6. Expansion and Slavery: Legacies of the Mexican War and the Compromise of 1850

The Civil War and Reconstruction (HIST 119)

In this lecture, Professor Blight discusses some of the conflicts, controversies, and compromises that led up 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 moves 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 slavery's expansion into the western territories. The lecture ends with the crisis over California's admission to statehood and the Compromise of 1850.

00:00 - Chapter 1. Douglass's July Fourth Speech
12:36 - Chapter 2. The Election 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 Shrinking South? The South's Stance 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 at the Open Yale Courses website: http://open.yale.edu/courses

This course was recorded in Spring 2008.