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Uncle Tom's Cabin
Harriet Beecher wrote "Uncle Tom's Cabin" about a noble black man in slavery, in which they described the atrocities and struggles of daily life. He saves the life of a young girl, is an upstanding man, practices Christianity, and otherwise is depicted as great whilst slaveowners are horrible. -
Republican Party
The Republican Party began to oppose slavery and the Democratic Party, which at the time was full of slavery advocates and popular sovereignty. The starting election backed Abraham Lincoln, who won. This increased the power of anti-slavery opinions. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
This act had three main portions: it granted state allowance of slavery decisions/popular sovereignty, repealed the previous Missouri Compromise, and created both Kansas and Nebraska. -
Bloody Kansas
Every side in the fight for and against slavery existed in Kansas, causing bloody turmoil that killed 55 people and lasted until the beginning of the civil war, when the state became free and entered the union. -
Brooks Sumner Incident
Following Sumner's anti-slavery speech to the Senate, he was sending out copies of said speech when Sumner was struck in the head with a cane by Brooks, an opposing politician. The North was outraged at Southern violence. -
1856 Election
James Buchanon, John C. Fremont, and Millard Filmore ran against each other in this election. Buchanon won as the Democratic candidate and was pro-slavery, this being a pushing force for Northern anger. The federal government was pulled back. -
Dred Scott
Scott was an enslaved Black man who had been under ownership in some free states and territories. He went to free state courts, arguing that as he was in free areas, he should be free himself. The courts decided that he firstly did not have the right to sue, as he was not a citizen, and that it would be taking the slave owner's property without due process. -
LeCompton Constitution
This pro-slavery document aimed to spread slavery to Kansas territory. This included excluding enslaved people from constitutional rights, integrating slave laws, etcetera, all adding to Civil War tensions. -
House Divided Speech
Abraham Lincoln gave this speech at the Republican Party's senator nomination. It stated that some court decisions were opening slavery to all of the United States, and that it was dangerously unstable to allow a country to fall into such disagreement on this. -
Lincoln-Douglas Debates
There were 7 presidential campaign debates between Stephen Douglas and Abraham Lincoln, concerning mostly the expansion of slavery into new territories and existing states. Abraham fought slavery expansion with the hope of phasing it out, while Douglas preferred popular sovereignty historically. War and new acts put pressure on leadership decision-making. -
Harper's Ferry Raid
John Brown gathered a group of men to seize national armory material and hold several important people in rebellion against slavery. The armory was surrounded by regiments of soldiers, who took him into custody and hanged him for such crimes. This lead to Southern anger and further tensions between the north and south. -
John Brown
Brown was a notably active abolitionist, attempting multiple revolutions like Bleeding Kansas and the Harper's Ferry raid. -
1860 Election
This was the first time a Republican had won for presidency, Lincoln winning against the other 3 candidates. This established leadership against slavery, and gave agency to fighting secession and slavery. -
Lincoln's First Inaugural Speech
President Lincoln made this speech to attempt to bring back seceded states at the time while promising to return them to government control. He cited that he never wished to outright ban slavery, and that union is necessary. -
Secession
Eleven states attempted to secede from the Union to form their own nation, in which slavery would be permitted. Additionally, other issues were involved, such as taxes and the rights of a state/sovereignty. This was ultimately the tipping point for the Civil War.