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John Calhoun was a senator from South Carolina who, in 1849, published his "Southern Address," a document meant to rally those against those in the North who were against slavery. Calhoun goes on about how emancipation would lead to "prostration of the white race." This address was quite controversial however, fewer than half of the Southerners in Congress signed it. This address gave way to further division among parties concerning the debate over slavery.
(Varon, 206-207) -
The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was a law passed as part of the Compromise of 1850. The compromise made California a free state and banned the slave trade in Washington, DC. The Fugitive Slave Act made it so that if an enslaved individual escaped to a free state, citizens were required to help capture the runaway slaves. Northerners who were unfamiliar or disconnected from slavery were now a part of it, fueling resistance against slavery. -
The Whig Party was torn apart by the slavery debate. The political standings at the time began to shift to Northern and Southern centered views, and being moderate wasn't as appealing. Southern Whigs left to join the Democratic party, and Northern Whigs left to join the newly formed Republican party.
(McPherson, 117-119) -
Uncle Tom's Cabin was an anti-slavery book written by Harriet Beecher Stowe and published in 1852, eventually becoming the best-selling book of the 19th century. The novel told a series of stories of runaway slaves. The brutal depiction of slavery helped change the opinions of those on the topic of slavery, making more people in the North more sympathetic to the abolitionist cause. This also upset many southerners, further dividing the North and the South. -
The Kansas-Nebraska Act was created in response to the two territories of Kansas and Nebraska becoming states. At this time, according to the Missouri Compromise, they would become free states. Senator Stephen Douglas from Illinois put forward the idea of popular sovereignty, in which the people of the state would be able to vote on if they would want to be a free state or a slave state. Unfortunately, the election suffered from voter fraud and a bit of a civil war in Kansas.
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Charles Sumner was a Boston senator who was viewed as an anti-slavery leader. One day, he made a speech calling out and attacking a South Carolina senator. Two days later, representative Preston Brooks, who was a cousin of the South Carolina senator, brutally beat Sumner with a cane. This altercation left Sumner severely injured, forcing him to retire for a few years. This event furthered tensions between northerners and southerners. -
Dred Scott was an enslaved man who fled to and lived in a free state. Eventually, he was caught and began a court case, eventually going to the supreme court. Scott argued that since he lived in a free state, he should be free. The Chief Justice Robert Taney ruled that Scott had no legal standing for a lawsuit because African Americans weren't citizens. The outcome of this case left many Northerners upset as it disrupted the Missouri Compromise by reducing the value of free states.