Nationalism Vs Sectionalism - Lakeland Central School District

Important Questions • What is sectionalism? • Where do you suppose this concept originated? • What are some of the issues behind sectionalism? • Ultimately, what do you think it will take to put an end to sectionalism?

Era of Good Feelings

Era of Good Feelings • period of national unity and cooperation following War of 1812: – President Monroe enjoyed enormous popularity and national support – Political parties were getting along – Short duration • • • •

Power of federal government States’ rights Slavery sectionalism

Era of Good Feelings • Era of Good Feelings replaced by sectionalism – Sectionalism is the to a state or a region over the nation as a whole • Eventually led to the Civil War (1861-65)

Sectional Differences • North – Favored the Bank of the United states – Favored increased immigration – Favored government financial improvements – Divided on the issue of territorial expansion • The commercial North favored policies which would protect its industries from foreign competition (tariffs), increase trade and provide a strong banking system

Sectional Differences • South – Opposed the Bank of the United States – Opposed protective tariffs – Opposed new immigration – Favored territorial expansion – Opposed government financed internal improvements • The agricultural South hoped to increase its cotton exports& favored less interference from the Federal government

Sectional Differences • West – Opposed the Bank of the United States – Divided on the tariff issue – Favored increased immigration – Favored territorial expansion – Favored government financed internal improvements • The agricultural West wanted federal protection and transportation improvements but opposed regulated banking (too many farmers)

Regroup • What Does the Era of Good Feelings refer to? • What is the difference between sectionalism and nationalism? • What did the North want? • The South? • The West?

States’ Rights • Introduced by Madison & Jefferson in VA & KY Resolutions in 1798 – What was the issue then?

• States’ Rights: – Federal government created by the states to serve the states – When the federal gov’t passes laws states believe to be unconstitutional, the states can declare the laws to be “null & void” & do not have to enforce these laws

Virginia & Kentucky Resolutions,1798

States’ Rights • Nullification –the doctrine that a state may refuse to enforce a “federal” law it considers unconstitutional –Why is this a dangerous idea?

States’ Rights • Tariff of Abominations (1828): – the highest tariff since founding of the nation: • protected new American industries from cheap foreign competition • raised rates on new materials and manufactured goods • western and northern congressmen united to pass tariff law (who is feeling squeezed?)

States’ Rights • South strongly opposed tariff for following reasons: – increased prices of foreign manufactured goods – feared foreign nations would increase tariffs against southern cotton exports • What would be the result of increased tariffs on US exports?

States’ Rights • South Carolina Exposition and Protest (1828): – hostile to Tariff of Abominations – written by John C. Calhoun of South Carolina

• South Carolina Exposition and Protest stated the following: – the Federal Government was created by a compact among the states to serve the states – states therefore had the power to declare laws of Congress unconstitutional

Tariff of Abominations 1828

South Carolina Exposition & Protest

States’ Rights – laws declared unconstitutional were “null and void” (nullification) – the law would remain null and void until it was added as a constitutional amendment (strict construction) – if the problem was not resolved, the state had the “right to secede” from the Union

• secession – the right of a state to leave or break away from the Union

States’ Rights • nullification and secession violated Article VI of the Constitution, which states: – when a state law is in contradiction with a federal law, it is the federal law that must be obeyed • the power of the Federal Government is supreme

• nullification violates principle of federalism: – states cannot declare laws of Congress unconstitutional – this power rests solely with Supreme Court

States’ Rights • Nullification by South Carolina (1832): – 1832: new tariff law provided only modest reduction of Tariff of Abominations

• South Carolina passed Ordinance of Nullification: – voided new tariff – threatened secession

Force Bill

“Disunion by force is treason”! Andrew Jackson

States’ Rights • President Jackson: – opposed nullification and secession – felt both could destroy the Federal Government

• Jackson asked Congress to pass the “Force Bill”: – would empower President to enforce tariff in South Carolina – army and navy to be employed – precedent set by Washington in Whiskey Rebellion

States’ Rights • Compromise Tariff of 1833: – Senator Henry Clay introduced a compromise, which provided for the following: • a gradual reduction of tariff over ten year period • level to eventually reach that of Tariff of 1816

• Compromise Tariff and Force Bill passed on the same day by Congress: – South Carolina withdrew Ordinance of Nullification & nullified Force Bill – Crisis temporarily solved; states’ rights & nullification still unresolved

States’ Rights • Cherokee Indians (1828) – State of Georgia invoked dcotrine of states’ rights to remove Cherokee Indians • US Supreme Court ruled that the Indians could stay

– President Jackson hated the Indians & refused to enforce the law • More than 100,000 Indians forcible removed to modern Oklahoma on Trail of Tears

Regroup • The idea of states’ rights was advocated by whom? • What was the Tariff of Abominations? • What was the Southern response to the T of A? • What does secession mean? • What was Jackson’s strategy for defeating the Southern nullifiers? • What temporarily settled the issue of states’ rights? • What was the Trail of Tears?

