Chapter 18 – The Causes of Civil War
Section 1 –Introduction
In Chapter 17, you read about people who lived in the West. In this
chapter, you will learn some ways in which Americans disagreed about
how to settle the West. In 1861, these conflicting ideas helped cause the
bloody Civil War between the Northern and the Southern states.
By the mid-1800s, the United
States had two distinct regions.
The North included states in New
England, in the Middle Atlantic region,
and around the Great Lakes. Northerners
busily built cities, factories, and railroads.
Most northern workers were free, not
enslaved. The South included states
south of the Ohio River and latitude
36°30’ north. This region had few
factories or large cities. Most people lived
on farms. On plantations, African
American slaves planted and harvested
crops.
The Southern way of life depended on slave labor. As the United
States expanded westward, Northerners and Southerners bitterly
disagreed about whether slavery should be allowed in new territories and
states.
Look at the drawing of the brother and sister at the right. The sister
has a habit her brother does not like. She plays her music loudly and
refuses to turn it down. The brother likes quiet. Think of the conflict
between the North and the South as a dispute between a brother and a
sister. Remember, this kind of comparison is a metaphor.
As you read, think about the brother and sister. Does the brother
have the right to make his sister change her habit? What will happen if she
refuses?
Section 2 –Differences Grow Between the North and the South
By the mid-1800s, people in the North and the South had developed
very different ways of life.
In the North, new industries began to appear. Busy factories made
all kinds of products, including new inventions such as the sewing
machine. The factories needed workers. Cities grew as people came to
find jobs.
Canals and railroads made it possible for farmers, ranchers, and
business owners to move goods over long distances. Factory owners in
the eastern part of the nation made tools for farmers living a thousand
miles to the west. They shipped these tools by railroads. Farmers in
western areas sent grain and other crops to feed the people in eastern
cities.
All this activity attracted new immigrants from places such as Ireland
and Germany. Workers in the North earned wages for their labor. They
were free to choose their own jobs. Therefore, these workers were called
“free labor.”
Unlike the North, the South had few large cities with factories. Its
way of life was based on farming and slave labor. Many Southerners
worked their own farms. But owners of plantations used slave labor.
By the mid-1800s, the most important
plantation crop was cotton. The South’s warm
weather and rich soil had always been good for
growing cotton. But until Eli Whitney invented the
cotton gin in 1793, cotton growers did not earn
much money. They had to separate the seeds from
the cotton by hand. This took a long time and many
workers. Whitney’s machine did this task
quickly. After its invention, cotton became a
valuable cash crop. By 1860, southern plantations
grew three-fourths of the world’s cotton.
As cotton plantations spread, the South began to depend more than
ever on having many slaves. Most Northerners did not own slaves. They
did not want to see slavery spread to new territories in the West. But white
Southerners insisted on their rights to own slaves and to take their slaves
with them wherever they settled.
The North and the South had other disagreements, as well. But
slavery was one of the key issues that divided them.
Section 3 –The Missouri Compromise
In 1819, disputes over
slavery threatened to cause
trouble between the North and
the South. That year, the territory
of Missouri asked to join
the Union as a slave
state. Settlers had been moving
into Missouri and other western
lands since 1803, when
President Thomas Jefferson had made the Louisiana Purchase. Many of
these settlers were Southern slave owners looking for new places to grow
cotton.
In 1819, there were 11 slave states and 11 free states in the
nation. Northerners did not want to let another slave state into the
Union. They did not want the slave states to have more power in Congress
than they did.
A fierce debate raged in Congress. For a time, it seemed the Union
might fall apart. Then Senator Henry Clay of Kentucky offered a
compromise. He proposed that Missouri join the Union as a slave state. At
the same time, Maine would join as a free state. This would keep the
number of free states and slave states equal. Clay also suggested drawing
a line across the map of the western United States at latitude 36°30’
north. Except in Missouri, no slavery would be allowed in new states north
of that line. Clay’s ideas became known as the Missouri Compromise.
For 30 years, this compromise calmed the anger between the North
and the South. But the conflict was not settled. Many Northerners still
wanted to end slavery. And white Southerners still feared that Northerners
would try to change their way of life.
Section 4 –Abolitionists and the Underground Railroad
By the 1830s, a growing
number of Northerners were speaking
out against slavery. Those who took
action were called abolitionists.
One leading abolitionist was
William Lloyd Garrison. He began a
newspaper, The Liberator, to gain
support for ending slavery. Frederick
Douglass was another abolitionist
leader. He was a former slave who
had escaped to New York. Douglass
gave powerful speeches against
slavery. In 1845, he wrote a book
about his terrible hardships as a slave. Both of these men convinced many
Northerners that slavery had to end.
To help slaves escape to freedom, abolitionists organized a system
called the Underground Railroad. It was not under the ground, nor was it a
railroad. The members, called “conductors,” provided safe houses, called
“stations,” for escaping slaves. In these locations, runaway slaves could
hide and rest. Conductors gave the slaves food and clothing. Then they
guided them to the next station.
