March 27 2015 Slavery and Texas Slavery and Texas society o Defending the peculiar institution Religion Biblical quotes to justify the labor system of slavery Ephesians 6 5 9 o Slaves obey your masters just as you would obey Christ Censorship Northern abolitionists would regularly send pamphlets to the South supporting the abolition of slavery o Would be removed from mailboxes Books would be banned o Uncle Tom s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe Social structure Slaves are on the bottom of the social hierarchy White plantation owners are top White farmers are in the middle Texans want to keep it that way because of fear Slaves that were emancipated moved into the social and economic structure as equal so they are threatening to the social structure and could be competition in the work market Worry that the end of slavery would upset the social and economic equilibrium of the South Seen as the way to achieve success The more slaves you had the more wealthy you became Slaves painted the way to success Reduces economic diversity Must expand Believed that slavery must expand westward for more fertile lands Anti slavery movement Southern values under attack Slavery and national politics o Increased sectionalism Free states are geographically North and slave states are geographically South o President Polk had to decide whether slavery should be allowed to expand o 1819 Unified the U S because there was a balance However this will be shattered when Missouri applies for statehood in 1820 Balance of free and slave states Upsets the balance The Missouri Compromise of 1820 Admits Missouri as a slave state with a condition and Maine as a free state With regard to expansion it was agreed that territory under the 36 30 could be slave states and territory above would be free states Compromise of 1850 California admitted as a free state Henry Clay is known as the great negotiator in Congress o Behind the Missouri Compromise o Looking for the Compromise of 1850 o Has to get agreement for the Compromise from both the North and the South Utah and New Mexico territories o Would be settled as territories with the understanding of popular sovereignty The people in the territories decide whether they want to be admitted as a slave or free state Sounds like a good example of democracy on paper o However it is going to lead to virtual civil war in Kansas Henry Clay introduces a Strong Fugitive slave law o Created federal marshals who would capture runaway slaves and return them to their owners in the South o Meant to appeal to the South and bring them on board Henry Clay introduces that slave trade will be abolished in the District of Colombia o Meant to appeal to the North and bring them on board Texas will give up its claim to its western lands for 10 million o Results in the current shape of Texas o Half of this was used to repay debt o Other half was used to give everybody a two year tax break from state taxes Sam Houston is a senator for Texas at this time o Houston s vote in the Compromise He is afraid that the sectional tensions will split the North and the South He votes for every term of the Compromise of 1850 The Kansas Nebraska Act 1854 Kansas and Nebraska organized as territories popular sovereignty Stephen Douglas o Wants a transcontinental railroad to be built through Illinois o But the K N A will repeal the Missouri Compromise With the repeal which prevents slavery from expanding the North are furious They equate popular sovereignty with the expansion of slavery Sam Houston votes against the Kansas Nebraska Act o Causes tensions in Texas because they feel as though he is voting against Texas s interests o He votes against because he feels like it would destroy the Union He is told that his term as a senator will not be renewed because he is voting against the interests of the state o Northerners who want to keep the new soil the new territories for farmers o They oppose the expansion of slavery because they want the land for Northern farmers o This is not opposition on moral grounds this is just because they want the land for themselves Freesoiler Secession from the Union Texas and the Civil War 1857 The Growth of the Secession Movement o Houston will run for governor of Texas against Hardin Runnels Houston wants to protect the Union Runnels wants to protect slavery o Texans are not particularly fond of Houston at this time because of the way he voted in the Kansas Nebraska Act so Runnels wins 53 to Houston s 47 o Two years later in the Election of 1859 Houston wins the governorship 56 to Runnel s 44 What happened in two years Suggests the preservation of the Union over the preservation of slavery This way of voting may be due to immigrants moving to Texas o Bleeding Kansas Several conflicts will occur in the territory of Kansas Rival factions operating in Kansas pro slavery and free state Topeka Constitution An application for statehood as a free state Lecompton Constitution An application for statehood as a slave state Bleeding Kansas o Calendar of Events May 1856 May 20 Charles Sumner speech in Senate Senator Charles Sumner from Massachusetts o Gives a speech called The Crime Against Kansas Inflammatory speech that called the treatment of Kansas like the rape of a virgin territory and he blames the South for their desire to add another slave state During his speech he singles out Senator Andrew Butler from South Carolina with a particularly venomous attack Senator Andrew Butler had a stroke so he was left with a speech impediment and Sumner taunted him about his speech o Also called him a liar o Implied that he had a sexual relationship with a female slave Butler s nephew Congressman Preston Brooks from South Carolina wanted satisfaction for the insult to his uncle s honor May 21 Sack of Lawrence Example of the violence in Kansas Lawrence is a free state town 700 pro slavery men storm the town They smash the newspaper presses and set fire to the governor s house Only one casualty o One pro slave male who was killed by falling rubble May 22 Violence in the Senate Preston Brooks assaults Charles Sumner in the Senate He thrashes him o A physical beating with a cane o Other senators look on in disbelief Brooks resigns his post o He is triumphantly reelected o His supporters supplied him with a new cane on his election day May 23 Massacre at Pottawatomie Creek John Brown is a fanatical freesoiler who has been married twice and has twenty children o He is an abolitionist as well o He has had
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