election of 1844

tyler is incumbent prez

democrats (expansionists)

• slogan/promise: "54'40 or Fight" so will add: oregon, texas, and california
• James K. Polk (underdog aka "Dark Horse")- Tennessee governor, House Speaker but no one really knew him
• popular: 1,338,464. electoral: 170
• winner- later achieves all goals and fulfills all promises but only has one term

Whigs

• Henry Clay. 3rd time running (1824, 1832, 1844)- they ran out of war heroes
• popular: 1,300,097 (kinda close). electoral: 105

Liberty (abolitionist movement, 3rd party)

• James Birney
• "spoiler": cause at clay's defeat- took away his votes even though he's dobvi not gunna win
• popular: 62,300. electoral: 0

• "young hickory"- not very impressive but successful 
• 1845-1849
• vice prez= George Dallas- Texas is grateful, names a town after all these ppl
• promises/ goals: 1845: Texas (polks idea but achieved by tyler). 1846: Walker Tariff (lowered). 1846: Independent Treasury (restored). 1846: Oregon added to union (but took a long time to annex cuz Britain and America (currently joint custody) are fighting over boundaries. treaty extended to 49' parallel). 1848: California added to union (3,000 spanish mexicans currently living here. 75,000 Indians and 900 Anglos. Cali is popular cuz of the San Francisco Bay- possibility of foreign markets)

Mexican-American War 1846-1848 (Polk wants California)

1. Annexation of Texas

• March 1, 1845
• Tyler is prez, getting Texas is his one last claim to fame. finally annexed after 9 years
• mexico broke off diplomatic relations with US cuz they're mad we got Texas. Polk wants to buy California but this is hard since Mexico isn't talking to us so we need a secret mission...

Mexican-American War: 1846-1848

2. Slidell Mission

• send Slidell to do secret mission
• offer: buy California for $25 mil (whole coastline)
• Mexico: NO, no matter what. rejected offer and ejected Slidell. Polk kinda picks a fight.

Mexican-American War: 1846-1848

3. General Zachary Taylor to Rio Grande

• orders US army under command of Zach Taylor and sends them to Rio Grande (disputed territory- US or Mexican soil??), Mexico gets mad and they cross Rio Grande river and attack. now polk can ask for war.
• disputed territory: between rio grande (to the left of it is mexico) and nueves river (to the right is texas)- "which spot"?- "spotty lincoln"
• = US provokes war but Mexico "technically" started it

Mexican-American War: 1846-1848

4. Polk Asks for War

• reasons: unpaid claims (Mexico in debt), "American blood on American soil"- little attack= legal and moral grounds to FIGHT BACK
• debate: "Which Spot?!"- congress does along with it but there is a dispute of WHERE Americans were killed- American or Mexican land? so they can know how to vote
• Abraham Lincoln is a nobody congressmen who DEMANDS to know where the spot was

Mexican- American War: 1846-1848

5. Congress Declares War

• congress votes yes on war
• may 13, 1846
• we win

Mexican-American War: 1846-1848

6. Treaty of Guadalupe-Hildago

• january 1848-- US has to capture Mexican capital to win war and defeat in several other spots too, Mexican revolts in North helps too
• Nicholas Trist negotiates with Mexico (their gov. is chaos) and acknowledgment from Mexico that Texas is offish American (we took like half of Mexico)
• btdubs, 2 weeks later, gold is discovered in Cali so score
• US gains Mexican Cession
• MEX gains our money- $15 mil for land AND $3.5 mil for the debt they owed us

Mexican-American War: 1846-1848

7. Results

• fateful and changes American forever
• valuable military training which is good cuz 15 years later is civil war
• disintegrating relationship with Latin America- they think we're a bully and doesn't like us, turning point in that relationship
• directly caused the civil war: slavery issue revived! (will slaves be allowed in this new territory? previously, slavery issue had been put to rest cuz Missouri Compromise, but that only applies to Louisiana, so now what?
• Wilmot Proviso- says slavery be outlawed
• Calhoun-Davis theory- outlaw of slavery is unconstitutional
• parties splitting- Davis becomes prez of confed states