Many slaves traveled like this all the way to safety in Canada. If they
stayed in the United States, even in the free states, slave hunters could
find and capture them.
One of the bravest conductors was a former slave named Harriet
Tubman. She herself escaped to the North. Then she risked her life by
going back 19 times to the South to guide hundreds of other slaves to
freedom.
Most Northerners were neither abolitionists nor part of the
Underground Railroad. But the actions of those who were abolitionists
angered white Southerners. More and more, the North and the South saw
each other as enemies.
Section 5 –The Compromise of 1850
In the late 1840s, the North and the South struggled over new
western territory. After the Mexican War, the United States had gained a
huge amount of land in the West and in the Southwest. This included
California. In 1849, California asked to enter the Union as a free state.
Southerners were angered. Now there would be more Congressmen
from free states than from slave states. Also, much of California was south
of the 36°30’ north latitude line. Under the Missouri Compromise, slavery
should have been allowed there. Some Southerners began to talk about
pulling their states out of the Union in protest.
Once again, Henry Clay offered a compromise. It was called the
Compromise of 1850 and included several laws which Congress
passed. To please the North, Congress admitted California as a free state.
It also stopped the sale of slaves in the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C.
To please the South, Congress allowed people in New Mexico and in Utah
to vote on whether to allow slavery in their territories. Congress also
passed the Fugitive Slave Law. This law said that officials in the North
would help capture fugitive, or runaway, slaves.
The Fugitive Slave Law surprised and angered many Northerners. In
Illinois, a rising political leader named Abraham Lincoln was troubled by
this law. Some states reacted by passing laws that forbade officials from
helping slave hunters. Abolitionists broke into jails to free captured
runaways. And the Underground Railroad was busier than ever.
The Compromise of 1850 left many people upset. Southerners
accused the North of wanting to destroy their way of life by stopping
slavery. Northerners accused the South of wanting to spread the terrible
system of slavery. Later on, Lincoln would warn that the nation could not
go on forever “half-slave and half-free.”
Section 6 –“Bleeding Kansas”
Tensions between the North and the
South grew worse as the territories of
Kansas and Nebraska prepared to become
states. Both areas were north of latitude
36°30’. Under the Missouri Compromise,
both would be free states. But, in 1854,
Congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act.
It said people in the two territories could
elect representatives to write state constitutions. In them, the states could
either permit or forbid slavery.
This law turned Kansas, the more southern territory, into a
battleground. Proslavery settlers and antislavery settlers both raced to
Kansas to vote in the election. The proslavery settlers threatened voters
who opposed slavery. Americans were now killing each other over slavery.
On election day, the proslavery settlers won by a huge margin. But
those who were against slavery did not accept the results. They claimed
that men from Missouri had crossed into Kansas to vote illegally for
slavery. They ignored the election. Instead, they set up their own
government in the town of Topeka.
In 1856, a proslavery mob entered Lawrence, Kansas, to arrest
antislavery leaders. The mob burned a hotel and destroyed much of the
town. This attack enraged an abolitionist named John Brown. Armed with
swords, Brown and a small band of men attacked and killed five settlers at
Pottawatomie Creek.
The fighting in Kansas continued throughout the summer.
Abolitionists called the conflict “Bleeding Kansas.” By the time federal
troops restored order, many people had died. For many Northerners and
Southerners alike, “Bleeding Kansas” showed that the time for compromise
was coming to an end.
Section 7 –The Election of Abraham Lincoln
By the time Americans voted for president in 1860, the Union was
close to splitting apart over the issue of slavery. The Republican Party’s
candidate was Abraham Lincoln. He promised to leave slavery alone in the
South. But he was firmly against its spread into new territories. For most
white Southerners, this made Lincoln their enemy.
Conflict over slavery helped split the other major party, the
Democrats. The vote against Lincoln was divided among three other
candidates. Lincoln won the election. But he did not win a single Southern
state.
Lincoln’s election alarmed Southern leaders. They did not even wait
to see what the new president would do. One by one, seven Southern
states seceded from the Union. To protect their right to own slaves, they
joined together as the Confederate States of America, or
the Confederacy. Early in 1861, the Confederacy chose its own
president. He was Jefferson Davis of Mississippi.
The new nation moved quickly to take over federal forts and other
property in the South. Still, President Lincoln and many other Americans
hoped that the Union could be saved without going to war.
But on April 12, 1861, Confederates attacked Fort Sumter. This was
a federal fortress in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina. For 34
hours, Southern cannons shelled the fort. Finally, the Union commander
surrendered. The Civil War had begun.
In the South, church bells rang out in celebration. Soon, four more
states joined the Confederacy. Most Southerners believed that the United
States would allow the Southern states to go without much of a fight. Few
imagined how long, bloody, and terrible the Civil War would be.
