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The Missouri Compromise of 1850 was proposed by Henry Clay. The Missouri compromise preserved the balance between free and slave states, and ended the debate in Congress over slavery in new states and territories for the time being. -
The Kansas-Nebraska Act, proposed by Stephen A. Douglas, opened the door for slavery in the Kansas and Nebraska territories. This increased the tension and mistrust between northern and southern states. -
Pro slavery and anti-slavery groups rushed to Kansas territories, armed themselves and fought for control of the territory. Stephen Douglas believed that “popular sovereignty” would resolve the ongoing debates between the North and South over slavery's extension into their territories. This would lead nowhere, as doing so showed that slavery was an unavoidable topic without “bloodshed.” Bleeding Kansas would become a major contributor to the later outcomes that ultimately started the Civil War.
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On May 22, Preston Brooks, Representative of South Carolina, viciously attacked the Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts. It was believed that Brooks’s violent act was in response to a speech in which Sumner attacked the institution of slavery and pro-slavery Senators of the South. Sumner’s injuries were so severe that he had no choice but to take leave of his Senate duties for 3 years. This sparked more tension between the North and South as the southerners praised Brooks for his actions. -
Born into slavery, Dred Scott was enslaved for almost 30 years. In 1832, though he was still enslaved, Scott still stayed with his owners, John and Irene Emerson, and wouldn’t attempt to have his freedom until 1846. Scott would file a lawsuit for his freedom, but would rule against him and call for a retrial. Thus would lead to Scott retrying his lawsuit for his freedom, and to continue to be a free man. In 1850, Scott finally won his freedom, and could walk the streets a free man. -
In the Senate Race of 1858, a strong Stephen Douglas would run against a very young Abraham Lincoln. During these debates, both men argued about slavery, but Douglas wanted to keep slavery as he believed it was the best way to resolve the issues running issues of America and it’s different territories. These 7 debates took place between August and October of 1858, with Stephen Douglas winning the final Election. But even though Douglas won, the debates created attention for Lincoln. -
John Brown, a true believer of being “the second coming of Moses” knew slavery should’ve been abolished and thought he was responsible for doing so. On the morning of October 19, John Brown and 22 other men gathered to raid Harpers Ferry, but soldiers overran Brown and his followers in the process. Ten of his men were killed, including two of his sons. Brown was tried by the state of Virginia for treason, and was found guilty on November 2. On December 2, Brown would be executed for his attempt. -
The Republican Party ticket of Abe Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin, absent from the ballot of ten slave states, won a national popular plurality, a popular majority in the north where states already had abolished slavery, and national electoral majority comprising only northern electoral votes.