In recognition of his services promoting railroad construction, Douglas was one of the guests on the first train to run over the newly completed Erie Railroad in 1851. Three years later Douglas engineered passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act to organize the territories west of the Missouri River.
What is Stephen A Douglas known for?
- Stephen A. Douglas. Stephen Arnold Douglas (April 23, 1813 – June 3, 1861) was an American politician and lawyer from Illinois.
What did Stephen A Douglas do?
He was one of the brokers of the Compromise of 1850 which sought to avert a sectional crisis; to further deal with the volatile issue of extending slavery into the territories, Douglas became the foremost advocate of popular sovereignty, which held that each territory should be allowed to determine whether to permit
Why did Stephen Douglas support the railroad?
While he served in the House and in the Senate, Douglas played an important role in resolving differences between Northerners and Southerners over the issue of slavery. Douglas hoped that this act would lead to the creation of a transcontinental railroad and settle the differences between the North and the South.
What was Stephen Douglas’s position on slavery?
Douglas argued that slavery was a dying institution that had reached its natural limits and could not thrive where climate and soil were inhospitable. He asserted that the problem of slavery could best be resolved if it were treated as essentially a local problem.
How did Stephen A Douglas contribute to the Civil War?
During the secession crisis in the winter of 1860-1861, Douglas worked tirelessly alongside like-minded politicians to preserve the Union by serving on the Committee of 13 and introducing his own compromise into Congress. Despite his best efforts, the attempts for a compromise failed and the crisis divulged into war.
What was Stephen A Douglas view on slavery quizlet?
Describe Stephen Douglas’ stance on slavery. Stephen Douglas believed that Lincoln was wrong for wanting slavery. He believed the government should let popular sovereignty decide whether a state/territory would be free or slave. Lincoln believed slavery was an absolute evil.
Did Stephen Douglas campaign in the South?
He didn’t want his party to reveal any of the discord of the Democrats and hoped to divide the Democratic votes. Douglas campaigned in the North and South to hopefully make up for the divided voter base in the South, and gave a series of campaign speeches in favor of the Union.
Why did Stephen Douglas promote the idea of the Kansas Nebraska Act?
Kansas was admitted as a free state in January 1861 only weeks after eight Southern states seceded from the union. Douglas hoped this idea of “popular sovereignty” would resolve the mounting debate over the future of slavery in the United States and enable the country to expand westward with few obstacles.
What did Douglas accuse Lincoln of?
The debates consisted of Douglas accusing Lincoln of being an abolitionist while Lincoln accused Douglas of wanting to nationalize slavery. These main topics were reflective of the major issues that the country was facing at a national level with both sides battling for what they thought would better the Union.
Stephen Douglas – Ohio History Central
According to Ohio History Central Stephen Douglas was born on April 23, 1813, in Brandon, Vermont, to Stephen Douglas, a United States Senator and presidential contender. Douglas’ father had taught him to be a cabinetmaker, but he desired to pursue a career as an attorney. He enrolled in the Canandaigua Academy in New York to pursue a law profession, but he dropped out before completing his studies. He spent a brief period of time in Ohio, where he worked as a schoolteacher while continuing his legal studies.
That same year, he started his own legal office in Jacksonville, Illinois, which he still operates today.
Douglas stood for the United States House of Representatives in 1838, hoping for a more prominent position in the administration.
He came in last in that race.
- He served in that capacity for one year before being elected to the House of Representatives of the United States of America.
- In this position he remained until his death on June 3, 1861.
- Douglas worked tirelessly to see that the Compromise of 1850 became a reality, bringing together representatives from a variety of political groupings to support the plan.
- Douglas thought that this legislation would pave the way for the construction of a transcontinental railroad, so putting an end to the tensions that existed between the North and the South.
- The act was swiftly passed by the House of Representatives, but the Senate declined to take up the matter for a vote.
- Douglas refused to concede.
- When Douglas proposed a modified version of his plan in 1854, it said that the area’s eligible voters would determine whether or not to legalize slavery in the territory.
Douglas proposed the formation of two new territories, Kansas and Nebraska, in yet another version of the bill, and specifically declared that the Missouri Compromise would no longer be in force in that version of the legislation.
Slavery was reinstated upon the revocation of the Missouri Compromise in the areas of the Louisiana Purchase that had not yet constituted states.