Summary
By the time Americans voted for president in 1860, the Union was
close to splitting apart over the issue of slavery. The Republican Party’s
candidate was Abraham Lincoln. He promised to leave slavery alone in the
South. But he was firmly against its spread into new territories. For most
white Southerners, this made Lincoln their enemy.
Conflict over slavery helped split the other major party, the
Democrats. The vote against Lincoln was divided among three other
candidates. Lincoln won the election. But he did not win a single Southern
state.
Lincoln’s election alarmed Southern leaders. They did not even wait
to see what the new president would do. One by one, seven Southern
states seceded from the Union. To protect their right to own slaves, they
joined together as the Confederate States of America, or
the Confederacy. Early in 1861, the Confederacy chose its own
president. He was Jefferson Davis of Mississippi.
The new nation moved quickly to take over federal forts and other
property in the South. Still, President Lincoln and many other Americans
hoped that the Union could be saved without going to war.
But on April 12, 1861, Confederates attacked Fort Sumter. This was
a federal fortress in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina. For 34
hours, Southern cannons shelled the fort. Finally, the Union commander
surrendered. The Civil War had begun.
In the South, church bells rang out in celebration. Soon, four more
states joined the Confederacy. Most Southerners believed that the United
States would allow the Southern states to go without much of a fight. Few
imagined how long, bloody, and terrible the Civil War would be.
Reading Further – Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Book
Harriet Beecher Stowe poured her heart into writing Uncle
Tom’s Cabin. This tale about the horrors of slavery moved many
people in the North. At the same time, it angered many in the
South. How did this novel help drive the nation apart—and toward the
Civil War?
Harriet Beecher Stowe first published chapters of her novel Uncle
Tom’s Cabin in 1851. In one of its best-known scenes, Eliza, a black slave,
has learned that her young son has been sold. She decides to run away
with him. She flees toward the free state of Ohio. But right on her trail is
the slave trader Haley and his helpers, Andy and Sam.
“A thousand lives seemed to be
concentrated in that one moment to
Eliza. Her room opened by a side
door to the river. She caught her
child, and sprang down the steps
towards it. The trader caught a full
glimpse of her, just as she was
disappearing down the bank; and
throwing himself from his horse,
and calling loudly on Sam and
Andy, he was after her like a hound
after a deer.
In that dizzy moment, her feet to her scarce seemed to touch the
ground, and a moment brought her to the water’s edge. Right on
behind they came; and, nerved with strength such as God gives only
to the desperate, with one wild cry and flying leap, she vaulted sheer
over the ... . current by the shore, on to the raft of ice beyond. . . .
“The huge green fragment of ice on which she alighted pitched and
creaked as her weight came on it, but she stayed there not a
moment. With wild cries and desperate energy she leaped to
another and still another cake;—stumbling—leaping—slipping—
springing upwards again! Her shoes are gone—her stockings cut
from her feet while blood marked every step; but she saw nothing,
felt nothing, til dimly, as in a dream, she saw the Ohio side . . . .”
Stowe’s Inspirations
Stowe had been raised in Connecticut, far from the South. Her father
was an abolitionist. Stowe and her family often talked about the evils of
slavery.
But discussing slavery did not prepare Stowe for what she later saw
in Cincinnati, Ohio, by the Ohio River. The river separated the free state of
Ohio from the slave state of Kentucky. While living in Ohio, Stowe came
face-to-face with the cruelties of slavery. She met people active in the
Underground Railroad and the runaway slaves that they helped. She was
horrified by their stories. Stowe also heard a friend’s true account of a
young mother’s dash to freedom across the frozen river. From this story
came the idea for Eliza’s escape.
Stowe believed that if people knew more about slavery, they would
turn against it. She wanted to write a book that would force readers to see
the brutality of the system.
Personal tragedy helped Stowe feel the pain suffered by slaves. In
1849, her son died of a disease called cholera. Stowe was grief-stricken. “It
was at his dying bed and at his grave that I learned what a poor slave
mother may feel when her child is torn away from her,” she later
wrote. “. . . I felt I could never be consoled for it unless this crushing of my
own heart might enable me to work out some great good to others.”
Not long after Stowe’s loss, Congress began to debate the
Compromise of 1850. Like many Northerners, Stowe was angered by the
Fugitive Slave Law. Fueled by her grief and anger, Stowe wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin. In 1851, she began to publish her story, a chapter at a time, in
a weekly newspaper. But before long, in response to public demand,
Stowe published the whole story in book form. It came off the presses in
March 1852.
The Debate Grows More Intense
Uncle Tom’s Cabin was widely read. Americans bought 300,000
copies in the first year. The novel was also popular in Europe and in
Asia. It appeared in more than 60 languages. Stowe became famous. She
was welcomed as a hero in Great Britain in 1853.
The story had a great impact on its readers. In the North,
abolitionists were excited. They felt the power of the story. William Lloyd
Garrison was a leader in the abolitionist movement. He wrote that the book
would “awaken the strongest compassion for the oppressed.” He was right.