• issue: slavery in mexican cession
• WHIG (last Whig to win): General Zachary Taylor ("Old, Rough, and Ready", from south, owns slaves, war hero, Louisiana). electoral votes: 163. % of pop: 47.3 (not majority)
• DEMO (issueless and enemyless- north and south agree on candidate): General Lewis Cass (Michigain, war hero but not as famous, "popular soveriegnty"- let the people of the  territory decide. doesnt solve any real problem). electoral: 127. popular: 42.5%
• FREE SOIL: Martin Van Buren (New York. spoiler- he used to be a democrat so demos lost some votes of Cass to this guy). electoral: 0. popular: 10.2%

Taylor and Fillmore Administration

1849-1850 and 1850-1853

• taylor dies after a year in office- rumored that he was murdered so fillmore cud be prez
• 4 major issues that began in Taylor presidency and concluded in Fillmore's- lead to last compromise:
• 1. California/ Gold Rush/ Statehood: John Marshall discovered gold, population increased even ratio/balance insanely. everyone in world travelling to Cali (they dont have a gov= chaos) so senate doesnt let them in union. (there is currently 15 free and 15 slave states, dont want to upset balance)
• 2. Texas Border Dispute (New Mexico): dispute between Texas and fed gov over land boundaries
• 3. Slavery in Washington DC: slavery was an embarrassment for US cuz they and spain are only countries still with slaves so north doesn't want it in their capital
• 4. Fugitive Slaves- Underground Railroad, Harriet Tubman: metaphor for slaves running away (railroad terms). runaway slave was illegal stolen piece of property so its illegal to help them- must return property but most likely if they get above Mason-Dixen line then they are safe (south is mad with the principal of their slaves not being returned)

• Henry Clay's "Omnibus Bill"
• many issues solved in 6 proposals in this great compromise
• each side (north and south) must sacrifice, its a give and take situation
• NORTH:
• 1. issue= California: bring Cali into the union as a free state
• 3. issue= Texas: texas gives up extra land to government (goes to New Mexico)
• 5. issue= DC and slaves: outlaw slave trade in DC (domestic)

• SOUTH:
• 2. issue= Cali: use Missouri Compromise line to split up Mexican Cession: area into Utah (above 36'30) and New Mexico (below)
• 4. issue= Texas: US fed gov gives Texas $10 mil
• 6. issue=DC and slaves: give up balance (admit Cali) for VERY STRONG fugitive slave law- huge penalty= "Bloodhound Bill"

Great Debate

"Union Savers" (support) vs. "Fire-Eaters" (against)

• 7 months long
• "Old Guard"= Calhoun and Webster
• Calhoun (fire-eater): "let slavery along" wanted to preserve union- didnt like this compromise. wanted to give south its rights and restore the political balance
• Webster (union saver): 7th of March Speech: says God does not want slavery in Mexican Cession due to farming conditions. his speech persuaded ppl to agree. helped turn the tide in the North toward compromise. 
• "Young Guard"= Seward and Douglas
• Sweard (fire-eater): "Higher law": against comp. whig senator. NY. big abolitionist.
• Douglas (union saver, demo, illinois senator): "man of the hour"- saves the day. supports comp. splits up compromise to 6 individual bills (that are voted on separately) and this way it passes
• Analysis:
• 1. compromise is uneven (better for North cuz #1 is definite and #2 is unsure, permanently disrupts salve and free state ratio balance
• 2. Fugitive slave law is a huge mistake- north refuses to enforce it and south is pissed
• 3. delayed civil war for 10 years which helps north (union) to win in the long run but south really got nothing in this compromise so this is why they even leave union- civil war

