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Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin was a book written by Harriet Beacher Stowe as a series of chapters put in the newspaper over time making one long story. The story was eventually put into book form and became very popular. Uncle Tom's Cabin was a fictional story about the life of a slave. The South was angered by this book because they claimed it misrepresented slavery. But in the North, the book captured people's attention and helped slaves gain their sympathy. This divided the North and South. -
Repulican Party
The Republican Party was created by former members of the Whig Party who wanted a party that opposed slavery and eventually the Kansas-Nebraska Act. The Republican party quickly became the biggest opponent to the Democratic party, which consisted of Southerners and pro-slavery citizens. In the 1856 election, the Republican party was split on who they should vote for and lost the election, but in 1860 they elected Abraham Lincoln into the presidency, and soon after the Civil War began. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas-Nebraska Act was written by Stephen A Douglas. This act was meant to appeal to the Southern states by nullifying the Missouri Compromise of 1820, converting the Nebraska territory into two different territories, and allowing popular sovereignty to decide whether or not the territories would allow slavery. This angered many
northerners because it opened these territories up to slavery. This also caused both sides to rush into these territories, leading to the Bloody Kansas massacre. -
Bloody Kansas
After the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which left the decision about slavery in the territories of Kansas and Nebraska up to popular sovereignty, Northerners and Southerners rushed into those territories in an attempt to have the majority of votes. Because of this competition between northerners and southerners in the area tensions quickly rose, and soon things became violent. These acts of violence in the territory of Kansas were known as Bloody Kansas and are seen as a preview of the Civil War. -
Brooks-Sumner Incident
After Sumner, an anti-slavery senate representative spoke poorly of the Senator of South Carolina, Brooks, a representative of the house, broke into the senate floor and began beating Sumner with his cane. He beat him so severely that his cane broke. Brooks was seen as a hero to the South, and Sumner was supported by the North. This event shows how high the tensions were between the North and South, and the two sides rallied behind either Sumner or Brooks. This caused even more division. -
Election of 1856
In the election of 1856 the Democratic party elected James Buchanan who defeated the Republican nomination, John C. Fremont, and the Know-Nothings candidate Millard Fillmore. The Democrats won because of their threat of succession if anti-slavery candidates were to take office. This threat won Buchanan some of the important northern states and was the reason he was voted into office. This election gave the Republican Party a stronghold. -
Dred Scott
Dred Scott was a slave who took his case to the Supreme Court as he was fighting for his freedom. In the Scott vs. Standford case, the Supreme Court decided that Scott could not have his freedom even though he resided in a free state because he was still property. He also was not allowed to sue because they decided he was not a citizen. Finally, this case declared the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional. This angered Northerners and Scott's case raised tensions between the North and South. -
LeCompton Constitution
This constitution was written by pro-slavery citizens who were advocating for Kansas's statehood. The rights and bills in this constitution excluded free blacks and it was eventually rejected and Kansas was admitted as a free state. This constitution added to the tension between the North and the South because the Southern states were upset when it did not pass, and the Northern states opposed the proposed constitution. -
House Divided Speech
At the end of the Republican State Convention in Illinois, Abraham Lincoln gave his House Divided Speech. After he was announced as the Republican candidate for Senate, Lincoln gave this speech which was aimed at Stephen A. Douglas, his opponent, and those who wanted to vote for him. In this speech, Lincoln addressed slavery as a moral issue that would threaten the union, and he famously said, "A divided House cannot stand." -
Lincoln-Douglas Debate
These debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas were for their campaigns for a seat in the Senate. In these debates, Douglas painted Lincoln as an extremist and he created the Freeport Doctrine, which stated that if states did not want slavery they should not create laws that support slavery. Douglas eventually won the election for a place in the Senate but his indecisiveness on the position of slavery made him lose many of his Southern supporters and ended his political career. -
Harper's Ferry
A group of 21 abolitionists led by John Brown decided to raid Harper's Ferry because of the arsenal it housed. They were hoping to start a slave uprising and free many slaves in Virginia. The uprising was unsuccessful and quickly shut down by Robert E. Lee and the U.S. military. Despite the failure of this raid, the South felt like the abolitionists would stop at nothing to get slavery abolished, which made them feel threatened. This was a huge milestone at the start of the Civil War. -
John Brown
John Brown was a strong advocate for anti-slavery. Many called him a fanatic. People thought he was crazy because he was obsessed with the anti-slavery movement. He led the raid of Harpers Ferry hoping to start a slave rebellion. His attempts at rebellion were unsuccessful and he was eventually hung for treason. Even though Brown failed, he did scare the South and was known as a martyr in the North. His hanging angered Northerners, and his actions played a role in the beginning of the Civil War. -
Election of 1860
In this election, the Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln beat the southern democratic candidate John C. Breckinridge, the Democratic candidate Stephen A. Douglas, and the Constitutional Union candidate John Bell. Following Lincoln's Election seven southern states seceded, and soon after the Civil War began. -
Secession
After the election of 1860 seven states seceded from the union because Lincoln, who was anti-slavery, took office. These states formed a separate government and became known as the Confederate States of America. Over time 11 slave states seceded, and only the slave states of Maryland, Delaware, Kentucky, and Missouri remained a part of the United States. This act of secession and the formation of a new government caused the outbreak of the Civil War. -
Lincoln's 1st Inaugural Address
After many of the Southern States had seceded from the Union, Lincoln gave his first inaugural address in an attempt to appease the Southern states and prevent the outbreak of war. He claimed that he did not have any intention of abolishing slavery in slave states, and he made many other claims that he hoped would calm the South. He also said he would not attack the Southern states unless they attacked the North first. His attempts were in vain, however, because states continued to secede.