The debate over slavery was growing in the 1850s. However, many
people remained indifferent. That changed after they read Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Northern readers cried at the suffering of the slaves Eliza and Uncle
Tom. Many felt anger and shame over the actions of cruel plantation owner
Simon Legree. Feelings against slavery grew.
Some Southerners criticized Stowe’s work. They charged that the
characters were either too good or too evil, and therefore, not
realistic. They claimed that the severe mistreatment of slaves that Stowe
described was not true. Since Stowe had never been in the South, they
asked, how could she know the truth?
A few Southerners wrote books that challenged Stowe’s picture of
slavery. They argued that enslaved Africans were better off as slaves than
as free people. They wrote that Southern slaves had a better life than white
factory workers in the North. Although these books were not as popular
as Uncle Tom’s Cabin, they sharpened the debate about slavery
Ten years after Stowe published Uncle Tom’s Cabin, she visited the
White House. Abraham Lincoln was president. The Civil War had been
raging for a year. It is said that when Lincoln met Stowe, he remarked, “So
you’re the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war.”
In fact, the Civil War had many causes. But this comment helps
highlight the impact of Stowe’s novel. While Stowe’s novel did not cause
the war, it did expand the number of Americans who took part in the
debate over slavery. Not every Northerner who read the book became an
abolitionist. But many began to view slavery in a more negative light.
Meanwhile, many white Southerners felt that the North was growing
more hostile to the South. They saw world opinion turning against their way
of life. The North and the South had always been able to find ways to
compromise. But now, the chance for compromise was slipping
away. White Southerners were finding it harder to see a future for
themselves as part of the United States.
In the years after Stowe published Uncle Tom’s Cabin, other events
further divided the North and the South. The election of Lincoln in 1860
finally convinced white Southerners that they must go their own way. Soon,
soldiers from the North and the South were fighting. The Civil War had
begun.
Enrichment Reading – American Culture 2
In 1820, a British writer sneered, "Who reads an American book, or
goes to an American play, or looks at an American picture or statue?" In
the eyes of Europeans, the United States was a culturally backward nation.
But this was about to change. In the 1800s, Americans began to find
their cultural voice.
River Landscape
Many Americans of the 1800s had a great love of nature. And many
believed that their nation’s destiny was guided by God. These two themes
came together in art.
A good example is the work of painter Albert Bierstadt. In 1857,
Bierstadt began a series of trips through the American West. He was awed
by Western scenery. He wanted people to feel the same wonder he did
about this part of the United States.
One of Bierstadt’s paintings is called River Landscape. The scene is
a river somewhere in the mountains of the West. The sun is just setting. A
misty moon hangs in the sky, while the sun’s fading light paints the clouds
gold and red. The beauty of the light suggests something unearthly—
perhaps a divine spirit.
River Landscape shows a wilderness that is a peaceful and beautiful
paradise. It appears to be a real place, but Bierstadt often "improved" on
what he actually saw in nature. He would sketch or photograph a scene
and then return to his studio to do the actual painting. He might paint over
a detail he didn’t like, or even moving a mountain or two!
Still, no one can doubt the feeling of the artist, or of the people who
bought his work. Americans like Bierstadt took genuine pride in the
vastness and beauty of their country. It was easy for them to believe that
the nation was specially blessed by God.
You can see Bierstadt’s painting on the Web. Go this address:
"The Battle Hymn of the Republic"
Shortly after the start of the Civil War, a writer named Julia Ward Howe
and her husband visited a Union army camp in Virginia. There, Julia heard
soldiers singing a song called "John Brown’s Body."
A minister at the camp knew that Julia sometimes wrote
poetry. "Why don’t you write new verses for that tune?" he suggested. "It’s
a good song, but it needs words that are more appropriate to our cause."
Julia went to bed thinking about the minister’s idea. The next
morning, she woke up in the gray light of dawn. To her amazement, her
mind was filled with new words for the song.
Taking a sheet of paper and a pen, Julia wrote down the words as
quickly as she could. Then she went back to sleep, "but not before feeling
that something of importance had happened to me."
Something of importance, indeed! In February 1862, a magazine
paid Julia $4 for the poem and published it. Julia’s words caught on quickly
as a favorite song of the Union troops. Americans have been singing it
ever since.
We know the song today as "The Battle Hymn of the Republic":
These stirring words tell us how Northerners like Julia Ward Howe
saw the Civil War. The war wasn’t just about politics, or even about saving
the Union. The song’s words link the Union cause to God himself.
Once again, we see how naturally Americans of this time thought
about God in connection with their country. But in the song, God is not
simply blessing the United States. Instead, he is unleashing his wrath
(anger), because a terrible wrong needs to be put right.
As a result, the Northern armies are not marching alone. They have
God with them. ("I have seen him in the watch-fires of a hundred circling
camps.")
