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California Statehood
California came into the Union as a free state due to the Compromise of 1850. California was right in between the dispute between the North and South over slavery. Abraham Lincoln refers to the states being half free and half slave states in his House Divided Speech. -
Compromise of 1850
The compromise of 1850 admitted California as a free state, along with the New Mexico, and Utah who were left to their own decision on slavery. This rose tension amongst the citizens of the United States. Abraham Lincoln’s Speech, A House Divide used this idea of some states being free versus slave states to. -
Publishing of Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin was a book published by Harriet Beecher Stowe which was against slavery. This evoked action within many northerners and abolitionists. Abraham Lincoln could have used this event to explain how the “opponents of slavery” would prevent the further spread only by putting forth effort. -
The Kansas-Nebraska Act
This act formed the territories of Kansas and Nebraska while it repealed the Missouri Compromise. This meant that Maine was no longer a slave state. This started one of the many conflicts within Kansas which would later be followed by Bleeding Kansas. -
The Creation of the Republican Party
After the Kansas-Nebraska Act the Republican Party formed. The Republican Party had farmers, factory workers, businessmen, and Protestants. This also showed division with the nation commonly referred to by the house in Abraham Lincoln’s address. -
Bleeding Kansas
These were massive fights between the two parties of Abolitionists and Pro-Slavery. Abraham Lincoln said the nation would become “all one thing, or all the other”. This showed how close the house divided was to falling due to the tension between the American Citizens. -
Canning of Charles Sumner
It was an attack by a pro-slavery Democrat against an anti-slavery Republican, in South Carolina. This once again showed the division within the nation as people became more violent. These two parties could no longer peacefully exist amongst each other. This influence Abraham Lincoln to say that the nation would become “all of one” or the other. -
The Dred Scott Desicion
The Dred Scott Decision was a matter of whether Dred Scott and his family were free. He went to court in order to provide evidence to his claim and retrieve freedom. He lost the majority of his rulings even though the laws had suggested that since he and his wife had lived in free states they should be free. This showed how slaves could never truly be US citizens. It also gave insight of how the divided the nation was. This decision was later mentioned in Abraham Lincoln’s Adress. -
The Presidential Election of 1860
The Presidential Election of 1860 resulted in Abraham Lincoln becoming president. This pushed the nation into war because they could no longer stand the tension caused by the division. The house spoken of by Abraham Lincoln was going to fall. -
Lincoln’s A House Divided Speech
His speech used many past events to help show the steady decline of the nation. With citizen’s varying ideas of slavery he thought that one day the nation would no longer stand due to the division. He explained the turmoil within Kansas and how little Abolitionists were doing in the case of the Dred Scott Decision. He used this as a call to action for Northerns to get involved and not stand idol by.