Mexico, Manifest Destiny, and Virginia
Missouri Conflict
--slavery not a major issue before 1819; not a major national political issue since the ratification
of the Constitution
--since 1789, four new free states and five slave states
--balance became eleven free states and eleven slave states
Crisis
--gradual emancipation was proposed for Mississippi
--was the first time that Congress had debated morality of slavery; slavery as a whole was
debated and appeared as an attack upon all who practiced slavery
--House approves, but the Senate refused; marked a divide between geographical regions as
opposed to party delineations
Missouri Compromise
--Henry Clay proposed to admit Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state
--slavery is forever prohibited above 36’’30’
--line is very appealing to Southerners because of belief that land above the line is barren and
will only be sparsely populated in the future
Theory of Nullification
--Union as a compact of sovereign states; people acting in special conventions had right to
nullify any federal law that exceeded the Constitution
--if popular convention declared law unconstitutional, then it was null and void in the state
--Congress could repeal or pass amendment giving it the power; state then had to decide whether
to accept the decision or withdraw from the Union
--makes the states rather than the federal government sovereign; federal government could be
removed as an effective instrument and essentially create separate countries
--provides foundation for secession; lays out a basis for leaving the Union and going home when
severe disagreements arise
Oregon Ho
--Panic of 1837 started movement west
*covered wagons left Missouri and Indiana
--people moved as families
,*high initial investment excluded poor
*travel in covered wagons could become tense as travel in cramped wagons over long distances
was unpleasant and difficult
Texas Crisis in D.C
--Houston installed as president in 1836
*tried to bring Texas into the Union
*Jackson resisted because of sectional tensions
*Texas became its own country and recognized the institution of slavery as legal; became an
extension of the South outside of the United States
Manifest Destiny
--extending the blessings of Christianity and of civil and religious liberty over the North
American continent; James Buchannan
--spreading light, progress, and Christianity into the dark and backwards area occupied by Native
Americans and Mexicans
Mexican War
--a war to gain territory for slavery?
--the occupation, separation, and annexation were, from the inception of the movement to its
final consummation, a conspiracy to acquire territory out of which slave states might be formed
for the American Union
War Impact
--Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
*Rio Grande boarder
*United States paid $18 million for California and New Mexico; significant underpayment made
to claim that America legitimately gained the territory
--achieved James K Polk’s continental vision
--slavery became the dominant and national issue
*Wilmot Proviso; as an express and fundamental condition to the acquisition of any territory
from the Republic of Mexico…neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall ever exist in any
part of said territory
*was believed that restricting expansion of slavery would constrict the institution until it faded
away completely
, Boiling of Conflict
Henry Clay’s Plan
--California admitted as a free state; broke the balance of states, but new state was needed
immediately
--other new areas divided into New Mexico and Utah with popular sovereignty there
--Congress to end slave trade, but not slavery in the capital
--new and stringent Fugitive Slave Law
--no persons are satisfied by the compromise
Growth of Abolitionism
--Garrison found the New England Anti-Slavery Society in 1832; one of first large scale
organizations for purpose
--Garrison, Weld, and Tappan found the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1833
--free black participation
*Frederick Douglas
*Harrier Tubman
*David Walker – 1829 – appeal to the colored citizens of the world; called for all slaves to rise
up at once, thereby raising fear that slaves wanted to kill all whites
Arguments against Slavery
--contradicts the idea of natural rights
--contradicts idea of self reliance and individual freedom
--breakup of slave marriages/families; only argument that gains traction in Virginia because of
belief that breakup is abuse of institution
--treatment/lash
--outrage against Christian teaching
*split between Methodist and Baptist churches
--moral question – economics did not matter; problem is created as significant part of Southern
and Northern economies are based on slavery; abolitionists are dragged through Northern streets
by workers who believe that their jobs will be lost
--slavery is financially viable, which is at the heart of resistance; profit in Europe and the North
is too great to let slavery go
, Festering Sores
--Lasting Bitterness
*1852 Gadsden Purchase; connect New Orleans to the west coast
*Pierce wanted to buy Cuba; divide Cuba into a number of slave states
*Slave Power Conspiracy; opponents believed that purchases were nothing more than an attempt
to spread slavery
--Kansas Nebraska Act
*Stephen Douglas proposes creation of two large territories
*advocates popular sovereignty to solve issue of slavery in territories
*results in repeal of Missouri Compromise
--Uncle Tom’s Cabin depicts slaves as real people and brings many Northern middle class whites
to oppose slavery; people began to think of themselves in the same situation
--new Fugitive Slave Act resulted in arrest of former slaves who has been living in freedom for
many years; time of freedom had brought neighbors to see them as people
Bleeding Kansas
*Lecompton Constitution
*Lawrence, Kansas; proslavery settlers burn down part of the town and kill a person
*John Brown and Pottawatomie Creek; Brown and his sons massacre five proslavery settlers
Republicans Emerge
--foundation
*opposition to expansion of slavery
*completely sectional party
*Conscience Whigs, Northern Democrats, Know-Nothings
Republican Party Platform
--favored free labor
*slavery degraded labor – declared South was stagnant and hierarchical
*North was land of opportunity
--stopping expansion of slavery would ensure continued opportunity and economic independence
