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CHAPTER 14
The Gathering Storm, 1848–1860
The chapter begins by discussing the aftermath of the Mexican-American War and how the acquisition of
so much territory impacted the nation. The status of slavery in the territories, and hence its future in the
nation itself, became a prominent issue that the federal government tried to resolve in various ways
during the 1850s. The chapter outlines the search for a compromise from Henry Clay’s initial proposal in
January 1850 to the content of the Compromise of 1850 itself, as well as the backlash from the North over
CHAPTER OUTLINE
I. Slavery in the Territories
A. The Wilmot Proviso
B. Popular Sovereignty
C. The Free-Soil Movement
D. The California Gold Rush
E. Mining Life
II. California Statehood
B. Senate Bloodshed
C. Sectional Squabbles
D. President Buchanan
E. The Panic of 1857
F. The Dred Scott Case
G. The Lecompton Constitution
H. Douglas versus Lincoln
I. An Outnumbered South
J. John Brown’s Raid
K. The Democrats Divide
L. Lincoln’s Election
IV. The Response in the South
A. South Carolina Secedes
B. President Buchanan Balks
LECTURE IDEAS
1. A lecture on the Compromise of 1850 is a must. Detail the origins, issues, personalities, sectionalism,
and outcome of this epic event in American history. The big figures of the Senate—Henry Clay, John C.
2. Give a lecture on Boston’s militant resistance to enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850—led
not only by white abolitionists but also by members of the city’s vibrant free black community. See
James and Lois Horton’s Black Bostonians: Family Life and Community Struggle in the Antebellum North
3. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin, one of the most popular and important books of the
1850s, could be the subject of an instructive lecture. A good source would be Thomas F. Gossett’s
4. Give a lecture on the role of Kansas in the events leading up to the Civil War. Outline the competition
over Kansas that erupted between the pro- and anti-slavery advocates. The violence that erupted
4. John Brown continues to be one of the most enigmatic and controversial figures from the crisis of the
(1976) for its chapter on Harpers Ferry as well as its coverage of Brown’s earlier activities in Kansas.
5. A lecture on the election of 1860 and how it brought the Republican Party to power would help
students understand the role of party politics and the electoral voting college. Explain why Abraham
(2008).
IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES
1. Divide the class into groups and, after a general lecture on the various causes that led up to the Civil
War, let each group research and report on their findings. Be sure to consider at what point in history
2. Divide your class into two groups. Have one group present the ways in which the Compromise of 1850
benefited the South, the other the ways in which the compromise benefited the North. Have the
students then debate which region, if any, benefited the most from the compromise. Did the
Compromise just deepen differences over slavery in the long run? See Fergus Bordewich’s America’s
3. Divide the class into three groups. Assign each group one of the three branches of government:
legislative, executive, and judicial. Have each group present to the class the ways in which that
4. Research the different groups associated with the California gold rush. Although the gold rush
represented an attempt by many to find wealth and riches, it also resulted in harm to some groups.
The miners, speculators, merchants, women, Chinese immigrants, and Native Californians were all
part of this episode in American history. How was their experience different from one another? What
can we learn about the relationships between these various groups? A good source to use is the letters
5. This activity involves engaging with the content of the Lincoln-Douglas debates of 1858 in class. First
outline the format and rules of the one-on-one debate, including the affirmative position outlined, the
cross-examination, and rebuttal. Ask your students to consider the advantages and disadvantages of
6. In order to better understand the inadequacies of the existing political system of the early 1850s, the
difficulties of compromise, and the eventual emergence of the Republican Party arrange an in-class
historical encounter. Assign various roles to the students, such as northern banker, northern textile
manufacturer, western miner, factory worker, southern yeoman farmer, plantation owner, Illinois
7. To this day, some partisans insist that the Civil War was not about slavery per se but rather about the
issue of states’ rights. In this view, northern extremists, anti-slavery radicals, and even Lincoln
himself bore responsibility for putting the victimized South on the defensive and forcing them to
defend their beleaguered and constitutionally guaranteed “states’ rights.” To some of these groups,
the Civil War is more appropriately named the “War of Northern Aggression.”
Renowned Civil War historian James McPherson reflects the overwhelming consensus of
professional historians when he bluntly dismisses such ahistorical interpretations. In his 2007 book,
This Mighty Scourge: Perspectives on the Civil War, McPherson wrote, “Of all these interpretations, the
states’-rights argument is perhaps the weakest. It fails to ask the question, states’ rights for what
purpose? States’ rights, or sovereignty, was always more a means than an end, an instrument to
achieve a certain goal more than a principle” (p. 7). Southern leaders, McPherson points out, saw
control of the national government as the ideal means to protect slavery, even if it meant trampling on
the rights of the northern states in the process and only when the South foresaw that such control was
slipping beyond its grasp did the “states’ rights” argument gain currency.
8. Have your students read a few short articles on slavery and/or secession published on the eve of the
Civil War. From the North, you might read The Brooklyn Daily Eagle or the Boston Evening Transcript.
From the South, you might consult the New Orleans Bee or the Atlanta Intelligencer. To find a more
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. What are the various ways in which the federal government attempted to resolve the issue of slavery
in the territories in the decade prior to the Civil War? Why did each of those tactics ultimately fail?
2. At what point did the Civil War become inevitable? Can you identify any points where a different
decision or course of action might have changed the historical trajectory?
5. Why did the existing political parties fail to serve the needs of the people at the time? Why did a third
major political alignment (Democrats versus Republicans) develop?
6. Should President Buchanan have done more to avert the Civil War after Lincoln was elected but
before Lincoln took office?
7. Could Lincoln have done more to avert the Civil War in the period between his election and taking
office?
PRACTICING CITIZENSHIP
Abraham Lincoln’s election as president in 1860 immediately triggered southern secession efforts that
culminated in the Civil War. One would assume that the war’s outcome forever settled questions about the
permanency of our own federal union. Do some research to find out which major countries (look at Russia,
