Westward Expansion and Rising Tension over Slavery. Unit 6, Lesson 2

Transcription

1 Westward Expansion and Rising Tension over Slavery Unit 6, Lesson 2

2 Essential Idea Tension over whether slavery could expand west and the repeal of the Missouri Compromise brought the United States closer to civil war.

3 Impact of Mexican-American War Impact of Mexican-American War: 1. The United States owned land from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific 2. This newly owned land could become many new states 3. The major question: Would these new states would be free or slave?

4 The Mexican-American War and the Civil War The Mexican-American War and the Civil War: All compromises over slavery in this new land would fail Sectionalism between the North and South would reach the breaking point, the Civil War

5 The Rise of Sectionalism 1820: Missouri Compromise Details: This compromise kept the number of free and slave states equal It also created a line (36 30 ) to designate future free and slave states The compromise ONLY applied to the Louisiana Territory This compromise kept sectional tension low until the MexicanAmerican War brought in new land

6 Rising Sectionalism: Mexican-American War : Mexican-American War Details: The war brought in new land that both the North and South wanted to influence Reactions: The North saw the war as a southern conspiracy to create more slave states

7 Rising Sectionalism: Wilmot Proviso 1846: Wilmot Proviso To appease the North, this bill proposed making all land won from Mexico FREE Reactions: Southern Congressmen angrily blocked the bill from becoming law

8 A Possible Solution: Popular Sovereignty 1848: Popular sovereignty Details: Popular sovereignty means letting the people rule Some said each STATE, not the federal government, should decide if they would have slavery Reactions: Angry northern abolitionists felt slavery should not be an option Popular sovereignty failed violently in Kansas (more on this later)

9 Rising Sectionalism: A New Political Party 1848: Free-Soil Party forms Details: This party did not want slavery to expand West They were NOT against slavery itself They wanted to keep the West for whites and did not want to compete with slaves for jobs Reactions: Northern abolitionists disliked the Free-Soil party because it was not against slavery Southerners were angry and wanted slavery to expand west

10 California Gold Rush 1849: California Gold Rush Details: After gold was discovered in 1848, over 80,000 49ers rushed to California to try to make a fortune Rapidly growing towns called boomtowns sprang up at mining sites

11 Nativism Toward Asian Immigrants Many 49ers were Asian immigrants who experienced strong nativism

12 Rising Sectionalism: California Statehood? California grew so fast that it requested to become a FREE state Reactions: The South was angry because this would upset the free/slave state balance

13 Lowering Sectionalism: Compromise of : Compromise of 1850 Details: This determined the status of the land from the Mexican Cession, including California It was proposed by Henry Clay, who had before developed the Missouri Compromise

14 Lowering Sectionalism: Compromise of 1850 Terms of Compromise of 1850: 1. North received California became a free state 2. The rest of the new land was divided into two territories that would decide on slavery using popular sovereignty 3. South received a stronger Fugitive Slave Act to catch runaways in the North Reactions: The Compromise of 1850 eased sectional tension for a short time

15 Rising Sectionalism: Fugitive Slave Act 1850 Fugitive Slave Act Details: This law became the most controversial part of the Compromise of 1850 It forced northerners to aid slave catchers Blacks were falsely identified as runaways, denied jury trials, and kidnapped to the South as slaves

16 Fugitive Slave Act Northern reaction: Many northerners who had been indifferent toward slavery began to hate slavery The North and South became more divided over slavery

17 Rising Sectionalism: Uncle Tom s Cabin 1852: Uncle Tom s Cabin published Details: Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Tom s Cabin, a book about slavery The book was graphic and made slavery look terrible Reactions: Northerners who had been indifferent toward slavery began to hate slavery Southerners banned the book, calling it propaganda and full of lies The North and South became more divided over slavery