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Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom´s Cabin, a novel by author Harriet Beecher Stowe, was published March 20th 1852. Stowe, descending from a upper class white family, wrote in descriptive detail about slavery, and its negative effects. This came as a surprise to many people in the South, due to the fact that it was written by a white female. and it discussed anti-slavery ideas. For many, this novel was a opinion changer, but for others it fueled their fire to own and fight for the right of slave ownership. -
Republican Party
By February 1854, anti-slavery Whigs had begun meeting in the upper mid-western states to discuss the formation of a new party. One such meeting, in Wisconsin on March 20, 1854, is generally remembered as the founding meeting of the Republican Party. -
Kansas Nebraska act
On May 30, 1854, The Kansas-Nebraska Act was signed. This act ultimately gave the new states, Kansas and Nebraska, the ability to vote on whether or not slavery would be legal in their states. -
Bloody Kansas
Between the years of 1854 to 1861. In which was a conflict of whether Kansas would become a free or slave state. Then resulted in the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854 called the "popular sovereignty" in which settlers would chose whether or not they would allow slaves. -
Brooks-Sumner incident
Preston Brooks and Charles Sumner held a debate over whether or not slavery should continue to be legal. Sumner, from Massachusetts, argued that Kansas should become a non-slavery state, leading to him arguing the overall abolition of slavery. Brooks argued back his beliefs on pro-slavery, becoming more enraged as the debate carried on. This eventually lead to the beating of Sumner by Brook´s cane. This attack angered those from the North, and created more of a sense to fight back. -
Election of 1856
The United States presidential election of 1856 was an unusually heated election campaign that led to the election of James Buchanan, the ambassador to the United Kingdom. Republican candidate John C. Frémont condemned the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and crusaded against the Slave Power and the expansion of slavery, while Democrat James Buchanan warned that the Republicans were extremists whose victory would lead to civil war. -
Dred Scott
On March 6th, 1957, the Dred Scott decision took effect. Scott, a slave under the possession of a lifelong owner, fought for his freedom after his previous owner had died and his new owner moved to the North. When Scott´s new owner migrated North he was not granted freedom as he should have been. Scott took this up with the Supreme Court where he lost the case. This loss enraged the North, giving them more of a reason to feel the need to fight back. -
LeCompton Constitution
The LeCompton Constitution was a document framed in LeCompton, the Territorial Capital of Kansas, in 1857 by Southern pro-slavery advocates of Kansas statehood. It contained clauses protecting slave-holding and a bill of rights excluding free blacks, and it added to the frictions leading up to the U.S. Civil War. -
House Divided speech
The House Divided Speech was an address given by Abraham Lincoln, later President of the United States, on June 16, 1858, at what was then the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield, after he had accepted the Illinois Republican Party's nomination as that state's US senator. -
Lincoln/Douglas Debate
From August 21 until October 15, Stephen Douglas battled Abraham Lincoln in face to face DEBATES around the state. The prize they sought was a seat in the Senate. Lincoln challenged Douglas to a war of ideas. Douglas took the challenge. The debates were to be held at 7 locations throughout Illinois. The fight was on and the nation was watching. -
Harper's Ferry
On October 16th, 1859, John Browne, as previously seen in the Pottawatomie Massacre, led a group of men to a U.S. military arsenal, also known as Harper´s Ferry. The purpose of this march was in hopes of starting a revolt. Unfortunately, the U.S. marines shut them down within 24 hours, forcing them to surrender. This being one of the last attempts to come to an agreement somewhat peacefully shot down all hopes, therefore raising the question of war in the future. -
John Brown Execution
In 1859, Brown led a raid on the federal armory at Harper's Ferry to start a liberation movement among the slaves there. He was tried for treason against the Commonwealth of Virginia, the murder of five men, and inciting a slave insurrection. He was found guilty on all counts and was hanged. -
Election 1860
Abraham Lincoln, a candidate in the 1860 election, won both the popular and electoral vote by a landslide. Lincoln held very strong anti-slavery beliefs, therefore when he became president the South became very weary of what was to come. Due to the this, they saw their only option left to be war. -
Secession
In 1860, Abraham Lincoln won the election, and made tensions arise. The secession of the South led to the establishment of the confederacy. Southerners feared with the president that opposed slavery, soon enough the institution would be outlawed as a whole. SC was the first to secede. -
Lincoln's 1st Inaugural Address
In his inaugural address, Lincoln promised not to interfere with the institution of slavery where it existed, and pledged to suspend the activities of the federal government temporarily in areas of hostility. However, he also took a firm stance against secession and the seizure of federal property.
