-
This set of laws tried to settle tensions between free and slaves states after new land was gained from the Mexican war. It allowed CA to enter as a free state while the Fugitive Slave Act required citizens to help return slaves on the run. This led to the war because the Act angered the northerns, they hated slavery and it depend the dividend between the north and south. -
This act allowed settlers in Kansas and Nebraska to decide for themselves whether to allow slavery. It canceled the Missouri Compromise, which had banned slavery north of a certain line. This let to war because pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers rushed into Kansas to influence the vote, leading to violent clashes. The law caused chaos and destroyed previous compromises about slavery. -
Fighting broke out between pro-slavery and anti-slavery groups in Kansas over whether it would enter the Union as a free or slave state. Towns were burned and many people were killed. “Bleeding Kansas” showed that peaceful compromise was failing. The violence was a preview of the national conflict to come. -
Senator Charles sumner gave a speech criticizing slavery and a Southern senator. IN response, Congressman Preston Brooks from South Carolina beat Sumner with a cane on the Senate floor. The attack sowed the North and made Southerners cheer. It showed how deep the hatred between North and South had grown. Even Congress wasn’t safe from violence. -
The supreme court ruled that Dred Scott, an enslaved man who sued for his freedom, had no right to sue because African Americans were not Citizens. The court also said the congress could not ban slavery anywhere. The decision pleased the south but outraged the North. It made slavery legal in all territories, increasing Northern fears that slavery would spread everywhere. -
Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas debated slavery during their Illinois Senate race. Lincoln argued that slavery was wrong and should not spread, while Douglas said states should decide for themselves. The debates made Lincoln famous and helped shape the Republicans Party’s anti slavery message, angering the southerners who felt threatened. -
Abraham as elected president without any Southern states supporting him. Southerns feared he would end slavery completely. Lincolns victory caused Southern states to leave the union starting with South Carolina. This led to the Civil War in 1861. -
Abolitionist John Brown led a raid on a federal weapons arsenal in Harper’s Ferry, Virginia, hoping to start a slave rebellion. The raid failed, and Brown was captured and executed. Many Northerners saw brown as a hero, while Southerners saw him as proof that the North wanted to destroy their way of life. The raid made war seem inevitable.