Santa Anna, who overthrew Mexico’s democratic constitution in favor of a dictatorship, was soon after. Douglas proposed the formation of 2 new territories in 1853: the Kansas Territory (now Nebraska Territory). Mexican Cession land & Manifest Destiny: Mexico agreed to an annexation treaty with the United States. They gave up a large area of Mexico. The Mexicans began to get mad at the Americans and declared war. Kansas Nebraska Act- This act brought the nation closer towards war after Congress passed it in 1854. Six states, including South Carolina, seceded- South Carolina was the first to leave the Union. The compromise stipulated that slavery would not be allowed in the Louisiana Territory north and south of Missouri.
Missouri Compromise: In 1812, Senator Henry Clay convinced Congress that the Missouri Compromise be adopted. The compromise allowed Maine to become a state in the Union and Missouri to become a state in the Union. The compromise provided that slavery would not be allowed in the Louisiana Territory north and south of Missouri. It gave southern slave owners the clear right to pursue escapees and bring them back to slavery. The Missouri Compromise exposed the many divisions within the Union. The South and North had to be able to balance their interests through the compromise. The Congress gave itself the authority to create laws about slavery. Many northerners were upset that Congress allowed slavery to expand into other states. Thomas Jefferson realized the danger of the compromise raising the issue. Jefferson realized that bitterness over slavery was a threat to national unity as he observed it. The issue of slavery was certain to cause divisions in the nation over time. Some Tejanos wanted a democratic government with less power for the central government. These hopes were crushed when General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, Mexico’s president, retook power in 1833. Santa Anna overthrew Mexico’s democratic constitution in a matter of days and instituted a dictatorship. Stephen Austin urged Texans not to support the Mexican government. The Republic of Texas was created in 1836 by Texans who declared their independence from Mexico.
Texas won the war of independence. In 1820, the Spanish governor granted Moses Austin a piece of land in order to establish small Texas colony. The Mexican government soon faced off against thousands of Americans who flooded into Texas. The new settlers weren’t Catholic; many were Protestants. But Mexico had abolished slavery. Mexico had for a while accepted violations of its laws. Mexico expelled more Americans in 1830. Yet, Americans continued to arrive. As Mexico tried to enforce laws that prohibited slavery and required settlers to attend the Catholic Church, tensions rose. Mexico also started imposing heavy taxes upon American imports. The Mexicans were becoming mad at the Americans and started a war.
Texas refused to annexe Texas to America – Sam Houston became the President of the Republic of Texas. He hoped that the United States would annexe Texas. The United States split its republican view. Southerners supported Texas becoming a slave-state. The Northerners were against this but still wanted western expansion. Martin Van Buren as well as Andrew Jackson were against annexed. Both men feared that the addition of a slave nation might lead to a large political conflict that could cause division within the Union.
Oregon boundary agreed upon & Texas annexe – President John Tyler supported the Texas annexation but was not nominated to the second term. Clay tried to avoid the issue. But James K. Polk, a Democratic candidate, demanded the annexation both of Texas and Oregon. The United States and Britain joined Oregon at that time. Soon after Polk was elected, Tyler requested that Congress annexe Texas. Soon after Polk took office, Tyler asked Congress to annexe Texas. The tensions between Mexico and Texas were increased by Texas’s annexe.
Polk provoked war with Mexico. Polk knew that Mexico needed money and offered to pay the Rio Grande claim. He offered to buy California and New Mexico. Mexico rejected the offer and was furious. They refused to surrender more land to America. Polk changed his tactics. To provoke a Mexican attack upon U.S. troops, Polk sent General Zachary Taylor south from the Nueces to the disputed territory. This was interpreted by the Mexican as an act war. Polk requested a declaration war from Congress after Mexican troops attacked American patrols on the disputed territory. Many northerners claimed that Polk was the one who provoked war.
Mexican Cession land & Manifest Destiny – Mexico agreed to annexe Texas under the treaty and gave up a huge territory. This territory was known by the Mexican Cession. Mexico received $18 million as a return. The Gadsden Acquisition saw the United States paying Mexico 10,000,000 dollars for a narrow section of New Mexico and Arizona. Manifest Destiny was realized.
Compromise 1850- Congress finally passed five bills in September 1850 that were based upon Clay’s proposal. This set of laws became the Compromise 1850. The Compromise was opposed by President Zachary Taylor. Taylor was then killed in 1850. Millard Fillmore was elected president and supported the Compromise. The law was then signed by Fillmore. The Compromise of 1800 was meant to end the crisis, giving both slave advocates and those who oppose it some of their rights. They also banned slavery in the capital. The Compromise stipulated that the Mexican Cession would allow the popular to decide whether slavery should be allowed in the rest of Mexico. The Compromise of1850’s most controversial section was the Fugitive Salve Act. Many northerners said they would hate this new law. The idea of people being accused as fugitive slaves was shocking to northerners. A man from Indiana was taken from his family and children and given to an owner. He claimed that the man had escaped 19 years earlier. After living in New York for many years, a wealthy African American was brought back to South Carolina.
Kansas Nebraska Act-The nation came closer to war when Congress passed Kansas-Nebraska Act 1854. Senator Stephen Douglas pushed for the passage of the act. Douglas wanted to see an Illinois railroad that would run through Nebraska Territory and the Pacific Coast. Douglas proposed forming two new territories in 1853: the Kansas Territory, and the Nebraska Territory. Southerners immediately objected. The Missouri Compromise made it impossible for both territories to be slain. This meant that the territories created would become free states. Douglas suggested that the territory’s new slavery be subject to popular sovereignty in order to win the support of the southerners. The Missouri Compromise was quashed by the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Douglas had hoped that the Kansas-Nebraska Act would be supported by the southerners. They believed Missouri would cross the Kansas border. They hoped Kansas would become an American slave state. The Kansas-Nebraska Act was a scandal to the northerners. Douglas had reopened the matter in the territories, which they believed was a betrayal. After months-long debates, both houses of Congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Douglas predicted that the Kansas-Nebraska Act would end slavery’s presence in Congress.
