The American Pageant Notes

Marvels in Manufacturing * War of 1812 prompted a boom of American factories and the use of American products as opposed to British imports. * The surplus in American manufacturing dropped following the Treaty of Ghent in 1815. * The British manufacturers sold their products to Americans at very low prices. * Congress passed the Tariff of 1816 in order to protect the American manufacturers. * 1798-Eli Whitney came up with the idea of machines making each part of the musket so that every part of the musket would be the same. * By 1850-the principle of interchangeable parts caught on and it became the basis for mass-production. * Elias Howe- invented the sewing machine in 1846. * The sewing machine gave a boost to northern industrialization. * Became the foundation of the ready-made clothing industry. * Laws of "free incorporation"- first passed in New York in 1848; businessmen could create corporations without applying for individual charters from the legislature. * Samuel F. B. Morse- invented the telegraph.
Workers and "Wage Slaves" * Impersonal relationships replaced the personal relationships that were once held between workers. * Factory workers were forbidden by law to form labor unions to raise wages. * 1820s- many children were used as laborers in factories. * With Jacksonian Democracy came the rights of the laboring man to vote. * President Van Buren established the ten-hour work day in 1840. * Commonwealth vs. Hunt- Supreme Court ruling said that labor unions were not illegal conspiracies, provided that their methods were honorable and peaceful.
Women and the Economy * Farm women and girls had an important place in the pre-industrial economy, spinning yarn, weaving cloth, and making candles, soap, butter, and cheese. * Women were forbidden to form unions and they had few opportunities to share dissatisfactions over their harsh working conditions. * Catharine Beecher- urged women to enter the teaching profession. * The vast majority of working women were single. * During the Industrial Revolution- families were small, affectionate, and child-centered, which provided a special place for women.
Western Farmers Reap a Revolution in the Fields * The trans-Allegheny region became the nation's breadbasket. * Liquor and hogs became the early western farmer's staple market items. * John Deere- produced a steel plow in 1837 which broke through the thick soil of the West.
Highways and Steamboats * Lancaster Turnpike- hard-surfaced highway that ran from Philadelphia to Lancaster; drivers had to pay a toll to use it. * 1811- the federal government began to construct the National Road, or Cumberland Road. It went from Cumberland, in western Maryland, to Illinois. Its construction was halted during the War of 1812, but the road was completed in 1852. * Robert Fulton- installed a steam engine and created the first steamboat. * The steamboat played a vital role in the opening and binding the West and South. "Clinton's Big Ditch" in New York * Governor DeWitt Clinton- governor of New York who lead the building of the Erie Canal that connected the Great Lakes with the Hudson River in 1825; the canal lowered shipping prices and decreased passenger transit time.
The Iron Horse * The most significant contribution to the development of such an economy was the railroad. The first one appeared in 1828. * at first were opposed because of safety flaws and they took away money from the Erie Canal investors.
Cables (Telegraphs), Clippers, and Pony Riders * 1840s and 1850s- Yankee navel yards began to produce new crafts called clipper ships. * These ships sacrificed cargo room for speed * able to transport small amounts of goods in short amounts of time * they faded away after steam boats were made better * 1860-The Pony Express was established to carry mail from St. Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, California. * The mail service collapsed after 18 months due to lack of profit.
The Transport Web Binds the Union * The desire of the East to move west stimulated the "transportation revolution." * The South raised cotton for export to New England and Britain. * The West grew grain and livestock to feed factory workers in the East and in Europe. * The East made machines and textiles for the South and the West. * All of these products were transported using the railroad; the railroad linked America.

Reviving Religion * Thomas Paine promoted the doctrines of Deism. * relied on science rather than the Bible and they denied the divinity of Christ * Believed in a Supreme Being who had created a universe and endowed human beings with a capacity for moral behavior. * Unitarianism spun off of Deism. * Unitarians believed that God existed in only one person. It appealed to mostly intellectuals. * 1800- Second Great Awakening came * Women were a large part of it. * Peter Cartwright- a revivalist, traveling preacher who converted thousands to Christianity. * Charles Grandison Finney- one of the greatest revivalist preachers.
