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1856 Presidential election
In early February 1861, the states that had seceded meet in Montgomery, Alabama. They formed the Confederate States of America. The convention named Jefferson Davis president of the Confederacy -
Lincoln and Douglas Debate
The debates between Stephen A. Douglas and Abraham Lincoln were held during the 1858 campaign for a US Senate seat from Illinois. The debates were held at 7 sites throughout Illinois, one in each of the 7 Congressional Districts. -
1856 The case of Dred Scott
The split in the country was made worse by the Supreme Court decision in the case of Dred Scott. Scott had been slavery was illegal.
His case, Dred Scott v. Sand ford, reached the Supreme Court in 1856. -
1859 John Brown
In 1859, John Brown, who had murdered proslavery Kansas three years before, added to the sectional tensions.
He wanted to inspire slaves to fight for their freedom. -
Southern States Secede
Before the 1860 presidential election, many Southerners had warned that if Lincoln won, the Southern states would secede, or withdraw from the Union.
Consequently, they claimed that the states also had the right to leave the Union. -
1860 Presidential election
The election of 1860 turned into two different races for the presidency, one in the North and one in the South. Lincoln and Douglas were candidates with much support in the North. Lincoln and Breckinridge were considered to have the most extreme views on slavery -
1860 - South Carolina
Is a state in the Deep South of the United States? Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence from the British Crown during the American Revolution. -
Jefferson Davis president of the Confederacy
We feel that our cause is just and holy; we protest solemnly in the face of mankind that we desire peace at any sacrifice save that of honor and independence; we ask no conquest, no aggrandizement, no concession of any kind from the States with which we were lately confederated; all we ask is to be let alone; that those who never held power over us shall not now attempt our subjugation by arms. -
February 1861 Crittenden Plan
The Crittenden plan was a compromise introduced in late February 1861 which did not pass because the south or the north wanted to compromise with new ways; but it might have prevented secessions -
1861 Confederate States of America
A republic formed in February, 1861, and composed of the 11 Southern states that seceded from the United States in order to preserve slavery and states' rights. It was dissolved in 1865 after being defeated in the American Civil War Bottom of Form.
