AP US: Manifest Destiny, Territorial Expansion, and Sectional Issues (c. 1820 - 1860)

Manifest Destiny

• "the fulfilment of our manifest destiny to overspread the continent alloted by Providence for the free development of our yearly multiplying millions" - John E. Sullivan
• an American identity develops which gives the nation a (to some, God-given) duty to spread democracy across the continent
• they believe that the US has a natural right to move west and bring the blessings of self government and Protestantism
• the US had been moving west anyway; in the 40s it becomes the express goal of the nation to move all the way west, from "sea to shining sea"

Oregon Country

• Oregon and the British Columbia area are under dispute
• in the early 19th century, Britain, Spain, the US, and Russia all had claims in the area
• the Adams-Onís Treaty saw Spain give up their claims while the US gave up claims to Texas and received Florida
• Russia claimed it with the Edict of 1821, but backed down after the proclamation of the Monroe Doctrine
• the Treaty of 181 saw Britain share the territory with the US
• in 1829, Hall J. Kelly renewed interest in Oregon with the American Society for Encouraging the Development of the Oregon Country
  • inspired by Manifest Destiny
• also, the Panic of 1837 inspires many to move west
• Independence, Missouri starts the Oregon Trail
  • it was a 2000 mile journey that most made in 5-6 months
  • more than 300,000 would go west
  • they took all their belongings in "prairie schooners", which were canvas-covered wagons pulled by oxen
  • they were largely young farm families, mostly from the Midwest
  • about 17 died per mile, in several ways (most were not killed by Indians; many Indians actually saw them as a source of trade and profit)
• it became clear that joint occupation could not go on forever
• Daniel Webster and Lord Ashburton discussed the issue in 1842, but could not reach an agreement
  • President Tyler suggested a boundary along the 49th Parallel, but an agreement could not be reached at that moment
• the Election of 1844 would come to determine the extent of American expansionism

Annexation of Texas

• originally, Texas had been bordered by the Nueces R., but the Rio Grande will become the boundary as the state expands
  
