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Upon hearing about the Fugitive Act of 1850 and having a family composed of Anti-Slavery beliefs, Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote "Uncle Tom's Cabin". The novel introduces the public to the cruelty of slavery, exhorting and fueling strong sentiments for anti-slavery in the North through emotional words, although deemed an inaccurate depiction of the oppressed.
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The Bloody Kansas is the appellation designated to the series of politically driven conflicts in the territories west of Missouri. These conflicts arose due to the newly established Knasa-Nerbakas Act, which deemed that popular sovereignty would determine the slavery position of a territory, leading to anti-slavery and pro-slavery advocates rushing to rush and control said territories. These brutal interactions led to increased tensions, which soon became the Civil War.
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With aspirations to oppose slavery expansion, former Whig Party members devised a new party in Wisconsin, which would go on to be known as the Republican Party. The party grew quickly, taking on North support, eventually successfully placing a candidate in the presidency, Abraham Lincoln. This predency led to the secession of many southern states, starting with South Caroline, eventually leading to the Civil War.
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Stephen Douglas introduced a bill that divided the territories west of Missouri. The bill introduced the concept of popular sovereignty, the system that deemed states in control of slavery matters. It also repealed the Missouri Compromise. With popular sovereignty introduced, anti-slavery and pro-slavery advocates rushed to control the territories, leading to a series of violent political acts, known as Bleeding Kansas, the formation of the Republican Party, and increased tensions.
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Preston Brooks, a southern Congressman, beat Charles Summer, a Northern Senator, with his cane due to being informed of aspersions towards his kin. The South honored him as a hero and sent replacement canes, while the North stereotyped it as the harsh and relentless ways of slavery. This act exemplified the hostility between the two sections of the union, which would soon lead to the Civil War.
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The election of 1856 consisted of three political party candidates: Democratic candidate James Buchanan, Republican candidate John C. Fremont, and Know Nothing party candidate Millard Fillmore. The main national issue in discussion was sectional issues, like Bleeding Kansas. The Whig party was dissolved, and the newly formed Republican party was established. Buchanan won the election, but it established the national importance of the Republican Party.
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Dred Scott, a former slave to a military surgeon, had been located in many territories and states, among them, free states. Once his owner died, Dred fought for his freedom in many courts, arguing that his freedom was granted due to his previous residence in free states. Upon reaching the US Supreme Court, he denied such freedom due to his legal status as property. The Supreme Court's ruling enraged abolitionists, who deemed it a method to cease debate on the matter of slavery in territories.
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With the inevitability of Kansas becoming a state, a pro-slavery legislature introduced the 2nd of four constitutions for Kansas to counter anti-slavery efforts like the Topeka Constitution. The Constitution disregarded African American rights and only permitted males to vote. The constitution was eventually rejected, contributing to the split in the democratic party, a delayed admission of Kansas into the Union, and increasing sectional issues on slavery.
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The speech followed Abraham Lincoln's nomination as the candidate for the Republican Party, where his adversary, Stephen Douglas, deemed it to be an abolitionist declaration. In reality, Lincoln was stating that the Union can not remain half-free and half-slave, and in some way, the issue will be reconciled. This speech intensified sectional tensions and gave a foreshadowing of what was to come: the Civil War.
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With the opening of a Senate seat for Illinois, two candidates, Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas, engaged in seven debates around the state, debating numerous national issues, particularly the most pressing one: the issue of slavery. During the Freeport Doctrine, aspersions were imparted, among them Douglass' statement that the prevention of slavery may be done through not passing protection laws for slavery. This split the democratic party. leading to his loss of the presidential election.
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With the aspirations to establish a stronghold for freed slaves, John Brown led a group of abolitionists to raid a U.S. military arsenal in Harpers Ferry, in what is now known as West Virginia. Eventually, on October 18, two days after the raid commenced, the word of the raid spread, and US Marines went to capture them, succeeding, leading to John Brown's capture. This led to white Southerners fearing slave rebellions and led to an increase in tension between Northerners and Southerners.
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The execution of John Browns plan to raid the US Military arsenal in Harper's Ferry ultimately failed with the death of 10 of his fellow abolitionists, two being his sons, and his capture. With his capture, he was tried, leading to his sentence to death for the charges of treason, murder, and insurrection. His becoming martyred led to many debates about his case between northerners and southerners, so much so that he is attributed as the cause for the Civil War.
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This refers to the withdrawal from the union of 11 states, starting with South Carolina. Southern states had thought of secession for some time, but the election of Abraham Lincoln was the final exhortation to do so. The states seceded due to the issues of slavery and state rights. The Union viewed this act of secession as unconstitutional and illegal. The split sentiments became nationally hostile, right after the secession, marking the beginning of the Civil War.
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The election contained four opposing political party nominees: the Republican Party's Abraham Lincoln, the Democratic Party's Stephen Douglas, the Southern Democratic Party's John Breckinridge, and the Constitutional Union Party's John Bell. The presence of two democratic parties exists due to opposition in sentiments on national issues between the southern and northern democrats. The election ultimately deemed Abraham Lincoln as president, leading to the secession of displeased Southern states.
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Before the delivery of this speech, 7 states seceded from the Union, forming the Confederate States of America, leading to his felt need to address the issues that caused the secession. Lincoln stressed that the Union and the states' bonds to it were a contract lasting forever, his promise to uphold state rights by not interfering with the issue of slavery, and his desire for no hostile interactions. This was the final call for peace and unity before the Civil War.