Master of Arts in American History and Government

Ashland University

AHG 503 01A

Sectionalism and the Civil War

Fall 2018 – Session 1

August 27 to October 15, 2018
Mondays, 6:15 pm - 9:30 pm

Instructor: Lucas Morel (Washington & Lee University)

morell@wlu.edu

Course focus:
This course is a study of the sectional controversy beginning with the 1820 Missouri
Compromise and culminating with the election of Abraham Lincoln and the eruption of
civil war. It examines the political, social, and economic developments in the period
leading to the American Civil War and traces the rise of Abraham Lincoln to political
prominence as he sought to preserve the union of the American states and a republican
form of government from the threat of slavery’s expansion and, ultimately, a civil war.

Course content:
This course will examine how the regional existence of slavery widened the social and
political divide in America and eventually led to a civil war. It will examine the debate
over slavery’s expansion, popular sovereignty, abolitionism, states’ rights, secession, and
constitutional self-government. It will focus on the political thought and practice of
Abraham Lincoln as the preeminent political actor in the antebellum period. To place
Lincoln’s words and deeds in historical context, the course will also consider the writings
of important figures like U.S. Senators John C. Calhoun and Stephen A. Douglas and
abolitionist orators and newspaper editors William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick
Douglass.

Student Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, students will be able to:
• describe the key provisions of the Missouri Compromise of 1820, its key
proponents and critics,
• describe the salient issues and actors in the Nullification Crisis of the late 1820s
and early 1830s.
• distinguish the respective aims and means of the Abolition, Free Soil, and
Colonization movements.
• identify the leading opponents and defenders of slavery in mid-19th Century
America.
• explain how the Compromise of 1850 and the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 led
to the birth of the Republican Party.
• distinguish Abraham Lincoln’s anti-slavery politics from abolitionists like
William Lloyd Garrison and Frederick Douglass.
 • explain the significance of Stephen Douglas’s theory of “popular sovereignty”
and why southern Democrats opposed it.

Course Requirements
• Participation (30%) – well-prepared, thoughtful contributions to seminar
discussions that give clear evidence of having done the reading plus consistent
contribution and initiative in discussing course topics (no participation credit is
given for merely attending the online class sessions).
• Speech Analysis (20%) – a 1,500-2,000 word essay will analyze an assigned
speech for its meaning, argument, and intent. Due date: by midnight, Saturday,
September 22. Instructions will be posted one week in advance of the deadline.
• Final Examination (50%) – a “take home,” open-book essay exam will address
topics from the entire course. Due date: by midnight, Saturday, October 21.

Required texts:
• Abraham Lincoln: His Speeches and Writings, ed. Roy P. Basler, ISBN 978-
0306810756
• The Impending Crisis, 1848-61, David M. Potter, ISBN 0-06-131929-5
• Course Packet (CP) of additional reading materials. These online materials are
required texts for the course; please print out for class discussion purposes.

Supplemental/Optional text:
• Harry V. Jaffa, Crisis of the House Divided

About Online Courses

This online course format consistently meets the same quality, assessment, learning
outcomes, and requirements of the traditional classroom offering of this course. All
AHG-prefixed courses include at least 1500 minutes of classroom instruction and 3000
minutes of out-of-classroom reading, writing, or other individual student work.
Important Notes to Students

Preparation and Participation

Each class meeting is rooted in the discussion of the assigned readings. It is therefore
expected that each student will complete all assigned readings before the start of each
class meeting.

To facilitate face-to-face conversation, students must have a functioning webcam.

Webcams must be turned on for the duration of all course meetings.

Attendance
Attendance is expected at all class meetings. Students are strongly encouraged to
consider upcoming obligations prior to registering for classes. If a student as a known
conflict prior to registration that will make it difficult or impossible to attend all class
meetings, the student should NOT register for that course.

That said, we know that emergencies do come up over the course of a semester-long

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course. If, after the start of the semester, a medical, family, or other emergency should
arise that makes it impossible for a student to attend a particular class meeting, the
student should contact the course instructor prior to missing class. If the emergency
circumstances make it impossible to make contact prior to missing class, the student
should make every effort to contact the instructor as soon as possible.

In the event of an unanticipated internet access failure or other computer-related outage,

students may still participate by phone. Instructions for participation via phone may by
found in the email received from messenger@webex.com prior to the start of the course.
Please note that phone participation is for emergency situations. Frequent or non-
emergency use of the dial-in option may result in additional charges. Additionally,
WebEx is supported on most smartphones and tablets, including two-way video and
audio. Students who are traveling may still be able to attend class via a mobile device.