Despite the fact that Douglas had amassed enough support to carry his measure in the United States Senate, he was still up against President Franklin Pierce’s resistance.
In a visit to the White House, many Southern senators issued Pierce an ultimatum: either support Douglas’s Kansas-Nebraska Act or lose all political support that the president was then enjoying in the South.
Pierce caved down to pressure from the senators.
Salmon Chase, a Republican senator from Ohio, spoke out against the legislation.
Both houses of Congress voted in favor of the legislation.
Those affiliated with the Whig Party were divided along geographical lines, with Northern Whigs opposing the law and Southern Whigs supporting it.
In Ohio, the Kansas-Nebraska Act resulted in the formation of the Fusion Party, which was a forerunner of the Republican Party, in 1854, following the passage of the act.
In the years 1854 and 1855, a large number of Northerners and Southerners traveled to Kansas, intending to persuade the future state of their point of view on slavery.
While Douglas played a key part in the colonization of the American West, he is arguably best remembered for his political confrontations with Abraham Lincoln in 1858 and again in 1860, both of which occurred in the same year.
In the race, he represented the Democratic Party, and his opponent, Abraham Lincoln, represented the Republican Party.
Lincoln contended that the United States could not exist with half of the country supporting slavery and the other half opposing the institution, as was the case at the time.
He never, however, asserted that African Americans should be afforded the same rights as white people.
Douglas was re-elected to his position.
Lincoln represented the Republican Party in this race, whilst Douglas represented the Northern Democratic Party in this election.
Northern Democrats were typically opposed to the spread of slavery, although many Southern Democrats thought that slavery should be allowed to continue across the United States.
John C.
Additionally, the Constitutional Union Party, a fourth political party, ran for office in this election.
He was defeated in the election.
Lincoln was victorious in the election over the other three contenders.
Some of these people also agreed with Lincoln that the federal government could not abolish slavery in places where it already existed, but that it could ban slavery in new territories and states, which was a position that Lincoln defended.
Southerners divided their support between Breckinridge and Bell, although Northerners overwhelmingly rejected both of these candidates as well.
Because of the large disparity in population between the North and the South, the North controlled the Electoral College and gave Lincoln the election win.
When it came to voting, persons from the South or with southern sympathies inclined to vote for Douglas, while those from northern states likely to vote for Lincoln, according to the census.
Douglas remained courteous in the face of defeat.
Following Lincoln’s military victory over the Confederacy at Fort Sumter in April 1861, Douglas endorsed Lincoln’s efforts to retake control of the Southern states by military force. Douglas died on the 3rd of June, 1861.
See Also
- OHIO’S WAR: THE CIVIL WAR IN DOCUMENTS, edited by Christine Dee, is available online.
- Johannsen, Robert Walter
- Stephen A. Douglas
- Athens: Ohio University Press, 2007
- Johannsen, Robert Walter. Johannsen, Robert Walter
- New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1973
- Johannsen, Robert Walter. The Frontier, the Union, and Stephen A. Douglas are all mentioned in this book. Roseboom, Eugene H., ed., Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1989. The period from 1850 to 1873 is known as the Civil War Era. Wells, Damon, and the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society published a book in 1944 titled “The Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society.” The Last Years of Stephen Douglas (1857-1861), by Stephen Douglas. The University of Texas Press published this book in 1971.
Prominent Figures in Local Anti-Slavery Movement – Underground Railroad Freedom Station – Knox College
OHIO’S WAR: THE CIVIL WAR IN DOCUMENTS, edited by Christine Dee, ed. Robert Walter Johannsen and Stephen A. Douglas published by Ohio University Press in 2007. Johannsen, Robert Walter; New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1973; New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1973; It all starts with Stephen A. Douglas, then moves on to the Union and the frontier. Roseboom, Eugene H., ed., Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1989 Between 1850 until 1873, the United States was in the Civil War.
1857-1861: The Last Years of Stephen Douglas Originally published in 1971 by the University of Texas Press.
Stephen A. Douglas
Stephen A. Douglas (1813-1861) was a United States politician, leader of the Democratic Party, and orator who advocated for popular sovereignty in connection to the subject of slavery in the territories prior to the American Civil War. Douglas was born in New York City and died in Washington, D.C. (1861-1865). After a series of impassioned debates with the Republican candidate, Abraham Lincoln, he was re-elected to the Senate from Illinois in 1858. Lincoln would go on to beat him in the presidential election the following year.
