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Ch. 18 Subsection Summaries (14 Sections in The Chapter)

The document outlines key events and political dynamics surrounding the sectional struggle in the United States from 1848 to 1854, highlighting the role of popular sovereignty, the Gold Rush, and the Compromise of 1850. It details the rise and fall of political parties, including the Whigs and the emergence of the Republican Party, as well as significant legislative actions like the Kansas-Nebraska Act that contributed to rising tensions leading to civil war. The document emphasizes the impact of these events on the balance of power between the North and South and the escalating conflict over slavery.

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9 views2 pages

Ch. 18 Subsection Summaries (14 Sections in The Chapter)

The document outlines key events and political dynamics surrounding the sectional struggle in the United States from 1848 to 1854, highlighting the role of popular sovereignty, the Gold Rush, and the Compromise of 1850. It details the rise and fall of political parties, including the Whigs and the emergence of the Republican Party, as well as significant legislative actions like the Kansas-Nebraska Act that contributed to rising tensions leading to civil war. The document emphasizes the impact of these events on the balance of power between the North and South and the escalating conflict over slavery.

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14606
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Ch.

18 Subsection Summaries: Renewing the Sectional Struggle

1. The Popular Sovereignty Panacea


For the election of 1848, the Democrats chose General Lewis Cass, who supported
popular sovereignty, the idea that the common people should determine the fate of
slavery, which was a compromise between North and South.
2. Political Triumphs for General Taylor
The Whigs chose Zachary Taylor for president (Henry Clay had too many enemies),
while a new party, the Free Soil Party, who didn’t like either side supported Martin Van
Buren and abolition; Zachary Taylor won the election of 1848.
3. "Californy Gold"
In 1848, the Gold Rush started, and the large influx of people caused the Californians to
need law protection and so in 1849, drafted their own Constitution and attempted to join
the Union as a free state, which the Southerners obviously blocked.
4. Sectional Balance and the Underground Railroad
As tensions between the North and South arose, the Underground Railroad helped
many slaves to freedom (Harriet Tubman was important to this), and therefore, in 1850,
southerners demanded stricter slave-catching laws.
5. Twilight of the Senatorial Giants
To address whether or not to admit California as a free state, Congress had a debate in
1850, in which Henry Clay proposed a series of compromises, John Calhoun suggested
returning the South’s slaves and restoring the political balance, and Daniel Webster
supported Clay's proposals, to keep the Union together.
6. Deadlock and Danger on Capital Hill
The new senators, like William H. Seward (who noted the “higher law”), opposed
slavery and Clay's compromises; President Zachary Taylor also opposed slavery and
was ready to stop any Congressional compromise.
7. Breaking the Congressional Logjam
In 1850, President Taylor died and Millard Fillmore became president, signing the
Compromise of 1850 (admitting California as free, New Mexico and Utah were decided
by popular sovereignty, the slave trade was outlawed in the DC, but a stricter
fugitive-slave law was passed) and allowing a second Era of Good Feelings to dawn.
8. Balancing the Compromise Scales
Thanks to the Compromise of 1850, the Senate tipped in favor of the North, and the
North protested the Fugitive-Slave Law of 1850 (Bloodhound Bill), although this law was
the South's only real gain; it’s said that the Compromise of 1850 boosted the North’s
desire to keep the Union together.
9. Defeat and Doom for the Whigs
For the election of 1852 Democrats chose Franklin Pierce and the Whigs chose Winfield
Scott, both of whom supported the Compromise of 1850 and the Fugitive Slave Law;
Franklin Pierce won the election due to the split in the North and South Whigs, leading
to the end of the Whig party.
10. Expansionist Stirrings South of the Border
The Mexican War stimulated Manifest Destiny, so the US and New Granada agreed to a
treaty (1848) and later the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty of 1850 allowed for a neutral canal
route through Central America; attempts to take over Cuba (from Spain) through the
Ostend Manifesto or Nicaragua (led by William Walker) were both unsuccessful.
11. The Allure of Asia
Due to the Opium War (between Britain and China, Britain won), the US rushed to sign
the Treaty of Wanghia, expanding trade between the US and China, and later on signed
the Treaty of Kanagawa in 1854, opening trade with Japan.
12. Pacific Railroad Promoters and the Gadsden Purchase
To open up the West to the eastern US, the transcontinental railroad was proposed, but
the North and the South fought to put the terminus in their area; James Gadsden bought
the Gadsden Purchase for $10 million, facilitating the South’s argument that the railroad
should be in the South, while the Northern route ran through unprotected territory.
13. Douglas's Kansas-Nebraska Scheme
In 1854, Stephen A. Douglas proposed the Kansas-Nebraska Act (the Territory of
Nebraska cut into Kansas and Nebraska, slavery decided by popular sovereignty) with
the support of President Pierce, but it conflicted with the Missouri Compromise of 1820,
so Douglas proposed the repealing of the Missouri Compromise.
14. Congress Legislates a Civil War
Thanks to the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the Compromise of 1820 and the Compromise of
1850 went into ruin, hurting the Democratic Party and allowing for the founding of the
Republican Party, which was against slavery and the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and
eventually, civil war.

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