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Missouri Compromise
The North and South grew into sectionalism. Preserved the balance between slave and free states in the Senate, it brought a lull debate over slavery. -
Dred Scott Decision
Dred Scott was an enslaved African American brought by a doctor in Missouri a slave state. They moved to Illinois a free state, later they moved back to Missouri. In 1846 with the help of anti- slavery lawyers, Scott was sued for his freedom. Scott claimed he should be free because he once lived in a free state. Eleven years later, the case reached the Supreme Court. The Congress said that Dred Scott was still a enslaved person. -
Compromise of 1850
Southerners wanted a strong national law that required states to return fugitive.
Southerners talked about seceding from the Union.
Senator Clay proposed that California as a free state, Clay then pushed for a stronger fugitive slave law.
Congress finally passed five bills in the 1850. These laws became known as the Compromise of 1850. -
The Kansas- Nebraska Act
Pierce became president in 1853, and intended to enforce the Fugitive Slave Act. In 1854 Stephen A. Douglas proposed organizing the region West of Missouri and Iowa as the territories of Kansas and Nebraska. Kansas and Nebraska would likely become free states. Douglas thought they would abandon the Missouri Compromise and let the settlers in each territory vote whether to allow slavery, and this is called popular sovereignty. -
"Bleeding Kansas"
Both sides armed themselves, and 800 slavery supporters attacked the town of Lawrence. John Brown thought that he could end slavery. Armed bands soon roamed the territory. All this fighting in Kansas, was called " the Civil War in Kansas." Brown led a group along Pottawatomie Creek and killed five supporters of slavery. Newspapers referred to this as "Bleeding Kansas." -
Lincoln- Douglas Debates
Douglas and Lincoln met seven times in cities and villages throughout Illinois. The main topic of the debates was slavery. Douglas lost support in the South, this was called the Freeport Doctrine. Douglas won the election, but Lincoln came back and gained a reputation as a man of clear thinking who could argue with force. -
Raid on Harpers Ferry
John Brown led a group on a raid to Harpers Ferry, Virginia. He wanted to arm enslaved African Americans. His group was defeated by federal troops, he was convicted of murder and was sentenced to hang. A lot of people as a Martyr( which is a person who dies for a great cause.) The nation was on the brink of disaster. -
Election of Lincoln
Southern Democrats vowed to uphold slavery, their candidate was John C. Breckinridge. The Republicans nominated Abraham Lincoln. Their platform was that slavery should be left undisturbed where it existed. With the Democrats divided, Lincoln won a majority of the electoral votes. Other Southern states debated the question of secession. -
Lincoln Inaugural Address
On March 4,1861 Lincoln got prepared for his inauguration. The Southern States chose to remain in the Union but their decision wasn't final. In Lincoln's Inaugural Address he spoke to the seceding states directly. He said that he would hold federal property in the South, including forts, and military installations, he also said that he would enforce laws of the United States. The Southern states had state's rights for choosing to stay in the Union or leave it. -
Attack on Fort Sumter
Confederate forces already seized some U.S. forts. Lincoln didn't want to start a war, allowing the Confederates to keep the forts would admit their right to secede. Once Lincoln took office he got a message from Fort Sumter saying that they are running low on supplies and they demanded in surrender. Lincoln sent an unharmed group with supplies, they would not fire. Jefferson Davis attacked Fort Sumter before the Union arrived with the supplies. Confederate guns opened fire on April 12, 1861.
