hen the South Carolina state convention voted unanimously
on December 20, 1860, to secede from the Union, it was the
culmination of a long process by which, in Abraham Lincoln’s words,
the nation had become a “house divided.” Though victory in the
Revolutionary War and the ratification of the U.S. Constitution had
created a common sense of nationhood, many political differences
had never been resolved. In particular, a growing number of
Americans disagreed over the place of slavery in the nation’s future
and the Federal government’s role in upholding it.
The period up to 1860 had seen great material changes for the
nation and its people. The extent of the national territory multiplied
with the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and victory over Mexico in
- While most Americans still farmed or lived in small towns,
technological developments and mass immigration were increasing
W
AN IMPERFEC T UNION
The 1850 Compromise
In Washington, Senator Henry
Clay of Kentucky helps persuade
Congress to accept a political
compromise. It prevents an open
split between North and South,
but hardliners in both sections are
unhappy with its measures. The
Fugitive Slave Law will soon prove
especially contentious.John Brown on the
way to the scaffold
In the hope of acquiring
arms for a slave uprising,
abolitionist John Brown
raids the Federal arsenal at
Harpers Ferry in 1859. The
raid is a failure, but Brown
is tried and executed. His
death divides North and
South even further.
The Mason-Dixon Line
The line is the symbolic
divide between North and
South. It dates back to the
1760s, when surveyors
Charles Mason and Jeremiah
Dixon resolved disputes
between Pennsylvania,
Maryland, and Delaware and
established their borders.California gold rush
The 1849 gold rush causes a
vast increase in the territory’s
population. California adopts
an anti-slavery constitution
and seeks admission to the
Union, bringing to the fore
the issue of the free or slave
status of territories gained
from Mexico. California is
granted statehood in 1850.VIRGINIA AND SURROUNDING AREA
Ma
tta
po
ni
Riv
er
James R
iverRapp
aha
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ock (^) R
ive
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Po
to
ma
c (^) R
ive
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James (^) R
iver
Sh
en
an
do
ah^ Riv
er
C
h
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sa
p
e
a
k
e
B
ay
A
T
L
A
N
T
I
C
O
C
E
A
N
A
p
p
a
la
ch
ia
n
M
o
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ta
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NORTH CAROLINA
Cape Charles
Cape Henry
York River
Delaware
Bay
Mason-Dixon Line
NEW
JERSEY
DELAWARE
MARYLAND
PENNSYLVANIA
VIRGINIA
DISTRICT OF
COLUMBIA
Hampton
Portsmouth
Roanoke
Charlottesville
Petersburg
Harrisonburg
Fredericksburg
Lynchburg
Harpers Ferry
Centreville
Baltimore
Richmond
Philadelphia
WASHINGTON, D.C.
Winchester
R o c k y M o u n t a i n s
(^) Sn
ake (^) River
(^) Col
orado River
P A C I F I C O C E A N
San Francisco
Santa Fe
Sacramento
Portland
Virginia
City
Salt Lake City
CALIFORNIA
OREGON
NEBRASKA
TERRITORY
WASHINGTON
TERRITORY
UTAH
TERRITORY
NEW MEXICO
TERRITORY
CANADA
MEXICO
Republican
Southern Democratic
Constitutional Union
Northern Democratic
U.S. Territories
Slave state
VOTING IN U.S. PRESIDENTIAL
ELECTION 1860