A House Dividing: The Growing Crisis of Sectionalism in Antebellum America

—Curriculum Unit Overview—

Our political problem now is “Can we, as a nation, continue together permanently—forever—half slave, and half free?” The problem is too mighty for me. May God, in his mercy, superintend the solution.

—Abraham Lincoln to George Robertson, August 15, 1855

Introduction

In this unit, students will trace the development of sectionalism in the United States as it was driven by the growing dependence upon, and defense of, black slavery in the southern states. Initially seen as contrary to freedom but tolerated in order to produce the U.S. Constitution, by the 1830s the "peculiar institution" found advocates who saw it as a "positive good." Its expansion into Missouri, southern outrage over federal tariffs, and westward expansion into new territory produced a volatile and persistent debate over slavery that increasingly threatened to divide the American union. By 1860, the nation found an old Democratic Party split over the right to extend slavery into federal territory, and a new Republican Party nominating an anti-slavery, though not abolitionist, president. When Abraham Lincoln's election produced no national consensus to settle the matter of slavery's future, a southern "secession" sealed the fate of the Union.

What characterized the debates over American slavery and the power of the federal government for the first half of the 19th century? How did regional economies and political events produce a widening split between free and slaveholding states in antebellum America? Who were the key figures and what were their arguments regarding the legitimacy of slavery and the proper role of the national government in resolving its future in the American republic? This unit of study will equip students to answer these questions through the use of interactive maps, primary texts, and comparative biographies.

Guiding Questions

• How did the Missouri Compromise of 1820 and the Nullification Crisis a decade later illustrate the widening divide between northern and southern states?
• What were the leading arguments against slavery in the antebellum era and how did slaveholders defend the "peculiar institution"?
• How did Senator Stephen Douglas try to reduce the growing sectionalism of America over the slavery controversy through the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 and its policy of popular sovereignty?
• In the 1860 presidential election, what political options regarding the spread of slavery did the American people face, and how did Abraham Lincoln and the Republican Party differ from advocates of immediate abolition, popular sovereignty, and national slavery?

Learning Objectives

• use maps of the 1820 Missouri Compromise and the 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act to understand political and economic changes in the U.S. and why those changes provoked a debate over the expansion of slavery in America
• list the main provisions of the 1820 Missouri Compromise and 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act
• highlight the basic economic differences between the commerce of the North and the South
• explain John Calhoun's theory of nullification, Andrew Jackson's view of national sovereignty, Stephen Douglas's policy of popular sovereignty, and Lincoln's understanding of constitutional self-government
• identify influential opponents and defenders of American slavery
• explain the reasons given for and against the morality and legitimacy of slavery under the U.S. Constitution
• articulate the different solutions to the controversy over slavery in the territories proposed by Abraham Lincoln, William Lloyd Garrison, Frederick Douglass, Stephen Douglas, Jefferson Davis, and William Lowndes Yancey
• distinguish the priorities of the Republican Party from those of the two factions of the Democratic Party and the Constitutional Union Party during the 1860 election
• explain how the differing views regarding slavery in the territories eventually produced a southern secession and a civil war
• discuss whether or not the American Civil War was an avoidable war or "an irrepressible conflict"

Preparing to Teach This Curriculum Unit

Review each lesson plan. Locate and bookmark suggested materials and other useful websites. Download and print out documents you will use and duplicate copies as necessary for student viewing.

Download the blackline masters for this lesson, available here as a PDF file. Print out and make an appropriate number of copies of any handouts you plan to use in class.

Each activity in this unit of study is designed for use as a stand-alone lesson, comprising three forty-five minute class periods. Taken all together, the lessons provide an overview of the causes of sectionalism that led to the American Civil War. Since available time and curriculum needs vary by classroom, the following guidelines for use are provided:

• If you have only a few class periods to devote to the crisis of American sectionalism, complete Lesson Four: Abraham Lincoln, the 1860 Election, and the Future of the American Union and Slavery.
• If you have a week to devote to the crisis of American sectionalism, begin with Lesson Two: Slavery's Opponents and Defenders. Then complete Lesson Four: Abraham Lincoln, the 1860 Election, and the Future of the American Union and Slavery.
• If you have two weeks, add Lesson One: An Early Threat of Secession: The Missouri Compromise of 1820 and the Nullification Crisis.
• If you have two and a half weeks, add Lesson Three: The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854: Popular Sovereignty and the Political Polarization over Slavery and use the lessons in order.

