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Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin, a book by Harriet Beecher Stowe, was written to illustrate the harsh realities of slavery during this period in the United States. This book contributed to the growing tensions between the North and the South because after it was published and people began reading it the people in support of slavery, mainly the South, saw it as an attack on their way of life. The people who already opposed slavery opposed it even more. -
Republican Party
The creation of the Republican Party caused a greater increase in tensions between the North and South because the Republican Party was in opposition to the expansion of slavery and this upset the South because they were scared that they would lose power in politics and wouldn't be as influential because there would be more people in opposition to slavery instead of for slavery. -
Dred Scott
The Supreme Court case with Dred Scott ruled that he could not sue for his freedom because he was not a citizen. The effect of this caused the legalization of slavery in all territories. This scared the Northerners because they did not agree with the expansion of slavery. The South however liked this ruling because it gave them more confidence in their rights and their views about slavery. This made many people feel like the resolution between the North and South was impossible. -
Bloody Kansas
Bloody Kansas was a violent conflict that came about because of the Kansas-Nebraska, which allowed the people in those places to determine whether or not they wanted to permit slavery. This conflict showed the lack of ability for solutions to address the issue of slavery and showed how divided both sides were over the issue of slavery. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas-Nebraska Act contributed to the growing tensions because it introduced the concept of popular sovereignty meaning that the people of Kansas and Nebraska got to decide amongst themselves if they wanted to allow slavery or not. This caused severe violence between the two sides; those who supported slavery, and those who did not. The main conflict from this became known as "Bleeding Kansas" and it showed the increasingly deep divisions between the two sides and contributed to war. -
John Brown
John Brown was an American abolitionist who was very against slavery. His actions caused increased tensions as a lot of people in the South did not like him and viewed him as being very maniacal about trying to get rid of slavery and the North saw him as a hero. His raid contributed to the divide that would lead to the Civil War. -
Brooks- Sumner incident
The Brooks-Sumner incident occurred in the U.S. Senate and increased the tensions over slavery. It was caused after Sumner criticized pro-slavery forces and insulted Senator Andrew Butler who was Brooks's cousin. Brooks attacked Sumner on the Senate floor and beat him with his cane. This event showed the violence over the slavery debate that was going on. The South liked Brooks, while a lot of the North viewed it as proof of the increasing aggression of the South. -
Election of 1856
The Election of 1856 deepened the divisions over slavery. The candidate for the Democratic Party was James Buchanan who promoted the idea of popular sovereignty regarding slavery and the Republican Party candidate was John C. Fremont who was against the expansion of slavery. The election was won by James Buchanan. With him in charge, the dominance of the Democratic Party was more pronounced in the South and caused for more conflict. -
Lecompton Constitution
The Lecompton Constitution was a constitution proposed for Kansas by people in support of slavery. This was brought up because of the conflicts beforehand in "Bleeding Kansas" in hopes of permitting slavery in the territory instead of just continuing to fight about it. The Constitution included things that would protect the rights of holding slaves but was written in a way that would allow the voters to approve or reject it. It was soon rejected reflection everyone's opposition to slavery. -
House divided Speech
The House-divided Speech was delivered by Abraham Lincoln during his acceptance to the U.S. Senate. In this speech, he argued that a nation could not permanently have one-half slave and one free and that it would in time only become one or another. He wanted to unify the Republican Party against slavery. This made it so that both sides of the argument had to really think about their beliefs more closely. -
Lincoln- Douglas Debates
The Lincoln- Douglas Debates were between Lincoln and Douglas. Lincoln wanted to stop the spread of slavery while Douglas wanted to promote popular sovereignty. This debate was won by Douglas but it raised Lincoln's national profile and made him the leading voice of the Republican Party. Many Northerners liked Lincoln's arguments against slavery while Southerners thought of these arguments as an attack on their way of life. The Democratic Party started to split as Douglas faced criticism. -
Harper's Ferry
Harper's Ferry is the site of John Brown's raid that aimed to get a slave uprising going. He wanted to take the federal armory at Harpers Ferry in hopes of arming the slaves so they would fight against slavery. This raid did not work out in the end and he got captured. This raid made the tensions between the two sides increase drastically as people in the North started viewing Brown as a hero, and the people in the South viewed him as a terrorist. -
Election of 1860
The Election of 1860 directly led to the Civil War. Abraham Lincoln, who opposed slavery went against Stephen A. Douglas, who supported the idea of popular sovereignty. Lincoln's support was mainly from the North and Douglas was from the Midwest. The election of Lincoln was seen as a threat to slavery which in turn made the Southern states secede from the Union. This caused the outbreak of the Civil War which occurred in 1861. -
Secession
After Lincoln's election in November 1860, the Southern states started to secede from the Union. The first state to secede was South Carolina, following them came Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. They ended up forming the Confederate States of America by February 1861. The states believed that they had the constitutional right to secede from the nation and that it was because of their view of Northern aggression against their state's interests and ways of life. -
Lincoln's first Inaugural Address
Lincoln's first Inaugural Address was to address the secession of the Southern states and to reassure them. He pointed out the importance of keeping the Union together and that he wouldn't interfere with slavery anywhere it already existed. He then stated that secession was illegal and that he would only use force to protect federal property. He was able to acknowledge the divisions over slavery while maintaining a compromise to resolve the conflicts without having to result in war.