for whites
Missouri Conflict
--slavery not a major issue before 1819; not a major national political issue since the ratification
of the Constitution
--since 1789, four new free states and five slave states
--balance became eleven free states and eleven slave states
Crisis
--gradual emancipation was proposed for Mississippi
--was the first time that Congress had debated morality of slavery; slavery as a whole was
debated and appeared as an attack upon all who practiced slavery
--House approves, but the Senate refused; marked a divide between geographical regions as
opposed to party delineations
Missouri Compromise
--Henry Clay proposed to admit Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state
--slavery is forever prohibited above 36’’30’
--line is very appealing to Southerners because of belief that land above the line is barren and
will only be sparsely populated in the future
Theory of Nullification
--Union as a compact of sovereign states; people acting in special conventions had right to
nullify any federal law that exceeded the Constitution
--if popular convention declared law unconstitutional, then it was null and void in the state
--Congress could repeal or pass amendment giving it the power; state then had to decide whether
to accept the decision or withdraw from the Union
--makes the states rather than the federal government sovereign; federal government could be
removed as an effective instrument and essentially create separate countries
--provides foundation for secession; lays out a basis for leaving the Union and going home when
severe disagreements arise
Oregon Ho
--Panic of 1837 started movement west
*covered wagons left Missouri and Indiana
--people moved as families
,*high initial investment excluded poor
*travel in covered wagons could become tense as travel in cramped wagons over long distances
was unpleasant and difficult
Texas Crisis in D.C
--Houston installed as president in 1836
*tried to bring Texas into the Union
*Jackson resisted because of sectional tensions
*Texas became its own country and recognized the institution of slavery as legal; became an
extension of the South outside of the United States
Manifest Destiny
--extending the blessings of Christianity and of civil and religious liberty over the North
American continent; James Buchannan
--spreading light, progress, and Christianity into the dark and backwards area occupied by Native
Americans and Mexicans
Mexican War
--a war to gain territory for slavery?
--the occupation, separation, and annexation were, from the inception of the movement to its
final consummation, a conspiracy to acquire territory out of which slave states might be formed
for the American Union
War Impact
--Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
*Rio Grande boarder
*United States paid $18 million for California and New Mexico; significant underpayment made
to claim that America legitimately gained the territory
--achieved James K Polk’s continental vision
--slavery became the dominant and national issue
*Wilmot Proviso; as an express and fundamental condition to the acquisition of any territory
from the Republic of Mexico…neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall ever exist in any
part of said territory
*was believed that restricting expansion of slavery would constrict the institution until it faded
away completely
, Boiling of Conflict
Henry Clay’s Plan
--California admitted as a free state; broke the balance of states, but new state was needed
immediately
--other new areas divided into New Mexico and Utah with popular sovereignty there
--Congress to end slave trade, but not slavery in the capital
--new and stringent Fugitive Slave Law
--no persons are satisfied by the compromise
Growth of Abolitionism
--Garrison found the New England Anti-Slavery Society in 1832; one of first large scale
organizations for purpose
--Garrison, Weld, and Tappan found the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1833
--free black participation
*Frederick Douglas
*Harrier Tubman
*David Walker – 1829 – appeal to the colored citizens of the world; called for all slaves to rise
up at once, thereby raising fear that slaves wanted to kill all whites
Arguments against Slavery
--contradicts the idea of natural rights
--contradicts idea of self reliance and individual freedom
--breakup of slave marriages/families; only argument that gains traction in Virginia because of
belief that breakup is abuse of institution
--treatment/lash
--outrage against Christian teaching
*split between Methodist and Baptist churches
--moral question – economics did not matter; problem is created as significant part of Southern
and Northern economies are based on slavery; abolitionists are dragged through Northern streets
by workers who believe that their jobs will be lost
--slavery is financially viable, which is at the heart of resistance; profit in Europe and the North
is too great to let slavery go
, Festering Sores
--Lasting Bitterness
*1852 Gadsden Purchase; connect New Orleans to the west coast
*Pierce wanted to buy Cuba; divide Cuba into a number of slave states
*Slave Power Conspiracy; opponents believed that purchases were nothing more than an attempt
to spread slavery
--Kansas Nebraska Act
*Stephen Douglas proposes creation of two large territories
*advocates popular sovereignty to solve issue of slavery in territories
*results in repeal of Missouri Compromise
--Uncle Tom’s Cabin depicts slaves as real people and brings many Northern middle class whites
to oppose slavery; people began to think of themselves in the same situation
--new Fugitive Slave Act resulted in arrest of former slaves who has been living in freedom for
many years; time of freedom had brought neighbors to see them as people
Bleeding Kansas
*Lecompton Constitution
*Lawrence, Kansas; proslavery settlers burn down part of the town and kill a person
*John Brown and Pottawatomie Creek; Brown and his sons massacre five proslavery settlers
Republicans Emerge
--foundation
*opposition to expansion of slavery
*completely sectional party
*Conscience Whigs, Northern Democrats, Know-Nothings
Republican Party Platform
--favored free labor
*slavery degraded labor – declared South was stagnant and hierarchical
*North was land of opportunity
--stopping expansion of slavery would ensure continued opportunity and economic independence
for whites