What wrong needs to be put right? The last verse tells us: "As he
died to make men holy, let us die to make men free." The song tells us that
the Northern cause is about freedom.
This idea was actually ahead of its time, and many Northerners
would have disagreed with it. President Abraham Lincoln himself had said
that the North was fighting to save the Union, not to free the slaves. Only
later did Lincoln make freeing the slaves a goal of the war.
But to Northerners like Julia Ward Howe, slavery was at the heart of
the fight with the South. And that fight could have only one outcome,
because God was on the side of freedom and justice.
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
The wrongs of slavery also play an important role in one of the great
American novels of the 19th century, The Adventures of Huckleberry
Finn. This book was written by Samuel Clemens, who is better known by
his pen name, Mark Twain.
In writing Huckleberry Finn, Twain drew on his memories of life in
Missouri before the Civil War. In the story, Huckleberry Finn tells how he
ran away from his drunken father with Jim, a runaway slave. Huck and Jim
travel together down the Mississippi River on a raft. As the days pass, they
become friends. In fact, Jim is one of the few people Huck can trust.
Yet Huck knows that he is breaking the law by helping Jim escape
slavery. Huck is torn between his feelings for Jim and what the "good"
people of society say he should do.
Huck and Jim have many adventures together. Along the way, Huck
learns that Jim deserves to be free. More than that, he discovers that Jim
is a far better person than many of the people who look down on him. Huck
sees that people can be cruel when they are prejudiced.
Mark Twain published Huckleberry Finn in 1884. Slavery had ended
nearly 20 years before. But prejudice against African Americans was still
very real. Many white Americans hadn’t yet learned the lessons that Huck
learned from Jim.
Huckleberry Finn reflects its time in another way as well. For years
after the book was published, many people wanted it banned from libraries
and schools. Why? Because Huck is a crude character. He uses language
incorrectly, he lies sometimes, and he scratches himself when he
itches. He doesn’t go to school because he doesn’t see much point in
it. Some people didn’t want their children to be exposed to a "hero" like
that!
Enrichment Reading – Reforms
In Chapter 18, you read about abolitionists. They wanted to end
slavery in the United States. They wanted reform. To reform is to put an
end to a wrong, or to change something for the better. In the Antebellum
Period, or the decades leading up to the Civil War, many people worked
for all kinds of social reforms. They wanted to change many things,
including religious practices, the treatment of workers, laws, education, the
prison system, and the quantity of alcohol people drank.
The Second Great Awakening
After the American Revolution, people were proud of the freedom they had
won. They thought that a free people could make themselves better
people. This idea led many to turn to religious camp meetings in the 1820s
and 1830s. Camp meetings were outdoor religious events. They lasted for
days or even weeks.
One of the first camp meetings of this era was in Kentucky. Accounts
have claimed that, in one week, between 10 and 30 thousand people
gathered together. That was a huge number of people at that time. The
state’s biggest city had fewer than 2,000 people.
The "plain-speaking" preachers called for change. They told the
gathered people that it was up to them to have "a change of heart" The
converted, they said, must also work to make a new and better society. For
many listeners, that meant reforms such as temperance. For others, it
meant putting an end to slavery.
This religious movement was called the Second Great Awakening
for the earlier religious revival in the colonies in the 1700s. It swept the
country. Reform movements grew in its path.
The Temperance Movement
Temperance means self-control. The temperance movement worked to get
people to use self-control to drink less alcohol. In the 1820s, the typical
adult drank about 7 gallons of alcohol a year. That is almost 3 times the
quantity people drink today. Whisky was very cheap—about 25 cents a
gallon. Many people had a glass of whisky before breakfast. They drank
whisky instead of coffee during work breaks. They drank whisky at
night. Drunkenness was a big problem.
In 1826, a group of concerned people formed the American Society
for the Promotion of Temperance. Soon, Americans were joining
temperance societies by the thousands. Their slogans included "We serve
the tyrant alcohol no longer" and "Temperance leads to health, wealth,
happiness and long life." Over the next 20 years, the quantity of alcohol
consumed was cut in half.
The Women’s Rights Movement
Early in the 1800s, women had few rights and opportunities under the
law. For example, a woman who owned a house and had money in the
bank could not keep these things once she married. All she owned
became her husband’s. If she earned any wages, these, too, were her
husband’s. If she left him, she would lose everything—even her children.
Women could do little to change their situation. Since they could not
vote, they had no voice in the laws. They had no access to higher
education. Not until 1833 did one college in Ohio begin to accept female
students. But they were not allowed to take the same program as male
students for another four years.
In the 1820s and 1830s, women reformers began to speak out in
public against slavery and drunkenness. When people mistreated them for
daring to speak, they began to think about their own rights. In July 1848,
several women called a "convention to discuss the condition and rights of
women." Today, we call this meeting the Seneca Falls Convention.
About 300 women and men came. The great African American
leader, Frederick Douglass was there. After much debate, 100 people
signed the Seneca Falls Declaration. It called for many reforms for women,
including the right to vote. The convention marked the beginning of the
movement for women’s rights.
