In this lecture, Professor Blight discusses some of the conflicts, controversies, and compromises that led to the Civil War. After analyzing Frederick Douglass's 1852 Fourth of July speech and the inherent conflict between American slavery and American freedom, the lecture launches into a lengthy discussion of the war with Mexico in the 1840s. Professor Blight explains why Northerners and Southerners made “such a fuss” over the issue of the expansion of slavery into Western territories. The conference ends with the crisis linked to California's admission to statehood and the Compromise of 1850.
00:00 – Chapter 1. Douglass' July 4th Speech
12:36 – Chapter 2. The Elections of 1844 and the Mexican War
25:52 – Chapter 3. Slavery in the West? The Legacy of the Mexican War
36:54 – Chapter 4. A South in Decline? The South's position on slavery in the West
42:36 – Chapter 5. Plans leading to the Compromise of 1850
49:24 – Chapter 6. The election of 1848 and conclusion
Complete course materials are available on the Open Yale Courses website: http://open.yale.edu/courses
This course was recorded in spring 2008.
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