Unit Lesson Plans

Lesson One—An Early Threat of Secession: The Missouri Compromise of 1820 and the Nullification Crisis

Lesson Two—Slavery's Opponents and Defenders

Lesson Three—The Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854: Popular Sovereignty and the Political Polarization over Slavery

Lesson Four—Abraham Lincoln, the 1860 Election, and the Future of the American Union and Slavery

Selected EDSITEment Websites

• American Studies at the University of Virginia
  http://xroads.virginia.edu/
  • John C. Calhoun in the US Capitol
    http://xroads.virginia.edu/~CAP/CALHOUN/jcchome.html
  • John C. Calhoun
    A Brief Introduction
    http://xroads.virginia.edu/~CAP/CALHOUN/jcc1.html
• Avalon Project at Yale Law School
  http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/avalon.htm
  • Democratic Platform (Douglas Faction)
    http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/dem1860.htm
  • Federalist Papers
    http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/federal/fed.htm
    • No. 15
      http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/federal/fed15.htm
    • No. 39
      http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/federal/fed39.htm
  • Jackson's Proclamation Regarding Nullification
    http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/presiden/
    proclamations/jack01.htm
  • South Carolina's Ordinance of Nullification
    http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/states/sc/ordnull.htm
• Congress Link
  http://www.congresslink.org/
  • Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
    http://bioguide.congress.gov/biosearch/biosearch.asp
    • James Henry Hammond
      http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=H000128
• Digital History
  http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/
  • African American Voices
    http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/black_voices/
    black_voices.cfm
    • Nat Turner, "Confessions of Nat Turner"
      http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/
      black_voices/voices_display.cfm?id=70
  • History Reference Room—Maps
    http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/maps/maps.cfm
  • Slavery
    Slave Crops in the American South (map)
    http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~atlas/america/static/map16.html
• Documenting the American South
  http://docsouth.unc.edu/index.html
  • My Bondage and My Freedom
    http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/douglass55/menu.html
  • Frederick Douglass, "Reception Speech at Finsbury Chapel, Moorfields, England"
    http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/douglass55/douglass55.html#p407
• Gilder Lehrman Center
  http://www.gilderlehrman.org
  • Abraham Lincoln's 1858 "Speech delivered in Springfield"
    http://www.gilderlehrman.org/collection/document.php?id=34
• HarpWeek
  http://www.harpweek.com/
  • 1860: Lincoln v. Douglas v. Breckenridge v. Bell, Events
    http://elections.harpweek.com/1860/Events-1860.htm
  • 1860: Lincoln v. Douglas v. Breckenridge v. Bell, Overview
    http://elections.harpweek.com/1860/Overview-1860-1.htm
  • The Presidential Elections
    http://elections.harpweek.com/default.asp
  • 1860-Events: 1857, The Lecompton Constitution
    http://elections.harpweek.com/1860/Events-1860.htm
• History Matters
  http://historymatters.gmu.edu/
  • AMDOCS: Documents for the Study of American History
    http://www.ukans.edu/carrie/docs/amdocs_index.html
  • John C. Calhoun, "Slavery a Positive Good"
    http://douglassarchives.org/calh_a59.htm
  • American Civil War
    http://homepages.dsu.edu/jankej/civilwar/civilwar.htm
  • Abraham Lincoln Historical Digitization Project
    http://lincoln.lib.niu.edu/
    • The Mexican-American War
      http://dig.lib.niu.edu/mexicanwar/index.html
    • Abraham Lincoln, "The Repeal of the Missouri Compromise" (1854)
      http://lincoln.lib.niu.edu/cgi-bin/getobject_?c.1872:1./lib35/
      artfl1/databases/sources/IMAGE/
    • Annual Address before the Wisconsin State Agriculture Society
      http://lincoln.lib.niu.edu/cgi-bin/getobject_?c.2321:1.
      /lib35/artfl1/databases/sources/IMAGE/
    • Stephen Douglas, "Speech of Senator Douglas" (1858)
      http://lincoln.lib.niu.edu/cgi-bin/getobject_?c.2019:1./lib35/
      artfl1/databases/sources/IMAGE/
  • Lincoln
    http://homepages.dsu.edu/jankej/civilwar/lincoln.htm
  • Douglass Archives
    http://douglassarchives.org/
  • Douglass Contributors
    http://douglassarchives.org/patron.htm
  • Lincoln's Cooper Institute Address
    http://douglassarchives.org/linc_a89.htm
• Interactive maps of the 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act and the 1820 Missouri Compromise
  http://development.vbcomm.net/15332_NEH/#
  Click "Sectionalism Lesson 1" (1820 map)
  Click "Sectionalism Lesson 3" (1854 map
• Library of Congress-American Memory Project
  http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/
  • Abraham Lincoln Papers
    http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/alhtml/malhome.html
  • Abraham Lincoln, "Draft of Speech on Popular Sovereignty" (May 18, 1858)
    http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/mal:
    @field(DOCID+@lit(d4339400))
  • An American Time Capsule
    http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/rbpehtml/pehome.html
  • Republican Platform, 1860
    http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/rbpe:
    @field(DOCID+@lit(rbpe0180010a))
  • The Capital and the Bay: Narratives of Washington and the Chesapeake Bay Region, ca. 1600-1925
    http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/lhcbhtml/lhcbhome.html
    • Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave
      http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/
      lhbcb:@field(DOCID+@lit(lhbcb25385))
  • A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation
    http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lawhome.html
    • Congressional Globe
      http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lwcg.html
    • David Wilmot, "Proviso" Amending Mexican War Appropriation (1846)
      http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=
      llcg&fileName=016/llcg016.db&recNum=1264
    • James Tallmadge, "Admission of Missouri: Amendment" (1819)
      http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=
