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Sectional Struggles and Political Divides

The chapter discusses several events that increased sectional tensions between the North and South between 1846-1854, including the emergence of the anti-slavery Free Soil Party, California joining the Union as a free state, the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 which required Northerners to return escaped slaves, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 which repealed the Missouri Compromise and allowed slavery in new western territories if voters approved. These events polarized voters along sectional lines and led to the destruction of the Whig party and emergence of the Republican party as the main opposition to the expansion of slavery.

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Shane Krenn
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7 views2 pages

Sectional Struggles and Political Divides

The chapter discusses several events that increased sectional tensions between the North and South between 1846-1854, including the emergence of the anti-slavery Free Soil Party, California joining the Union as a free state, the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 which required Northerners to return escaped slaves, and the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 which repealed the Missouri Compromise and allowed slavery in new western territories if voters approved. These events polarized voters along sectional lines and led to the destruction of the Whig party and emergence of the Republican party as the main opposition to the expansion of slavery.

Uploaded by

Shane Krenn
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Chapter 18: “Renewing the Sectional Struggle”

1. Development of the Free Soil Party: The Free Soil party emerged with a
platform based on the abolitionist movement and contained many northerners who
shared a hatred both for slavery, and the men who were against sharing the new
land with African Americans. With the emergence of this party, the north and south
started to become more sectionalized with the opposing opinions on whether there
should be slavery in the new lands or not.
2. Discovery of Gold in California: Thousands of people that moved into California
were filled with lawless men and virtueless women which led to an outburst of
crime. Soon, many Californians were in need for protection, and therefore wanted
an adequate state government. They then went to draft a constitution in 1849 which
excluded slavery and then applied to Congress, therefore skipping the territorial
stage. This caused a rise in violent opposition from southern politicians.
3. Underground Railroad: More tension became evident with the loss of runaway
slaves due to the Underground Railroad. Many north abolitionists helped slaves
escape to the “free-soil sanctuary” of Canada, which angered the South very highly.
4. Compromise of 1850: The struggle of acceptance of the Compromise helped
create more tension between the North and the South. Violent opposition unfolded
in the south as newspapers expressed their extreme hatred towards the north, and
southern boycotts against northern goods partially took part.
5. Fugitive Slave Law of 1850: A large storm of opposition came from the North
with the passing of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850, which said that fleeing slaves
could not testify in their own behalf, and they were denied a jury trial. This helped
push the country towards civil war due to the Norths heated anger towards the
south, since they believed that these practices would create dangerous precedents
for white Americans. It also started a chain reaction in the North because many
moderates felt enraged with this law and wanted to join the antislaveryites.
6. Personal Liberty Laws: Some states passed “personal liberty laws” which denied
local jails to federal officials, and otherwise hampered enforcement. This occurred
due to the North’s anger about of the Fugitate Slave Law. This in turn lead to further
tension between the North and South.
7. Split of the Whig Party (election of 1852): Northern Whigs “swallowed” Scott
as their canidate, but were against his platform that endorsed the Fugitive Slave
Law, while the southern Whigs had the opposite views of the northern Whigs.
Differentiating opinions on the canidates led to the destruction of the Whigs, and
gave way to the rise of sectional political alignments.
8. Kansas-Nebraska Act: The Kansas-Nebraska Bill was favored by the South due to
the fact that they had a chance to gain another Slave state, with possibly admitting
Kansas as a slave state. However, this territory lay within the boundaries of the
Missouri Compromise, which forbade slavery in the Nebraska Territory. Political
passions became heavily heated as Free-soil members of the congress struck against
the bill. Douglas gained much support from the south as he pushed the bill through
Congress, and barely avoided bloodshed with the North.
9. Emergence of the Republican Party: Due to the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the
Republican Party was formed. Containing Whigs, Democrats, Free-Soilers, and other
foes of the Act, it became an extremely sectionalist party. Soon, the sectional rift was
evident as the new party wouldn’t be allowed south of the Mason-Dixon line.
10. Effects of the K-N Act on the Dem. Party: The Kansas-Nebraska Act had
destroyed the Democratic Party. With this, many Democrats became part of the new
party (The Republicans), and more sectionalism appeared.

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