• issues: compromise of 1850 and fugitive slave law
• DEMO (issueless and enemyless): General Franklin Pierce ("Dark Horse", New Hampshire from North but is pro-south). electoral: 254= clear victory
• WHIG (last time they run. party is killed by slavery and splits into demo and new party= republican): General Winfield Scott (more famous). electoral: 42
• FREE SOIL (would not like compromise or pop sovereignty ): John Hale (not a spoiler). electoral: 0

• polk and pierce
• polk added a lot
• pierce doesnt add as much land cuz slavery issue but still

• 1853-1857
• pro-southern northerner w/ southerners in cabinet
• VP= William King
• State= William Marcy
• War= Jefferson Davis from Mississippi (later becomes prez of confederacy)

Pierce Administration:

Foreign Affairs: Nicaragua

• central america
• discovery of gold in california= proposal of idea of a canal in central america to get from atlantic to pacific
•  control of this canal would = a lot of POWER
• but British (who have land in central america) wasn't ready to build it yet but they dont US to build it before/without them= TREATY= promise not to build canal without eachother so its a great treaty for now cuz america isnt very powerful yet but once we are, we want to build it without Britain (later reason becomes military defense)

Pierce Administration:

Foreign Affairs: Japan

• we want to trade with China (British had monopoly here) and Japan (more interested in this but the Japanese were super isolated, not industrialized, ruling families)
• America wants to open them to trade so prez Pierce sends Matt Perry and Navy to visit Japan (twice)
• Perry goes bearing gifts that were produced by machine- Japanese enticed by this so we get a trade treaty= AMERICA OPENED JAPAN TO TRADE- treaty of Kanagwa: modernization, industrialization, and militarization of Japan (emperor is back)
• next 50 years, Japan becomes world naval power and industrialize super fast but they need natural resources- buy oil from US but rest of their stuff they steal from China (US made cuz stealing is immoral- pearl harbor)

Pierce Admnistration:

Foreign Affairs: Cuba

• Spain owns Cuba and has since 1492
• Pierce also tries to buy Cuba
• 1854- Ostend Manifesto- secret plan, offer $120 mil, if they say no then just take it 
• north hates this plan tho so it doesnt happen

Pierce Administration:

Domestic Affairs

• issue: transportation to west  (west might uprise or Mexico will take it- need a way to travel from rest of country to the west much faster
• solution: transcontinental railroad
• question: where to build it? north or south?- cuz wherever railroad goes, that section of the country will benefit. destination= gold country. south= better cuz less mountains and better weather and is organized territoy (with governor, capital, law, order) unlike Louisiana territory which is unorganized and unsettled- so they choose southern route

• purpose: to buy a southern railroad
• pierce buys tiny part of mexico= gadsen purchase
• route on flat land
• cost $10 mil
• railroad= houston to LA finished in 1882- last piece of property bought for continental US

• who: sponsor is Stephen Douglas- senator in Illinois
• purpose: northern railroad route
• what: north has problems tho= mountians and unorganzied--- proposes to fix this by organizing territory into 2 territoriese: kansas and Nebraska and leave slavery decision in both places to popular sovereignty (so south goes along with this) BUT both territories lie north of 36'30 (law of no slavery here) which makes proposal illegal unless congress repeals law of 36-30 (missouri comp_ but north does NOT want it to be repealed
• results: repeal of Missouri Compromise (north is mad), Demo party splits, birth of Republican (GOP) party- started in midwest, spread east as one of 2 major parties. purely sectional party= only in north for 100 years, and Bleeding Kansas- led to civil war