• Mexico gained their independence from Spain when Texas was a sparsely settled frontier region that bordered the US
  • the Mexican government encouraged Americans to migrate to Texas in an effort to create a buffer zone between Indians to the north and the more valuable southern parts of Texas
    • they required the colonists to give up their US citizenship and become Mexican citizens, as well as convert to Roman Catholicism
    • they granted American settlers huge tracts of land in the region bordering Louisiana
  • Moses Austin
    • former New Englander who had done business with Spain for decades and thus knew the area well
    • the Mexican government have him a land grant to settle 300 American families
    • Moses dies, so his son, Stephen, takes over
    • by mid-1830, there were about 30,000 Americans in Texas, growing cotton and ranching, with the aid of several purchased slaves
    • however, the land belongs to Mexico, where slavery has been abolished; so, they argue that they were "lifetime indentured servants"
    • Texan Americans will quickly outnumber the native Mexicans in the area
    • they will start to demand independence, or at least home rule
• Santa Anna is elected President, supported by Texas, as they thought that he would support their desire for home rule
  • however, he proclaimed a unified central government that eliminated all states' rights
  • the Texans revolted against Santa Anna
    • 2 March 1836: Texas declared independence
    • they adopted a constitution that legalised slavery
    • David Burnet, a New Jersey native, would lead the new nation, and Sam Houston, a former Representative who fought under Jackson, was chosen as Commander in Chief
    • Santa Anna assembled 6000 troops and marched on the 200 rebels under Gen. Travis at the Alamo
      • the final attack was on 6 March; the garrison is destroyed, and legends such as Crockett and Bowie were killed in the battle
      • Santa Anna also ordered the slaughter of 300 soldiers captured at Goliad, after they had surrendered
      • hundreds of southwestern pioneers responded to the romanticised was and a promise of land; they ignored American neutrality laws and joined the Texan army
      • the Texans overwhelmed Santa Anna when they surprised him at San Jacinto
      • Santa Anna was captured, and "willingly" signed a treaty recognising Texas as an independent republic, with the Rio Grande as the southwest border
  • upon his return to Mexico City, Santa Anna repudiated the peace treaty
    • the Mexican Congress refused the independence of Texas, claiming the Nueces as the border
    • they issue a warning to the US: annexing Texas could mean war
• Sam Houston is elected President of Texas
  • an envoy is sent to Washington to seek admission to the Union
  • Jackson, then President, was hesitant
    • concerned about war with Mexico
    • would upset the slave/free balance
    • so, he merely extended diplomatic recognition to the Republic of Texas (1837)
  • Martin Van Buren, the next President, would dodge the issue of annexation
  • Election of 1840: Tippecanoe and Tyler Too
    • Van Buren is defeated, and Harrison steps in
    • Harrison becomes the first President to die in office, and John Tyler takes over
  • Tyler was a former Democratic Senator from Virginia
    • he resigned his seat rather than vote to expunge a resolution of censure (resolution by House or Senate that decries a person's actions; usually when there isn't sufficient majority to impeach) against Jackson
    • he wasn't really a Whig, more of an anti-Jackson Democrat - but, he was on the ticket with Harrison
    • he doesn't have the same principles as the Whigs, and he will break with them
    • selects Calhoun as Secretary of State
      • negotiates a treaty of annexation with Texas
      • sets off a firestorm in the US
      • they fear that an independent Texas would stop the US move west
      • the treaty was sent to the Senate
      • however, Calhoun made public a correspondence with the British Prime Minister in which he chastises the British for pressuring Texas to renounce slavery and to get recognition with Mexico (Texas had been negotiating with Britain and France for protection from Mexico)
        • Calhoun defends slavery as a "benign institution"
        • he turned a treaty that might have been accepted into an unacceptable issue
        • he tied the slavery issue to Texas
      • the Senate didn't approve the treaty
      • the annexation of Texas would drag on and become a major issue in 1844
• Election of 1844
  • Tyler works for the annexation of Texas
  • Van Buren and Clay write against the annexation, and the public feeling of Manifest Destiny is so strong that they won't win
  • James Polk runs for the Democratic party, and his platform calls for the annexation of Texas and the occupation of Oregon
  • the Whigs nominated Clay
  • the abolitionist Liberty Party nominated James Birney
    • for the first time, one can see the impact of a third-party candidate, as he takes votes from the Whigs
    • he pulled enough votes away from Clay in New York to give Polk the Presidency
• Tyler views the Democratic victory as a mandate to annex Texas
  • before Polk enters office, Tyler develops a plan to annex Texas
  • usually, it takes a 2/3 Senate vote to ratify a treaty
  • Tyler knows he could never get 2/3, so he seeks a joint resolution of annexation from Congress
  • a "joint resolution" is passed by a simple majority in both the House and the Senate, and has the force of law
  • Tyler received the resolution, and annexed Texas on 4 July 1844
  • Texas will be officially admitted to the Union in December 1845
  • this method will be used several more times, as history progresses, to bypass treaty restrictions; Tyler's the first

Oregon

• James Polk
  • one part of his platform (Texas) was already achieved; and, as soon as he took office, he ordered Zachary Taylor and about 3500 US soldiers to take up position along the Nueces
  • in his first annual address to Congress, he asserts that the US has a claim to the entire Oregon country
• "54 40 Or Fight!" is a slogan referring to the 54 degrees, 40 minute northern border of Oregon
• Polk begins negotiations with Britain
• the British refuse to relinquish any territory north of the Columbia River
• but, they begin to adjust their position, for example, moving their chief fur trade post to Vancouver Island, well above the Columbia
• the Prime Minister suggests extending the boundary from the Rockies at the 49th Parallel
• his campaign had been about Texas and Oregon, but he doesn't discuss California
• some suggest that California is actually more important to him, so he makes concessions on Oregon
• Polk accepts the British proposal, knowing he would never have gotten the entire territory
  • he wanted Oregon out of the way, Texas is done, so he can deal with California
  • he tells Britain he'll submit the treaty to the Senate, to see what happens
    • the Democratic all-expansionists make an outcry
    • however, given the choice between war with Mexico and war with both Mexico and Britain, the Senate approves the treaty