      llac&fileName=033/llac033.db&recNum=582
    • Jefferson Davis's Senate Speech: Resolutions on the Relations of States (February 2, 1860)
      http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=
      llcg&fileName=051/llcg051.db&recNum=735
    • Stephen Douglas, "Nebraska Question" (1854)
      http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=
      llcg&fileName=033/llcg033.db&recNum=276
  • Exhibitions
    http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/
    • Thomas Jefferson
      http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/jefferson/
      • The West
        http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/jefferson/jeffwest.html
      • Thomas Jefferson to John Holmes
        http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/jefferson/159.html
  • Especially for Researchers—Bibliographies
    http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/bibhome.html
    • Primary Documents in American History
      http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/PrimDocsHome.html
      • National Expansion and Reform, 1815-1860
        http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/NationalExpanHome.html
      • Nullification Proclamation (1832)
        http://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/Nullification.html
  • The Frederick Douglass Papers
    http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/doughtml/doughome.html
    • Frederick Douglass, Excerpt from "Oration in Memory of Abraham Lincoln"
      http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/ampage?collId=mfd&fileName=23/23004/
      23004page.db&recNum=41&tempFile=./temp/~ammem_fSM1&filecode=mfd&ne
      "xt_filecode=mfd&itemnum=1&ndocs=1John
  • C. Calhoun, biography
    http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/today/mar18.html
• National Archives and Records Administration
  http://www.archives.gov/
  • Our Documents
    http://www.ourdocuments.gov/index.php?flash=true&
    • Compromise of 1850
      http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=
      27&page=transcript
    • Declaration of Independence
      http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?doc=2&page=transcript
    • Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)
      http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?doc=28&page=transcript
    • Missouri Compromise (1820)
      http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=
      22&page=transcript
    • Northwest Ordinance (1787)
      http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?doc=8&page=transcript
• The National Archives Experience
  http://www.archives.gov/national_archives_experience/index.html
  • "The Charters of Freedom: 'A New World is at Hand'"
    http://www.archives.gov/national_archives_experience/charters/charters.html
    • Declaration of Independence
      http://www.archives.gov/national_archives_experience/
      charters/declaration_transcript.html
• Xpeditions
  http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/
  • National Geographic Online
    http://www.nationalgeographic.com/index.html
  • The Underground Railroad
    http://www.nationalgeographic.com/railroad/
  • "National Geographic News: How Slavery Helped Build a World Economy"
    http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/01/
    0131_030203_jubilee2.html
• National Park Service
  http://www.nps.gov/
  • Lincoln Home
    http://www.nps.gov/liho/
    • History and Culture
      http://www.nps.gov/liho/history.htm
    • The Lincoln-Douglas Debates
      http://www.nps.gov/liho/debates.htm
    • Douglas, Second Debate
      http://www.nps.gov/liho/debate2.htm
• Africans in America
  http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/home.html
  • Bleeding Kansas
    http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2952.html
  • The Compromise of 1850 and the Fugitive Slave Act
    http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2951.html
  • "Judgment Day
    http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/title.html
  • Frederick Douglass
    http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p1539.html
  • William Lloyd Garrison—biography
    http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p1561.html
  • William Lloyd Garrison—editorial
    http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h2928t.html
  • Fanny Kemble, Journal of a Residence on a Georgian Plantation
    http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h3141t.html
  • George Fitzhugh, "The Universal Law of Slavery"
    http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h3141t.html
  • James Henry Hammond, "The 'Mudsill' Theory"
    http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h3439t.html
  • Harriet Beecher Stowe, "Letter to William Lloyd Garrison about Frederick Douglass"
    http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h2926.html
  • Race-Based Legislation in the North
    http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2957.html
  • A Northern Freeman Enslaved by Northern Hands
    http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h1554.html
  • Douglass excerpt from "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro" speech
    http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h2927t.html
• POTUS—Presidents of the United States
  http://www.potus.com/
  • The White House
    http://www.whitehouse.gov/
    • History and Tours
      http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/life/
    • Past Presidents
      http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/
    • Abraham Lincoln
      http://www.whitehouse.gov/history/presidents/al16.html
• Uncle Tom's Cabin and American Culture
  http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/utc/sitemap.html
  • Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin
    http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/utc/uncletom/uthp.html
• Valley of the Shadow
  http://www.vcdh.virginia.edu/teaching/vclassroom/vclasscontents.html
  • White Southerners Defense of Slavery—Article One
    http://www.vcdh.virginia.edu/teaching/vclassroom/proslavewsht1.html
  • White Southerners Defense of Slavery—Article Two
    http://www.vcdh.virginia.edu/teaching/vclassroom/proslavewsht2.html
  • White Southerners Defense of Slavery—Article Three
    http://www.vcdh.virginia.edu/teaching/vclassroom/proslavewsht3.html