Class PPT

1. Bell Ringer
• What was the Missouri Compromise? Use page 312 in
your textbook to define.

2. Toward Civil War EQ: How did specific events push
the United States to Civil War?

3. New Territories,
New Debates
• REVIEW- The Wilmot Proviso
attempted to ban slavery in territory
won from Mexico
• John C. Calhoun argued that neither
Congress or a territorial government
could ban or regulate slavery
• Democrats were divided over the issue
of slavery
• Democrats who opposed slavery
formed the “Free Soil Party” (“Free
Soil, Free Speech, Free Labor, Free
Men”)
• Whig candidate Zachary Taylor won
the election of 1848, but many Free-
Soil Candidates won seats in
Congress

4. A New Compromise
• Southerners wanted “fugitive slaves laws”
requiring every state to return runaway slaves.
• Southern states were upset because
California was added as a free state, upsetting
the balance between slave and free states.
Because of this, Southern states were
threatening to secede.
• Henry Clay suggested that California would be
a free state, but other new territories would
have no limits on slavery.
• Clay also said that the slave trade, but not
slavery itself, would be illegal in Washington,
D.C.
• Clay also pushed a stronger fugitive slave law.
• This became known as the Compromise of
1850

5. A New Compromise
(cont.)
• A heated debate occurred over
the Compromise of 1850
• Stephen Douglas of Illinois had a
plan to solve the controversy- the
plan would be divided in to
separate parts, each voted on
separately
• New president, Millard Fillmore,
who favored the plan, convinced
many Whigs (his party) to not
vote on the certain parts of the
plan
• Because of this manipulation, the
Compromise of 1850 was passed

6. The Fugitive Slave
Act
• Stated that anyone who helped
a fugitive, or escaped, slave
could be fined or imprisoned
• Northerners simply refused to
obey the law
• Northern juries refused to
convict violators of the law
• People donated money to
officially purchase freedom for
fugitive slaves

7. The Kansas-
Nebraska Act
• Stephen A. Douglas introduced this bill to
settle the issue of slavery in the territories
• Prior to this law, Kansas and Nebraska would
have been free states since they were above
the line that limited slavery- 36°30' N latitude
• This would have angered the South because
free states would have more votes in the
Senate
• Douglas wanted to repeal the Missouri
Compromise by letting the voters in each state
decide the issue of slavery
• Northerners were against this plan because it
would allow slavery in states that had been
free for years
• The law passed with the aid of Northern
Democrats and the support of president,
Franklin Pierce

9. Conflict in Kansas
• Pro-slavery supporters known as
“border-ruffians” crossed over to vote for
slavery
• Only 1,500 voters lived in Kansas, 6,000
people voted
• Opponents of slavery refused to accept
the results. They armed themselves, held
elections, and passed their own
constitution
• Slavery supporters attacked Lawrence,
KS, an anti-slavery stronghold
• Anti-slavery citizens retaliated and John
Brown led an attack killing five
supporters of slavery
• This became known as “Bleeding
Kansas”

10. TN Connection-
Attack in Congress
• In Congress, Charles Sumner
lashed out against pro-slavery
senators like Andrew Butler of
South Carolina
• A few days later, Preston
Brooks, Butler’s cousin, came
into the Senate chamber and
knocked Sumner out with his
cane
• Brooks, himself, was a member
of the House of Representatives
• This incident demonstrated the
increasing tensions between
people of the North and South

11. 1854 Congressional
Elections
• During this election, anti-
slavery Whigs and Democrats
left their parties and joined the
Free-Soilers to form the
Republican Party
• One of the primary goals of this
new party was to prevent the
spread of slavery into the new
territories
• Republicans won the majority
of seats in the House of
Representatives

12. Dred Scott v.
Sanford
• Dred Scott was an enslaved African
American bought by a doctor in
Missouri, a slave state.
• The doctor and Scott moved to the
Wisconsin territory
• Slavery was banned by the Northwest
Ordinance in Wisconsin
• When the slaveowner returned to
Missouri, Scott tried to sue for his
freedom
• Scott’s case made it all the way to the
Supreme Court
• Scott and his lawyers argued that he
had a right to freedom because he had
lived in an area where slavery was
illegal

13. Dred Scott v.
Sanford (cont.)
• The Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court was Roger
Taney
• Taney’s Ruling:
• Scott was not a citizen so he
had no right to sue
• Living on free soil did not
make Scott free because he
was considered property
• Property could not taken
without due process (Taney’s
interpretation of a clause in
the 5th Amendment)

14. Impact of the Dred
Scott Case
• Taney argued that Congress
had no right to ban slavery
• Taney’s ruling said that The
Missouri Compromise that
banned slavery north of 36°30'
N latitude was also
unconstitutional
• Taney’s ruling also said that
Voters could not ban slavery
because that would mean taking
someone’s property
• Taney and the Supreme Court
ruled that banning slavery was
unconstitutional

15. Reaction to the Dred
Scott Decision
• Stopping the spread of slavery
was the primary goal of the
Republican Party
• Republicans were outraged
• Called the decision “a wicked
and false judgement” and “the
greatest crime” ever committed
in the nation’s courts

16. Lincoln and Douglas
• The Illinois Senate race of
1858 was receiving national
attention
• Stephen Douglas was facing
newcomer, Abraham Lincoln
• Douglas was a frontrunner as
the candidate for president in
the upcoming Election of 1860
• Lincoln challenged Douglas to
a series of debates
• These debates would occur in
August throughout several
cities and villages in Illinois

17. Lincoln-Douglas
Debates
• Thousands of people attended
• Newspapers provided wide coverage
• The primary topic was slavery
• In Freeport, Illinois, Lincoln asked Douglas if
the people of a territory could legally exclude
slavery before becoming a state
• Douglas replied that voters could exclude
slavery by refusing to pass laws that protected
rights of slaveholders (The Freeport Doctrine)
• The Freeport Doctrine cost Douglas support in
the South
• Douglas argued that Lincoln wanted full
equality between African Americans and
whites (Lincoln denied this)
• Douglas won the election but Lincoln gained a
national reputation as an effective politician

18. John Brown and
Harpers Ferry
• John Brown was an abolitionist who
believed that violence was the solution
for ending slavery
• Brown wanted to create an armed
revolt by slaves so he organized a raid
on an arsenal (weapon storage) at
Harpers Ferry
• The raid was stopped and Brown was
executed
• Brown’s death rallied abolitionists.
Some saw him as a “martyr” (someone
who dies for a cause)
• John Brown’s raid made the
Southerners believe there was a
Northern conspiracy against slavery

19. Summarizer/Extension Activity- Choose ONE of
the Following Options:
• 1. Color and label the maps contrasting the Missouri Compromise, The
Compromise of 1850, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act. You must have a map
key and you will be graded on CLARITY, ACCURACY, and ATTENTION TO
DETAIL.
• 2. Write two letters (1/2 a page each) expressing different points of view about
the Compromise of 1850. One letter should be in support of the Compromise
and directed to John C. Calhoun. The other letter should be against the
compromise and addressed to Henry Clay.
• 3. Construct a newspaper article (1 page) covering one of the Lincoln/Douglas
debates. You will need to perform outside research to construct your article.
Your newspaper should include text and a small illustration.
• 4. Construct a newspaper article (1 page) covering the Dred Scott Case. You
will need to perform outside research to construct your article. Your
newspaper should include text and a small illustration.