Texas

• two parts of the plan are done
  • Oregon is the US's, without war
  • Texas is decided - if it means war, then the US will go to war
• Mexico breaks off diplomatic relations with the US, and claims the Nueces River as the border of Texas
  • the situation with Mexico is becoming risky
  • Polk has a driving desire to end the problem with Texas, and a desire to get California - especially port cities for trade
    • so, he sends the Slidell Mission to Mexico
      • John Slidell is authorised to make an unrefusable offer for Texas to settle the problem
      • he has permission to give as much as $30 million
      • also, he will settle American claims against the Mexican government for lives lost, etc.
      • he is also to aquire California, and the land between Texas and California
      • the American counsel in California suggested that the citizens of California might declare independence, putting pressure on Mexico to accept the offer
        • John Fremont ("The Pathfinder"), goes on an "exploring" expedition in California to discuss a possible revolt with the people
      • Mexico refuses the offer
      • Polk fails to get California, doesn't settle Texas issue, and California doesn't revolt

Mexican - American War

• Polk orders Taylor and his troops to move across the Nueces and into the area between the Nueces and the Rio Grande
  • the Rio Grande is claimed by Texas as a border, via the treaty with Santa Anna
  • to some, he's provoking a fight with Mexico
• in 1846, Polk sits down with his Cabinet on a Saturday and suggests that the US has ample cause for war:
  • rejection of Slidell
  • claims of US citizens against the Mexican government
  • the only opposing vote was Secretary of the Navy George Bancroft
  • that evening, Polk gets news that fighting had commenced along the Rio Grande
  • on the following Monday, Polk declares that Mexico had invaded American territory and shed American blood on American soil
  • Congress passes the war resolution, and authorised 50,000 volunteers
• "Mr. Polk's War"
  • opponents blame wars on Presidents
  • Whigs opposed the war, but they did support the soldiers while fighting
  • first appearance of Abe Lincoln
    • Whig Congressman from Illinois
    • believed that Polk was rushing the US to war
    • Spot Resolutions
      • demanded to know the exact spot where blood was shed to start the war
      • was the war started on the US's side of the border?
      • and, what is the border - the Rio Grande or the Nueces?
    • these views weren't popular, so he doesn't seek reelection to that Congressional District
  • James Russell Lowell
    • anti-slavery poet
    • viewed the war as a brazen conspiracy to extend the boundaries of the "peculiar institution"
  • Henry David Thoreau
    • spent a night in the Concord jail before his aunt paid his fine
    • he refused to pay taxes to support the war
    • this inspires his essay on civil disobedience
  • part of Polk's vision was that the destiny of the nation was to expand
• Highlights of the War
  • despite opposition within the US, the Mexican War was an overwhelming military success
  • "Old Rough and Ready" - Zachary Taylor
    • crossed the Rio Grande and defeated a numerically superior Mexican force
      • Battles of Palo Alto, de la Palma
      • he advanced to Monterey, where he engaged in house-to-house fighting
    • the Mexican army was ready to surrender early in the war
    • Polk told Taylor to stand down and take a defensive position, as he was worried that Taylor was stealing his popularity
      • he then orders him to detach some troops and attack Mexico City
    • Battle of Buena Vista, February 1847
      • Taylor defeated Santa Anna, and returned home a military hero
      • Polk pulled Taylor out of Mexico because of this popularity
    • Mexico could have been easily conquered, but Polk stopped it, as he wanted California
  • the "Bear Flag Republic"
    • revolt in June 1846
      • aided by John Fremont, who will be the first Republican Party Presidential candidate
      • Fremont's sailors and marines seized Monterey
      • John Sloat proclaimed the annexation of California and instituted military rule
    • Kearney headed into New Mexico and invaded Sante Fe, claiming that land for the US government
    • American forces enter Los Angeles in January 1847
    • Winfield Scott
      • commanding general of the US Army
      • in a more symbolic than practical move, followed the trail of Cortés on his way to conquer Mexico City
      • part of his force included two young captains, Robert E. Lee and George B. McClellan
      • with 14,000 troops, he overwhelmed Santa Anna's 20,000 troops (mostly incompetent), and Mexico City fell
      • "Halls of Montezuma"
• Treaty of Guadalupe - Hidalgo (2 February 1848)
  • Nicholas P. Trist, the chief clerk of the State Department was sent to negotiate - Polk is insulting the Mexicans by sending the clerk, not the Secretary of State, to negotiate
  • Mexico recognises the annexation of Texas with the Rio Grande as the border
  • ceded the "Mexican cession" to the US
    • Utah, Nevada, Arizona, California, New Mexico, etc. (most of the southwest)
  • the US paid $15 million plus $3.3 million in land disputes; whereas, Slidell had offered $30 million
  • in terms of percentage of combatants, this is the US's costliest war to date