- He had been attracted by Andrew Jackson as a child, and it was as a Jacksonian that he developed his professional reputation.
- The small farmers of the state, many of whom had migrated from the border South, had a long-lasting affection for him, and he leveraged his popularity to help form a tightly knit Democratic organization.
- In 2006, he was elected to the United States House of Representatives, where he served for a total of two terms.
- During his time in Washington, Douglas was involved in virtually every important problem that the country faced at the time.
- He introduced one of his first legislative ideas, a scheme that included territory expansion, the construction of a Pacific railroad, the implementation of a free land (homestead) policy, and the establishment of territorial administrations.
- He was a key advocate for Texas annexation, advocated for the purchase of Oregon, and backed the war against Mexico.
- Fearing that the problem might destabilize the Republic, he advocated for the theory of popular sovereignty—the right of the people of a state or territory to determine the slavery issue for themselves—as a means of preserving the Union.
He was a leader in the struggle for the Compromise of 1850 in Congress.
Douglas’s aspirations for the country were dashed when the legislation elicited fierce resistance from northern antislavery groups, who went on to create the Republican Party in response.
Abolitionists in the North and disunionists in the South, he claimed, were responsible for the agitation over slavery, and were attempting to establish a middle ground that would maintain the Union.
Meanwhile, he saw in popular sovereignty an extension of local self-government and state liberties, and he accused his opponents of wanting a consolidation of national authority that would restrict individual liberty and jeopardize the United States’ constitutionally guaranteed rights.
The Democratic nominee for president in 1852 and 1856, although he did not get his party’s candidacy until 1860, by which time it was too late to run for the office.
Immediately following the bombardment of Fort Sumter in April 1861, he declared his allegiance to the northern cause and called for the continuation of a zealous campaign to defeat the rebels.
The Reader’s Companion to American History is a collection of books written for readers who want to learn more about the country’s history.
The editors are Eric Foner and John A. Garraty. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company acquired the copyright in 1991. All intellectual property rights are retained.
U.S. Senate: The Kansas-Nebraska Act
President of the United States, Stephen A. Douglas (1813-1861) was a politician and orator who advocated for popular sovereignty in connection to the subject of slavery in the territories before to the American Civil War. Douglas was born in New York City and lived much of his life in Washington (1861-1865). The Republican nominee for president, Abraham Lincoln, beat him for the Senate seat in Illinois in 1858 after a series of eloquent discussions. He was re-elected senator from Illinois in 1858 following a series of brilliant debates with Lincoln.
- Andrew Jackson had attracted him as a child, and it was as a Jacksonian that he began his professional life.
- He gained long-lasting popularity among the state’s small farmers, many of whom had emigrated from the border South, and he exploited his popularity to help form a closely knit Democratic organization in the state.
- After serving in many state posts, Douglas decided to run for President.
- Upon being elected to the Senate in 1847, he continued to serve in that capacity until his death in 1861.
- He took a keen interest in the West while serving as chairman of the House and Senate Committees on Territories.
- As he put it, “You cannot put a stop to the upward march of this magnificent and developing country.” To this day, he believes in America’s unique purpose and manifest destiny.
- Being barely five feet four inches tall, Douglas was known as the “Little Giant” because of his tremendous energy and persuasive skills.
Afraid that the problem might destabilize the Republic, Lincoln advocated for the idea of popular sovereignty, which gives the people of a state or territory the ability to determine the slavery issue for themselves, as a way to keep the Union together.
Several years later, he incorporated the theory into theKansas-NebraskaAct, thus nullifying the 1820 Missouri Compromise.
His quest for popular sovereignty continued in the 1850s, both in Congress and in Illinois, where his legendary debates with Abraham Lincoln during the state election campaign of 1858 were a highlight of the campaign.
Even while he privately believed slavery was immoral and hoped that it would be abolished one day, he believed it needed to be treated fairly as a matter of public policy.
Because of the party system’s failure to agree on the issue of slavery, Douglas’s popularity began to decline.
Given the fact that his party was irreparably split and a Republican was elected president, he worked tirelessly to bring the parts of the country together through a compromise on the slavery question.