Andrew Jackson & The BUS • Jackson saw BUS as monopoly that favored wealthy elite – BUS refused many loans to small businesses/farmers – Paid dividends to Northern stockholders – BUS made contributions to political candidates – BUS prevented state banks from issuing currency that would devalue existing currency

Andrew Jackson & The BUS • Congress passed a bill to re-charter the bank in 1832 – Jackson vetoed the bill – Re-elected overwhelmingly in 1832

• Jackson took re-election as sign people wanted BUS dead – Jackson wanted money in states banks and wanted loans for small businesses and farmers • Part of Jacksonian democracy concept

Southern Sectionalism and Representation Problem • Southern Sectionalism: – Southerners favored their section over the national interest – Constitution must be interpreted by its exact words (strict construction) – states had all other powers (reserved) – power to regulate slavery therefore belonged solely with the states

Southern Sectionalism and Representation Problem

• Senate Representation: – Southern states concerned about two major issues: • allowing slavery in new federal territories • maintaining equal balance between the representation of slave and non – slave states in the U.S. Senate

Southern Sectionalism and Representation Problem

• Missouri Compromise (1820): – Missouri Territory applied for statehood as a slave state: • threatened Senate balance between 11 free and 11 slave states

• population of North twice as large as South – North therefore controlled House of Representatives – South needed to maintain balance in the Senate

Missouri Compromise • Terms of the Missouri Compromise: – Missouri admitted as slave state – Maine admitted as a free state – all territory of Louisiana Purchase north of the 36° -30’ Parallel Line would be free – all territory south of the line would be slave

Wilmot Proviso (1846): • Resolution to prohibit slavery in any territory acquired in war with Mexico: – Calhoun condemned proviso as anti – states’ rights – threatened nullification and secession – Wilmot Proviso passed the House – rejected in the Senate

Regroup • What is southern sectionalism? • Why does the South need to maintain the balance between free & slave states? • How is the problem solved (in the shortterm)? • What are the terms?

The Mexican War 1848

The Mexican War 1846-48 • Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ends the Mexican War: – U.S. adds New Mexico and California (Mexican Cession) – Mexico recognizes Rio Grande River as the southwest border of Texas (why are rivers bad borders?) – U.S. paid Mexico $15 million for the new territory

The Mexican War 1846-48 • Mexican War divided America along sectional lines: – northeasterners condemned war as plot to seize land and extend slavery (so what?) – southerners and westerners strongly supported war (why?)

The Mexican War 1846-48 • Gadsden Purchase (1853): – U.S. paid Mexico $10 million for strip of land south of the Gila River in Arizona and New Mexico – provided a railroad route into California – considered “conscience money” by many Americans ($10 million) • What is “conscience money”?

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

Regroup • What was the Treaty that ended the Mexican American War? • What states became part of the US as a result of the Mexican Cession? • How was the Wilmot Proviso supposed to impact the acquisition of territory from Mexico? • What was the Gadsen Purchase?

California Statehood • 1849: California admitted as state: – slavery outlawed – political crisis renewed

• balance between slave and free states threatened in the Senate: – 1849: 15 free and 15 slave states – South threatened secession (again!)

Compromise of 1850 • Proposed by Senator Henry Clay (Kentucky) to prevent secession • Clay received strong Senate support from the following: – Stephen A. Douglas (Illinois) – Daniel Webster (Massachusetts) – What do these states have in common?

Compromise of 1850 • Terms: – California admitted as a free state – territories of New Mexico and Utah to follow popular sovereignty • popular sovereignty – policy of allowing voters of a territory to decide if they wanted slavery

– Texas paid $10 million to cede land to New Mexico – slave trade prohibited in District of Columbia (slavery permitted) – Fugitive Slave Law strongly enforced

Compromise of 1850 • Compromise of 1850 temporarily ended the sectional crisis – What will it take to permanently settle the sectional crisis? – Why is that nearly impossible without conflict?

Fugitive Slave Law (1850): • authorized federal commissioners to try accused blacks of being runaways: – accused denied right to testify and to trial by jury – if official declared before the court that a person was a runaway, no further evidence needed – federal commissioner received double fee if he ruled the suspect a runaway rather than a “free Negro”

Fugitive Slave Law (1850): • many Northerners considered Fugitive Slave Law an outrage and refused to obey the law • Personal Liberty Laws: – passed by many northern legislatures – prohibited state officials from cooperating in the capture of runaways – This is nullification in reverse

Fugitive Slave Law

Abolition • Harriet Beecher Stowe: • abolitionist and worker on the Underground Railroad • Underground Railroad – an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states & Canada

Abolition • Harriet Beecher Stowe – 1852: wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin: – Stowe’s propaganda novel about the cruelty of slavery – succeeded in swaying emotions of many Northerners against slavery

Abolition • Abolition Movement: – abolitionism – antislavery movement dedicated to abolishing slavery throughout America: – began in 1830’s – strongest in the North

Abolition • Moderate Abolitionists: • favored gradual elimination of slavery • believed South economically and politically dependent on slavery – Removing slavery too fast would cause irreparable damage to Southern economy & society

• worked for compromise solutions with South

Moderate Abolitionists

Abolition • Extreme Abolitionists: – favored immediate end to slavery – wanted no compensation given to slave owners – denounced slavery as moral evil that must be stopped • Negotiation with evil is evil, so no compensation or delay is acceptable

– regardless of threats of secession or civil war • There is a greater good

Extreme Abolitionists

Regroup • How is the North’s reaction to the Fugitive Slave Law similar to the South’s reaction to the Tariff of Abominations? • What were the terms of the Compromise of 1850? • What was the difference between the moderate and radical abolitionists? • Who wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin?