Territorial Conflict and Slavery

• the conquering of Mexico creates many issues in the US
  • "The United States will conquer Mexico, but it will be as the man swallows the arsenic … Mexico will poison us" - Emerson
  • the Louisiana Purchase had created many problems, in terms of dealing with land acquisitions, and the Mexican Cession will cause similar problems
  • this will reopen the issue of slavery, creating a political battleground between the North and the South
• Wilmot Proviso
  • Wilmot was the Democratic Senator from Pennsylvania
  • he suggested that slavery be prohibited in all territories taken from Mexico
  • passes the House several times, but never passes the Senate
  • this comes to be called the "extreme" northern position
  • John C. Calhoun, the "Voice of the South" will argue the "extreme southern" position
    • he says that Congress had no power to regulate slavery in the territories
    • demands that federal slave codes protect slavery in the Mexican Cession
• call back to the Missouri Compromise
  • urge that the 36 degree 30 minute line be extended all the way to the Pacific
  • however, this would divide several potential states, such as California
• Popular Sovereignty
  • a December 1847 compromise proposal
  • introduced by Louis Cass, a "moderate Democratic" Senator from Michigan
  • proposed that the explosive issue of slavery should be removed from Congress, and given to the people to decide

California Gold Rush

• in January 1848, gold was discovered at Sutter's Mill in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada
• an estimated 100,000 "49-ers" went to the gold fields the following year
• there was also a massive influx of Chinese immigrants
  • they will b the first group to suffer discrimination by legislation, in terms of immigration
  • the Chinese Exclusion Act will later be passed to keep them out
• San Francisco grew from 1000 to 20,000 almost overnight
• the majority of the prospectors were men
• most returned home poorer than they started out
• 1849 Convention
  • held in Monterey
  • a state constitution is drafted, asking for admittance to the Union as a free state, banning slavery
  • these states are known as "Wilmot Proviso" states
  • Zachary Taylor, the President, supports them
    • he owned plantations in the South, and was the former father-in-law of Jefferson Davis
    • he spent his entire life in the military, and was a staunch nationalist - country first, not the South
    • he saw no reason to not admit California as a free state, as the people wished (California can also be phrased a "popular sovereignty" state
    • however, this would upset the balance in the Senate
      • if California is admitted as a free state, the surrounding states would probably also be free
      • so, California will not be admitted easily

Slave Resistance

• as other issues arise, the south further digs in to their anti-slavery position
• brutal stories only apply to a small minority
  • to the southern plantation owner, slaves are property, tool; if you mistreat tools, they'll break and become useless
• two serious problems
  • slaves can never become free persons, unlike and indentured servant
  • families are broken up
    • because there are no immediate family bonds, elderly matriarchs often become a mother for the whole plantation
    • families begin to involve many people, not just those you're related to
    • this creates a largely matriarchal society
• Gabriel Prosser, 1800, Virginia
  • 50 slaves wanted to make a statement
  • however, no other slaves backed them
  • so, the governor of Virginia, James Monroe, calls out the militia, and Prosser and 25 others were executed
• Denmark Vesey, 1822, South Carolina
  • he was a literate carpenter who purchased his freedom from lottery winnings; he then spent 5 years designing a plan to take over Charleston
  • he was betrayed by other slaves, and he and 35 followers were hung
• Nat Turner, 1831, Virginia
  • a literate slave who believed that he had a divine mission to slay his enemies
  • he led 30 slaves on a murderous rampage, killing about 60 men, women, and children
  • the response was a murderous rampage against blacks throughout the area
  • Turner eluded capture for a few months, but was eventually captured and executed
• these revolts inspire strict slave codes, which prohibit education and lead to increased surveillance of free blacks
• Underground Railroad - Harriet Tubman
  • one of the challenges slave owners faced was the ones that ran away
  • the southern states wanted federal laws to require escaped slaves to be returned; they want their "stolen property" returned
  • about 1000 escape per month
  • many escapees were aided by the Underground Railroad, a loosely organised groups of abolitionists who ran safe houses, mostly in the North
  • they would hide slaves in the safe houses until it was safe to move on
  • they usually continued onto Canada as the slave owners could come to the north and get slaves back
  • Harriet Tubman was known as the "Moses of her people"
    • she escaped from Maryland in 1849
    • she made 19 trips to guide over 300 slaves, including her parents, to freedom in Canada
    • she would then spy for the north during the Civil War
• Prigg v. Pennsylvania (1842)
  • the Supreme Court (under Taney) ruled that Congress had the sole power to enforce the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793
• overall, the system of slavery is beginning to slowly break down

