Election of 1860: Divisions of Slavery

In this unit, our Honors History 10 class was discussing how the results of the 1860 election corollated to the divisions of slavery. The election was divided into two main parties: Lincoln, the republican who believed that slavery should be contained, and Breckinridge, the southern democrat who believed that slavery should have absolutely zero limits. Between these two major parties were Douglass, the northern democrat who believed slavery should be determined through sovereignty, and Bell, who supported the constitutional Union and everything that it originally provided, including slavery itself. The north mainly voted for Lincoln while the south, Breckinridge. In class, we were directed to the Civil War in Art link, which gave us brief summaries over several major events during the election of 1860. For an example, the photo below was shown to the public during the 1860's to help the view the war through the eyes of the Confederate and Union Soldiers. 

These images struck a strong sense of patriotism in the hearts of many during the 1860's. Our final project required us to make a video summarizing all of the events that the Civil War in Art link provided. Enjoy! 

North vs. South Infographic

This infographic explains some of the advantages the North had over the South in the conflict between slave states and free states. I chose to highlight these specific statistics as I feel they provided the major significant advantages that lead the North to victory. Railroads allow faster and more efficient transport of goods, services, and people while manufacturing rate and food supply provided an abundance of materials soldiers would need to fight. The south, however, did have some advantages that were not included. For example, the majority of Military Schools were placed in the south, lending the South more experience in war. However, the North outnumbered them greatly thus leading them to a victory

Slavery - The Elephant in the Room

How do we know the debate over slavery was the "elephant in the room" for American politics in the early 19th century?Slavery was ultra controversial over the early 19th century due to the fact that the United States was essentially divided 50/50 in terms of which sides supports slavery and which side supports freedom of slaves. How were sides once chosen in the 19th century and what decisions were made to get there? In 1820, Missouri made the compromise to split the states 11/11 in terms of freedom; states above the 36 degree 30 minutes line where not included in the supporting of slavery, with the exception of the southern border of Missouri.

 Over time, many problems arose regarding the claim of new territory and which side it would support. For example, there were questions over whether or not California should be included in the states as a free state, destroying the idea of the Missouri compromise. The solution to this question was that California would be let into the union as a free state, however, the fugitive slave act was imposed which said that any runaway slaves should be returned to the north. Another problem involved whether or not the capital of the Union, DC, should be considered a slave state. The solution required that slavery was abolished but it was still permitted in other areas.

In 1853, the U.S. Paid 15 million dollars for Nevada, California, Utah, and most of Arizona. Only 5 years later did the U.S. Pay another 10 million for a smaller strip of land, which was ideal for the transcontinental railroad for the Southerners. On the other hand, the Kansas-Nebraska act benefited the north as it placed another transcontinental railroad in Chicago which helped the north extend into the west. In the end, many debates were held over which states would support freedom and which states wouldn't, leading to many more problems in the future.