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Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin in 1852 as an attempt to show the North the horrors of slavery. The novel was published abroad, including France and Britain. It helped to start the Civil War and for the North to win it. -
John Brown
Abolitionist John Brown developed a plan to secretly invade the South, call upon the slaves to rise, give the slaves weapons, and establish a black free state.
In October 1859, he seized the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry. Because many of his supporters failed to show up, he was caught and sent to death by hanging. When Brown died, he lived on as a martyr to the abolitionist cause. -
The Electoral Upheaval of 1860
Abraham Lincoln won the election of 1860, but he did not win with the popular vote. 60% of the nation voted for another candidate. 10 southern states didn't even allow Lincoln to appear on the ballot.
South Carolina was happy at the outcome of the election because it now had a reason to secede. -
The Decisiveness of Diplomacy
The Trent affair occurred in late 1861. A Union warship stopped a British mail steamer, the Trent, and removed 2 Confederate diplomats who were heading to Europe. Britain started to send troops to Canada in retaliation, but the situation was resolved when President Lincoln freed the Confederate prisoners.
British shipyards were surreptitiously producing Confederate commerce-raiders.The British ships left their ports unarmed, picked up arms elsewhere, and captured Union ships -
Ninety Day war
President Abraham Lincoln decided to attack a small Confederate force at Bull Run. If successful, the victory would show the superiority of Union arms and might eventually lead to the capture of Richmond. On July 21, 1861, the Union and Confederate forces met. -
Foreign Flare-Ups
In 1863, two Confederate warships were being built by a British shipyard. These ships had large iron rams would have destroyed the Union blockade. To avoid infuriating the North and potentially starting a war, the London government bought the ships for the Royal Navy.