Compromise of 1850

• California's application causes Congress to face a challenge
• the north controls the House, the Senate is even, the Supreme Court is dominated by southerners, and there's a nationalistic semi-abolitionist President
• Henry Clay, John Calhoun, and Daniel Webster will come to together in the "last hurrah" of the "great triumvirate" - the last memorable actions of a generation of statesmen
• Clay is 72 years old (a lot in 1850)
  • he introduces a series of resolutions
    • California as a free state
    • territorial governments in Utah and New Mexico without restrictions on slavery
    • abolishment of the slave trade, not slavery itself, in Washington, D.C. - it looks bad to have slave markets in the seat of government
    • more stringent Fugitive Slave Act to circumvent personal freedom acts in the North
    • scale back Texas boundary while the government assumes their debt
  • he defends these with a 2-day speech in the Senate, with the thought that most would be willing to compromise
• John C. Calhoun
  • has become old and feeble, not able to speak as he used to, so on 4 March he has James Mason read his final thoughts to the Senate
  • says the South cannot compromise any longer, unless the North starts compromising as well
  • he says that the North has taken Southern rights and equality since the beginning, with the abolition of slavery in the Northwest Ordinance
  • he says that the North should:
    • concede to the South the right to carry slavery into the Mexican Cession
    • require the return of all fugitive slaves
    • stop the agitation of the slave problem
  • Calhoun died at the end of March, and the next generation of southern "fire eaters" take over his legacy
    • they are led by Jefferson Davis
    • the most aggressive pro-slavery so far
    • they will eventually secede from the Union, something Calhoun would never have supported
• Daniel Webster
  • he makes his last significant address on 7 March, 1850, calling for the preservation of the Union
  • supported all the measures introduced by Clay
  • he will be vilified for accepting Clay's plan
  • John Greenleaf Whittier, in his poem, "Icabod", about Webster: "all else is gone from these great eyes … the man is dead"
• the next generation of politicians will not be able to compromise - no statesmen among them
• William Henry Seward, 48 years old, New York Whig
  • a foe to compromise
  • wanted to admit California as free, without concessions to the South
• Clay is not going to be able to get his bill passed
  • he doesn't fail often; this signs the beginning of the end of his career
  • he ultimately gives up and leaves Washington, but the debate isn't over yet
• Stephen A. Douglas, a young Democratic Senator from Illinois
  • takes up Clay's legacy
  • takes these bills and presents them individually
  • they all pass
  • they were signed into law by President Filmore
    • California is a free state, New Mexico and Utah are territories
    • Texas gets $10 million to lessen their borders
    • the slave trade is abolished in D.C.
    • a new Fugitive Slave Law is passed
    • he declares proudly that the whole country accepted the compromise as the final settlement to the sectional controversy
      • it was generally accepted, but (of course) the political extremists on both sides disagree

Fugitive Slave Law

• many in the North find the Fugitive Slave Act appalling
• Emerson called it "filthy", and said that it couldn't be obeyed by any honourable man
• another New Englander said that the Act priced the value of a slave at $1000, but a Yankee soul at $5
• this is the first time that the federal government is enforcing slavery
• there is tremendous resistance in the North - violence in some cases, in other cases towns would pool their money to purchase freedom for slaves
• unenforcable in many parts of the North by the mid-1850s
• the Compromise of 1850 wasn't a "be-all, end-all"
• abolitionists are no longer hung - public opinion is changing

Uncle Tom's Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe

• this is the 1852 equivalent of Paine's Common Sense
• they ran it chapter-by-chapter in abolitionist newspapers before publishing it
• sold 10,000 copies in the first week - which was phenomenal success in that time
• this communicates the idea to many northerners that slavery is not the answer
• it grabbed their imaginations, as they were able to visualise the plight of the slaves
• a propaganda victory for abolitionists
• southern writers try to defend slavery as "benign"
  • Aunt Phillis's Cabin portrayed a Christian master who was kind to his slaves
  • southerners compare their slaves to northern "wage slaves", saying that southern slaves are happier and have better living conditions
  • southern slaves have clothes, food, and other necessities
  • northern workers have a poor wage, terrible living conditions - but they are still free to leave and make a new life

