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Uncle Tom's Cabin
Written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, this novel was made to highlight and recognize the harsh reality of slave life in the South and the injustices that come with it. Becoming a bestseller, Stowe helped inspired many people to join her in anti-slavery movements and to become abolitionists. -
Republican Party
Consisting of a majority of Northern workers and businessmen, they fought against slavery and the acts that were for slavery and initially was creating in response of the Kansas-Nebraska Act and went against it. This party did not agree or get along with the South and eventually went to war (The Civil War) with them over their rising tensions. -
John Brown
Abolitionist leader who fought to end and free slaves. He believed violence was needed in order to fight against slavery and to put an end to it, and fought in the Bloody Kansas attacks which he had a big part in causing. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
Repealing the Missouri Compromise, this act was made to allow popular sovereignty after the violent attacks from proslavery people flooded these states. The argument for whether these territories would allow slavery or not became violent and many would consider a big leading factor to the civil war, so this Act was made so that the states themselves could decide among the people and the popular vote on whether slavery would be allowed there or not. -
Bloody Kansas
A period where many violent acts broke out in response to the fight over whether the new territory of Kansas would be pro-slavery or anti-slavery and both wanted control. Around 55 people died from these attacks and the Kansas-Nebraska Act was made in response to end these attacks. -
Brooks-Sumner Incident
Pro-slavery Democrat Preston Brooks, a member of the House of Representatives, beat Senator Charles Sumner unconscious with a cane after rising tension between the two had been growing for days with their arguments -
Election of 1856
Democrat James Buchanan beat Republican John Fremont which angered the Republicans in America, causing more tension between the two eventually erupting later in the Civil War. -
Dred Scott
Going against Sanford in the case Scott v. Sanford, the US Supreme Court ruled against Scott considering that just because he lived in a free state and was a former slave did not give him human rights or allow him to be a citizen, therefore he could not sue the federal court and lost the case. -
Lecompton Constitution
Written in favor of slavery, this document was made to try to allow slavery throughout Kansas even though a majority of the citizens opposed it. It never went into effect and set more tension and a division between the pro-slavery and anti-slavery people. -
House Divided Speech
Given by Abraham Lincoln, the purpose of this speech was in regards of the Scott v. Sanford case and discussed how regarding this case, this could open up slavery in the North and increase the spread of it. He stated how "A house divided against itself cannot stand", and stated his position in politics and how he thinks slavery needs to come to an end or the future of the nation would be threatened. -
Lincoln Douglas Debates
Seven debates between Stephen Douglas and Abraham Lincoln regarding slavery and its spreading around America. Crowds would be up to 20,000 people to watch these two discuss their political views on the matter. -
Harper's Ferry
Led by John Brown and other abolitionists, this was a raid in Harpers Ferry, Virginia in an attempt to steal their weapons to give to the slaves to allow them to fight back and become free and also to attack the slaveowners and armory of this city. This eventually ended in failure a many of Browns men were killed and caught, as well as Brown being caught, imprisoned, and interrogated. This event was one of the main leading factors to the eruption of the Civil War. -
Secession
Dividing of the Southern States from the Northern States and the withdrawal of 11 states from the Union after Lincoln was elected President, erupting in the outbreak of the Civil War. -
Election of 1860
Won by Republican Abraham Lincoln with 180 Electoral Votes, Lincoln wanted to begin to abolish slavery and states began to secede from the Union, causing a divide in the nation and pushing themselves to go to war with each other. -
Lincoln's 1st Inaugural Address
Lincoln stated not to ever interfere with where slavery had already been occurring and to take the southern states slaves away from them, but also stated he will be enforcing laws even on the states that had seceded. Soon after, the Civil War began.