But he succumbed to his injuries in June, exhausted from his efforts and depleted of his spirits.
editor(s): Eric Foner and John A. Garraty Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company published the book Copyright in the year 1991. All intellectual property rights are protected by law.
Compromise of 1850
Henry Clay, U.S. senator from Kentucky, was determined to find a solution. In 1820 he had resolved a fiery debate over the spread of slavery with his Missouri Compromise. Now, thirty years later, the matter surfaced again within the walls of the Capitol. But this time the stakes were higher – nothing less than keeping the Union together. There were several points at issue:� The United States had recently acquired a vast territory – the result of its war with Mexico. Should the territory allow slavery, or should it be declared free? Or maybe the inhabitants should be allowed to choose for themselves?� California – a territory that had grown tremendously with the gold rush of 1849, had recently petitioned Congress to enter the Union as a free state. Should this be allowed? Ever since the Missouri Compromise, the balance between slave states and free states had been maintained; any proposal that threatened this balance would almost certainly not win approval.� There was a dispute over land: Texas claimed that its territory extended all the way to Santa Fe.� Finally, there was Washington, D.C. Not only did the nation’s capital allow slavery, it was home to the largest slave market in North America.On January 29, 1850, the 70-year-old Clay presented a compromise. For eight months members of Congress, led by Clay, Daniel Webster, Senator from Massachusetts, and John C. Calhoun, senator from South Carolina, debated the compromise. With the help of Stephen Douglas, a young Democrat from Illinois, a series of bills that would make up the compromise were ushered through Congress.According to the compromise, Texas would relinquish the land in dispute but, in compensation, be given 10 million dollars – money it would use to pay off its debt to Mexico. Also, the territories of New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah would be organized without mention of slavery. (The decision would be made by the territories’ inhabitants later, when they applied for statehood.) Regarding Washington, the slave trade would be abolished in the District of Columbia, although slavery would still be permitted. Finally, California would be admitted as a free state. To pacify slave-state politicians, who would have objected to the imbalance created by adding another free state, the Fugitive Slave Act was passed.Of all the bills that made up the Compromise of 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act was the most controversial. It required citizens to assist in the recovery of fugitive slaves. It denied a fugitive’s right to a jury trial. (Cases would instead be handled by special commisioners – commisioners who would be paid $5 if an alleged fugitive were released and $10 if he or she were sent away with the claimant.) The act called for changes in filing for a claim, making the process easier for slaveowners. Also, according to the act, there would be more federal officials responsible for enforcing the law.For slaves attempting to build lives in the North, the new law was disaster. Many left their homes and fled to Canada. During the next ten years, an estimated 20,000 blacks moved to the neighboring country. For Harriet Jacobs, a fugitive living in New York, passage of the law was “the beginning of a reign of terror to the colored population.” She stayed put, even after learning that slave catchers were hired to track her down. Anthony Burns, a fugitive living in Boston, was one of many who were captured and returned to slavery. Free blacks, too, were captured and sent to the South. With no legal right to plead their cases, they were completely defenseless.Passage of the Fugitive Slave Act made abolitionists all the more resolved to put an end to slavery. The Underground Railroad became more active, reaching its peak between 1850 and 1860. The act also brought the subject of slavery before the nation. Many who had previously been ambivalent about slavery now took a definitive stance against the institution.The Compromise of 1850 accomplished what it set out to do – it kept the nation united – but the solution was only temporary.Over the following decade the country’s citizens became further divided over the issue of slavery. The rift would continue to grow until the nation itself divided. |
The Freeport Doctrine – Lincoln Home National Historic Site (U.S. National Park Service)
J.M. Jaspard’s portrait of Abraham Lincoln with Stephen Douglas The Northern Illinois University Digital Library is a digital repository for the university’s publications. Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas engaged in a series of debates in 1858 as they campaigned for the Illinois Senate seat in the United States Senate. This format was used in debates where one contender would talk for an hour, the second for an hour and a half, then the first candidate would respond for another half hour. Douglas served as the moderator and adjudicator for four of the seven debates.
While in Freeport, Lincoln inquired to Douglas about the legality of a territory’s citizens’ decision to exclude slavery before to the establishment of a state constitution.