A student who misses class without explanation may be administratively withdrawn from
the course without refund of tuition. Students with valid excused absences who miss two
or more class meetings (three or more class meetings of a twice-weekly course during the
fall or spring semesters) may be administratively withdrawn but may be eligible for a
pro-rated refund of tuition.
Scheduled sporting events, family vacations, or coaching responsibilities do not
constitute excusable emergencies. Coaches should consider their season-long obligations
including practices, tournaments, and playoffs prior to registering.

Academic Integrity

Any willful plagiarism on papers or cheating on exams may result in an “F” for the
course and additional penalties up to expulsion from the university. For more information
on what constitutes plagiarism, students should consult the Academic Integrity Policy
available at https://www.ashland.edu/administration/registrar/academic-integrity-policy.

This course format consistently meets the same quality, assessment, learning outcomes,
and requirements of the resident offering of this course.

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 Schedule
th
Week 1 – Monday, August 27 , 6:15 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. ET
(includes a 15-minute break)

Brief Orientation

Topic: The American Founders on Freedom and Slavery

Focus:
• What did equality mean in the American founding?
• Why did the Constitution include compromises regarding slavery?
• Did the Founders view slavery as a good to be extended, or a necessary
evil to be restricted?

Readings:
• Declaration of Independence (CP)
• Federalist No. 31, 1st paragraph only (CP)
• Thomas Jefferson’s Notes on Debates in Second Continental Congress
(selected paragraph from debates) and Deleted Paragraph regarding the
Slave Trade (BB)
• U.S. Constitution, esp. the Preamble and the following “slavery” clauses
(CP):
o Art. I, Sec. 2, cl. 3
o Art. I, Sec. 9, cl. 1
o Art. IV, Sec. 2, cl. 3
• Debate over Slave Representation during Constitutional Convention (July
12, 1787), Excerpt (CP)
• Debate over Slave Trade during Constitutional Convention (August 28,
1787), Excerpt (CP)
• Jefferson, Notes on the State of Virginia, Query XVIII (1781) (CP)
• Jefferson, Letter to Benjamin Banneker (August 30, 1791) (CP)
• Jefferson, Letter to Henri Gregoire (February 25, 1809) (CP)
• Jefferson, Letter to Edward Coles (August 25, 1814) (CP)
• Jefferson, Letter to Roger C. Weightman (June 24, 1826) (CP)
• Northwest Ordinance (July 13, 1787), Excerpts (CP)

Supplemental/Optional Readings:
• Jaffa, Crisis of the House Divided, chaps. 14-17

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Week 2 – Monday, September 3rd, 6:15 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. ET

Session A

Topic: 1820 Missouri Compromise

Focus:
• What kind of emancipation policy did Congressman Tallmadge want for
the Missouri territory?
• What compromise did Congress work out to appease both the advocates of
freedom and slavery?
• Did the Missouri Compromise solve or postpone the ultimate resolution of
the slavery controversy?

Readings:
• Missouri Compromise (March 6, 1820) (CP)
• Congressional Globe, Debate over the Tallmadge Amendment (February
15, 1819) (CP)
• Thomas Jefferson, Letter to John Holmes (April 22, 1820) (CP)
• Potter, The Impending Crisis, chaps. 1-2, “American Nationalism
Achieves an Ominous Fulfillment” and “Portents of a Sectional Rift”

Session B

Topic: The Nullification Crisis of 1828-33

Focus:
• Was the Tariff of 1828 (i.e., the “Tariff of Abominations”) an attempt by
the North to oppress the South economically?
• What was John C. Calhoun’s argument for states to resist the tariff?
• What was President Andrew Jackson’s response to South Carolina?

Readings:
• John C. Calhoun, “Exposition and Protest” (December 19, 1828) (CP)
• South Carolina’s Ordinance of Nullification (November 24, 1832) (CP)
• Andrew Jackson, Proclamation Regarding Nullification (December 10,
1832) (CP)
• Force Bill (March 2, 1833) (CP)

Supplemental/Optional Readings:
• Federalist No. 15 (which explains the difference between a league and a
government)
• Background on the tariff controversy (see “The American System and the
Tariff”)

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• John C. Calhoun, Speech on the Tariff Bill (April 4, 1816), an early
speech where he argues for a tariff and strong national government (scroll
down to speech)
• Hayne’s Second Speech and Webster’s Second Reply to Hayne (January
25 and 27, 1830), scroll to the following pages: 73-80 and 123-44

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Week 3 – Monday, September 10th, 6:15 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. ET

Session A

Topic: Defenders of Slavery

Focus:
• How does South Carolina Senator John C. Calhoun defend slavery?
• What does Calhoun think about the principle that “all men are created
equal”?
• How does Calhoun connect government power and individual liberty?
• What other arguments were offered to defend American slavery?

