2004-10-13
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
This is Steve Ember.
VOICE TWO:
And this is Ray Freeman with the VOA Special English history
program, THE MAKING OF A NATION. Today, we continue the story of
events during the presidency of Franklin Pierce. And we tell about
the presidential election of eighteen-fifty-six.
(MUSIC)
VOICE ONE:
The situation in Kansas was the
most difficult national problem of the Pierce Administration. The
territory struggled with the issue of slavery. Pro-slavery settlers
elected a representative to Congress. Then they won a majority of
seats in the territorial legislature. An investigation found that
people from the nearby state of Missouri had voted in the elections
illegally. Yet the results were accepted.
The new Kansas lawmakers did not like the territorial governor.
They demanded that President Pierce dismiss him. Pierce agreed.
VOICE TWO:
Anti-slavery settlers in Kansas felt they could not get fair
treatment from either the president or the new governor. So they
took an extreme step. They formed their own government in opposition
to the elected government of the territory.
Their political group was known as the "Free State" Party. Party
members wrote their own constitution and chose their own governor.
VOICE ONE:
President Pierce said the actions of the Free State Party seemed
revolutionary. He warned against violence. He said if party members
attacked any officials or property of the territory or the federal
government, party leaders should be charged with treason.
The president gave the pro-slavery governor of Kansas control of
troops at two army bases in the territory. Many people feared that
the governor would use the troops to arrest the leaders of the free
state government.
VOICE TWO:
Fighting between the two sides almost began when a free state man
was killed by a pro-slavery man. Free State settlers gathered in the
town of Lawrence and organized a defense force. At the same time,
hundreds of pro-slavery men crossed the border from Missouri. They
planned to go to Lawrence and burn it to the ground.
The pro-slavery governor and the Free State governor agreed to
hold an emergency meeting. They negotiated a settlement, and the men
on both sides went home. The truce did not last long.
VOICE ONE:
In the weeks that followed, a number of attempts were made to
stop or arrest the leaders of the Free State government. Pro-slavery
officials urged private citizens to help. Once again, hundreds of
men -- including many from Missouri -- gathered in Kansas. Once
again, their target was the town of Lawrence. This time, however,
there was no truce.
The pro-slavery mob attacked and burned several buildings. A
number of people were killed. The violence might have ended quickly.
But one of the men defending the town believed that the battle
against the forces of slavery must continue. And he believed that
God had chosen him to lead it. The man was John Brown.
VOICE TWO:
John Brown heard that five free state men had died in the attack
on Lawrence. So he said five pro-slavery men must die in return. He
led a group that seized and killed five people.
The civil disorder in Kansas continued. Settlers were forced off
their land. Houses were burned. More people were killed. The
territory became known as "bleeding Kansas."
VOICE ONE:
It was clear that there were deep differences between the
northern and southern American states. The differences involved
their economies, their systems of labor, and their way of life.
The civil disorder caused by these differences was the chief
issue in the presidential election of eighteen-fifty-six. Three
political parties offered candidates: the Democrats, the
Republicans, and the Know-Nothings.
The Whig Party did not offer a candidate. The party had gone out
of existence by then. Its members had split over the question of
slavery in the western territories. The split could not be healed.
Most southern Whigs joined the Democratic Party. Most northern Whigs
joined the Know-Nothing Party.
VOICE TWO:
The Know-Nothing Party began as a secret anti-immigrant
organization. It feared that too many people from other countries
were coming to live in the United States. Members did not want to
admit that they belonged to the group. When asked, they said, "I
know nothing." And that is how the organization got its name.
VOICE ONE:
The Democratic Party was led by President Franklin Pierce. Pierce
wanted to run for re-election. Many northern Democrats, however,
objected to his support of the pro-slavery legislature in Kansas.
Other Democrats did not think he was the strongest candidate. As a
result, Pierce faced competition for the party's nomination.
One opponent was Senator Stephen Douglas of Illinois. Douglas had
great political ability. He also had many political enemies. He was
the man most responsible for gaining congressional approval of the
bill that opened Kansas to slavery.
VOICE TWO:
Pierce's other opponent for the
Democratic nomination was James Buchanan of Pennsylvania. Buchanan
was a northerner who would probably leave the south alone. "I am not
friendly to the idea of slavery," he said. "but the rights of the
south -- under our constitution -- should have as much protection as
the rights of any other part of our Union. "
VOICE ONE:
The Democratic Party met in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio. It was
the first time a national political convention was held that far
west.
Candidates needed two-thirds of the votes to win the nomination.
After several days of voting, no candidate had received enough. So,
in an effort to unite the party, Stephen Douglas offered to
withdraw. James Buchanan got his votes and the nomination.
VOICE TWO:
The Republican Party was a new political party. Its members
opposed slavery for either moral or economic reasons.
Many Republicans were Abolitionists. They wanted to ban slavery
everywhere in the United States. The majority of Republicans,
however, were not Abolitionists. They had no interest in ending
slave labor in the south. They simply did not want slavery to spread
to other areas.
The Republican Party held its presidential nominating convention
in Philadelphia. For months, party members had spoken of just one
man. He was John Fremont. Fremont had explored the American west. He
had been a senator from California. He was young and exciting.
Republicans thought he was the right man to lead their young and
exciting party.
VOICE ONE:
The Know-Nothing Party had a divided nominating convention.
Northern and southern members agreed on policies that denounced
immigrants. But they split on the issue of slavery. Northern members
opposed it. Southern members supported it.
Delegates to the convention chose a candidate who seemed to
support the party's policies. Yet he was not even a member of the
party. He was a Whig, former President Millard Fillmore.
Northern members refused to support Fillmore. They broke away
from the Know-Nothing Party and supported the Republican candidate,
John Fremont.
VOICE TWO:
Fremont could not expect to win any votes in the slave states of
the south. He would have to get all of his support in the north. He
would have to win the votes of the big states, including
Pennsylvania. And Pennsylvania was the home of the Democratic
candidate, James Buchanan.
Buchanan had said that the constitutional rights of the southern
states should be protected. So he could expect to win some votes
there. When all the votes were counted, Buchanan was elected. Now he
would have to deal with the problems that presidents before him had
not been able to solve.
VOICE ONE:
James Buchanan was sixty-five years old. He had served in the
House of Representatives and in the Senate. He had served as
Secretary of State and as ambassador. He was a good diplomat. But he
was not considered a strong political leader.
Buchanan usually supported the southern position in the dispute
about slavery. He said the north should stop interfering with the
south. He even said the south had good reason to leave the Union, if
northern Abolitionists continued their anti-slavery campaign. As
president, Buchanan believed he could solve the slavery question by
keeping the Abolitionists quiet. He wanted a cabinet that shared and
supported this idea.
We will tell about James Buchanan's administration in our next
program.
(MUSIC)
VOICE TWO:
Today's program of THE MAKING OF A NATION was written by
Christine Johnson. This is Ray Freeman.
VOICE ONE:
And this is Steve Ember. Join us again next time for another VOA
Special English report about the history of the United States.