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Uncle Tom's Cabin
Anti-slavery novel. It caused tension between the North and the South over the question of slavery and the treatment of slaves. -
Kansas Nebraska Act
Act that allowed Kansas and Nebraskan territories to choose to be slave states or free states. This created tensions because if they both chose to be slave states, the states would no longer be balanced. -
Republican Party
Republicans were set on preventing the spread of slavery in the Union. -
Bloody Kansas
A series of violent wars fought over the legality of slavery in Northern Kansas by pro and anti-slavery forces. -
John Brown
John Brown led a small group of men on a raid in Kansas to start a slave rebellion. -
Election 1856
Fremont argued against the expansion of slavery and the Kansas-Nebraska Act. James Buchanan argued that the Republicans were extremists and that if they won, they would begin the Civil War. Buchanan won the election. -
Brooks-Sumner Incident
Brooks attacked Sumner with a cane and beat him nearly to death. Tensions escalated between the north and the south. -
Dred Scott
Dred Scott lost his case in which he argued he should be set free because of his time spent in a free state. The decision also led to the declaration of the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional. This angered the North and gave the South more freedom as slave states. -
Le Compton Constitution
Le Compton would have allowed Kansas to be a slave state, but it was voted down and Kansas was declared a free state. This strengthened anti-slavery forces and angered pro-slavery forces. -
Lincoln Douglas Debates
A series of debates between Republican Abraham Lincoln and Democrat Stephen Douglas. Douglas wanted slavery based on popular sovereignty while Lincoln wanted to stop the spread of slavery, but would allow it to stay in the places it was. Douglas won the election. -
House Divided Speech
Lincoln claimed the nation could not continue to be divided, they would either be all slave states or all free states. Lincoln made it clear he was on the free side. It caused the north to rally against slavery even harder. -
Harper's Ferry Raid
In 1859, a small group of men attacked the small town of Harper's Ferry in Virginia with John Brown. They were surrounded by General Lee and his men. General Lee captured John Brown and he was executed for treason. The North viewed him as a martyr and rang the bells for him. The South viewed him as a terrorist and was outraged with the North. -
Secession
The withdrawal of eleven Southern states from the Union. This caused tensions to heighten between the north and the south. -
Election 1860
Abraham Lincoln won on his platform that promised not to interfere with slave states but to stop the spread of slavery. The election was between Lincoln, Douglas, Breckenridge, and Bell. This caused tension because the south had previously threatened to secede if Lincoln was elected. -
Lincoln's 1st Inaugural Address
Lincoln tells Americans they have to stay in the Union to avoid a civil war.