Douglas on Slavery
The Kansas-Nebraska Act, championed by Douglas, and the Supreme Court’s judgment in the Dred Scott Case were the two “links” that came before the establishment of the Freeport Doctrine. Previously, the Missouri Compromise forbade slavery in the Louisiana Territory north of 36 degrees and 30 minutes north latitude, which was the geographic location of Douglas’ Kansas-Nebraska Act. The Kansas-Nebraska Act overturned this and permitted slavery to be practiced in what had been the Louisiana Territory north of the “Missouri Compromise” line, which had previously been prohibited.
A large number of people in Illinois were outraged by this, and Douglas’ thesis of popular sovereignty was dealt a fatal blow as a result.
Douglas desired to give the inhabitants of a region the ability to determine whether or not to have slavery.
Because of the Dred Scott decision, both popular sovereignty and the federal ban on slavery in the territories were effectively abolished.
Lincoln Paints Douglas into a Corner
In Freeport, Lincoln asked the issue, “Could the people of a territory, in any lawful fashion, against the preferences of any citizen of the United States, exclude slavery from their borders prior to the establishment of a state constitution?” Douglas found himself in a difficult position. A “no” from him would be unpopular with many people in Illinois, and he would almost certainly lose the 1858 Senate election to Abraham Lincoln. If he responded affirmatively, he would be required to explain how he would do this, and he would run the danger of offending proponents of slavery who believed it was their right to transport their property (their slaves) into any region.
In the latter case, Douglas’s hoped-for presidential candidacy in 1860 would be hampered as a result of his decision.
Lincoln, on the other hand, wanted Douglas to respond in what had become a national arena.
The Debates were published in newspapers across the country the next day, thanks to the use of the telegraph system. Stephen Douglas lived between 1844 and 1860. The Library of Congress is a federal government institution that collects and organizes information.
Douglas Responds
Douglas responded, “I don’t know.” “People have the legal authority to add or exclude slavery as they see fit, for the simple fact that slavery cannot persist 24 hours a day, seven days a week anyplace unless it is sanctioned by state or municipal police legislation. Local legislators are the only ones who can set those laws. If people are opposed to slavery, they will elect members to that body who will pass unfavorable legislation that will successfully prohibit slavery from being introduced into their midst.” For the purposes of this discussion, Douglas was saying that territorial legislatures could not directly prohibit slavery, but they could pass laws that made it difficult for slavery to exist or they could fail to pass laws that were necessary to protect slavery, such as a fugitive slave law and other customary slave codes.
- Douglas was re-elected to the Senate by the tiniest of margins on Tuesday.
- Many southern Democrats demanded that Congress pass federal regulations that would establish a fugitive slave law and other slave codes throughout the territories at the 1860 Democratic National Convention in Charleston, South Carolina, which took place in April.
- So the territory legislatures were deprived of their constitutional authority to forbid the “import of slavery into their midst.” Other members of the Democratic Party were adamant in their opposition to including this component in the party’s platform.
- Stephen Douglas was the candidate of the “Northern” Democrats, whereas John Breckinridge was the candidate of the “Southern” Democrats.
Events Leading to the Civil War
During the late 1840s and early 1850s, Senators Glenville Dodge (Iowa) and Stephen Douglas introduced a slew of “Nebraska Bills,” several of which were signed into law. In order to oversee the enormous area between the Missouri River and the Continental Divide, a territory government was established under the provisions of the measure. Southern Senators blocked every attempt to establish a Nebraska Territory on the grounds that any states created out of the territory would be free as a result of the Missouri Compromise, which was signed in 1820.
It would divide the world into two areas, and the people who migrated there would be able to choose whether they wanted to live in slave or free territory.
Dred Scott Decision (1857)
The Supreme Court of the United States published its verdict in the Dred Scott Case in March of 1857, only a few days after James Buchanan was inaugurated as the fifteenth President of the country. A slave named Scott had been in a portion of Wisconsin Territory where slavery was prohibited as a result of the Missouri Compromise when he was captured. The Supreme Court had originally split its vote on the issue 5-4, but two Justices from Pennsylvania changed their minds at the last minute and joined the majority.
2) Congress made a mistake with the Missouri Compromise because the Constitution forbade the National Government from controlling slavery in the United States territory.