Prison Reform
The effort to reform found its way into the prison system. Prisons were
terrible places in the 1800s. Men, women, and even young people were
confined together. In one small cell, there could be murderers, thieves, the
mentally ill, and debtors, or people who owed money.
Debtors had to pay for their food and room in prison. People could
be imprisoned for owing less than $50. One Boston woman was put in
prison for owing $3.00. Her three children were left to fend for themselves.
Reformers said that this system made no sense. They worked to
have new and better prisons built. Women and men were separated. The
mentally ill were sent to asylums where they would be safe. And people
who owed a small amount of money were no longer jailed.
Education
Often, one reform led to another. For example, some states began
to allow all white men to vote. Earlier, only white men who owned property
could vote. Reformers thought that if workingmen could vote, they needed
more education in order to vote wisely. In the 1820s, people began to push
for free public schools that would be available to those who could not
afford to pay for education. This was a new idea. The reformers worked for
many years to achieve their goal. The public school system we have today
is the result of this effort.
The Labor Movement
Changes were also occurring in the workplace in the 1800s. Industry
was growing, especially in the Northeast. Factories offered a new kind of
work for people who had grown up on farms. Men, women, and children
found jobs in factories. In different industries, children under 16 years of
age made up from one quarter to one half of the labor force. Their days
were often 11 hours’ long. In New Jersey mills, children worked 14-hour
days. Parents complained that their children had no time for eating and
sleeping, let alone education.
Some workers began to demand better working conditions. In
Massachusetts, mill girls walked out on strike in 1834. Theirs was a protest
over wages. Soon, others protested the long hours, the dangerous working
conditions, and child labor. It took a long time, but slowly, the reformers got
new laws passed. The workday was shortened to 11 hours and then 10
hours. Child labor laws were passed. Working conditions were improved.
The Amistad and the Abolition Movement
Of all the reformers, the black abolitionists were the most
daring. They were fighting for their freedom.
Sengbe Pieh, later known as Joseph Cinqué, was an enslaved
African. He was the son of a Mende chief, and was captured by slavers in
1839. Onboard the Spanish ship, La Amistad, Sengbe led a successful
revolt. He ordered the sailors to sail the ship back to Africa. Instead, the
U.S. navy captured the ship near Connecticut. In 1839, slavery was illegal
in most northern states. But those who ran away from slavery had to be
returned to their owners. The authorities did not know what to do with the
Africans on the Amistad. Were Sengbe and the others property to be
returned to their owners? Abolitionists said no. Sengbe insisted that he
was a free man who had been kidnapped. The trial went all the way to the
U. S. Supreme Court. After years, Sengbe and the other captives on
the Amistad won their freedom. The case helped the cause of abolition.
Dred Scott was also enslaved. He traveled with his slave owner to
free states and territories, such as Illinois and Wisconsin. Scott said that he
was no longer enslaved because he had lived in places that did not allow
slavery. He sued for his freedom in Missouri in 1846.
The court agreed with Scott and said that he free. But a higher court
disagreed and ruled that he was a slave. This case also went all the way to
the U.S. Supreme Court. In 1857, that court ruled against Scott. The
judges also said that African Americans, free or enslaved, were not
citizens of the United States. Therefore, they could not sue in federal
courts. The judges hoped to stop the abolitionists. They did not succeed.
Reforms in the New Jersey Constitution
The reforms in the Antebellum Period were reflected in the politics of
many communities and states. By 1844, lawmakers in New Jersey decided
that they needed a new state constitution to reflect many of these social
reforms.
In the former constitution, the legislature appointed a new governor
every year. In the new one, the people elected the governor for a term of
years. The new constitution gave all white men the vote, not just property
owners. It ended the practice of sending debtors to prison. It included a list
of nineteen rights and privileges. It was a product of reforms.
Enrichment Reading – Industrialization in the North
Economics is the study of how people use resources to produce and
exchange goods and services to meet their wants and needs. This essay
will explore these key economics concepts:
• Technology changes how people work and improves productivity. • Improved productivity can raise the standard of living.
Sam Colt was an inventor and a businessman in the 1800s. He is
reported to have said, “There is nothing that can’t be produced by
machine.” In the years before the Civil War, he put that idea to the
test. First, he designed a new type of gun, called a revolver. It could fire
many shots without having to be reloaded. Then, in 1855, he built a factory
to produce the weapons. This factory’s machines made most of the
interchangeable parts needed for each gun. Each part was standardized,
or made exactly the same as the others of its type. To make each Colt gun,
workers put together these ready-made parts. Everything fit together
quickly and well. By 1856, Sam Colt’s factory was making 150 guns per
day. The quality was excellent.
In the early 1800s, people in the North had turned to technology to
improve their economy. Technology means the use of special knowledge
to achieve a practical purpose, such as creating machines or tools. By the
1850s, most American factories, including Colt’s, were in the North.
