The Sectional Divide
1840-1860
Sectionalism and the Road to Secession
The period between 1840 and 1860 was fraught with tension because of sectional differences related to slavery and immigration. The northeast saw an influx of immigrants from Ireland as a result of the potato famine in the 1840s. The South was increasingly isolated not only nationally but internationally as historically pro-slavery South American nations abolished the "peculiar institution." The Compromise of 1850 was a turning point on the road to Civil War as the nation moved step-by-step toward an irreconcilable difference on slavery culminating in the secession of South Carolina in December of 1860.
John C. Calhoun (SC) 1782-1850
Calhoun was the 7th vice president of the United States, a senator and a statesman who was first elected to the House of Representatives. He served as VP under John Quincy Adams and Andrew Jackson. He was a strong supporter of slavery and of states' rights, nullification, limited government and was opposed to high tariffs.
Henry Clay (KY) 1777-1852
Clay was a U.S. senator and served in the House of Representatives. He was a lawyer, a planter and a skilled orator. He was the Speaker of the House 3 times and served as Secretary of State under John Quincy Adams (1825-1829.) He also ran for president in 1824, 1832 and 1844 and sought his party's nomination in 1840 and 1848. His nickname was the "Great Compromiser" and he brokered deals about slavery and the Nullification Crisis. Clay was a major factor in negotiating the deals about the Compromise of 1820, the Compromise Tariff of 1833 and the Compromise of 1850 to reduce sectional tensions.
Stephen Douglas (IL) 1813-1861
Douglas was a U.S. representative, senator and the Democratic nominee for the presidency in 1860 against Abraham Lincoln. He defeated Lincoln for the U.S. senate position in 1858 (Lincoln-Douglas Debates) and he was known as the "Little Giant" because he was short (between 5' and 5'4") but he was a dominant debater and orator. Douglas was instrumental in working with Henry Clay to design the Compromise of 1850 to settle sectional issues. He re-opened the slavery issue in 1857 with the Kansas-Nebraska Act which opened some previously prohibited areas to slavery under "popular sovereignty." Opposition to the act led to the development of the Republican party.
Westward Expansion: Did It Contribute to the Disunion?
Westward expansion was an important contributing factor in the disunion of the nation because of the many issues that came up as territories applied for statehood. Would the state enter the Union as a free state or a slave state? The division and distribution of western lands played a big role in the eventual split of the nation in the 1850s.
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