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Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom’s Cabin was a novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe about the life of a slave named Tom from his own perspective, which some people claimed to be over dramatic and unrealistic (these being Southern slave owner), and it gave people a different view of the slaves hardships, changed their views on slavery and African Americans, and was said to have helped lay some of the groundwork for the Civil War -
Kansas Nebraska Act
This act allowed the people in the new Kansas and Nebraska territory to rule with popular sovereignty over the issue of slavery and decide whether they wanted to be slave or free states. It was believed that Kansas, as it was south, would be pro-slavery, and Nebraska would be antislavery, and there would be equal representation in Congress, but antislavery forces were heavy in Kansas and wanted it to come in as a free state, so conflicts rose in the territory and eventually led to violence. -
Bloody Kansas
During a dispute between anti, and pro- slavery resulting in a mini-civil war forcing the state to be terribly divided in two. Once Kansas was admitted into the union as a free state, the pro-slavery forces were not at all happy with the decision. Which arguably sparked some of the first battles of the Civil war in the years between 1851 and 1859. -
Republican Party
This part emerged in 1854 to combat the Kansas Nebraska Act and the expansion of slavery. It mostly consisted of African-Americans, northern white Protestants, businessmen, professionals, factory workers, and farmers. Abraham Lincoln became the first republican president, and the republican party largely dominated until 1932. Free soldiers also ended up joining the republican party as well. -
Brooks-Sumner Incident
Following a speech in which Sunmer directly attacked the pro-slavery Senators and the Institution of slavery, Preston Brooks nearly beat Chares Sunmer to death with his cane on the Senate floor. The attack was so brutal, Sumner had to take three years leave in order to recuperate. Brooks was charged for assault by the Baltimore court district, and along with that, other furious house members wanted Brooks expelled from the House, but the house members failed to reach the necessary ⅔ vote needed. -
Election of 1856
The Election of 1856 was a three way election consisting of James Buchanon, John C. Fredmont, and Millard Filmore. Millard Filmore fell far behind in the race, only winning 8 electoral votes, and two states. In the final race, Democrat James Buchanon won over John C. Fredmont. Buchanon was morally opposed to slavery, but also beleived that slaverywas protected by the constitution. -
Dred Scott
A case involving the slave, Dred Scott, and the owner John Stanford. Moving to the Missouri territory, Dred was in an area where slavery was prohibited, but he was not allowed to be free since he was considered a slave, and therefor property. He also did not have citizenship in either state, and he was a slave, so he had no power to sue in supreme court, even though he tried, but was told he could not since he wasn't a citizen, and the Missouri Compromise was said unconstitutional. -
LeCompton Constitution
The LeCompton constitution was one of four constitutions for Kansas drafted by pro-slavery members. The main points behind it is to protect owning slaves, and the bill of rights excluding free blacks. The constitution was of course rejected as the kansas constitution, and Kansas was admitted as a free state. This further increased tensions -
House Divided Speech
The House divided speech was a speech given by Abraham Lincoln to the Illinois Republican convention in the summer of 58’, and it is the speech that delivered us the famous quote “a house divided against itself cannot stand” -
Lincoln-Douglas Debate
7 debates between Democrat Stephen Douglas, and Republican Abraham Lincoln about slavery. Lincoln was running for Douglas’s seat in the Senate. Douglas tried to label Lincoln as a dangerous radical who advocated racial equality & disruption of the Union, while Lincoln attacked popular sovereignty & moral inequity of slavery. Lincoln lost but received more popular votes, signaling a shift in the political character, & helped lead him to being mentioned as a candidate for the presidency. -
Harper's Ferry Raid
John Brown, an abolitionist and leader in the Bloody Kansas movement, attempted to arm slaves by breaking into a military arsenal and taking the weapons to give to the slaves so they could revolt for their freedom. In the end, John Brown was captured by Colonel Robert E. Lee and 10 of his men were killed, including two of his sons. This incident only made tensions between the North and South worse, and Brown was seen as a martyr for the anti-slavery movement. -
John Brown
John Brown was a radical abolitionist best known for his attempt to arm slaves and have them rebel against their masters. For this, and his arsenal raid, he was executed and became seen as a martyr for the abolition movement. His court hearing and arsenal raid took place in present-day West Virginia, then-Virginia, a state run by plantation owners, so the court ruled directly that he had committed treason and should be hanged for his actions against the national government. -
Election of 1860
In the Election of 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected president, winning by having more popular votes in the US, and having the majority of electoral votes. In Virginia, this was the closest presidential election in history. His election further increases the hostility between the north and the south since the North voted strongly for him, but the people pro-slavery felt that his opinions/ beliefs were hostile towards the idea of slavery. -
Secession
The first state to secede from the Union was South Carolina, followed by Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee. South Carolina published the “Declarations” at the beginning of their secession saying that the main reason for their leaving was the North’s refusal to comply with the Fugitive Slave Act and the Dred Scott case decision -
Lincoln's 1st Inaugural Address
Lincoln was not very liked by the pro-slavery folk in the US since they thought that his ideas and beliefs were a threat to what they stand for. In his first inaugural address however, he wanted to keep the union as a whole, so instead of increasing tensions , he said that he would leave the slave states be for the time being