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Uncle Tom's Cabin
Written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, the extremely popular abolitionist novel told a story about a slave. It caused more tension between the North and South. Although Northerners were already against slavery, after reading Uncle Tom's Cabin, their abolitionist views became stronger. At the same time, the South was unhappy because they believed the story was dramatized and misrepresented slavery. -
Kansas Nebraska Act
The Kansas-Nebraska act allowed people living in the Kansas and Nebraska territories decide for themselves whether or not slavery should be legal in their territories. Because the territories were above the 36 30 line, it would go against the Missouri Compromise for either to come in as a slave state. -
Bloody Kansas
Bloody Kansas was fought between the North and South over slavery in the Kansas territory. Propaganda that came after painted both sides as evil and violent and increased hatred between the North and South. -
Brooks-Sumner Incident
Charles Sumner gave a speech sharing his abolitionist views and insulted senator Andrew Butler. Butler's nephew, Preston Brooks, beat him with a cane in response. This increased tensions between the North and South by making Southerners seem violent. -
Dred Scott
Dred Scott's case went to the supreme court, where they were trying to decide if he was a citizen (and entitled to sue for protection of his rights), if being in a free territory meant that he was free, and whether or not Congress was authorized to ban slavery. It was decided that he was not a citizen. And, because was considered property, he was not free because of his residence in a free state. They also decided that Congress could not ban slavery and that it was for the states to decide. -
Election of 1856
In the election of 1856, the democratic candidate won, James Buchanan. He believed that republicans were extremists, and that if they won, they could cause a civil war. -
Le Compton Constitution
The Le Compton Constitution was made by pro slavery Southerners in Kansas. It protected slaveholding and created a Bill of Rights which excluded free black people. -
House Divided Speech
In the House Divided Speech, Lincoln addresses the division in the nation. He talked about how a "crisis" would eventually be caused over the slavery debate and how the Union could not stand if it was this divided. -
Lincoln Douglas Debates
The Lincoln Douglas debates were a series of seven debates between Stephen A. Douglas and Abraham Lincoln about slavery. When Lincoln gave his acceptance speech, he said a nation that was divided could not stand, and Douglas responded by challenging him to a series of debates which occurred between August 21st and October 15th. -
Harper's Ferry raid
A group of abolitionists assaulted a federal armory in Harper's Ferry, VA, and was the first step in John Brown's attempt to free slaves. It's one of the main events leading to the Civil War. -
John Brown
John Brown was a radical abolitionist and lead a lot of anti-slavery protests. He lead the Harper's Ferry raid and tried to arm slaves in the south and take them to an area where they could be free. He was a conductor of the Underground Railroad, raided plantations and a federal arsenal. He was found guilty of treason and was executed on December 2nd, 1859. -
Republican Party
The Republican Party was antislavery and wanted to protect the rights of black Americans. Their goal was to prevent slavery from moving west, not to immediately abolish it. The candidate for the Republican Party in the election of 1860 was Abraham Lincoln. -
Secession
After Lincoln was elected president, 11 states seceded because they felt that they had a right to own slaves, and felt that that right was going to be violated. They wanted to continue with slavery to support their agricultural economy. -
Election of 1860
In the election of 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected. His anti-slavery views led to 11 states seceding because they thought slavery was going to be abolished. -
Lincoln's Inaugural Address
In Lincoln's inaugural address, he tried to create a compromise so he could keep support in the North without negatively affecting how the South viewed him. He said that he would not do anything about slavery where it already existed, but that he was against the states seceding.