Denominational Diversity * Many preachers preached in Western New York where the Puritans settled. * The Second Great Awakening widened the lines between the classes and regions. * The more prosperous and conservative denominations in the East were little touched by revivalism, and Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Congregationalists, and Unitarians continued to rise mostly from the wealthier, better-educated levels of society. * slavery split the churches apart. A Desert Zion in Utah * Joseph Smith- formed the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) ( 1830) * deciphered the Book of Mormon from some golden plates given to him by an angel; led the Mormons to Illinois. * After Joseph Smith was killed 1844, Brigham Young led the Mormons to Utah to avoid persecution. Free Schools for a Free People * between 1825 -1850-Tax-supported public education came about. * Americans saw that they had to educate their children because the children were the future. * The teachers were mostly men and didn’t know how to teach. * There weren’t very many schools in the U.S. because of their high costs to communities. * Horace Mann- campaigned effectively for a better schooling system. Higher Goals for Higher Learning * 1795- The first state-supported universities showed up in the South * The University of Virginia was founded by Thomas Jefferson. * 1820s- Women's schools at the secondary level came because of Emma Willard.

An Age of Reform * States gradually abolished debtors' prisons due to public demand. * Criminal codes in the states were being softened. * The number of capital offenses was being reduced. * The idea that prisons should reform as well as punish arose. * Dorothy Dix- traveled the country, visiting different asylums; released a report on insanity and asylums; her protests resulted in improved conditions for the mentally ill. * 1828- the American Peace Society was formed. * It was led by William Ladd.
Demon Rum - The "Old Deluder" * The problem of drinking was found in women, clergymen, and members of Congress. * 1826-The American Temperance Society was formed. * Its crusaders persuaded drinkers to stop drinking. * Neal S. Dow- thought that alcohol should be removed by legislation; "Father of Prohibition"; supported the Maine Law of 1851 * banned the manufacture and sale of liquor in Maine. * The country banned the sale of alcohol with the 18th amendment in 1918.
Women in Revolt * Early 19th century- the role of women was to stay at home and be subordinate to her husband. * women couldn’t vote and when married * couldn’t retain her property * women started to avoid marriage. * Gender differences were emphasized because the market economy was separating women and men into distinct economic roles. * 1848- Feminists met at Seneca Falls, New York in a Woman's Rights Convention to rewrite the Declaration of Independence to include women.
Wilderness Utopians * Robert Owen- in 1825 he founded a communal society in order to seek human betterment. * All utopias failed

The Dawn of Scientific Achievement * Americans were more interested in practical gadgets than in pure science. * Americans invented practical gadgets, but as far as basic science was concerned, Americans borrowed and adapted the findings of Europeans. * Medicine in America was still primitive by modern standards. * Early 1840s- several American doctors and dentists successfully used laughing gas and ether as anesthetics.
Artistic Achievements * Between 1820 and 1850- a Greek revival in architecture came to America. * Most of the ideas of art and painting were taken from Europe. * "Dixie" = the battle hymn of the Confederates * written in 1859 The Blossoming of a National Literature * Most of the reading material in America was imported or taken from British sources. * Following the War of Independence and the War of 1812, American literature received a boost from the wave of nationalism. * Washington Irving- the first American to win international recognition as a literary figure. * James Fenimore Cooper- the first American novelist to gain world fame.
Trumpeters of Transcendentalism * The transcendentalist movement of the 1830s resulted from a liberalizing of the Puritan theology. * It also owed to foreign influences. * The transcendentalists rejected the theory that all knowledge comes to the mind through the senses. * Truth, rather, transcends the senses and can't be found just by observation. * Associated traits included self-reliance, self-culture, and self-discipline. * Ralph Waldo Emerson- transcendentalist poet and philosopher; urged American writers to forget European traditions and write about American interests. * Henry David Thoreau- transcendentalist who believed that one should reduce his bodily wants so as to gain time for a pursuit of truth through study and meditation.
Glowing Literary Lights * Not all poets and writers of the time were transcendentalists. * Henry Wadsworth Longfellow- one of the most famous poets to come from America wrote for the refined class; was adopted by the less-cultured class. Literary Individuals and Dissenters * Edgar Allan Poe- wrote with a pessimistic tone, not like the literature at the time. * Herman Melville- writer of the novel Moby Dick. Portrayers of the Past * A distinguished group of American historians was emerging at the same time that other international writers were coming about. * Slavery was dying out * the invention of the cotton gin prompted the plantation owners to keep their slaves as they now produced a high profit harvesting cotton.
