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Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin was a novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe that described what slavery was like for the slaves and how their masters treated them. The novel increased differences between the North and South. Many Northerners realized how unjust slavery was for the first time. With increasing opposition to slavery, Southern slave owners worked even harder to defend the institution. -
Republican Party
The Whig Party collapsed and was replaced by the Republican Party. It was founded by opponents of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. The Republican goal was to prevent slavery from expanding westward. They feared westward expansion of slavery would lead to the domination of slaveholding interests in national politics. -
Kansas Nebraska Act
The Kansas Nebraska Act destroyed the Whig Party, divided the Democratic Party, and created the Republican Party. It allowed people in the Kansas and Nebraska territories to decide for themselves whether or not to allow slavery within their borders. As a result of the North and South fighting over the Kansas territory to make it either pro or anti slavery, there was extreme chaos in Kansas, which lead to growing tensions that eventually lead to the outbreak of the Civil War. -
Bloody Kansas
Because the Kansas Nebraska Act stated slavery was to be decided by popular vote, both Northerners and Southerners fought to win the region as their own. Kansas became the region with the most conflict, since Nebraska was too far north to attract slave owners. This crisis pushed the North and South further apart and was a major cause of the Civil War. -
Brooks-Sumner incident
The Brooks-Sumner incident was when Representative Preston Brooks used a walking cane to attack Senator Charles Sumner. Brook's violent act was in response to a speech in which Sumner attacked the institution of slavery and pro-slavery senators. Sumner's injuries were so serious that he had to take a three year leave of his Senate duties in order to recuperate. -
Election of 1856
President Pierce hoped for renomination to a second term in office, but the Democrats wanted a less controversial candidate, and selected James Buchanan, a 65 year old Pennsylvania bachelor. -
Dred Scott Case
The Supreme Court ruled that having lived in a free state and territory did not entitle a slave to his freedom. The decision also argued that as a slave Scott was not a citizen and could not sue in a federal court. The New Republican Party was not happy about this ruling and nullified the Court's decision, which angered the Democratic Party. -
LeCompton Constitution
The Lecompton Constitution, the second constitution drafted for the Kansas territory, was written by proslavery supporters. It permitted slavery, excluded free blacks from living in Kansas, and allowed only male citizens of the United States to vote. This also increased tensions leading up to the Civil War. -
House Divided Speech
"A house divided against itself cannot stand"
In the Speech, Lincoln noted that the conflict between the North and South was intensifying and declared the conflict would not stop until a crisis was reached and passed. He stated in the end all states would either be free or slave states. -
Lincoln Douglas Debates
The Lincoln Douglas Debates were a series of seven debates between Abraham Lincoln and Senator Stephen Douglas. Lincoln opposed the expansion of slavery and Douglas was willing to allow slavery in new states in territories if the people there wanted it, even thought the Supreme Court had already ruled against this. Lincoln was elected which lead to Southern Secession and ultimately the Civil War. Freeport doctrine causes Douglas election and divides Democratic Party. propel Abraham -
Harper's Ferry
The U.S. military arsenal at Harper's Ferry was the target of an assault by an armed band of abolitionists led by John Brown. The raid intended to be the first stage in an elaborate plan to establish an independent stronghold of freed slaves in the mountains of Maryland and Virginia. Brown was captured during the raid and later convicted of treason and hanged. The raid increased white Southern fears of slave rebellion and further increased the tensions between the North and South. -
John Brown Execution
John Brown was executed on charges of treason, murder, and insurrection.
"I, John Brown, am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away but with blood" -
Election of 1860
It was against Republican nominee, Abraham Lincoln, and Democratic nominee Senator Stephen Douglas. The main issue of the election was slavery and states' rights. Lincoln won the election and became the 16th president. The Democratic Party was in shambles in 1860. They were divided on the issue of slavery. The South was very displeased with this election, while the North supported Lincoln -
South Carolina Secession
South Carolina became the first slave state in the south to declare that it had seceded from the United States. The state seceded because a republican had become president. -
Lincoln's 1st Inaugural Address
Lincoln's 1st Inaugural Address focused on reassuring the Southern states that he wouldn't try to strip them of their slaves and that he would try to find a way to help them secure slavery if it would make them happy.