Readings:
• John C. Calhoun, “Slavery a Positive Good” (February 6, 1837) (CP)
• John C. Calhoun, “Speech on the Oregon Bill” (June 27, 1848) (CP)
• James Henry Hammond, “The ‘Mudsill’ Theory” (March 4, 1858) (CP)
• James Henley Thornwell, “A Southern Christian View of Slavery”
(December 4, 1861) (CP)

Session B

Topic: Abolitionism and the U.S. Constitution

Focus:
• Regarding the abolition of slavery, what was William Lloyd Garrison’s
goal and how did he seek to achieve it?
• What was Garrison’s opinion of the Declaration of Independence and the
U.S. Constitution, and how did this reflect his understanding of politics?
• What was Frederick Douglass’s view of the Declaration of Independence,
the U.S. Constitution, and the American founders, and how did this reflect
his understanding of politics?

Readings:
• William Lloyd Garrison editorials (CP)
o “To the Public” (January 1, 1831)
o “On the Constitution and the Union” (December 29, 1832)
o “Declaration of the National Anti-Slavery Convention” (December
14, 1833)
o “The American Union” (January 10, 1845)
o “Dred Scott and Disunion” (March 12, 1858)
• Frederick Douglass, “The Right to Criticize American Institutions” (May
11, 1847), Excerpt (BB)
• Frederick Douglass, “What to the Slave is the 4th of July?” (July 5, 1852)
(CP)

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Week 4 – Monday, September 17th, 6:15 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. ET

Session A

Topic: Emancipation and Constitutional Self-Government

Focus:
• Why did Lincoln believe abolitionism posed a threat to self-government,
and how did he believe the antislavery cause should be promoted?

Readings:
• Christopher Flannery, “O Captain! My Captain!” Claremont Review of
Books (BB)
• Basler, Abraham Lincoln: His Speeches and Writings—
o Abraham Lincoln and Dan Stone, Protest on the Slavery Question
(March 3, 1837), 552
o Address before the Young Men’s Lyceum (January 27, 1838), 76-
85
o Temperance Address (February 22, 1842), 131-41
o Letter to Williamson Durley (October 3, 1845), 169-71
o Eulogy on Henry Clay (July 6, 1852), 264-77

Supplemental/Optional Readings:
• Jaffa, Crisis of the House Divided, Epigrams, p. 15, and chaps. 3-6, 9-10

Session B

Topic: The Mexican War

Focus:
• What restriction did Congressman Wilmot ask for regarding any territory
acquired from Mexico?
• Did Lincoln support the war against Mexico?
• How did America’s acquisition of territory exacerbate the slavery
controversy?

Readings:
• David Wilmot’s Proviso (August 12, 1846) (CP)
• Basler, Abraham Lincoln: His Speeches and Writings—
o Speech in the U.S. House of Representatives on the War with
Mexico (January 12, 1848), 202-216
o Letter to William H. Herndon (February 15, 1848), 220-21
o Autobiography Written for Campaign (c. June 1860), 554
• Potter, The Impending Crisis, chaps. 1-2, “American Nationalism
Achieves an Ominous Fulfillment” and “Portents of a Sectional Rift”

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 Supplemental/Optional Readings:
• Potter, The Impending Crisis, chaps. 3-4, “Forging the Territorial Shears”
and “The Deadlock of 1846-1850”
• Russell F. Weigley, History of the United States Army, 173-89 (CP)

* Speech Analysis (20%) – a 1,500-2,000 word essay will analyze an assigned speech for
its meaning, argument, and intent. Due date: by midnight, Saturday, September 22.

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Week 5 – Monday, September 24th, 6:15 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. ET

Topic: The 1850 Compromise Measures and the Future of Slavery

Focus:
• What were the various Compromise Measures of 1850?
• What did antislavery advocates not like about the 1850 Compromise?
• What did proslavery advocates not like about the 1850 Compromise?
• What doctrine did Stephen Douglas claim was endorsed by the
Compromise, and why did he think it was consistent with the intentions of
founding fathers?

