Surname
Course
Date
PART ONE
John Sutter
John Sutter was born Johann Augustus Sutter and was a Swiss immigrant in California. He was a pioneer settler in California who moved from Switzerland and settled in California. His sawmill was the starting point of the California Gold Rush (Engstrand, Iris, and Owens). One of his workers, James Marshall, discovered gold nuggets in a stream, a discovery that led to the destruction of the Sutter property. The mining process at the beginning of the discovery time in 1848 led to Sutter running bankrupt and was finally pushed out of his settlement farm.
Stephen Douglas
Stephen Arnold Douglas was an American politician and leader of the democratic party. Stephen Douglas very vocal, and he quit his legal practice once he was elected to the Illinois House of representatives in 1843. He would later be nominated as a presidential candidate by the Democratic party to run against Abraham Lincoln (Williams). Although he lost to Abraham Lincoln, his voice was very instrumental in popular sovereignty. He was also a significant supporter of the n annexation of Texas and the American-Mexican war.
PART TWO
QUESTION 1
The Wilmot Proviso was a legislation that allowed for the elimination of slavery in the states that were acquired by the United States after the American- Mexican war. Wilmot Proviso proposed this amendment, and its introduction triggered serious debates in congress. For over two years, Proviso fought for the amendment to be implemented. These discussions led to what is known as the compromise of 1850 (Green). The compromise allowed California to be included as a free state. However, several states that had been acquired from the American-Mexican war remained under slavery. Besides, the Fugitive slave act strengthened slavery in the South as the Northern states were allowed to capture and return any runaway slaves to the South. This Act increased animosity between the north and the South. A notable event was the book, Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe (Williams). This fictional work attempted to explore slavery life, and it was an eye-opening to the northern states. However, the southern states thought it as slanderous and it further widened the growing rift between these two regions. Other events include the Dred Scott trial, where Dred Scott tried for his freedom. Then came the Lincoln- Douglas debates where Lincoln was challenged on his newfound views on slavery. Several southern states were not included in the ballot, and this also created issues of mistrust between the north and the South.
QUESTION TWO
Abraham Lincoln was inaugurated as the 16th president of the United States of America in March 1861 and also as the first republican president. Most of the southern states were not included in the election that led to the victory of Abraham Lincoln. After his election, President Lincoln did not favor discussions that supported the secession of the southern states from the union (Fredrickson). As a result, his presidency was based upon ending slavery, and shortly after his inauguration, the civil war broke. This was the defining moment for Lincoln as he had to maintain decisiveness during the crisis. He, therefore, changed several military commanders as the commander-in-chief over the civil war. His role in both the political and military spheres during the civil war was significant and was what led to the victory of the union. Lincoln had been openly attacked for his views as an abolitionist. His fight against slavery was a vocal one as he openly condemned the institution. Between 1861-1862, Lincoln tried to get loyal border states to abolish slavery themselves by buying out the slaves. However, this failed, and he resorted to issuing the emancipation proclamation (Brook). The proclamation required that all slaves in the confederate states be freed once the union army reached them. The ratification of the thirteenth amendment marked the abolition of slavery on the border states. The abolition of slavery and saving the union are Lincolns' most significant achievements, and most scholars acknowledge the role he played in shaping the present-day political climate.
Works Cited
Fredrickson, George M. Big enough to be inconsistent: Abraham Lincoln confronts slavery and race. Harvard University Press, 2009.
Thomas, Brook. "Thomas Dixon’s A Man of the People: How Lincoln Saved the Union by Cracking Down on Civil Liberties." Law & Literature 20.1 (2008): 21-46.
Green, Michael S. Lincoln and the Election of 1860. SIU Press, 2011.
Engstrand, Iris Wilson, and Kenneth N. Owens. John Sutter: Sutter's Fort and the California Gold Rush. The Rosen Publishing Group, 2004.