Freeport Doctrine (1858)
In the Freeport Debate, Lincoln effectively forced Douglas into a hole by questioning, in light of the Dred Scott decision, how a territory could prohibit slavery from being established. In Illinois, where the majority of the population supported the restriction of slavery in the territories if Douglas said they couldn’t, he would lose votes if he said they couldn’t. If he stated that they could, he would lose support in the South, which may jeopardize his hopes of being elected President of the United States in 1860.
The territory legislature might thus make it more difficult for slave owners to recapture their runaway slaves in the future.
Douglas debates garnered widespread national attention, the South came to regard Douglas as an ally in the fight against slavery.
The Library of Congress is a federal government institution that collects and organizes information.
Southern Demand for a Federal Slave Code (1860)
As part of the Freeport Debate, Lincoln pushed Douglas into a box by questioning, in light of the Dred Scott decision, how a territory could prohibit slavery from being established. In Illinois, where the majority of the population supported the restriction of slavery in the territories if Douglas said they couldn’t, he would lose votes if he answered no. His support in the South would plummet as a result of his assertions, and this may jeopardize his prospects of being elected President in 1860.
The territory government might therefore make it more difficult for slave owners to recapture their runaway slaves.
Douglas debates acquired widespread national attention.
National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) (also known as the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA))
Stephen Douglas and the ‘right side’ of history
House Speaker Michael Madigan wants a painting of Stephen Douglas removed from the Illinois House chambers, South Side politicians want a statue of Douglas removed from atop his tomb in Bronzeville, and citizens of Lawndale want to rename Douglas Park. Those monuments should be demolished, while the name of the park should be considered in a larger context. Madigan, who has gained millions on a skewed property tax system and, unlike Douglas, has never taken a political risk in his whole career, appears to be getting a little carried away with political correctness.
Abolition of slavery and basic civil rights for African-Americans were among Douglas’s political beliefs, and he made a fortune from a slave plantation in Mississippi that his wife had inherited from her father.
Senate campaign and losing to him in the presidential election two years later.
Douglas was a national political leader whose life and career provide insights into the way history works, including how a crisis can develop from a fundamental contradiction — in this case, slavery versus democracy, even if it is a severely restricted version of democracy — and how this can bring disparate forces together in a common cause.
Douglas was born in the South and raised in the North. Douglas attempted to reach a compromise with the slave states in the decade leading up to the Civil War, but instead found himself at odds with them. And, despite his bigotry, he was not afraid to engage in that battle.
A complex path to opposing the Confederacy
As the leading northern Democrat in Congress, Douglas pushed for passage of the Compromise of 1850, which included the Fugitive Slave Law, which put northerners in the position of slave catchers and sparked “riots and revolts” in northern cities. Douglas was the only northern Democrat to vote for the Compromise of 1850. Soon after, Douglas supported the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which left the decision of whether or not to legalize slavery in the states to be decided by the people of the states. Douglas’ idea of “popular sovereignty” was represented in this decision.
- Once again, the legislation failed to bring about reconciliation among the various sections of the population.
- In 1857, a tiny group of pro-slavery Kansans enacted the Lecompton Constitution, which officially established slavery in the state.
- Douglas shattered his long-standing alliance with the Democratic government, labeling the constitution a “fraudulent submission” and sided with House Republicans in their opposition to approval of the document.
- The next year, Douglas, after first encouraging respect for the ruling, called it into question in his debates with Lincoln.
- In the South, it was referred to as the “Freeport Heresy.” When the 1860 Democratic National Convention convened in Charleston, South Carolina, these concerns came to a boiling point.
- Not out of principle, but because they were well aware that accepting these demands would alienate northern Democrats from the party, the Douglas Democrats refused to budge.
- Douglas’ presidential ambitions were likely dashed as a result of this.
In North Carolina, he advocated for “hanging any man who takes up weapons against the state of Georgia.” By October, it was evident that Douglas would not be able to win the election, and he shifted his strategy, traveling to Missouri, Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama to campaign not for his election but against the secession of the states.
Douglas stated that he agreed with every word, with the exception of the call for 75,000 volunteers to fight for the Union, which he pushed Lincoln to increase to 200,000.
In the end, a diverse variety of forces was necessary to win the war, from enslaved people who rose against their bondage and abolitionists to Free Soilers and Douglas-style Unionists, among others.