Kansas – Nebraska Act (1854) • sponsored by Senator Stephen A. Douglas, which provided for the following: – repeal of Missouri Compromise – created territories of the Kansas and Nebraska – allowed popular sovereignty to determine slavery in each territory

Kansas – Nebraska Act (1854) • Bleeding Kansas: – civil war erupted in Kansas over popular sovereignty issue – slave owners and abolitionists wanted control of Kansas

• Border Ruffians: – slave owners from Missouri who crossed into Kansas to attack free – soil settlements

Bleeding Kansas • Abolitionists: – raided pro – slavery settlements – b. John Brown led one major raid (Pottawatomie Creek)

• bloodshed between both sides led to name “Bleeding Kansas”

Bleeding Kansas

*Pottawatomie Creek Massacre 1856

Formation of the Republican Party (1854) • Created by antislavery opposition to Kansas – Nebraska Act – consisted of Whigs, Democrats and Free Soilers – Republicans pledged to the following: – opposed extension of slavery into new territories

• repeal of Kansas – Nebraska Act • Whig Party ceased as major political party – absorbed by Republicans and Democrats

Dred Scott Case • Dred Scott, a Missouri slave – brought into free territory by his master &later returned to Missouri

• Scott sued for his freedom on basis that his residence in free territory had made him a free man – this would make a free man of all fugitives slaves who escaped to free soil – Fugitive Slave Law would be meaningless

Dred Scott Case • PART I of Scott v. Sanford Decision: – a Negro could not be a citizen – a non – citizen could not sue in court

• PART II of Scott v. Sanford Decision: – slaves are property (chattel) – Congress may not deprive a person of the right to property in federal territories – that part of Missouri Compromise, which prohibited slavery in part of the Louisiana Territory (north of 36 – 30 line), was therefore unconstitutional

Dred Scott Case • Chief Justice Roger Taney invoked 5th Amendment: – Congress may not deprive a person of due process – therefore any law which outlawed slavery was unconstitutional – all federal territories now open to slavery

Lecompton Crisis • Pro – slavery and abolitionists flooded into Kansas over popular sovereignty (Kansas – Nebraska Act) – both sides wanted to control slavery issue

• a pro – slavery Kansas legislature elected in 1855 – “border ruffians” from Missouri fixed election – legislature called for constitutional convention in Lecompton – “free soilers” established their own legislature

Lecompton Crisis • 1857: Lecompton Constitution submitted to U.S. Congress for approval: – called for admission of Kansas as a slave state – President James Buchanan urged acceptance – Stephen A. Douglas rejected the Lecompton Constitution – returned for territorial referendum

Lecompton Crisis • 1858: Kansas overwhelmingly defeats Lecompton Constitution in statewide referendum – Kansas enters Union as free state in 1861

• disagreement between Buchanan and Douglas over Lecompton issue divides Democrats: – Southern v. Northern Democrats

Regroup • What did the Kansas-Nebraska Act provide for? • What is “Bleeding Kansas”? • What was the decision of the Court in the Dred Scott case? • What was the Lecompton Crisis? • How did Kansas come into the Union?

Lincoln – Douglas Debates

Lincoln – Douglas Debates (1858) • Abraham Lincoln challenged Douglas for Senate – participated in seven debates – Lincoln forced Douglas to state his view on slavery in the territories in Freeport, Illinois

Lincoln – Douglas Debates (1858) • Freeport Doctrine (Douglas): – Dred Scott decision made slavery legal in the territories in theory – but people of a territory could keep slavery out by refusing to enact a “slave code” – Freeport Doctrine further divided southern and northern Democrats – party weakened as a national political party

John Brown • John Brown: – an extreme abolitionist – led raid against federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry (Virginia) – hoped to capture weapons and lead slave rebellion – tried for treason and hanged 2 December 1859

• Brown considered a martyr throughout North – sacrificed his life for human liberty – considered a criminal in South

Election of 1860 • Democratic Party split into two groups: – Northern Democrats – supported popular sovereignty and Stephen A. Douglas for President – Southern Democrats – demanded enforcement of the Dred Scott decision and supported John C. Breckinridge for President

Election of 1860 • Constitutional Union Party: – supported adherence to Constitution and union of states would not interfere with slavery where it already existed – supported John Bell for President

Election of 1860 • Republican Party: – opposed extension of slavery – would leave slavery where it existed – favored protective tariffs, federal aid for internal – improvements, a transcontinental railroad and free homestead farms – supported Abraham Lincoln for President

Election of 1860 • Lincoln won 40% of the vote carried North and West • Elected 16th President of the United States

“That which is not just is not law”. William Lloyd Garrison “Extreme” Abolitionist

Confederate States of America