"Cotton is King!" * 75% of Britain's cotton came from the South so it controlled Britain
The Planter "Aristocracy" * The antebellum South was more of an oligarchy * a government ran by a few. * The government was heavily affected by the planter aristocracy. * The dominance of aristocracy in the South widened the gap between the rich and poor because the aristocrats made all the decisions in their favor in government. * The Southern plantation wife commanded the female slaves. Slaves of the Slave System * The economic structure in the South became increasingly monopolistic. * The plantation system was very financially unstable. * The temptation to over-speculate (no profit w/material held) in land and slaves caused many planters to plunge into debt.
The White Majority * The less wealthy slave owners were below the wealthy slaves owners. * The smaller slave owners didn't own a majority of the slaves, but they made up a majority of the masters. * the large number of whites (3/4 of South white population) were those who didn't own slaves. * were a support of slavery because they wanted to eventually own a slave or two and achieve the "American dream" of moving up socially in society. * The less prosperous nonslave-holding whites were known as "poor white trash" and "hillbillies." * the mountain whites lived in the valley of the Appalachian range. * Civilization hadn't reached them yet, and they supported Abraham Lincoln's Union party. Free Blacks: Slaves Without Masters * Many free blacks settled in New Orleans. * In the South, the free blacks were prohibited from having certain jobs and forbidden from testifying against whites in court. * known as the "3rd Race" * In the North, the free blacks as individuals were hated more than in the South * White southerners liked the black as an individual, but hated the race. * The white northerners liked the race, but disliked the individual. Plantation Slavery * Because the price of "black ivory" (slaves) was so high, slaves were smuggled into the South despite the importation of African slaves into American ended in 1808. * Most slaves were the offspring of slaves already in America. * Planters regarded slaves as major investments. Life Under the Lash * "Black Belt"- region where most slaves were concentrated; stretched from South Carolina and Georgia into Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana. * Blacks managed to sustain family life in slavery. * Blacks molded their own distinctive religious forms from a mixture of Christian and African elements.
The Burdens of Bondage * Slaves were not permitted to read * "peculiar institution."= Slavery in the South
Early Abolitionism * American Colonization Society- founded in 1817; focused on transporting the blacks back to Africa. * Republic of Liberia- founded in 1822 as a place for former slaves. * The Second Great Awakening inflamed the hearts of many abolitionists against the sin of slavery. * Theodore Dwight Weld- abolitionist who spoke against slavery; wrote the pamphlet American Slavery As It Is (1839) which made arguments against slavery; went to Lane Theological Seminary.

Radical Abolitionism * William Lloyd Garrison- wrote a militantly anti-slavery newspaper The Liberator; publicly burned a copy of the Constitution. * Sojourner Truth- freed black woman who fought for black emancipation and women's rights. * Frederick Douglass- lectured widely for abolitionism; looked to politics to end slavery.
The South Lashes Back * 1832- states were moving to make the emancipation of any kind illegal. * This nullification crisis of 1832 caused the voice of white southern abolitionism to be silenced. * The Southerners argued that slavery was supported by the Bible. * The Gag Resolution required all anti-slavery appeals to be tabled without debate in the House of Representatives. * 1835- the government ordered the southern postmasters to destroy abolitionist material due to anti-abolitionist mobbing and rioting at a postal office in Charleston, South Carolina.

The Abolitionist Impact in the North * Abolitionists were, for a long time, unpopular in many parts of the North. * The southern planters owed much money to the northern bankers * should the Union dissolve, the debts would be lost. * New England textile mills were fed with cotton raised by the slaves * if slavery was abolished, then the vital supply would be cut off and there would be unemployment. * "Free soilers" opposed extending slavery to the western territories.
The Accession of "Tyler Too" * Both Whigs, Daniel Webster, as secretary of state, and Henry Clay, the king of the Whigs and their ablest spokesman in the Senate, were set to control the Presidency. * Before Henry Harrison's first term, he contracted pneumonia. * 4 weeks into the term, he died. * This hampered Webster and Clay plan. * John Tyler- Vice President to Henry Harrison; successor as President following Harrison's death; "Tyler too"; a Democrat at heart and contradicted many of the Whig Party ideas; vetoes Banks of United States; lowered tariff.
