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What Happened:
To ease tensions after the Mexican War, Congress passed laws admitting California as a free state, letting Utah and New Mexico choose on slavery, and adding the Fugitive Slave Act, which forced people to return escaped slaves. How It Led to War:
The North hated helping slavery; the South demanded enforcement. The mistrust between both sides deepened. -
What Happened:
Senator Stephen Douglas pushed the Kansas-Nebraska Act, letting territories vote on slavery and overturning the Missouri Compromise. How It Led to War: People rushed to Kansas to influence the vote, sparking violence and anger in the North, highlighting the nation’s deep divisions. -
WHAT HAPPENED:
A violent series of clashes between pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers in Kansas as both sides tried to control the vote on slavery. Towns were burned, and dozens of people were killed. HOW IT LED TO WAR:
This “mini civil war” proved that popular sovereignty didn’t work peacefully. It showed how divided the country had become and previewed the violence that would explode nationwide. -
WHAT HAPPENED:
Supreme Court case where Dred Scott, an enslaved man, sued for his freedom because he had lived in free territory. The Court ruled that African Americans were not citizens and that Congress had no power to ban slavery in the territories. HOW IT LED TO WAR:
The decision outraged Northerners and made slavery legal everywhere in theory. It strengthened Southern confidence and destroyed chances for compromise. -
WHAT HAPPENED:
A series of seven debates in Illinois between Abraham Lincoln (Republican) and Stephen A. Douglas (Democrat) while running for the U.S. Senate. They argued about slavery and its expansion. HOW IT LED TO WAR:
Lincoln became nationally famous for opposing slavery’s spread. Douglas’s stance (supporting popular sovereignty) split the Democratic Party, which later helped Lincoln win the presidency in 1860. -
WHAT HAPPENED:
Abolitionist John Brown led a raid on the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, hoping to arm enslaved people and start a revolt. The plan failed, and Brown was captured and executed. HOW IT LED TO WAR:
Southerners saw it as proof that Northerners wanted to destroy their way of life. Brown became a martyr in the North, terrifying the South and convincing many that war was inevitable. -
WHAT HAPPENED:
Republican Abraham Lincoln won the presidency without carrying a single Southern state. His platform opposed the expansion of slavery into new territories. HOW IT LED TO WAR:
Southern states saw Lincoln’s victory as a direct threat to slavery and their way of life. South Carolina seceded soon after, followed by other Southern states, forming the Confederate States of America.