• a race to settle Kansas, gets bloody
• 1854: Settlement: New Emigrant Aid Company (race to settle between pro-slavery and anti-slavery ppl. abolitionists, these people cheat by paying people to settle there- bring in 2 captials
• breechers bible- rifles
• 1855: Territorial Elections: 2 capitals- Shawnee Mission (pro slavery, real capital cuz they won even tho they cheated by flowing in of "border ruffians" on election day to vote early and often) and Topeka (but not real cuz anti-slavery)
• John Brown (radical abolitionist) at Pottawamatie Creek where he massacred people who he thought were proslavery 
• 1856: Statehood (did this in just 2 years, super fast): Lecompton Constitution: written by proslavery people- slavery is legal. they had a tricky ballot cuz u cud only vote "yes with slavery" or "yes without slavery"- but either way its a yes implying slavery so slavery wins but blocked by Douglas..revote with normal ballot- antislavery wins but blocked by southern senators. eventually applies as free state, fails, and then admitted free in civil war
• 1856 Sumner v. Brooks- shows dangers of passions of north v. south. Sumner insulted proslavery people especially South Carolina and Butler so Brooks beat him up

• issue: Kansas-Nebraska Act
• DEMO: James Buchanan- wins ("Kansas-less". Penn lawyer) electoral: 174. pop: 45%
• GOP (1st time running): Captain John Freemont (war hero- if he has won, south would've seceded right then and there which would've been bad). electoral: 114. pop: 30%
• American/ Know-Nothing (anti-catholic and anti-immigrant): Millard Fillmore (former prez, opposed extension of slavery). electoral: 8. pop: 25%

Buchanan Administration

1857-1861

• last Demo prez for a while
• buchanan from pennsylvania
• not really ppl's choice, didnt get a majority vote
• VP= John C. Breckinridge from Kentucky
• balance cuz prez from north/free and VP from south/slave

• 1852 uncle tom's cabin by harriet beecher stowe (uncle tom is a slave who is beaten to death. fiction novel. melodrama genre, later made into play. must successful novel EVER in the world- causes civil war and inspired them to fight
• 1857 the impending crisis of the south by hinton r helper= statistical report/ economic analysis of slavery= slavery is economically detrimental to the south and written by southerner
• ^both books banned in the south

• causes: inflation (prices get higher and value of dollar goes down because of the California gold- value went down cuz there was so much of it- affects rest of economy). overproduction (farmers grew too much food and lowers crop prices cuz new farm machinery/equipment - lets them plant and grow more). overspeculation (people buy too much land)
• results: south (unaffected cuz they make cotton which they sell to England so doesnt matter). north (want higher protective tariff- tariff of 1857 which is 20%- blame panic on mega low tariff. this gave GOP two issues for campaign- "protection for unprotected" and "farm for farmless"). west (cheaper land out west- Homestead Act 1860. people in west say land is too expensive, try to pass homestead act to lower land prices but is vetoed by Buchanan)

Dred Scott Decision

6 March 1857

• btw supreme court is majority southerners and own slaves, even chief justice
• worst supreme court decision in history
• Buchanan has been prez for 2 days- he has nothing to do with this decison but his presidency is affected by it totally
• Chief Justice Roger Taney: appointed by Jackson (pet bank thing), southern, and slave owning
• Dred Scott sues for his freedom: black slave who sued master for his freedom (even though he isnt a slave anymore when this decision is made). one of his owners took him into free territory = so is he still a slave? (free territory, not state so what does this mean..?)
• this issue is in legal system for a long time and goes from lower to supreme court
• majority decision: 1. Dred Scott (black slave) is not a citizen so he cannot sue- which means this wasnt even a case so they shouldn't have ruled on it but they do anyway. 2. yes he is still a slave (5th amendment- property). 3. SO Missouri Compromise (which outlawed slavery in Louisiana) was unconstitutional the entire 34 years it existed- it's not even a law anymore, repealed 3 years ago (5th amendment)- example of overturning Fed law (judicial review)- 2nd time this ever happened
• only 2 justices disagreed with decision
• most basic issue becomes slavery in territories
• results: #1 free blacks aren't citizens so now they have no rights at all in territories. #2 popular sovereignty= dead. so now the people cant make decisions about slavery in territories cuz slavery is legal (5th amendment). #2,3 congress= can never outlaw slavery in the territories. mega win for south future= slavery can never be outlawed in territories even when applying for statehood. slavery= guarenteed. civil war doesnt even this. constitution must be amended (Emancipation Proclamation). North refused to honor this whole decision which makes south really mad.