John Tyler: A President without a Party * When the Whig Party came to power in the presidency, many changes came about. * financial reform- The independent treasury system was ended. * A bill for a "Fiscal Bank," went through Congress, but President Tyler vetoed it. * The Whigs presented a "Fiscal Corporation" but the president again vetoed it. * President Tyler was rejected by his former Whig Party. * Tyler signed the Tariff of 1842 which was a protective Whig tariff.
A War of Words with Britain * During the 19th Century- was much hatred of Britain. * This sparked the "Third War with England." * This war was only fought with paper broadsides. * 1837- there was a small rebellion in Canada. * It failed because it was supported by few Canadians and it could not enforce unpopular laws in the face of popular opposition. * 1837- the American ship, the Caroline, was sunk by a British force. * Washington officials made ineffective protests against the attack. * 1841- British officials in the Bahamas offered asylum to 130 Virginia slaves who had rebelled and captured the American ship Creole. Manipulating the Maine Maps * 1842- the British wanted to build a road westward from the seaport of Halifax to Quebec, running through disputed territory. * The London Foreign Office sent Lord Ashburton to Washington to settle the dispute. * He and Daniel Webster negotiated and gave the Americans 7,000mi2 of the 12,000mi2 of land in dispute. The Lone Star of Texas Shines Alone * In the 8 years since 1836, Mexico considered Texas as a province in revolt and refused to recognize Texas's independence. * Mexico threatened war if the America protected Texas. * Texas made treaties with France, Holland, and Belgium. * Britain wanted to have relations with Texas because Britain could try to make Texas tear America apart. * Britain wanted Texas as an independent ally.
The Belated Texas Nuptials * 1844- Texas became a leading issue in the presidential campaign. * The Democrats were pro-expansion and were for annexing Texas. * 1845- President Tyler signed a resolution that invited Texas to become the 28th state in America.

Oregon Fever Populates Oregon * Four nations claimed Oregon Country at one time: Spain, Russia, Britain, and the United States. * Spain dropped out of America with the Florida Treaty of 1819 and Russia dropped out with the treaties of 1824 and 1825. * Britain controlled the portion north of the Columbia River. * By 1846- about 5,000 Americans settled south of the Columbia River. * The British had a lesser population but it did not want to give up its claims to the Columbia River. * The disputed territory in Oregon Country became an issue in the election of 1844. A Mandate for Manifest Destiny * In the election of 1844, the Whig party chose Henry Clay, and the Democrats chose James K. Polk. * James K. Polk was the Speaker of the House of Representatives for four years and governor of Tennessee for two terms. * He beat Henry Clay to win the election of 1844 * "Young Hickory" * said he would protect Texas * avoided the issue of slavery. * 1840s and 1850s- many Americans felt that God had "manifestly" destined the American people to spread their democratic institutions over the entire continent and over South America as well. * Democrats strongly supported the idea of Manifest Destiny. * Henry Clay straddled the issue whether or not to annex Texas. Polk the Purposeful * Polk had four main goals for his presidency - 1. A lower tariff. * Robert J. Walker- Secretary of Treasury to James Polk; * devised the Walker Tariff of 1846- reduced the rates of the Tariff of 1842 from 32% to 25%. 2. restore the independent treasury, which the Whigs dropped in 1841 3. acquisition of California 4. settlement of the Oregon dispute without violence
Misunderstandings with Mexico * 1845- The population of California consisted of Spanish-Mexicans and Indians * Polk wanted to buy California (The Bear Flag Republic) from Mexico but relations with Mexico were poor due to the annexation of Texas. * John Slidell- was sent to Mexico City (1845) by Polk to buy California for $25 million * the offer was rejected.
American Blood on American Soil * January 13, 1846- Polk ordered 4,000 men under General Zachary Taylor to the Rio Grande. * May 9, 1846- Polk asked Congress to declare war on Mexico of the basis of unpaid claims and Slidell's rejection of the purchasing of California. * Mexican troops attacked American troops that night and war was declared. The Mastering of Mexico * Polk wanted California, not war. * when the war came, he hoped that America could pull out with California. * Generals in Mexican-American War: * General Stephen W. Kearny- led 1,700 troops to Santa Fe. * General Zachary Taylor- won many victories including a great victory over a large Mexican force at Buena Vista ; future President * General Winfield Scott- succeeded in battling his way up to Mexico City by September 1847; 1st choice of President Abraham Lincoln to lead the Union army in the Civil War.