Bleeding Kansas–The Kansas-Nebraska Act made it up to the whites whether Kansas was to become a free territory or an slave territory. Within weeks of Douglas’s bill becoming law, Kansas was flooded with both proslavery and proslavery. Both sides were expected to make a decision on election day. Many Missourians illegally voted in the election for a territorial legislature. Despite Kansas only having 3,000 voters on election day, 8,000 votes had been cast. These results were rejected in protest by the antislavery colonists who called for a second election. Kansas now has two governments. Each government claims the right of imposing their government onto the territory. Pro-slavery sheriff John Brown was shot and killed while trying to arrest antislavery settlers near Lawrence. John Brown, an Antislavery Settler from Connecticut led 7 men towards a pro-slavery settlement close to Pottawatomie Creek. 5 pro-slavery youth and men were murdered while they were at the settlement. This set off a wave of violence in Kansas. Kansas was called Bleeding Kansas because of the violence. The violence in Kansas grew to the United States Senate.
Dred Scott – Dred Scot was an enslaved subject who was once owned a U.S. Army surgeon. Scott and the doctor resided in Illinois, as well as in Wisconsin Territory. The time was when slavery was legal. Scott was Scott’s partner after he left the army. Scott filed for his release with the aid of antislavery attorneys. Scott did not claim to be a freeman. He said so for reasons. Taney stated that Scott could not sue federal courts because African Americans weren’t citizens. Taney said that just because someone lives in free territory does not mean they are free. Taney stated that slaves are property and that the U.S. Constitution protected property rights. Taney said that Congress had no power to ban slavery in any country. The Dred Scott decision was a victory for supporters of slavery. This decision made slavery legal in all 50 states. Abraham Lincoln, an Illinois lawyer, was one of the northerners who opposed Dred Scott’s decision.
John Brown’s raid-The nation was quickly drawn to John Brown’s actions. Brown returned to New England after being expelled from Kansas following the Pottawatomie Massacre. Brown, along with some supporters, attacked Harpers Ferry (Virginia) in 1859. The goal was to take the U.S. Army’s guns stored there. He believed that African Americans who were enslaved would join him. He would provide weapons and lead the revolt. Brown quickly took over the arms. Brown’s forces were surrounded by troops under Colonel Robert E. Lee. Brown was wounded in the leg and was later captured. He sat quiet as the court tried him for murder and attempted treason. Before he was sentenced, he made a powerful defense of his actions. He claimed that the Bible instructed him not to neglect the poor or enslaved. Brown was sent to death without emotion. Brown was hanged for treason by Virginia on December 2, 1859. North Carolina churches tolled their sorrow to mark the death of a man many considered a hero. It shocked the southerners that people from the north were singing praises for a man who attempted to lead slave rebellion. And the south believed more than ever that they were being destroyed by the north.
Lincoln’s election of 1860 – Abraham Lincoln was chosen by the Republicans as their presidential candidate. Douglas and Lincoln debates made Lincoln popular in the North. Northern Democrats elected Stephen Douglas to be their candidate. The Vice President of the Southern Democrats was John Breckining from Kentucky. Some southerners tried to reconcile the South and North. Stephen Douglas believed Lincoln would win the election. The nation’s fractured nature was demonstrated by the results. Lincoln won every state except 4. Breckinridge was victorious in all of the slaveholding states. Bell won Kentucky and Tennessee-all in the upper South. Douglas was the only one to win Missouri. Lincoln received only 40% of the popular votes but he was able to get enough electoral votes for victory.
Six other states along with South Carolina voted to seize power. South Carolina was among the first to leave the Union. The legislature demanded a special convention after hearing about Lincoln’s election. The convention passed, on December 20, 1960, a declaration that “the Union now substituting South Carolina and other states, under the names of the United States Of America’, is herebydissolved”. With no hope of accommodating, six more countries joined South Carolina. Some southerners were opposed to secession. Governor Sam Houston and Senator Andrew Johnson were both against it. In February, leaders of the 7 seceding States met in Montgomery to form the Confederate States of America. The Confederate States of America was formed in March 1861 by former Mississippi Senator Jefferson Davis.
Fort Sumter — Lincoln’s most urgent issue was Fort Sumter. Fort Sumter can be found on an Island in Charleston’s harbor, South Carolina. The commander of Fort Sumter refused to give it up. South Carolina authorities ordered the surrender of 100 troops from the fort. They couldn’t hold on much longer after being cut off supplies in December. Lincoln was reluctant to leave the fort. Lincoln was concerned that other states might secede if he sent troops. Lincoln stated that he would send food, but not troops nor guns to the fort. Confederate leaders decided on capturing the fort while they could. Confederate artillery opened firing on the fort on April 12. The fort was attacked by Confederate artillery, which was fired upon after 34 hours. Douglas proposed the formation of 2 new territories in 1853: the Kansas Territory (now Nebraska Territory). Mexican Cession land & Manifest Destiny: Mexico agreed to an annexation treaty with Texas, and it gave up a vast area of Mexico. Six states, including South Carolina, seceded- South Carolina was the first to seize from the Union. The compromise also gave the Louisiana Territory north of its southern border.