher Stowe came from an established New England family.  Her father was the famous minister Lyman Beecher, her sister Catherine was influential educator, and her brothers Henry Ward, Charles, Thomas, and Edward were successful theologians and ministers.  The Beechers were some of the leading abolitionists in the U.S. with strong ties to the Underground Railroad.
        Harrit married abolitionist professor Calvin Ellis Stowe in 1836 in Cincinnati.  While living in Cincinnati the Stowes helped shelter escaped slaves on the Underground Railroad. Harriet interviewed a number of runaways who would later serve as inspiration for characters in her famous novel.
        It was during their time living in Cincinnati that Harriet lost her eighteen month old son to a cholera outbreak that killed thousands of people in the city.  Harriet's pain over the loss of her son remained with her the rest of her life.  She felt that she understood how helpless a slave woman must feel losing their child to an auction and not being able to do anything about it.
       The Stowes were living in Brunswick Maine when Congress passed a newer more sever Fugitive Slave Act.  This law eliminated the "gray area" surrounding slavery.  Every American was expected to report a suspected runaway slave failing to do so would guarantee imprisonment or a heavy fine.  Being a bystander was no longer an option regarding slavery.
      As she wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin, Stowe wanted to create characters that would show the evil and horrors of slavery through their words and their actions.  Stowe understood that if her characters showed her readers how slavery was wrong and needed to be abolished the message would be better received than any abolitionist newspaper article or speech.  She understood the power of sympathy and empathy.
         Many families in the United States understood the heartbreak of losing a child to an illness or disease, the sense of helplessness as a loved one  slowly dies.  Stowe wanted her readers to relate to their own personal loss with the loss her character Eliza would face if her son was separated from her.  When readers became upset over the fate of Eliza and her child it was not because they were slaves it was because they were a family in danger.  Once readers made that connection, Stowe knew that her message got across.