Fighting Mexico for Peace * Nicholas P. Trist- chief clerk of the State Department; signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo on February 2, 1848. * Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo- gave Texas to America and yielded the area stretching westward to Oregon and the ocean, including California, for a cost of $15 million * Southerners realized that the South would do well without all of Mexico * Mexico = anti-slavery. * The treaty was opposed by those who wanted all of Mexico and those who wanted none of it. Profit and Loss in Mexico * The Mexican War provided field experience for the officers destined to become generals in the Civil War, including Captain Robert E. Lee and Lieutenant Ulysses S. Grant. * The Mexican War brought about the conflict of slavery between the states. * David Wilmot- proposed the amendment that stated that the territory from Mexico should remain slave-free. * Wilmot Amendment- never passed the Senate because the Southern members didn’t want to be robbed of possible slave states to arise in the future from the land gain in the Treaty of Guadalupe.

The Popular Sovereignty Panacea * Popular Sovereignty- the sovereign people of a territory should determine the statues of slavery. * was popular with politicians because it was a comfortable compromise between the abolitionists and the slaver-holders. * At the Democratic National Convention at Baltimore, the Democrats chose General Lewis Cass, a veteran of the war of 1812, as their candidate for presidency. * Cass supported slavery.
Political Triumphs for General Taylor * The Whigs, who met in Philadelphia, chose Zachary Taylor as their candidate for presidency. * Taylor didn’t have an official stance on slavery, but he did own many slaves. * Henry Clay hadn’t been chosen because he had too many enemies. * The Free Soil Party emerged. * was formed by antislavery men of the North, who didn't trust Cass or Taylor. * supported federal aid for internal improvements. * argued that with slavery, wage labor would wither away and with it, the chance for the American worker to own property. * Zachary Taylor won the election of 1848 (sworn into office in 1849). "Californy Gold" * 1848- gold was discovered in California. * The rush of people in search of gold in California brought much violence and disease that the small government in California couldn't handle. * Needing protection, the Californians bypassed the territorial stage of a state, drafted their own Constitution (excluding slavery) in 1849, and applied to Congress for admission into the Union. * The southerners objected to California's admission as a free state because it would be upset the balance of free and slave states in the Senate.
Sectional Balance and the Underground Railroad * Harriet Tubman- conductor of the Underground Railroad who rescued hundreds of slaves. * 1850- southerners were demanding a new and strict fugitive-slave law. (The old fugitive-slave law passed by Congress in 1793 was very weak.) * The slave owners rested their argument on the Constitution, which protected slavery.

Twilight of the Senatorial Giants * The congressional debate of 1850 was called to address the possible admission of California to the Union and threats of secession by southerners. * Known as the "immortal trio," Henry Clay, John Calhoun, and Daniel Webster spoke at the forum. * Henry Clay- the "Great Pacificator," proposed a series of compromises. He suggested that the North enact a stricter fugitive-slave law. * John Calhoun- the "Great Nullifier," proposed to leave slavery alone, return runaway slaves, give the South its rights as a minority, and restore the political balance. His view was that two presidents would be elected, one from the South and one from the North, each yielding one veto. * Daniel Webster proposed that all reasonable compromises should be made with the South and that a new fugitive-slave law be formed. * was against slavery and he supported Wilmot Proviso, but felt that cotton could not grow in the territories gained from the Mexican-American War.
Deadlock and Danger on Capital Hill * William H. Seward- senator of New York; antislavery and argued that God's moral law was higher than the Constitution. * President Zachary Taylor seemed bent on vetoing any compromise between the North and South that went through Congress.
Breaking the Congressional Logjam * 1850- President Taylor died suddenly and Vice President Millard Fillmore took the presidency. * President Fillmore signed a series of compromises. * During this time period, a second Era of Good Feelings came about. * Talk of succession subsided and the Northerners and Southerners were determined that the compromises would end the issue of slavery.
Balancing the Compromise Scales * Within the Compromise of 1850, California was admitted as a free state and the territories of New Mexico and Utah were open to slavery on the basis of popular sovereignty. * the Senate was unbalanced in favor of the North. * Fugitive-Slave Law of 1850- (the Bloodhound Bill) fleeing slaves could not testify on their own behalf and they were denied a jury trial. * Northerners who aided slaves trying to escape were subject to fines and jail time. * This=one Southern gain from the Compromise of 1850. * The events in the 1850s caused the Northerners to resist succession.