Lessons for today’s fight for justice, in symbols and action
The slaveowners’ uprising was put down by any means, including the deaths of thousands of soldiers. And we still have a long way to go before we can properly honor the achievements of those historymakers who were not white male generals and politicians in the first place. We must also acknowledge the greatest tragedy of the Civil War: the abandoning of Reconstruction attempts to establish genuine democracy in the South, which mirrored the inability to overthrow the ideology of white supremacy that Douglas had upheld throughout his life.
- It is possible that both police abolitionists and Black police officers who are confronting anti-reform unions – as well as many others – are making significant contributions to the advancement of society.
- In terms of monuments, the massive statue of Douglas in Bronzeville is considered offensive by many of the neighborhood’s residents.
- That has obvious appeal, but I’m not certain it’s the wisest course of action in this case.
- The Columbian Exposition in Chicago, where he represented Haiti, the only Black nation in attendance, was held in Jackson Park, where he delivered his famous lecture, in which he challenged the United States to live up to its Constitution.
- Wells cooperated on a booklet that exposed the exclusion of African Americans from the Columbian Exposition in Chicago.
When measured against the standards of white male politics of the time, he was progressive, if not radical, supporting the expansion of the electoral franchise beyond property owners and the abolition of debtors’ prisons, opposing banks and corporations, and reorienting government to serve his vision of “the common man.” Aside from that, he was a bigot and a slaveowner, and he was the mastermind behind the Trail of Tears, which is considered to be the most horrific act of ethnic cleansing in American history.
- However, other historians believe that the democratic spirit he helped to initiate — however restricted in its initial reach — has had a broader impact in following decades than originally anticipated.
- Jackson leaves behind a complicated historical legacy, to be sure — but as a man, his crimes and record of cruelty are of such enormity that they overwhelm all else.
- Also, make Harriet Tubman the face of the ten-dollar note.
- It is my recommendation that Richard Barnett be remembered as the renowned independent political organizer who played a big part in the election of Harold Washington as mayor of New York City in 1983.
It was in the 1950s that Barnett began his community activity, starting with a baseball league for local kids and a campaign to get a quality playing field built in Lawndale, the area where Douglas Park is located.
Slavery – The Kansas-Nebraska Act & the Underground Railroad
Throughout the century, abolitionists and slaveowners came to blows on a number of occasions. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 was the first attempt to arbitrate between the two parties. It restricted slavery to regions south of the 36 30 latitude line, which was the line dividing the United States in half. It was the legislature’s endeavor to ensure that the two interests were balanced in the United States Senate that resulted in Missouri becoming a slave state and Maine becoming a free state.
The Kansas-Nebraska Act
On May 30, 1854, President Franklin Pierce signed the Kansas-Nebraska Act into law, thereby establishing the state of Kansas. The Act approved by the United States Congress had a greater influence on American history than the formation of the territories of Nebraska and Kansas, which took place immediately afterward. There was no longer a “permanent Indian boundary,” which made it possible for the colonization of the Great Plains to occur. Later, the same path was utilized for the first transcontinental railroad, as well as the first transcontinental roadway, which is now known as Interstate 80.
- The Missouri Compromise was declared “null and invalid” by the Kansas-Nebraska Act.
- It also prohibited slavery in the regions north of the 36° 30′ parallel, which marked the southern boundary of Missouri.
- The Missouri Compromise’s prohibition on slavery was virtually repealed as a result of this.
- However, popular sovereignty did not bring about a resolution to the slavery issue, but rather heightened the feelings of both sides.
- Abolitionists and Free-Staters such as John Brown and Jim Lane were pitted against pro-slavery figures such as Sheriff Samuel Jones and the Missouri Border Ruffians in a battle known as the Battle of the Missouri Border.
- Because Kansas had four constitutional conventions, as well as multiple territory legislatures and governors, the political landscape was equally tumultuous as the economic one.
- In 1856, the newly formed political party nominated John C.
- He did not win, but their nominee, Abraham Lincoln, was elected in 1860, and the war was over.
Not only did the Kansas-Nebraska Act fail to address the question of slavery, it also contributed to the escalation of tensions that eventually led to the Civil War.
Slavery In Nebraska
Kansas-Nebraska Act became law on May 30, 1854, after President Franklin Pierce signed it into law. While the territorial expansion into Nebraska and Kansas was quick, the Act approved by the United States Congress had a far greater influence on American history. There was no longer a “permanent Indian border,” which made it possible for people to inhabit the Great Plains. Eventually, the same path was utilized to build the first transcontinental railroad, which was eventually expanded to include Interstate 80 and other major highways.
