Chapter 19

Renewing the sectional Struggle

1848-1854

• Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo had ended the war with Mexico
• When the US acquired the land from Mexico the Issue of expanding slavery grew
• The US had prohibited slavery in the states acquired from Mexico
• The politicians just sat in the lid of slavery and ignored the boiling below

• The Whigs nominated Taylor
• They didn’t nominated Clay because he had given too many speeches and had made too many enemies
• The people were distrusting of the democrats and the Wigs that a new party emerged. The Free Soil Party
• The free soil party went beyond any anti slavery group
• The northerners hated to share the land west with blacks
• The Free soil party foreshadowed the emergence of the republican party
• Both the wigs and the democrats had the issue of slavery under the rug and they only attacked each others personalities

• 1848 Gold was found in California
• people from all over the world came to California
• Some people got rich and others didn’t. The people that made most of the money were the ones mining the miners
• With many people there was also crime
• In 1849 the people of California and president Taylor drafted a constitution for California that outlawed slavery
• With California as a free state the south was enraged. Californian was the one that broke the back bone of the south

• Zachary Taylor was a Virginian and a slave owner
• With the south having some of the power in the white house and senate they could veto some of the maneuvers that the north might think off
• There were 15 free and 15 slave states. If California were admitted it would break the equilibrium
• Texas was claiming some land. About half the territory of New Mexico
• This quarrel foreshadowed shooting
• The south was also mad at the loss of slaves. They were loosing slaves to the Underground Railroad
• Harriet Tubman was one of the conductors that helped 300 slaves get away
• The south wanted a better fugitive slave law that would be enforced
• Out of 4 million slaves the south was loosing about 1,000 slaves a year.

• Clay, Webster, and Calhoun were known as the immortal trio
• Calhoun wanted the slaves to be returned and leave slavery alone
• Calhoun was the one fighting to keep the union alive, but his schemes almost killed everything
• Webster's speech helped turn the tide of the North towards compromise
• With Webster's efforts he was able to keep the south and the north from secession.

• The debate of 1850 wasn't over. The young ones still had something to say
• William H. Seward was a young spokesman for the young radicals
• Seaward argued that they must follow god's morals and all that.
• Seward appealed to excluding slavery in the territories, to an even higher law than the constitution. That cost him his nomination for the presidency in 1860
• As the debate heated in congress there was sure to be deadlock

• Taylor unwillingly helped the deadlock by dying
• Miller Fillmore became the next president and he was the one that agreed with all the compromises
• it was harder for congress to accept the compromise than for the people
• One news paper printed that it hated the North as much as it hated hell
• But at the end the fire eaters of the south prevailed
• After all the things that happened a new era of good feeling cam upon the people

• The north got the better deal of the compromise of 1850 because they got California as a free state
• The south looked at the Caribbean as the answer to restore the power in congress
• The south wanted to colonize the Caribbean
• The bloodhound Bill was passed and the north hated that bill
• The runaway slaves could not testify in their behalf and they couldn’t get a jury trial
• The Judge that handled the slave's case would receive 5 dollars if the slave were freed and ten if the slave was not freed
• The northerners were liable to fines and jail if they helped a slave
• Many people had resentment for the people that enforced the "Bloodhound Bill"

• Franklin Pierce second dark horse
• Luckily for the democrats the wigs split but not the platform
• The south liked the Platform but didn’t like the candidates
• Pierce Wins election of 1854 254/42 votes
• Disorganization of the wigs

• 15,000 people at Piece's inauguration
• William Walker tries to capture Nicaragua but fails

• Cuba was coveted by the south as the most desirable territory for slavery
• Spain refused the deal of 100 million dollars for Cuba
• South wanted to seize Cuba since the deal couldn’t be done
• There were two attempts to take Cuba but both failed
• When the Spaniards seized an American ship "Black warrior" the president called time for war and seize Cuba
• America would offer 120 million for Cuba and if Spain resisted it would call for "justification for America to wrestle for Cuba"

• Camels were used as transportation to go west
• People didn’t get used to them
• There was the idea of building a railroad but the expenses were so great that they had to decide who 's side it would be on "North or south"
• The Gadsden purchase was acquired in 1853 for 10 million
• A southern track would be better to build because the mountains weren't as high

• Stephen A. Douglas was the one that promised to break the dead lock of the north and the south
• Douglas proposed that the territory of Nebraska would be broken in to two territories, Kansas and Nebraska
• Kansas would be a slave holding state
• Nebraska would become a free state
• The Missouri Compromise prohibited slavery in the proposed Nebraska territory
• The south saw this as a chance to get another slave state

• The Kansas-Nebraska ACT was one of the things that fueled the civil war
• The Kansas-Nebraska ACT wrecked two compromises the 1820 and the 1850 compromises