Last Best Hope of Earth

Tag: Slavery

  • Election of 1848: The Barnburners

    smoking_him_out
    A Political Cartoon Regarding the Barnburners.

    Approaching the Election of 1848, President James Polk did not have unanimous support amongst Democrats. In fact, quite the opposite.

    (more…)

  • The Death of John Quincy Adams

    john_quincy_adams_daguerreotype_c1840s
    Daguerrotype of John Quincy Adams.

    One of the most outspoken Representatives in the House of Representatives, John Quincy Adams, had opposed the declaration of war on Mexico and fought President James Polk’s policies for the duration of his presidency.

    (more…)

  • The Whig Revolution

    the_county_election_bingham_1846
    The County Election. By: George Caleb Bingham.

    With the Mexican-American War well underway, the midterm elections in 1846-47 were bound to be consequential.

    (more…)

  • The Wilmot Proviso

    david_wilmot
    David Wilmot.

    President James Polk, expecting a fast resolution to the Mexican-American War, “requested from Congress in August 1846 a $2 million appropriation for ‘defraying any extraordinary expenses which may be incurred in the intercourse between the United States and foreign nations.’” Daniel Walker Howe, What Hath God Wrought: Transformation of America, 1815-1848, 766 quoting James Polk, Diary, II, 76-77 (Aug. 10, 1846). Shortly after Congress followed this instruction and drafted a bill, David Wilmot of Pennsylvania introduced an amendment to specify that slavery would not be lawful in any territory acquired. See Daniel Walker Howe, What Hath God Wrought: Transformation of America, 1815-1848, 767.

    (more…)

  • Election of 1844: Democratic Party Platform

    hon-_robert_j-_walker2c_miss_-_nara_-_528738
    Robert Walker. By: Mathew Brady.

    As part of the Democratic platform for the Election of 1844, the Democrats incorporated their positions on “strict construction, banking, and congressional noninterference with slavery.” Daniel Walker Howe, What Hath God Wrought: Transformation of America, 1815-1848, 683. However, the Democrats took things one step further.

    (more…)

  • The Annexation of Texas

    john-tyler
    President John Tyler.

    President John Tyler sought to achieve much success in foreign affairs during his presidency, and part of that success, he imagined, would be accomplished through expansion of the country. See Daniel Walker Howe, What Hath God Wrought: Transformation of America, 1815-1848, 677. The annexation of the Republic of Texas to be the 28th state in the Union was to be his goal.

    (more…)

  • The Genesis of the Underground Railroad

    daguerreotype_of_joseph_story_1844_edit
    Justice Joseph Story.

    Justice Joseph Story wrote a decision in Prigg v. Pennsylvania that would put the United States Supreme Court in a possession of relieving northern state officials of responsibility “for returning fugitive slaves, and increasingly northern state legislatures instructed them to do so.” Daniel Walker Howe, What Hath God Wrought: Transformation of America, 1815-1848, 654.

    (more…)

  • The Censure of John Quincy Adams

    220px-john_quincy_adams
    John Quincy Adams.

    In 1842, John Quincy Adams presented to the House of Representatives a petition from 42 residents of Haverhill, Massachusetts, requesting that the Union be dissolved. Daniel Walker Howe, What Hath God Wrought: Transformation of America, 1815-1848, 610. Henry Wise, Congressman from Virginia, “demanded the former president be censured.” Id.

    (more…)

  • Lincoln the Teetotaler

    underhill-old-country-store
    A Pledge to be Part of the Temperance Movement.

    While the Democrats had held up Andrew Jackson as the ideal man, the Whigs began to view Abraham Lincoln in the 1840s as the ideal man, even though his personality was “artificial—that is, self-constructed.” Daniel Walker Howe, What Hath God Wrought: Transformation of America, 1815-1848, 598.

    (more…)

  • The First Presidential Succession

    Portrait of John Tyler
    Depiction of John Tyler.

    Following William Henry Harrison’s death just a month into his presidency in 1841, John Tyler rose to the presidency, in the first instance of a president dying while holding the office. See Daniel Walker Howe, What Hath God Wrought: Transformation of America, 1815-1848, 589.

    (more…)