Northern Views on Slavery
Those in the North viewedslavery as barbaric andmorally wrong. Abolitionistused pictures such as thisone to show the brutality ofthe institution. Others in theNorth feared that freedslaves might take their jobsin unskilled factories andmills. Some relied on slaveryin the South for the successof their own businesses.
Southern views of slavery
•Those in the Southnot only believed itwas their God-givenright to hold blacks asslaves, but that theytreated them betterthan Northernerstreated those whowere in the lowereconomic classes.
Election of 1848
•Popular sovereigntybecame the mottoof the proslaverygroups in theDemocratic andWhig parties. Eventhose who did notwant to disturb thestatus quo,supported the idea.
Zachary Taylor
•A Whig from Louisiana, anda slaveholder, was popularwith both sides of theissue. Most Whigs wereanti-slavery, but he was aowner of slaves, so heappealed to those whowere sympathetic to theinstitution.
Lewis Cass
•Democrat fromMichigan. Although aDemocrat, hisassociation withNorthern politics didnot win him anysupporters from theSouth. He did supportpopular sovereigntythough.
Martin Van Buren
•Had served as President,and still had support fromDemocrats that did notlike slavery. As therepresentative of the Free-Soil Party, he supportedthe idea that the newterritories should be freeof slavery.
Death of a President
•Within a year, Taylordies from drinkinglemonade????
•Was planning tospeak out againstthe idea of popularsovereignty, and hejust released mostof his slaves justdays before.
Henry Clay
•To accommodate bothsides of the slavery issuein the territories,Kentucky senator HenryClay proposed acompromise that wouldhopefully satisfyeveryone involved.
Compromise of 1850
•California would be a freestate.
•New Mexico and Utahwould have popularsovereignty.
•The slave trade wouldend in D.C.
•Congress would adopt aFugitive Slave Act.
•Texas would give upclaims to New Mexico for$10 million.
John Calhoun
•The South Carolinasenator did not approvethe Compromise of 1850and threatened to supportsecession from the Unionif his demands were notmet. Problem was, he waspractically an invalid andcould not speak at thetime.
Daniel Webster
•Northern senator thattried to help Clay’sproposal throughCongress, that popularsovereignty was acomforting measure forthe South that slaverycould expand into theterritories.
Stephen Douglas
•Illinois senator thatstrongly supportedpopular sovereigntyand took up theCompromise’sconditions andhelped each measurego through Congressindividually.
Fugitive Slave Act
•Forced Northerners toapprehend or report offugitive slaves in theirarea. Placed undueresponsibilities on thosewho did not own orsupport slavery.
•Freedmen in the Northwere often taken andwere resold into slaveryas a result to this law.