The economy in the South was based on farming. This gave the
North an advantage. If a civil war started, the South would not be able to
keep up with the northern factories in making goods, such as weapons.
By 1860, the North’s economy was based on manufacturing. Many
factories were producing goods that would be useful in war. The North also
had almost twice as many miles of railroad lines as the South. This would
help with the distribution, or movement, of the goods to those who needed
them. The North could move troops and supplies quickly during wartime.
New Ways to Work
In economics, productivity means the amount of work
performed. Worker productivity is the amount each worker produces. To
raise worker productivity means to increase each worker’s output. For
example, suppose a worker makes 10 items an hour. If a production
method helps that worker to make 11 items an hour, then worker
productivity has improved.
Before the use of interchangeable standard parts, guns were like
works of art. Each part in a gun was one-of-a-kind. One worker would
make an entire gun by hand. This took a long time. Technology improves
productivity. If a machine does some of a worker’s job, the worker can be
more efficient. In Sam Colt’s gun factory, machines made standard
interchangeable parts. Using these, workers could make more guns, easily
and quickly. Machines helped make Colt’s workers more productive.
Colt’s use of interchangeable parts helped make possible a type of
work called division of labor. This is the breaking down of a big job into
smaller tasks. Workers train for and perform just one of these tasks. They
become specialists. As a result, they can do their jobs quickly and
skillfully. They become more productive. With specialization, the cost of
making each item goes down.
Colt’s use of standardized parts and division of labor was a system
of manufacturing called mass production. This is the production of large
quantities of goods at a low cost per piece. Other manufacturers used this
model.
New technology has changed the way Americans work in more
recent times. In the 1980s, few workers used computers. Today,
computers have an impact on most jobs. They are on many desks in the
workplace and at home. Computers help make people more
productive. New technology has improved transportation, too. Examples
include trains, trucks, and planes. These cheaper and faster ways to travel
have made it possible to sell more goods over greater distances.
Standard of Living
Raising productivity is good for a nation’s economy. Making more
goods and services helps improve the workers’ standard of living. The
standard of living is an indication of a country’s economic well-being. There
are many ways to measure the standard of living. One way is to look at
how much people earn. As incomes go up, so does the standard of
living. A higher standard of living means a better quality of life.
Think about what happens when productivity goes up. Suppose that
one year, American workers make goods and services worth $12
trillion. The next year, those same workers make $12.5 trillion worth of
products. As workers produce more, businesses sell more. Businesses that
earn more money can pay their workers more. Those workers can then
spend more on goods. This, in turn, means that companies need to make
more goods. As this cycle continues, the economy grows stronger and the
standard of living rises.
Enrichment Reading – Ohio’s Role in the Anti-Slavery Movement
As the United States expanded westward, the question of whether to
allow slavery in the new territories arose time and time again. Ohio was
part of the Northwest Territory. Slavery was illegal there. When Ohio joined
the United States, it did so as a free state. The Ohio River became part of
the boundary between free territories in the North and slave territories in
the South.
The Movement Against Slavery
By the 1830s, a growing number of Northerners were speaking out
against slavery. Those who took action were called abolitionists. The
abolition movement was particularly strong in Ohio.
The American Anti-Slavery Society formed in 1833. It called for an
immediate end to slavery. The society was led by William Lloyd
Garrison. Garrison’s newspaper, The Liberator, helped to publicize the
cause nationwide. Under Garrison’s leadership, the society attracted more
than 150,000 members.
Ohio abolitionists organized the Ohio Anti-Slavery Society in
1835. Its founders included prominent abolitionists, including John Rankin,
brothers Charles Henry Langston and John Mercer Langston, and
evangelist Charles Finney. The Ohio Anti-Slavery Society fought for the
end of slavery. It also fought for the passage of laws protecting free African
Americans.
The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850
As early as 1793, federal laws allowed slave catchers to come north
and force runaways back into slavery. But for the first time in 1850, a law
required Northerners to help capture runaway slaves. The Fugitive Slave
Act of 1850 made it illegal to help or hide fugitive slaves.
But runaway slaves were not the only ones at risk. Even free blacks
were not safe. They could be kidnapped and sold into slavery at any
time. Federal agents received $10 for each fugitive returned to the
South. They only received $5 for those who were set free.
The passage of the Fugitive Slave Act attracted even more support
for the abolitionist cause. More people joined anti-slavery societies. A
young writer named Harriett Beecher Stowe wrote a novel that appealed to
the conscience of Americans and the world. That novel was called Uncle
Tom’s Cabin.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Harriett Beecher Stowe became very familiar
with slavery during the time she lived in Cincinnati,
Ohio. She heard firsthand stories from former
slaves. She witnessed slavery herself while visiting
Kentucky. But it was the Fugitive Slave Act that
spurred her to action. In a letter to her sister-in-law,
she wrote that she “would write something that
would make this whole nation feel what an
accursed thing slavery is.” And she did.
