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Dred Scott Decision v. Sanford
In Dred Scott v. Sandford, the Supreme Court ruled that Americans of African descent, whether free or slave, were not American citizens and could not sue in federal court. The Court also ruled that Congress lacked power to ban slavery in the U.S. territories. Since then, Dred Scott v. Sandford has become infamous as one of the most reviled legal decisions made by the U.S. Supreme Court. -
Election of 1860
The election of 1860 pitted Republican nominee Abraham Lincoln against Democratic Party nominee Senator Stephen Douglas, Southern Democratic Party nominee John Breckinridge and Constitutional Union Party nominee John Bell--Lincoln emerged victorious. The South did not want Lincoln as president because his opinions and purposes were seen as hostile to slavery. The election of 1860 firmly established the Democratic and Republican parties as the majority parties in the United States. -
South Carolina's Secession
South Carolina acted first, calling for a convention to secede from the Union; they wanted to leave the United States in protest of the federal government's threat to states' rights and sovereignty. The declaration also claims that secession was declared as a result of the refusal of free states to enforce the Fugitive Slave Acts. State by state, conventions were held, and the Confederacy was formed. -
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Civil War
The American Civil War was the most deadly and arguably the most important event in the nation's history. It was a war that would come to define America—that would answer the "slavery question" once and for all. Northern victory in the war preserved the United States as one nation and ended the institution of slavery that had divided the country from its beginning. -
Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation was an edict issued by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln on January 1, 1863; it freed the slaves of the Confederate states in rebellion against the Union. The proclamation declared "that all persons held as slaves" within the rebellious states "are, and henceforward shall be free." It had become evident that the proclamation had dealt a deathblow to slavery in the United States.
