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Dred Scott
Dred Scott was an African American man born into slavery in Missouri. In 1836, his master, Dr. Emerson took him and his family to Rock Island Illinois a free state. After the death of Dr. Emerson, Scott sued Emerson's widow because he had been a slave in a free state. Results of case Scott vs. Sanford: Congress could not declare the limits to slavery’s expansion. It further divided and caused tension between the North and South. It also declared the Missouri Compromise as unconstitutional. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Published by Harriet Beecher Stowe, this book was highly popular as it sold 10,000 copies it's very first week. There were people both in the North and South that argued that the book “misrepresented” how slavery actually was. Because the book was about a character named Uncle Tom, the sufferings he went through as a slave and the freedom gained by George and Eliza, many Northerners sympathized with it and many Southerners argued it was exaggerated; this just contributed to further disagreement. -
Republican Party
The Republican Party's goals were to stop the extension of slavery moving further west and it fought to give rights to African Americans. This party was mostly formed of a coalition of further anti-slavery parties like the Whig party, the Free Soil Party and even some Democrats. -
Bleeding Kansas
The Kansas-Nebraska Act is what triggered this "war" in Kansas between pro-slavery forces and anti-slavery forces. That act basically overturned the Missouri Compromise as it technically allowed slavery in states above the 36 30 parallel. This had a very serious consequences and John Brown was involved in the murder of 5 pro-slavery settlers. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
This act allowed the people, through popular sovereignty, to decide for themselves whether to allow slavery in Kansas and Nebraska. This act passed by Congress was very controversial because it ignored the Missouri Compromise where all states above the 36º 30' parallel were not slave states (both Kansas and Nebraska were above this parallel). This angered the Northerners which strongly supported the Missouri Compromise while the South supported it, thus, creating further division. -
Election of 1856
During the election of 1856, President Pierce wanted to run for a second term but Democrats instead chose James Buchanan (as a les controversial candidate). The Republican Party, on the other hand, nominated soldier John C. Fremont. This was a very bitter election, as the Southerners described Fremont as a drunkard and the destroyer of the Union. This just further divided the North and South with opposing ideals and beliefs of who was better suited for president. -
Brooks-Sumner Incident
Senator Charles Sumner was a Republican and an abolitionist; but on May, 21 he gave a very disapproving speech of the wrongful things that were happening in Texas. He even called Senator Butler and imbecile. Representative Preston Brooks was a cousin of Brooks, so he decided to teach Sumner a lesson. He striked him repeatedly with a gold-tipped cane (Sumner never fully recovered). This angered the Northerners, but not as much as Southerners sending him countless canes as replacements. -
LeCompton Constitution
Proposed by pro-slavery Southerners, this Constitution was for what was to become the state of Kansas. This Constitution contained clauses that protected slavery in the state, excluded blacks and created even more Tension between the North and South as the South was trying to incorporate slavery above the 36 30 parallel. Although rejected, Pres Buchanan proposed its statehood under some of those conditions. Kansas was admitted to the Union on January 29, 1861. -
Lincoln and Douglas Debates
In total there were 7 seven debates. Douglas was a Democratic spokesman while Lincoln was part of the Republican Party. Lincoln argued that Douglas secretly wanted to extend slavery by using popular sovereignty and that slavery was morally wrong. Douglas thought that that popular sovereignty would keep the Union together. However, Southerners felt betrayed by Douglas because he in part supported anti-slavery by allowing popular sovereignty. This alienated the South even more & increased tensions -
House Divided Speech
Abraham Lincoln gave the "House Divided" speech at the 1858 Illinois Republican State Convention. In his speech he argued that if the U.S was to be a free country. it had to act immediately before it was too late. This speech was interesting because he was not asking for compromise, it was strictly one side or the other. Of course the speech contributed to the growing discontent as the Southerners opposed Lincoln for his opposition to slavery, but received support through Northern Democrats. -
John Brown
John Brown was a zealous abolitionist. He is most well known as fanatical with the idea of freeing enslaved black people to the point where he committed murder, treason, destruction and many more things. In 1855, he headed to Kansas to fight for the antislavery cause against pro-slavery forces. And in October of 1859, he directed the Harper's Ferry raid in hopes of forming an “army of emancipation” to free the enslaved. But two days later he surrendered to troops and was hanged shortly after. -
Raid of Harper's Ferry
John Brown and another very small group had been planning for years to carry out a massive uprising of enslaved people, but first they planned to raid the arsenal. On the night of October 16 the raided the arsenal, but then the next morning they were surrounded by a company of U.S marines led by Colonel Robert E. Lee and Lieutenant J. E. B. Stuart. Harpers Ferry further divided the North and South who disagreed on whether Browns actions were justifiable. The South just saw him as a fanatic. -
Election of 1860
The Republicans chose Abraham Lincoln as their frontrunner and the Democrats chose Stephen Douglas, In the election Lincoln won by 180 electoral votes and Douglas who received 12 electoral votes. This election established the Democratic and Republican parties as the majority parties in the United States and it also created tension as the conflicting views based on slavery persisted. -
Secession
Eleven states in the South seceded from the Union calling themselves "The Confederate States of America", while 21 states retained their ties with the Union. Many many times did the slavery issue reappear with newly gained territory. And even though the Republicans did not plan to dissolve slavery, Southerners were already planning a convention having to do with secession. Soon after that, the federal government began to purchase weapons and Southern states began to train their militia's. -
Lincoln's First Inaugural Address
In this inaugural address, Lincoln promised to the people that he would not interfere with slavery in the areas that it existed. Because at that time, their were rumors about secession Lincoln also addressed secession by saying "The government will not assail you. You can have no conflict without being yourselves the aggressors. You have no oath in Heaven to destroy the government"....