Readings:
• Compromise Measures of 1850 (September 1850) (CP)
• Stephen Douglas, “The Measures of Adjustment” (October 23, 1850) (CP)
• John C. Calhoun, “Speech Against Henry Clay’s Compromise Measures”
(March 4, 1850) (CP)
• Henry Clay, “General Review of the Debate on the Compromise Bills”
(July 22, 1850) (CP)

Supplemental/Optional Readings:
• Potter, The Impending Crisis, chaps. 5-6, “The Armistice of 1850” and
“Fire-Eaters, Fugitives, and Finality”
• William Seward, “Speech to the United States Senate” (March 11, 1850)
(SCP)

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Week 6 – Monday, October 1st, 6:15 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. ET

Session A

Topic: The 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act

Focus:
• What were the key provisions of the 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act?
• What reasons did Douglas give to show that the 1854 Act was not a
departure from previous federal actions towards slavery in the territories?
• What reasons did Lincoln give to show that the 1854 Act was a departure
from previous federal actions towards slavery in the territories?

Readings:
• Kansas-Nebraska Act (May 30, 1854), Excerpts (CP)
• Stephen Douglas, “Nebraska Territory (January 30, 1854) (CP)
• Basler, Abraham Lincoln: His Speeches and Writings—
o Fragments on Slavery [1854?], 278-79
o Speech on the Kansas-Nebraska Act at Peoria, IL (October 16,
1854), 283-323
o Letter to Owen Lovejoy (August 11, 1855), 328-29
o Letter to George Robertson (August 15, 1855), 330-31
o Letter to Joshua F. Speed (August 24, 1855), 332-36

Supplemental/Optional Readings:
• Potter, The Impending Crisis, chaps. 7-10, “A Railroad Promotion and Its
Sequel,” “The Ebb Tide of Manifest Destiny,” “Two Wars in Kansas,” and
“The Political Parties in Metamorphosis”
• “An Appeal of the Independent Democrats” (January 19, 1854) (CP)
• Jaffa, Crisis of the House Divided, chaps. 7-8, 13

Session B

Topic: The 1857 Dred Scott Case and Lincoln’s Response

Focus:
• Why does Chief Justice Roger B. Taney argue that blacks cannot be
American citizens?
• Why does Taney argue that Congress was without authority to pass the
Missouri Compromise?
• What is Lincoln’s primary critique of Taney’s opinion?
• Does Lincoln encourage disobedience of the Court’s opinion regarding the
fate of Dred Scott?

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Readings:
• Chief Justice Taney’s Dred Scott v. Sanford opinion (1857) for the
majority, Excerpts (CP)
• Basler, Abraham Lincoln: His Speeches and Writings—
o Speech on the Dred Scott Decision (June 26, 1857), 352-65

Supplemental/Optional Reading:
• Potter, The Impending Crisis, chaps. 11-12, “Dred Scott and the Law of
the Land” and “Lecompton: The Descent Grows Steeper”
• Jaffa, Crisis of the House Divided, Appendix 2

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Week 7 – Monday, October 8th, 6:15 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. ET

Session A

Topic: The 1858 Lincoln-Douglas Debates

Focus:
• How do Lincoln and Douglas try to portray each other as extremists?
• What is Lincoln’s moral objection to Douglas’s “popular sovereignty”
doctrine?
• Is Douglas correct that “popular sovereignty” has always been the way
Americans settled the question of slavery?
• Does Lincoln argue for immediate political and social equality for blacks?

Readings:
• Basler, Abraham Lincoln: His Speeches and Writings—
o “House Divided” Speech (June 16, 1858), 372-81
o Speech at Chicago (July 10, 1858), 385-404
o Fragment: On Slavery and Democracy [August 1, 1858?], 427
• First Lincoln-Douglas Debate, Ottawa, Illinois (August 21, 1858), 428-68
• Stephen Douglas at Freeport, IL—2nd Debate (August 27, 1858), Excerpt
(BB)
• Basler, Abraham Lincoln: His Speeches and Writings—
o Fragment: Speech at Edwardsville, Illinois (September 11, 1858),
469-74
o Fragment: On Pro-Slavery Theology [October 1, 1858?], 477-78
• Abraham Lincoln at Alton, IL—7th Debate (October 15, 1858), Excerpt
(BB)
• Potter, The Impending Crisis, chap. 13, “Lincoln, Douglas, and the
Implications of Slavery”

Supplemental/Optional Reading:
• Basler, Abraham Lincoln: His Speeches and Writings—
o Speech in Reply to Douglas at Springfield (July 17, 1858), 405-24
• Jaffa, Crisis of the House Divided, Chapters 11-12

Session B

Topic: The 1860 Presidential Campaigns—The Democrats Split, the Republicans

Restrict, and the Constitutional Unionists . . . Stick Together?

Focus:
• How does Lincoln explain the connection between the Constitution and
the Declaration of Independence?
• How does Lincoln defend the Republican Party from southern criticisms?

