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Uncle Tom's Cabin
This was a novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe exposing the treatment of slaves and the truth about slavery. As the South agreed with slavery, the novel angered them and they said that her story was a lie. In the North, the novel quickly spread. The novel caused more conflict between the North and the South as tension continues to rise. -
Bloody Kansas
Bloody Kansas was the term used to describe the period of violence that occured while the Kansas territory was being settled. Due to the Kansas-Nebraska Act overturning the Missouri Compromise, it was up to popular sovereignty to determine whether or not Kansas was going to be a free state or a slave slate, so each side was flooding into Kansas for control of the state and things got violent. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas-Nebraska Act passed a bill that created two territories of Kansas and Nebraska. In these territories they would go by the principle of popular sovereignty, meaning they would decide for themselves whether or not to allow slavery. This act served to repeal the Missouri Compromise, which did not allow slavery in Kansas. Tis began a bloody fight because the North and the South both wanted control of Kansas. -
Republican Party
As the Whig Party collapsed, it was replaced by a new sectional party, the Republicans, which was created to oppose the spread of slavery. Of course, gaining the support of the North. The republican Party then won the election, and the Southerners soon felt publicly threatened. Since Congress was Republican-dominated, it leads to the civil war between the opposing sides. -
Dred Scott
Dred Scott was a slave that believed that since he lived in a free state, he should be free. In April of 1846 he filled a lawsuit for freedom and went to trial on June 30, 1847 where the judge ruled against them, but granted a retrial. He went to trial again in January of 1850 and won his freedom. His owner appealed the case to the Missouri Supreme court in 1852 and made Scott a slave again. He went the Supreme Court on February 11,1856 where he lost his fight for freedom. -
Brooks-Sumner Incident
On May 21, 1856 Senator Charles Sumner gave a speech called "The Crime Against Kansas" that went on for two days and in his bitter speech he personally attacked Senator Andrew Butler. Representative Preston Brooks thought he went too far in his speech and did not like that he attacked his cousin, Senator Andrew Butler. So, two days after the speech was over Brooks went into the state chamber and beat Senator Charles Sumner with a gold-tipped cane. Brooks was levied $300 for the assault. -
Election of 1856
The election of 1856 was between Democratic candidate James Buchanan, Republican candidate John C. Fremont, and Whig candidate Millard Fillmore with James Buchanan as the winner of the election. At the heart of this election and it"s campaigns were slavery and popular sovereignty. -
Lecompton Constitution
The Lecompton Constitution was a document created in Lecompton, Kansas. It was developed by pro-slavery advocates in Kansas statehood. It protected slaveholding and created a bill of rights that excluded free blacks. It added to the tension leading up to the civil war. -
Lincoln Douglas Debates
During the election for U.S. Senator in 1858, many issues were dividing the nation including slavery, popular sovereignty, and the status of black Americans. These issues caused a series of debates the candidates Stephen Douglas and Abraham Lincoln. The debates increased the growing divide between the North and South as they both had opposing views on the issues during the time. This differences in solving more questions through political means also showed signs of the civil war. -
House Divided Speech
Abraham Lincoln's House Divided Speech was given in Springfield, Illinois after the Republican State Convention nominated him to run for the Illinois Senate seat against Democrat Stephen A. Douglas. In his speech he talked about how a compromise would not be able to be achieved and he said that the U.S. would either have slaves or be free. Many people interpreted Lincoln as calling for a civil war when in reality he was just saying that a civil war was a possibility. -
Harpers Ferry
John Brown, a Kansas abolitionist, and Frederick Douglas, a former slave and a black abolitionist, drew up a plan to free slaves by arming them. To arm the slaves, they planned to capture the Federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry. The event heightened the tensions of slavery because Brown was fighting to end slavery, which Northerners agreed with. Since Brown used force, this caused the Southerners to believe that Northerners wanted to free all slaves and start a war. -
John Brown
John Brown was a Kansas abolitionist who sought to free all slaves by arming them. In order to do this he lead raids including the one on Harpers Ferry. After this attack, he was captured by Robert E. Lee and executed after being put on trial for treason. Brown believed his actions were a duty to God and became one of the famous abolitionist leading to the Civil War. His actions heightened the already high tension between the North and the South. -
Election of 1860
This election was held on Tuesday, November 6, 1860, with Abraham Lincoln receiving more popular votes inn the U.S. than any other candidate and won the majority of electoral votes. It was known as one of the closest presidential election in history. The election was a leading cause of the Civil War as Lincoln was the first member of the Republican Party elected as president, who opposed the expansion of slavery. -
Secession
The secession of the southern states, due to Lincoln's opposition to slavery, created the establishment of the Confederacy. South Carolina was the first state to secede. The 11 states that seceded and created the Confederate States of America included Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina. -
Lincoln's 1st Inaugural Address
Lincoln had been elected president the previous November and gave his 1st Inaugural Address on March 4th, 1861. In his address he promised not to interfere with slavery were it already existed and said he would suspend the federal government's activities in areas where it was hostile. He also took a firm stance and said that the government would "hold, occupy, and possess" its property and collect its taxes.