The Sectional Crisis

The lecture begins by asserting that slavery was the fundamental cause of the American Civil War, disputing the Southern narrative that it was solely about states' rights. The concept of 'property' for Southerners during this era explicitly referred to enslaved people. Without slavery, a civil war would likely not have occurred. The increasingly divisive nature of slavery, which began in 1619, intensified significantly by the 1830s, 1840s, and 1850s due to American expansion.

American expansion, driven by the concept of 'Manifest Destiny' coined in 1845 by John L. O'Sullivan, was a major catalyst for the Civil War. This belief held that it was America's God-given right and destiny to expand westward, spreading its superior way of life, including its representative democracy and economic system. This expansion led to significant territorial acquisitions.

In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson purchased the entire Louisiana Territory from France for 10 million dollars, almost doubling the size of the country. France was eager to sell, having lost control of Haiti, which Louisiana had supplied with food. Jefferson, a Democratic-Republican, supported the purchase to provide more land for small family farms.

In 1819, the U.S. acquired Florida from Spain for 5 million dollars. This followed Andrew Jackson's unauthorized invasion of Northern Florida in 1818 to combat Seminole raids. Jackson's actions created an international incident but convinced Spain that they couldn't prevent American expansion into Florida.

In 1846, the Oregon Country was peacefully divided between the U.S. and Great Britain along the 49th parallel. Prior to this, both nations had jointly administered the territory since the War of 1812.

Texas, originally part of Mexico, declared independence in 1836 after Mexico outlawed slavery and imposed other restrictions. Many Texans, former U.S. citizens and slave owners, wished to join the U.S. However, Texas's proposal to potentially divide into seven states raised concerns in the North about an imbalance of power in the Senate. Texas was finally annexed by the U.S. in 1845.

The U.S.-Mexican War (1846-1848) began due to border disputes after Texas's annexation and the U.S.'s desire for more territory. The war resulted in Mexico ceding a vast territory (the Mexican Cession) to the U.S. for 10 million dollars, which included California, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and parts of other states.

The final continental U.S. acquisition was the Gadsden Purchase in 1853, where the U.S. bought Southern Arizona and New Mexico from Mexico for 10 million dollars. This land was intended for a transcontinental railroad route, but despite the purchase, the railroad was ultimately built through the higher Rocky Mountains due to fears of Mexican bandits, rendering the purchase somewhat 'wasted.'

With these new territories, the question of whether slavery would be allowed became a central issue. Northerners feared economic competition with slave owners, as illustrated by the gold rush in California, where Northern miners didn't want to compete with slave labor. This economic concern, more than morality for most, fueled the debate over slavery's expansion.

The Missouri Compromise of 1820 addressed the balance of power between slave and free states. When Missouri sought to join as a slave state, Maine was admitted as a free state simultaneously, maintaining parity. The compromise also established the 36°30′ parallel as the line dividing future free (north of the line) and slave (south of the line) territories within the Louisiana Purchase.

The acquisition of new territories from Mexico reignited the debate over slavery, leading to the Compromise of 1850. Key provisions included California entering as a free state, and popular sovereignty (allowing local voters to decide) for the Utah and New Mexico territories. The slave trade was also outlawed in Washington D.C., ending the spectacle of slave auctions near the Capitol.

A crucial part of the Compromise of 1850, and a significant win for the South, was the Fugitive Slave Law. This law mandated that U.S. Marshals actively assist in the return of runaway enslaved individuals to their owners, even from free states. This legislation legally affirmed that enslaved people were property and that the federal government would protect slave owners' rights, even in free states.

Harriet Beecher Stowe's 1852 novel, 'Uncle Tom's Cabin,' significantly increased tensions. This fictional account of slavery's brutality, informed by interviews with runaway slaves, became a bestseller and opened the eyes of many Northerners to the harsh realities of slavery. While not necessarily turning them into full abolitionists, it fostered a widespread sentiment that slavery was morally wrong, changing public opinion and further dividing the nation.

The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, driven by the desire to build a transcontinental railroad, further escalated tensions. This act applied popular sovereignty to the Kansas and Nebraska territories, effectively repealing the Missouri Compromise line. Southerners saw this as an opportunity to expand slavery, leading to a surge of both pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers into Kansas. The resulting violence and civil unrest became known as 'Bleeding Kansas' (1856), a mini-civil war where both sides resorted to violence.

Radical abolitionist John Brown, believing violence was necessary to end slavery, led an attack at Pottawatomie Creek in Kansas in 1856. Brown and his followers murdered pro-slavery settlers, including women and children, demonstrating the escalating and brutal violence of the conflict over slavery.

Henry Ward Beecher, Harriet Beecher Stowe's brother and a prominent minister, actively contributed to the violence. He raised money to send rifles to anti-slavery fighters in Kansas, deceptively labeled as 'Beecher's Bibles,' illustrating how even religious figures sanctioned violence in the fight against slavery.

In 1859, John Brown led a raid on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, intending to seize weapons and spark a slave rebellion throughout the South. His plan failed; Brown and his followers were captured by U.S. Marines and he was subsequently tried for treason by Virginia, convicted, and hanged. This event further convinced Southerners that all Northerners were willing to use violence to end slavery, while Northerners argued it exposed the dominance of slave owners in the federal government.

The Election of 1860 was a pivotal moment, with four main candidates. Abraham Lincoln, representing the Republican Party, advocated for preventing the expansion of slavery into new territories while allowing it to persist where it already existed. The Democratic Party split over slavery: Southern Democrats supported its expansion everywhere, while Northern Democrats favored popular sovereignty. A fourth party, the Constitutional Union Party, sought compromise. Lincoln's victory, largely due to Northern electoral votes, prompted eleven Southern states to secede from the Union, believing Lincoln would immediately abolish slavery, thus setting the stage for the Civil War.