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Many Voices of Abolition
American Anti-Slavery Society was the first abolitionist organization. The members of this wanted full political rights for freed blacks. Abolitionists face violent reaction in the North and South. A editor of an antislavery newspaper was killed by angry proslavery mob. -
Dred Scott Petition
1834-1838 John Emerson was an army doctor who traveled often for his job. Dred Scott was his slave and on one of his travels, he took Scott with him. They went into Illinois and Minnesota Territory, which slavery happened to been outlawed. Scott sued in the Missouri courts for his freedom after John’s death. -
Expansion and State Rights
Expansion and states rights: Many people thought it was our Manifest Destiny to extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific. The South felt that the federal government didn’t have any right to decide issues within a state. The power between the federal government and individual states, was a hot issue. This was contributed to the beginning of the Civil War. -
Fugitive Slave Act
This act was to assist the South with a tight rein on slaveholders’ property. The existing laws were that if a black that was a certain amount of miles from his home was considered a fugitive and would be thrown in jail. The new law made a force that empowered to pursue fugitive slaves and return them to their owners. The slaves that had been free for a long time were to be returned to the owners. In the North, riots occurred and soldiers had to go in and stop it. -
Regional Differences
The North took an advantage of the Industrial Revolution’s amazing new products. Great factories started up as deposits of iron, coal, copper, and other manufacturing basics were found. The ability to produce weapons gave the North a decided edge as the Civil War progressed. The South produced three-fourths of the raw cotton used in the world. The one thing they lacked were the manufacturing capability of the North. The South was then forced to buy back the goods that -
Bleeding Kansas
The Kansas-Nebraska Act was the right of a people organizing as a state to decide by popular vote whether to allow slavery. Kansas was the first to vote to become a free state. Proslavery advocates refused to accept the popular vote and attempted to shift the balance. They were troublemakers in the North. As the proslavery and antislavery battled throughout Kansas, it was common for violence and bloodshed. This is how they earned the name “Bleeding Kansas.” -
Dred Scott Decision
The Supreme Court declared that all blacks could never become citizens of the United States. Scott was black and not a citizen so he had no right to sue. Taney said that the enslaved African race weren’t intended to be included in the Declaration of Independence. -
Election of Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln only received 40 percent of the popular vote. He argued against the spread of slavery. Lincoln didn’t like slavery, so in the south he wasn’t popular. The North also didn’t agree with slavery, so they were on Lincoln’s side. Lincoln wasn’t liked very well because he wanted to end slavery or at least put a stop to it. The South were enraged about this. When Lincoln won the election it was a start of the secession of the Southern states. -
Secession
The South was afraid that the North, who was richer and had a large population, would impose its will against them. This gave the South no chance but to pull away from the Union and have their own nation. President James Buchanan, at the time, felt that the South had no legal right to secede. He also lacked the ability to stop them. -
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Attack of Fort Sumter
General Beauregard demanded surrender of Fort Sumter. The Fort refused. The Confederate opened fire on the fort. Anderson then surrendered Fort Sumter on April 13. The attack on Fort Sumter was the opening of the American Civil War. Only one Union solider was killed and three wounded. The Fort was in South Carolina.