Illinois Senatorial Election

1858

• senator Stephen Douglas running for re-election (Demo) against Lincoln (Rep)
• Lincoln-Douglas Debates: 7 cities, 7 debates
• specifically, at Freeport Debate, where Lincoln asks Douglas this question as a result of the dred scott decision: "suppose the people of a territory dont want slavery? who would prevail? people or court?!...douglas response: the wishes of the people should prevail (popular sovereignty)- this was a good answer to win but it alienates the south
• results: Douglas win senatorial election (Illinois) but Douglas loses presidential election of 1860 (just cuz his answer to this question)
• democratic party splits in election

• John Brown= radical abolitionist- murder or martyr?
• federal arsenal: warehouse of weapons belonging to US army/gov.
• Brown's scheme: steal weapons from Harper's Ferry and use them to incite a slave rebellion- he wants to get rid of slavery
• results: this fails and slaves dont rise up. john brown is caught, tried, convicted, and executed- hung but now famous and regarded as a martyr- big influence for north in civil war
• now he is seen by the north as a martyr (inspiration for civil war)- they think the south murdered a good guy- helps them win
• south is and and thought all of the north shared crazy abolitionist ideas- dont want to stay in union w/ murderers

election of 1860

most fateful in American history

• sectional election- all north votes for Lincoln except NJ
• this election splits the union
• GOP (only 6 years old. if they carry every northern state, they can win): Abraham Lincoln(appeals to free soilers. is a free soiler, not an abolitionist) campaign appeals to every northerner: no slavery in the territories, protective tariff (appeals to manufacturers), pacific RR (appeals to Cali, technically north), internal improvements and free homesteads (appeals to west farmers), no abridgment of rights (no rights taken away- appeals to immigrants) = electoral= 180 and pop= 39.79%. minority prez.
• NORTH DEMOS: Stephen Douglas (Illionois debate guy): FOR popular sovereignty, against obstruction of Fugitive Slave Law. electoral= 12. pop= 29.40%
• SOUTH DEMOS: John Breckenridge (current VP): FOR slavery in territories, for annexation of Cuba. electoral= 72. pop= 18.20%
• CONSTITUTIONAL UNION PARTY (a bunch of old men- former Whigs and Know-Nothings): John Bell: "The Union, the Constitution, and the Enforcement of Laws". electoral= 39. pop= 12.61%
• Lincoln's name does not appear in ballad for south= leads to secession of south- south hates Republican being elected (Rep party doesnt even exist in south-theyre not represented)

• 20 december 1860
• South Carolina secedes almost immediately after election cuz they finally have an excuse
• 6 more in 6 weeks (all before Lincoln is even elected)
• then 4 more after war starts
• ^ 15 slave states total and 11 of them secede

• meeting in Montgomery, Alabama where they create their own gov and write constitution= a loose alliance of states where states have more power than fed gov
• president: Jefferson Davis
• VP: Alexander Stephens
• capital: Richmond, Virginia- only 80 miles from White House
• ^objective of civil war is to capture capital- all around Richmond

• collapse of compromise
• rejected by Lincoln
• senator Crittendon (Kentucky) proposes compromise= lets go back to 36'30 line (above= free and below= slave. tries to save union- Lincoln says no cuz he promised NO SLAVERY in territories 
• "All we ask is to be let alone"- south was hoping to secede in peace
• in the beginning of the war, the south is fighting for independence even tho they dont want war- not a war for slavery YET- northern goal is to preserve entire union
• in mind of south king george III from creation of America is now "King Abe Lincoln"