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Kansas Nebraska Act
This act allowed the people in Kansas and Nebraska to decide whether or not they wanted there to be slavery. This act repealed the Missouri Compromise that banned slavery north of the 36'30 line. -
Republican Party Forms
This party was formed from anti-slavery Whigs. They gained supporters rapidly in the North and elected their first presidential candidate for the election of 1856. The formation of this party angered the South. -
Pottawatomie Creek Massacre
John Brown who is against slavery led men into Kansas where he slaughtered 5 pro-slavery supporters. This was to get revenge for Lawrence. Added to Kansas earning the nickname "Bleeding Kansas." -
Brooks-Sumner Incident
A northern abolitionist by the name of Charles Sumner criticized a South Carolina congressman. Another congressman, Preston Brooks, was a relative of the person who was criticized. He took offense to the commnts made by Sumner so he beat him over the head with his walking cane. -
Election of 1856
There were three people running in this election. They were James Buchanan, John Freemont, and Millard Fillmore. Freemont was accused of being Catholic which hurt his chances. The reason that Buchanan won is because he had nothing to do with the Kansas Nebraska Act. -
Dred Scott Decision
A slave by the name of Dred Scott was trying to sue his owners for his freedom because they moved him into free soil. The sourt decided that Dred Scott was ruled not a citizen but propertyand therefore could not legally sue. -
Lecompton Constitution
The constitution was made in the state of Kansas which was in the misdt of a battle between being a slave state or free state. This constitution states that whetherthe constitution is approved with or without slavery that there would be slavery anyway. This constitution was rejected in the year 1857. -
Panic of 1857
This is another financial crisis that was caused by inflation due to gold in California, over production of grain, and overspeculation in land and railroads. This crisis was worse in the North rather than the South. -
Impending Crisis of the South
This book was written by Hinton Helper. This book criticized slavery but on a more economic basis. This argued that slavery hurt the non-slave owning whites in the South. No one in the South would publish the book so Hinton found someone in the North. -
Lincoln Douglas Debates
Abraham Lincoln challenged Stephen Douglas to a series of debates during the race for Illinois Senate. Lincoln was the underdog in the debates but proved that he could stand to go head to head with Douglas. Following these debates, Douglas won the race for the Senate. -
Freeport Doctrine
During the series of Lincoln Douglas debates, there was one in Freeport. This was where Stephen Douglas came up with the Freeport Doctrine which he argued that a territory had the right to ban slavery despite what the Supreme Court decided. This doctrine ruined his chances of winning the presidential election and caused some issues. -
Harper's Ferry
John Brown came back in Harper's Ferry, Virginia where he had an plan to abolish slavery. He wanted to take over the federal arsenal and pass out weapons to the local slaes. This would start a big revolt and in return free the slaves. What actually happened was John Brown and his men took over a building but were quickly stopped by Robert. E. Lee. -
South Carolina Seceded
Followign the election of Abraham Lincoln, South Carolina followed through on their pledge to secede if he won the presidency. Other states would soon follow this lead. -
Election of 1860
During this election, Lincoln only received 40% of the popular vote but he won the election. He went against Beckinridge, Douglas, and Bell. Following this Republican win, there were great issues reguarding the unification of the states. -
Crittenden Compromise
This proposed that the Missouri Compromise which banned slavery North of the 36'30 line be put back into place. This compromise failed because Lincoln ran on a free soil basis and he wasn't going to go back on that.