Defeat and Doom for the Whigs * In the Democratic Convention of 1852 in Baltimore, the Democrats chose Franklin Pierce as their candidate for presidency. * He supported the finality of everything, including the Compromise of 1850 and the Fugitive Slave Law. * Meeting in Baltimore, the Whigs chose Winfield Scott as their candidate for presidency. * He also praised the Compromise of 1850 and the Fugitive Slave Law. * The votes for the Whig party were split between Northern Whigs, who hated the party's platform but accepted the candidate, and Southern Whigs, who supported the platform but not the candidate. * Franklin Pierce won the election of 1852. * marked the end of the Whig party. * It died on the issue of the Fugitive-Slave Law. * The Whig party had upheld the ideal of the Union through their electoral strength in the South.
President Pierce the Expansionist * The victory of the Mexican War stimulated the spirit of Manifest Destiny. * Americans were looking ahead to possible canal routes and to the islands near them, notably Spain's Cuba. * Americans lusted for territory after the Compromise of 1850. * William Walker installed himself as the President of Nicaragua in July 1856. * He legalized slavery, but was overthrown by surrounding Central American countries and killed in 1860. * Nicaragua was the world's leading marine and commercial power. * The British, fearing the Americans would monopolize the trade arteries there, secured a foothold in Greytown. * The Clayton-Bulwer Treaty- neither America nor Britain would fortify or secure exclusive control over any waterway between two bodies of land * 1854- Japan was persuaded to sign a treaty that started the trade of America with Japan.
Coveted Cuba: Pearl of the Antilles * Cuba = prized by Southerners who saw it as the most desirable slave territory available. * They felt future states arising from it would eventually restore the balance in the Senate. * President Polk had offered $100 million to buy from Spain, but Spain refused. * 1850-1851- two expeditions full of Southern men descended upon Cuba, with the hopes of taking it over. * Spanish officials in Cuba seized an American ship, the Black Warrior, in 1854. * It was now time for President Pierce to provoke a war with Spain and take Cuba.

* The secretary of state instructed the American ministers in Spain, England, and France to prepare confidential recommendations for the acquisition of Cuba. * This document = Ostend Manifesto * It stated that if Spain didn't allow America to buy Cuba for $120 million, then America would attack Cuba on grounds that Spain's continued ownership of Cuba endangered American interests. * The document eventually leaked out and the Northerners foiled the President's slave-driven plan. Pacific Railroad Promoters and the Gadsden Purchase * With the acquisition of California and Oregon, the transcontinental railroad was proposed. * The question was where to have the railroad begin-the North or the South. * Secretary of War Jefferson Davis had James Gadsden buy an area of Mexico from Santa Anna for which the railroad would pass. * Gadsden negotiated a treaty in 1853 and the Gadsden Purchase area was ceded to the United States for $10 million. * The railroad ran from California to Houston, Texas.
Douglas's Kansas-Nebraska Scheme * Stephen A. Douglas- longed to break the North-South deadlock over westward expansion; proposed the Territory of Nebraska be sliced into two territories, Kansas and Nebraska. * Their status on slavery would be decided by popular sovereignty. * Kansas would be presumed to be a slave state, while Nebraska would be a free state. * Kansas-Nebraska Act ran into the problem of the Missouri Compromise of 1820 which forbade slavery in the proposed Nebraska Territory. * Douglas was forced to propose the repealing of the Missouri Compromise. President Pierce fully supported the Kansas-Nebraska Bill. Congress Legislates a Civil War * The Kansas-Nebraska act wrecked two compromises: the Compromise of 1820 which the act repealed; and the Compromise of 1850, which northern opinion repealed indirectly. * The Democratic Party was shattered by the Kansas-Nebraska Act. * The Republican Party was formed in the Mid-West and it had moral protests against the gains of slavery. * It included Whigs, Democrats, Free-Soilers, Know-Nothings, and other foes of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. * 1855The Kansas Territory erupted in violence between proslavery and antislavery arguments. * 1857- the Supreme Court's Dred Scott decision invalidated the Missouri Compromise of 1820.