Cuba

• the South covets Cuba, the final remnant of the once-great Spanish Empire
• Cuba would provide more land that already had slavery, and could be divided into several states to affect the slavery balance in the Senate
• the Pierce administration actively sought to annex Cuba, but Spain doesn't want to give it up
• Spain had rejected Polk's offer of $100 million
• American-Spanish tensions are heightened by the 1854 capture of the US merchant ship "Black Warrior" in Havana
  • the authorities hold on to the ship until they become aware of calls for war with Spain; they then diffuse the situation by releasing the vessel
• Pierce responds with a plan to annex Cuba, the Ostend Manifesto
  • American ministers met with ministers from France in Ostend, Belgium
  • France urges Pierce to purchase Cuba at any price
  • if Spain won't buy, they say that America is justified by "every law, human and divine" to go to war
  • this was leaked to the press, and the American people objected to the idea that Pierce was willing to go to war to get another piece of land for slavery
  • there are fears that the Compromise of 1850 would be undermined
  • the plan is quickly denied by Pierce, and forgotten

The Gadsden Purchase (1853)

• the US wants to create a trans-continental railroad to link the East and the West
• the US minister to Mexico, James Gadsden, who is a Southerner, wants a route that goes through Texas and New Mexico to the Pacific
• Stephen Douglas prefers a route through Chicago and Nebraska, to California; he owns a lot of land in Nebraska and stands to make money off a route through that territory
• the US buys a strip of land in the southern portions of Arizona and New Mexico for $10 million
• some will argue that this is "conscience money", as it brings the total amount paid for land from Mexico to about $30 million, the original Slidell offer

Kansas - Nebraska Act

• this act was introduced to Congress by Stephen Douglas
• it will split the Kansas - Nebraska Territory into two sections, one free, on slave
• then, popular sovereignty will determine whether slavery will remain
• however, they will need to rescind the Missouri Compromise to have slavery be a possibility north of the 36° 30' line
• Douglas is also seeking Southern support for the trans-continental railroad to be built through his land
• the North disagrees strongly, although Douglas had thought that the North wouldn't care too much about it
• the decision to re-open the slavery issue restarts the old North-South conflict, and sets a foundation for the coming Civil War
• Bleeding Kansas
  • this can be considered a "dress rehearsal" for the Civil War - pro- and anti- slavery forces gather in Kansas, bringing their "Beecher's Bibles", that is, guns
  • Kansas applies for territorial status and the state constitution goes to the people to decide the slavery issue
  • the number of votes is twice that of the population of the state, because of pro- and anti- slavery contenders who had rushed into the state to vote
  • this conflict reflects a growing pro/anti slavery tension
    • both sides want to spread their philosophy throughout the nation
    • this issue is beginning to consume the entire nation, and conflict spreads to other areas: immigrants v. natural-borns, Catholics v. Protestants, Christians v. Jews, etc.
    • new parties arise to support new ideas, such as the "Know-Nothing", or American Party
      • they have an anti-immigrant, anti-Catholic platform
      • this party will soon collapse, but many former members, angry with Pierce, join in the summer of 1854 to form the Republican Party, which will become a major party very quickly

Election of 1856

• the Democrats select James Buchanan to run, because he wasn't connected to the Kansas-Nebraska events
• he runs against Fillmore, from the Know Nothings, and Frémont, the first Republican Presidential candidate
• Buchanan will win, and governs until Lincoln's election in 1860

