-
Harriet Beecher Stowed novel shows the horse of slavery in the novel. It made the abolitionist ideas even stronger in the North, but the South thought it was a wrong and unfair way of showing their lifestyle. -
Formed in response to the Kansas-Nebraska Act, the Republican Party was united in its opposition to the expansion of slavery.
-
This act allowed the residents of Kansas and Nebraska to decide on the issue of slavery through popular sovereignty. It actually repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820, which had limited the expansion of slavery. -
As a result of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, both pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces rushed into Kansas to influence the vote. This led to violence and bloodshed, as the two sides clashed. -
In the U.S. Senate, Representative Preston Brooks attacked Senator Charles Sumner with a cane because of Sumner's anti-slavery speech. This event further enraged passions on both sides. -
The election showed the growing strength of the Republican Party, as their candidate John C. Frémont won several Northern states. James Buchanan, a Democrat, won the election.
-
The Supreme Court ruled that slaves were not citizens and had no right to sue for their freedom, even if they resided in a free state or territory. The decision further divided the nation. -
This pro-slavery constitution was proposed for Kansas. It was highly controversial and eventually rejected, but it deepened the divisions over slavery. -
Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas debated the issue of slavery during their campaign for the U.S. Senate. Lincoln argued against the expansion of slavery, while Douglas supported popular sovereignty. -
Lincoln famously stated that "A house divided against itself cannot stand." He believed the nation could not continue to exist half slave and half free.
-
John Brown, an abolitionist, led a raid on a federal arsenal in Harpers Ferry, Virginia, in an attempt to start a slave rebellion. The raid failed, and Brown was executed, but he became a martyr for the abolitionist cause.
-
Abraham Lincoln, the Republican candidate, won the election. Southern states feared that Lincoln would abolish slavery, and they began to secede from the Union. -
Following Lincoln's election, South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas seceded from the Union.
-
Lincoln stated his intention to preserve the Union but also comforted the South that he would not interfere with slavery where it already existed. Despite his efforts, the Civil War began shortly after his family.