1856 Anti-Slavery Map of the United States and the Potential Spread of Slavery

This is a one-of-a-kind 1856 anti-slavery lettersheet map of the United States and pamphlet decrying the potential spread of slavery to include poor whites. It was distributed by the Young Men's Fremont and Dayton Central Union of the City of New-York, and describes the threat that future slavery might 'not be confined to the negro race, but to be made the universal condition of the laboring classes of society.' It reflects national anxiety regarding the presidential election of 1856 and the controversial passing of the Kansas-Nebraska Act.

A Closer Look

The map covers the United States, with Slave States shaded black and free states, including California, white. The rest of the territory, from Missouri west to Washington, is shaded gray, underscoring the ambiguity and threat of slavery's expansion. The text to the right and below the map emphasizes the unequal relationship between the Free and Slave states in both the House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate and uses as an example the unequal postage paid by the North and the South, relative to the cost of transportation, stating sarcastically that it 'goes to prove how the suffering South is oppressed by the North.' The rest of the pamphlet details the 'new 'Democratic' Doctrine' of wanting to enslave white men in the North. The pamphlet quotes extensively from pro-slavery newspapers in the South, including 'The South now maintains that Slavery is right, natural and necessary, and does not depend upon different of complexion. The laws of the Slave States justify the holding of White Men in bondage'.

The Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Presidential Election of 1856

The Presidential election of 1856 pitted pro-slavery Democrat James Buchanan against anti-slavery Republican John C. Frémont and Whig/Know Nothing Millard Fillmore. Buchanan won with 174 electoral votes. The main issue in the election was the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the expansion of slavery into the territories. The Kansas-Nebraska Act (effective May 30, 1854) created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska and was signed into law by President Franklin Pierce. It effectively repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820 which had outlawed slavery above 36° 30' north. Southern leaders were unwilling to create new territories that outright banned slavery, so the Kansas-Nebraska Act introduced 'popular sovereignty,' which allowed each state to vote on and control the matter internally. This decision directly led to the Bleeding Kansas Crisis, the destruction of the Whig Party, and, in many ways, the ascent of the Republican Party.

Publication History and Census

This map was created by John Jay and initially published in a pamphlet entitled 'The Border Ruffian Code in Kansas' c. 1856. It proved to be a popular piece among anti-slavery activists as well as campaigners for John Frémont's 1856 presidential campaign. The map appeared in numerous different pamphlets promoting both causes. The present example was published as part of a pamphlet entitled 'The 'New' Democratic Doctrine' published by the Young Men's Fremont and Dayton Central Union of the City of New-York in 1856. This is the only known surviving example.