Knights Of The Golden Circle Essay

The Knights of the Golden Circle was a secret society formed in 1854. The purpose was originally to colonize Northern Mexico and the West Indies to expand pro-slavery interest and territory. The Knights of the Golden Circle later established a goal of forming the “Golden Circle” of slave states. The territories they planned on annexing included The Confederate States of America, territories in Northern Mexico, Central America, and some of the Caribbean. The annexed regions were planned to be led by Maximillian I of Mexico. The Knights of the Golden Circle’s overall plan was to put the slave owning upper class in a position of such power that abolitionism could no longer be a threat to their influence or position in society. The Knights of the

Golden Circle had a massive influence upon the country and reached almost every level of Government. It was even alleged that President Franklin Pierce was an active member of the Knights of the Golden Circle, although he openly denied it. With the outbreak of the Civil War, the Knights began focusing more on the aiding the confederate effort of succeeding from the Union.
Narciso Lopez had a history in the Spanish Army, involved specifically with the fighting in Venezuela during the early 19th century.

Lopez became a filibuster of the military definition, meaning he engaged in unauthorized military expeditions with a goal of instigating or supporting revolutions. Lopez was an avid supporter of Slavery and saw Cuba as an opportunity. Both Lopez and southerners like the Knights of the Golden Circle saw places like Cuba as a potential new salve state. Lopez sought the help of American military personal like Jefferson Davis and Robert E Lee. While both of these men turned Lopez down, he was able to gain the support of powerful and influential southerners. Lopez made several attempts at gaining control of Cuba for the purpose of forming this new slave state, however every attempt ended in failure. Finally, after his final 1851 expedition, Lopez was executed by the Spanish military in Cuba. Another similar type of filibuster was William Walker. Like Lopez, he was avid supporter of slavery and convinced many influential southerners of forming slave states with hopes of either eventually joining the union or creating some sort of separate pro-slavery colony. Walker successfully took over the Republic of Nicaragua in 1856, however he was defeated by a coalition of Central American armies in 1857 and executed some three years

later.
Both Narciso Lopez and William Walker shared a goal of developing slave states outside the territory of the continental United States. The Knights of the Golden Circle and those who shared their beliefs were the driving force behind southern expansionism. The influential characters who shared these beliefs played a key role in enabling the actions of people like Lopez and walker. The fact William walker could take control of Nicaragua and reinstate slavery in the country, even if only for one year, is an example of how many committed people there were in favor of promoting southern expansionism.
“Bleeding Kansas” was a combination of several violent conflicts over slavery in the now states of Kansas and Missouri.

These bloody confrontations took place over seven years starting in 1854 and ending in 1861. These acts of violence were carried out by both anti-slavery settlers, called “Free-staters” and those who were pro-slavery settlers, also known as “Border Ruffians.” Because Kansas was to enter the Union as either a Free State or Slave State, the population of the state was left to decide the issue with no outside intervention. This was a major decision for the country as a whole because of the balance between slave states and free

states.
One of the most violent attacks during this conflict was the Lawrence Raid. On May 21st 1856, a group of pro-slavery guerillas attacked the “Free Stater” town of Lawrence, Kansas. Around 450 guerillas surprise attacked the town while it was left defenseless. The town had no real defense force and so the attack turned into a massacre. It was carried out by Quantrill’s riders who had a list of people to kill and specific buildings to burn. The event is still one of the bloodiest events in the history of Kansas, there was never an official death toll because so many of the victims were scattered across Missouri and Kansas. Days after the massacre at Lawrence, as a reaction the attack, John Brown and a group of “Free Staters” attacked and killed five settlers near Pattawatomie Creek. The attack was carried out during the night of May 24th 1856, the specific houses targeted were that of pro-slavery settlers.