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Uncle Tom's Cabin
This book was written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. She wrote this book because she was inspired by the enforcement of the Fugitive Slave Act. This book showed what slavery was like and because of this, the South did not like this book and tried to make it illegal. But the Northerners kept buying the book and became a bestseller. -
Kansas Nebraska Act
The Kansas Nebraska Act was a law that created two territories, Kansas and Nebraska, and allowed popular sovereignty to help determine if slavery would be allowed in their territories. This Act also repealed the Missouri Compromise because some ideas of this Act went against the Compromise. The Kansas Nebraska Act was to be used as the solution for the conflict between the north and south, but this ended up leading to even more violence between the two. -
Republican Party
In 1854, the Republican Party was founded. The Whigs decided to create a new political party so that slavery couldn't be spread in the west. This political party gained Northern supporters, while the South said that they were going to secede from the nation if the Republican Party won the President election. -
Bleeding Kansas
The Bleeding Kansas was repeated violent outbreaks between the pro-slavery and the anti-slavery people. The debate on whether slavery should be legal is what had started this confrontation. The pro-slavery people tried to attack the anti-slavery people and also burned down some of their newspaper offices. -
Brooks-Sumner Incident
Charles Sumner was giving a two day speech to the Senate called "The Crime Against Kansas," which was an anti-slavery speech. In a part of this speech, he slandered Andrew Butler and called him an imbecile. Preston Brooks, Andrew's cousin, did not like how he spoke bad about someone in his family and decided to get violent with Sumner. While Sumner was finishing up his speech, Brooks walked into the Senate and repeatedly hit Sumner with his cane. -
Election of 1856
This election was between James Buchanan (Democrat), John C. Fremont (Republican), and Millard Fillmore (Know-Nothings). The Democrats advocated for slavery while the Republicans didn't. The Know Nothing mainly cared about the immigrants. This election showed how divided the country was. Buchanan got 174 electoral votes, Fremont had 114, and Fillmore had 8. Buchanan won the election by taking 45% of the popular vote. -
Dred Scott
Dred Scott was a slave and lived in Missouri. Him and his slave owner ended up moving to Illinois, which is a non-slavery state. Scott has decided to sue his owner's wife because he's a resident of a free state, and he didn't want to be a slave anymore. But by the decision of the Scott vs. Sanford case, Scott was considered property and did not have the right to sue. He also couldn't be set free without due process of law. -
LeCompton Constitution
This was a document that was written by pro-slavery advocates. This document stated that slavery would be allowed in Kansas and they also wanted to protect slaveholding. The LeCompton Constitution included a bill of rights, but it did not include rights about black people. This document ended up being rejected and was never put in effect. -
House Divided Speech
This was a speech given by Abraham Lincoln and he states that the country cannot be divided because of slavery. He said that people would have to pick one side or the other because there is not compromise for this situation. Lincoln also talks about the Scott vs. Sanford case, and how that case's decision will lead to slavery being legal up in the north and other territories. This speech is what gained him the presidential nomination, in which he ends up winning. -
Lincoln Douglas Debates
This was a series of seven debated between Lincoln and Douglas about slavery. Douglas thought that it was the people's decision on whether if they want to exclude slavery or not, and whatever decision they come up to, the Court has to permit it. This is known as the Freeport Doctrine. Lincoln did not agree and thought that only the federal government could take away slavery. Lincoln ended up losing these debates since the Illinois legislature cared for the Democrats more. -
Harper's Ferry
There was a raid at Harper's Ferry that was lead by abolitionist John Brown. He was going to start a revolt with slaves and they were going to steal weapons and destroy the institution of slavery. The word quickly spread about Brown's revolt, and Brown's group of men were surrounded by U.S. marines. Ten of Brown's men were killed, and John himself was injured badly. -
John Brown
After his raid at Harper's Ferry, Brown was guilty for treason and murder and ended up being hung. John Brown was a true abolitionist, and even participated in the Bleeding Kansas raid to help fight against the anti-slavery forces. He was strongly against slavery and tried his best to help free any black people. -
Election of 1860
This election was between Abraham Lincoln, Stephan Douglas, John Breckinridge, and John Bell. The main issue revolving around this election was slavery and state right's. The candidates didn't have to really campaign because they were mostly well known. Lincoln ended up winning this election because he had 180 electoral votes, but he didn't even get 40% of the population's vote. -
Secession
Many southern states in 1860 seceded from the Union since Abraham Lincoln became president. They thought that he would take away slavery. Here is the order that the states seceded: South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina. -
Lincoln's 1st Inaugural Address
This speech was a part of Lincoln taking an oath of office. In his speech, he states that he won't mess with slavery in states where it's legal, and he said that the nation will forever be in Union and states cannot secede or that would lead to violence. This address was mainly addressed towards the southerners and he used his speech as a way to show his loyalty and to help prevent war.