-
John Brown (May 9, 1800)
He was a passionate abolitionist. He is best known for leading a raid on the arsenal at Harpers Ferry and for his participation in the conflict known as Bloody Kansas. He was captured, tried and convicted for treason, and then hanged after his raid on Harpers Ferry. He became a martyr for the anti-slavery cause and his actions and death helped rally many northerners to support his more violent methods of ending slavery. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin (Published as a series in 1851 and a book on March 20, 1852)
A novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe about runaway slaves and slave families being separated when they were sold. It was written in response to the Fugitive Slave Act. It made northerners more aware of the evils of slavery on a more personal level and it enraged southerners who believed that it distorted the truth of slavery. It helped further the abolitionist cause and greatly increased northern opposition to the institution of slavery. -
Republican Party (founded March 20, 1854)
Whigs in the upper midwest began meeting in February of 1854 to discuss founding a new political party to combat slavery. The Republican party was founded at a meeting in Ripon, Wisconsin in March, 1854. The Republican party gained support in the North very quickly. By 1860, many southern slave states threatened to secede if a Republican became president and when Lincoln became president in November, 1860 South Carolina seceded six weeks later and five more followed in the next six weeks. -
Kansas Nebraska Act (Passed on May 30, 1854)
Proposed by Stephen Douglas and based on his idea of popular sovereignty, it stated that the territories of Kansas and Nebraska would decide for themselves if they wanted to enter the Union as free or slave states. It was assumed that the southern territory, Kansas, would enter as a slave state and northern territory, Nebraska, would enter as a free state. It created conflict between anti-slavery and pro-slavery settlers within the territories of Kansas and Nebraska and led to Bloody-Kansas. -
Bloody Kansas (May 30, 1854 (Date the bill was passed))
Bloody Kansas refers to an violent event in Kansas involving pro-slavery forces and anti-slavery forces. It began with the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854, which overturned the Missouri Compromise’s line of latitude for determining slavery and used the principle of popular sovereignty. This caused for pro-slavery and anti-slavery supporters to flood into the state to influence the decision, eventually leading to violence. John Brown led the anti-slavery forces. -
Brooks-Sumner incident (May 21, 1856)
The caning of Charles Sumner occured in the United States’ Senate when Presten Brooks used a cane to attack Charles Sumner (abolitionist) to near-death in response to a speech that Sumner had given a couple days prior regarding “the crime against Kansas” and slavery. Brooks believed Sumner went too far and he wanted to defend the honor of his cousin, Senator Butler, who Sumner had spoken poorly of in his speech. South Carolina held events in honor of Brooks, angering the North even more. -
Election 1856 (November 4, 1856)
The election of 1856 took place on November 4, 1856 between Democratic James Buchanan and Republican John C. Fremont. Buchanan won the electoral vote. Fremont was against the practice and spread of slavery while Buhanan supported free/slave compromises while stating that a Republican win (who was based in the North) would cause for a civil war. Bloody Kansas and division within America intensified this election, and the victory of Buchanan brought a weak leader during a critical time in America. -
LeCompton Constitution (Drafted in September 1857, Rejected on January 4, 1858)
The LeCompton Constitution was drafted in September of 1857 by pro-slavery legislatures in Kansas in hopes of making Kansas a slave state based on popular sovereignty. During this time period, the Kansas-Nebraska Act had made it the states’ citizens right to declare whether a state would allow slavery or not. However, this Constitution was rejected by Kansas voters and Kansas eventually entered the Union as a free state. -
Dred Scott (Case) (March 6, 1857)
This case occurred between Dred Scott, a slave that had lived in a free state with his master (John Emerson) for some time and claimed he was free, and John Sanford, John Emerson’s brother in law who had gained Scott as a slave once Emerson passed away. The court ruled in favor of Sanford, stating that just because Scott had lived in a free state, it didn’t mean he was free because people’s property, including slaves, couldn’t be taken away. The Missouri Compromise was deemed unconstitutional. -
House Divided Speech (June 16, 1858)
Abraham Lincoln gave this speech at the Illinois State Republican Convention in 1858. He believed that the court’s decision on the Dred Scott case was a part of a Democratic plan to legalize slavery in all states. In his introduction he stated, “A house divided against itself cannot stand”. Many regarded the speech that recognized the divide within the United States over the issue as radical. -
Period: to
Lincoln Douglas Debates (August 21, 1858 - October 15, 1858)
7 debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas during the 1858 campaign for an Illinois U.S. Senate seat. They debated topics important to slavery, states rights, and other issues that long remained relevant. Lincoln lost the election but Republicans gained more popular votes than Democrats which signaled a shift in Illinois’ political makeup. The debates helped Lincoln attract national notice that helped him become president and also added to division in the Democratic party. -
Harper's Ferry (October 16, 1859)
John Brown led 22 men on a raid on the federal armory in Harpers Ferry, Virginia. Its intent was to incite an armed slave revolt and help end slavery. By morning, Brown’s groups were surrounded by Marines led by Colonel Robert E. Lee and Lieutenant J. E. B. Stuart and was overtaken on October 19. It was a major factor leading up to the Civil War. It increased sectional tensions, increased the importance of the Election of 1860, and made it nearly impossible for the North and South to compromise. -
Election 1860 (November 6, 1860)
The election of 1860 took place November 6, 1860 between Republican Abraham Lincoln, Democratic John C. Breckinridge, Democratic Stephen A. Douglass. And Constitutional Union John Bell. The main issue debated in this election was the topic of slavery, and months after Lincoln won the electoral votes, several southern states seceded from the Union. While Lincoln had a moderate view on slavery, Southerners feared his Republican beliefs would threaten slavery. This set the stage for the Civil War. -
Period: to
Secession (December 20, 1860 - June 8, 1861)
Eleven southern states seceded from the Union, established their own government, and became the Confederate States of America. In order, the states that seceded were South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee. Secession split the United States into two different geographic regions, the agricultural or plantation South with slave labor and the industrial North with free labor. -
Lincoln's 1st inaugural Address (March 4th, 1861)
Lincoln’s first inaugural address was intended to ease the worries of the South regarding their right to slavery. He stated that he wouldn’t interfere with slavery, but he would continue to enforce laws and wouldn’t give up government property. He also stated that the citizens held the power in the United States. Despite his desire to keep the United States together, the Civil War still came once Southern states began to secede.