Dred Scott Decision

• Roger Taney
  • as Attorney General from 1831-1833, he was a steadfast Jacksonian, and viewed monied interests as a threat to economic democracy
  • his recess appointment was rejected, and he returned to private practise after killing the Bank for Jackson
  • Jackson submitted Taney for a vacant Supreme Court seat, but he was rejected
  • then, Marshall died, so Jackson submitted Taney for Chief Justice, and another candidate for the other vacant seat
  • on 15 March 1836, after a no-records executive session of the Senate, both nominations were confirmed
  • the anti-Jacksonians objected that the Court had been "sullied" by a "political hack"
• Dred Scott
  • he was a Missouri slave who had frequently travelled with his owner through Illinois and Wisconsin
  • he sued his owner's wife following the owner's death, saying that his residency in free states made him a free man
  • the case made its way to the Supreme Court in March of 1857
  • Taney dismissed Scott's case, ruling that slaves weren't citizens, so he had no standing to sue
  • he also stated that even if Scott had been a citizen, his residence in Wisconsin didn't qualify him for freedom
  • Taney ruled that the Missouri Compromise (1820) was unconstitutional because it deprived citizens of property without due process of law
  • he stated that slave owners could take slaves anywhere, and that Congress didn't have the power to regulate slavery in the territories
  • the dissenting judges attacked the decision as an "obiter dictum" (making a statement that doesn't relate to the case), saying that once the Court had ruled that Scott did not have standing, they could no longer make a decision regarding the case
  • this case was an opinion written by Taney; it wasn't voted on by Congress, so it was not a law
  • also, 5 of the justices were Southerners, leading to Northern cries of a "Southern conspiracy"; President Buchanan had pressured one of the Northern judges to join the Southern majority to help avoid this claim

Lincoln - Douglas Debates

• Lincoln ran for Senator from Illinois as a Republican
• 7 debates took place throughout Illinois, garnering national attention because the ideas discussed reflected the political discussions taking place across the nation
• one of the debates took place in Freeport, Illinois, and gave rise to the Freeport Doctrine
• referring to the Dred Scott case, Lincoln asked Douglas if residents of a state could exclude slavery before the territory became a state
• Lincoln was hoping to force Douglas to comment on both popular sovereignty and slavery
• Douglas replies, "In order for slavery to exist, laws were necessary to protect it. If no such laws were established, slave-owners would not reside there and the territory would be free."
• he says that if laws are not made to protect it, slavery won't exist; there is no need to create anti-slavery laws
• many Southerners though that he had another method for ending slavery, so they are angered
• Senators will discuss this as a way to circumvent Dred Scott
• Lincoln loses the "battle", and doesn't become Senator, but will win the "war" and become President

John Brown's Raid (1859)

• John Brown devises a plan to cause a massive slave revolt, which is his response to the violence in Kansas
• he is a "Bible-toting abolitionist" who believes that he's appointed by God to rid the nation of slavery
  • he had also run an Underground Railroad station at his house
  • he lived in a Free Black community in New York for awhile
  • he was wanted for violent raids in Kansas and Missouri
• in 1856, he murdered a Southern slavery supporter, and moved from town to town wreaking havoc in the name of God as revenge for an attack on Lawrence, Kansas
• his plan involves attacking a federal arsenal near Harper's Ferry, Virginia
  • he rents a nearby farmhouse, and makes plans while volunteers arrive to help
  • he is funded by the wealthy "Secret Six"
  • however, he left most of his strategy to divine guidance
  • as he advanced towards Harper's Ferry, he cut telegraph lines, attacked watchmen, and took hostages, especially seeking the slaveholding great-grandnephew of George Washington
  • the news spread, and Brown hoped that droves of slaves and sympathetic whites would join his cause; however, this area had very few slaves, and those in the area were described as "well-off"
  • after shooting a railroad employee, the neighbouring villages were alerted
  • having been informed of 700 advancing men, Buchanan ordered three artillery and a Marine unit to intervene
  • the arsenal was re-taken by a Marine unit led by Robert E. Lee, and Brown was beaten and captured
• Brown was put on trial for treason against Virginia
  • Brown's lawyer wanted to make a plea of insanity, but Brown refused to comply
  • he is found guilty and sentenced to death
  • Brown stated that he believed that he had interfered for the cause of the poor and had done the just thing; he says that he is willing to shed his blood for the cause, and becomes a martyr
  • the South linked Brown's violence to that of all Northerners, saying that everything wrong with the nation is a result of individuals like Brown
    • the Republican Party is mostly in the North, as well, so the Democrats claim that Brown's raid was a result of the teachings Republican Party
• to many, war is now unavoidable
• in many ways, Brown got what he wanted, martyrdom and a hero status
• the election of 1860 is approaching
  • it was already stated that if the Republicans won, it would be unsettling for the nation
  • in 1856, many Northerners voted for Buchanan, not Frémont, because they feared for their businesses and well-being