- The Missouri Compromise was declared “null and invalid” as a result of the Kansas-Nebraska Act.
- It also prohibited slavery in the regions north of the 36° 30′ parallel, which marked the southern boundary of Missouri at the time of the declaration.
- The Missouri Compromise’s prohibition on slavery was virtually repealed as a result of this decision.
- Slavery was not resolved as a result of popular sovereignty, but rather the passions of both sides were heightened as a result.
- Abolitionists and Free-Staters such as John Brown and Jim Lane were pitted against pro-slavery figures such as Sheriff Samuel Jones and the Missouri Border Ruffians in a battle known as the Battle of the Missouri River.
- Because Kansas had four constitutional conventions, as well as many territory legislatures and governors, the political environment was equally tumultuous as the economic one.
- During the presidential election of 1856, the newly formed political party nominated John C.
- However, their nominee Abraham Lincoln was elected president in 1860 after he failed to win the election.
Not only did the Kansas-Nebraska Act fail to address the question of slavery, it also contributed to the Civil War’s “slippery slope.”
The Underground Railroad
On May 30, 1854, President Franklin Pierce signed the Kansas-Nebraska Act into law. The Act approved by the United States Congress had a greater influence on American history than the formation of the territories of Nebraska and Kansas, which occurred immediately thereafter. It made it possible to populate the Great Plains and put an end to the notion of a “permanent Indian border.” Later, the same path was utilized for the first transcontinental railroad, as well as the first transcontinental highway and Interstate 80.
- With the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the Missouri Compromise was declared “null and invalid.” In 1820, the Missouri Compromise established Missouri as a slave state while admitting Maine as a free state.
- With the introduction of “popular sovereignty,” the people of the territories were given the power to determine whether or not to legalize slavery.
- Slavery was abolished in the United States by popular sovereignty, according to Senator Stephen Douglas, a Democrat from Illinois.
- With the possibility of slavery spreading beyond the Southern states, a debate erupted over Kansas territory and whether or not it would be a slave or a free state.
- Battles such as the Battles of Osawatomie and Black Jack broke out between pro-slavery and anti-slavery armies, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people.
- It also resulted in the formation of the Republican Party in 1854, which ran on a platform opposing the expansion of slavery.
- Fremont (an American West explorer) as its presidential candidate.
- Following this, the Southern states seceded from the Union, and the American Civil War began in April 1861.
- The Kansas-Nebraska Act did not address the question of slavery, but it helped “oil the slippery slope” that led to the Civil War, according to historians.
Underground Railroad
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Compromise of 1850 – Kansapedia
The Kansas-Nebraska Act was signed into law by President Franklin Pierce on May 30, 1854. The Act approved by the United States Congress had a greater influence on American history than the formation of the territories of Nebraska and Kansas in their immediate aftermath. It allowed for the settling of the Great Plains and the abandonment of the notion of a “permanent Indian boundary.” Later, the same path was utilized for the first transcontinental railroad, as well as the first transcontinental roadway, which became known as Interstate 80.
The Kansas-Nebraska Act declared the Missouri Compromise “null and invalid.” In 1820, the Missouri Compromise established Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state.
The new law featured the concept of “popular sovereignty,” which enabled the people of the territories to determine whether or not to tolerate slavery.
Senator Stephen Douglas, a Democrat from Illinois, was the primary author of the measure and believed that popular sovereignty would resolve the slavery issue.
With the possibility of slavery spreading beyond the Southern states, a debate erupted over Kansas territory and whether or not it would be a slave state or a free state.
Violence erupted between pro-slavery and anti-slavery groups, culminating in the battles of Osawatomie and Black Jack.
The Act also resulted in the formation of the Republican Party in 1854, which ran on a platform of opposition to the growth of slavery.
Fremont (an American West explorer) to be its presidential candidate.
Following this, the Southern states seceded from the Union, and the American Civil War began in April 1861.
After four years of bloodshed, the nation was maintained and slavery was abolished. The Kansas-Nebraska Act did not address the question of slavery, but it did “oil the slippery slope” that led to the American Civil War.