Harriett Beecher Stowe’s novel Uncle Tom’s
Cabin told a heart-wrenching story about people
living in and trying to escape slavery. It was an
immediate best-seller in the United States. It
opened up many Americans’ eyes to the evils of
slavery. And it won many new supporters of the abolitionist cause.
The Underground Railroad in Ohio
The Fugitive Slave Act also inspired many Ohioans to take matters
into their own hands. They defied the law and joined the Underground
Railroad.
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of “conductors”
who helped slaves find freedom. Conductors planned escape routes. They
turned their homes into “safe houses” where slaves could rest and hide at
night. They provided food, clothing, and information to slaves to help them
on their journey.
Slaves were at great risk during
their journeys through the Underground
Railroad. But conductors were at risk, too.
Helping slaves escape was illegal. If
caught, a conductor could face a fine of
$1,000 and six months in
prison. Escaping from slavery or helping
someone to escape from slavery was
difficult and very dangerous.
Ohio was a busy crossing point for people escaping from
slavery. The Ohio River was the border between slave territory and free
territory. A secret network of more than 700 safe houses waited for those
fugitives who made it across the Ohio River.
Along the Underground Railroad, escaping slaves traveled from safe
house to safe house until they made it to Canada. To avoid detection, they
traveled at night. They often took indirect routes in order to throw off
pursuers. The journey to freedom was a terrifying and dangerous one. But
it was a journey that many enslaved people were willing to undertake.
More than 100,000 enslaved people sought freedom through the
Underground Railroad. Not all of them were successful. Some were
recaptured. Some died along the way. But many of them made it to
freedom.
John and Jean Rankin: Two successful members of the Ohio
Underground Railroad were John and Jean Rankin. They helped
thousands of people escape slavery. John Rankin was a Presbyterian
minister and one of the earliest people to speak publicly against slavery.
The Rankins lived in Ripley, Ohio, a village along the banks of the
Ohio River. Their house, called “Liberty Hill,” was on the top of a hill with a
clear view of the village and the river. When the Rankins believed it was
safe, they would raise a lantern on a flagpole as a signal to fleeing slaves
waiting on the Kentucky side of the river. Once across the river, slaves
walked up a specially-built staircase to safety in the Rankins’ house.
Jean Rankin made clothes for escaping slaves. She cooked meals
for them while they stayed at Liberty Hill. When it was time for them to
move on, the Rankins’ sons helped guide them to the next safe houses in
the towns of Red Oak, Sardinia, and Decatur, Ohio. The Rankin family
helped more than 2,000 people escape slavery. Their home is now a U.S.
national historic landmark.
John Parker: John Parker was another Ripley resident who helped slaves
find freedom. Born into slavery, he bought his freedom as an adult and
eventually settled in Ripley. Parker did not simply wait for escaping slaves
to cross the river into Ohio. Instead he went across the river to Kentucky to
help guide slaves to freedom in Ohio. Each time he made the crossing, he
put himself at great risk. If he had been caught, he could have been forced
into slavery once more. He would have had no way to prove he was a free
man. But he willingly took that risk and helped hundreds of people into
freedom.
The Oberlin-Wellington Rescue
By the 1850s, Ohio was well established as a major route on the
Underground Railroad. The town of Oberlin in particular had succeeded in
helping thousands of slaves to freedom. An Ohio state law made their work
easier. The state law allowed fugitive slaves to apply for special protection
against being returned to the South.
In 1858, however, a newly elected Ohio legislature repealed that
law. This meant that Ohio had to follow the Fugitive Slave Act of
1850. Under the law, Ohioans had to provide help to southern slave
catchers working in Ohio.
That same year, a fugitive slave named John Price was arrested by
a federal marshal in Oberlin. The marshal knew that many Oberlin
residents were abolitionists. To try to avoid conflict with Oberlin residents,
the marshal took Price to nearby Wellington. Abolitionists from both Oberlin
and Wellington teamed up to rescue Price from the marshal and his
deputies. The rescuers took Price to safety and freedom in Canada.
Federal officials charged 37 rescuers for breaking the Fugitive Slave
Act. However, only two of those charged went to trial. In April 1859,
Simeon Bushnell, a white man, and Charles Henry Langston, an African
American man, were found guilty. Bushnell was sentenced to 60 days in
jail. Langston was sentenced to 20 days in jail.
Bushnell and Langston appealed their case to the Ohio Supreme
Court. They argued that the Fugitive Slave Act was unconstitutional, but
the Ohio Supreme Court upheld the law. This decision angered Ohio
abolitionists. More than 10,000 abolitionists protested at a Cleveland rally
against the decision.
Moving Toward War
Not all Ohioans were abolitionists, and not all abolitionists were part
of the Underground Railroad. But the actions of those who were
abolitionists angered white Southerners. More and more, the North and the
South saw each other as enemies. As the 1860s began, the United States
was poised at the brink of war.