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 • How did the two Democratic Party platforms differ from each other, and
did they agree on any principles or policy proposals?
• What were the main differences between the Republican Party platform
and the other party platforms?
• What primary reason did the Constitutional Union Party give for entering
the national election against the Republican and Democratic Parties?
• What were Lincoln’s chief concerns or priorities as a Republican nominee
for president in 1860?

Readings:
• Stephen A. Douglas, Letter to J.B. Dorr (June 22, 1859) (CP)
• Basler, Abraham Lincoln: His Speeches and Writings—
o Letter to Henry L. Pierce and Others (April 6, 1859), 488-89
o Letter to Salmon Portland Chase (June 20,1860), 492-93
o Address to the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society (September
30, 1859), 493-504
o To Jesse W. Fell, Enclosing Autobiography (December 20, 1859),
510-12
o Address at Cooper Institute, New York (February 27, 1860), 517-
36
o Short Autobiography Written for the Campaign (c. June 1860),
547-55
o Fragment on the Constitution and the Union [c. January 1861?],
513-14
• Abraham Lincoln to Elihu B. Washburne (December 13, 1860) (BB)
• Democratic Party Platforms (June 1860)—Northern Democrats (Stephen
Douglas) and Southern Democrats (John Breckenridge) (CP)
• Republican Party Platform (May 17, 1860) (CP)
• Constitutional Union Party Platform (May 8, 1860) (CP)

Supplemental/Optional Reading:
• Jaffa, Crisis of the House Divided, Chapters 18-20
• 1856 Democratic Party Platform (June 2, 1856) (SCP)
• Potter, The Impending Crisis, chaps. 15-16, “Southern Maneuvers on the
Eve of Conflict” and “The Election of 1860”

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Week 8 – Monday, October 15th, 6:15 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. ET

Session A

Topic: Lincoln’s Election, Secession, and the Confederate States of America

Focus:
• What reasons did southern secession commissioners give for secession?
• What reasons did Alexander Stephens give in defense of the Confederacy?
• What was Lincoln’s understanding of the American union, self-
government, slavery, and secession as the incoming president of the
United States?
• Given that the Confederate Constitution was based on the U.S.
Constitution, how did its changes reflect the central concerns of
Confederate States?

Readings:
• James Buchanan, State of the Union Address (December 3, 1860), Excerpt
(BB)
• Crittenden Compromise (December 18, 1860) (CP), 265-66
• Stephen F. Hale to Gov. Beriah Magoffin (December 27, 1860) (CP)
• South Carolina Secession Declaration (December 20, 1860) (CP)
• Address of South Carolina to the Slaveholding States (December 25,
1860) (CP)
• Alexander Stephens, “Cornerstone Speech” (March 21, 1861), Abridged
(CP)
• New Orleans Daily Crescent Editorial (December 14, 1860) (CP)
• Charles B. Dew, “Apostles of Secession,” North and South, IV (April
2001) (BB)
• Potter, The Impending Crisis, chaps. 17-18, “The Nature of Southern
Separatism” and “The Lower South Secedes”

Supplemental/Optional Reading:
• Constitution of the Confederate States of America (March 11, 1861)
(SCP)
• Potter, The Impending Crisis, chap. 19, “Winter Crisis”

Session B

Topic: Lincoln’s Inauguration and the Civil War

Focus:
• What was Lincoln’s understanding of secession, self-government, the
American union, and the future of American slavery as the incoming
president of the United States?

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 Readings:
• Basler, Abraham Lincoln: His Speeches and Writings—
o Letter to Alexander H. Stephens (December 22, 1860), 567-68
o Farewell Address at Springfield, Illinois (February 11, 1861), 568
o Address to the Senate of New Jersey (February 21, 1861), 574-75
o Address in Independence Hall, Philadelphia (February 22, 1861),
577-78
o First Inaugural Address (March 4, 1861), 579-90
• Lincoln’s Proclamation Calling Militia and Convening Congress (April
15, 1861) and Related Responses (BB)

Supplemental/Optional Reading:
• Basler, Abraham Lincoln: His Speeches and Writings—
• Message to Congress in Special Session (July 4, 1861), 594-609
• Potter, The Impending Crisis, chap. 20, “Fort Sumter: End and Beginning”

*Week 9 – Saturday, October 20th

No later than 12:00 midnight

Activity: Final Examination

• Final Examination (50%) – a “take home,” open-book essay exam will address
topics from the entire course. Due date: by midnight, Saturday, October 20,
emailed as a MS Word file to morell@wlu.edu.
• DO NOT email your exam as a pdf, Google Docs, or other format

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