-
Period: to
John Brown
An abolitionist from Connecticut who is most known for his crimes, including murder and treason. He led a small group in Harper's Ferry where he planned an armed slave revolt and attempted to seize weapons from the storage at Harper's Ferry. The raid was a failure since word spread like wildfire. Murder was a result of the Pottawatomie Massacre occurring on May 24-25 1856 where five pro-slavery men from Pottawatomie Creek, Franklin county, Kansas were killed by John Brown's antislavery party. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, an abolitionist who experienced slavery but not firsthand, "Uncle Tom's Cabin" was a bestselling book in the United States at the time of it being published and open to the masses. The book received backlash and charges from both the North and the South, since people believed the story had an inaccurate portrayal of the issue of slavery in the United States. -
Republican Party Formed
The Whigs party had just disbanded and a meeting in Wisconsin formed by former Whigs was held to propose the idea of the Republican Party formation. The North was highly supportive of this idea and John C. Fremont was their first presidential candidate. The South, however, was not supportive and Democrats and Republicans began to increase tensions. Abraham Lincoln was the first Republican to become POTUS. The disagreements of the two political parties greatly contributed to the Civil War. -
Kansas Nebraska Act
Before Kansas and Nebraska were separate territories, they were connected and the issue of slavery caused higher tensions between North and South. Kansas wanted to be 50/50; one half prohibit slavery, the other half allow slavery. Pro-slavery forces were supportive of the idea of slavery in their territory in the new act, while anti-slavery forces were against it. A very bloody mini-civil war was occurring in the territory due to childish behavior and fighting over the territory. -
Period: to
Bleeding Kansas
A period of time where violence was found all around in the territory of Kansas where people from the North and South quickly fled to in order to vote in favor or against the issue of slavery after the Nebraska-Kansas Act was passed. The event was basically a small civil war in the area, since the act gave the people the right to determine whether or not slavery was to be permitted in the territory. -
Brooks-Sumner Incident
In the Senate on May 21, 1856, Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts made an abolitionist speech that directly insulted Senator Andrew Butler of South Carolina. At his speech, the nephew of Butler and also the Congressman from South Carolina, heard this speech and, in a fit of rage, beat Senator Sumner on the Senate floor with his cane and nearly beat him to death. The beating that occurred greatly increased the tensions that were already between the Northern and Southern regions. -
Election of 1856
With the Republican Party being recently created by remaining members of the disbanded Whig Party, the Election of 1856 had the first Republican presidential candidate John C. Fremont running against Democratic presidential candidate James Buchanan. Buchanan won this election and promised to bring an end to the arguments and tensions that slavery brought to the well-being of the United States. He also promised no interference from Congress with slavery in territories. -
Dred Scott v. Sanford
Dred Scott, a slave, lived in Missouri with his army surgeon master, Dr. Emerson. Due to his profession, both were required to move to different places in the country, such as Illinois and modern-day St. Paul, Minnesota. Both of these areas were places where slavery was prohibited, and, with legal help, Scott sued Emerson's widow after his passing in Missouri Court. The ruling of the court came out to be that a slave could not sue in federal court, because they were not citizens, but property. -
Lecompton Constitution
The Lecompton Constitution, documented and written by pro-slavery advocates of Kansas, was in opposition to the anti-slavery Topeka Constitution and ended up being rejected and Kansas eventually became a free state in 1861. -
House Divided Speech
At this speech, Lincoln was not yet running for President of the United States, but was a lawyer and ran for a seat in the Illinois Senate; he was a part of the Republican Party. Lincoln's speech noted on the constantly growing conflict between the Northern and Southern states in the United States. He stated to his audience that the problem would not reach a conclusion until crisis was both reached and passed. "A house divided against itself cannot stand." -
Period: to
Lincoln-Douglas Debates
From August 21 to October 15 of 1858, debates from two politicians occurred from both parties wishing for a chair in the Senate. These two politicians were Stephen Douglas and Abraham Lincoln. Both parties debated over the issue of slavery in the United States. Lincoln had accepted slavery where it was already present in the United States and wished that it did not extend to other territories and areas in the country, while Douglas wished for slavery to be determined by Popular Sovereignty. -
Harper's Ferry Raid
John Brown, an abolitionist hailing from Connecticut, led a small group on a raid that was against a federal weapon storage to begin a slave revolt that included slaves being armed against their masters and other forms of authority in order to bring a destructive end to slavery. The group he led only consisted of a few slaves, and the word quickly spread about the raid and they were surrounded by the time the sun came up. He was charged with treason and murder, and hanged for his crimes. -
Election of 1860
The Election of 1860 candidates included John C. Brekinridge and Stephen A. Douglas (Democrats) and John Bell and Abraham Lincoln (Republicans). This election brought Lincoln to the start of his presidency as the United States' 16th President. He reigned victorious after receiving the majority of Electoral College votes and popular votes. In the election, southern states believed Lincoln's intention was to restrict/eliminate slavery, which caused the Civil War that followed later on. -
Period: to
Secession
Secession was the series of events that began on December 20, 1860 and continued until June 8, 1861. The events in the Secession caused the south, both lower and upper parts aka the eleven slave states, to cut off their ties to the Union during the period of 1860-1861. A rather short time after the Election of 1860, the South seceded because they were worried that their rights to slavery would be taken away by Lincoln after he was elected President. -
Abraham Lincoln First Inaugural Address
On March 4, 1861, Abraham Lincoln was sworn into office after taking the oath of the office for his first term as the United States' 16th President. His Inaugural Address reassured southern states that he would not suddenly strip away their slaves and would attempt to find a method that would secure slavery that would appease them, a compromise between the North and the South. Lincoln promised that slavery would stay only within the areas it was already present in, as long as it did not expand.
