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Works Cited:
Johnston, Robert D. The Making of America: the History of the United States from 1492 to the Present. National Geographic, 2010. McArthur, Debra. The Kansas-Nebraska Act and "Bleeding Kansas" in American History. Enslow, 2003.
Coard, Michael. “Coard: Dred Scott Case Decided 162 Years Ago, Still Applies Today.” The Philadelphia Tribune, 2 Mar. 2019, www.phillytrib.com/commentary/coard-dred-scott-case-decided-162-years-ago-still-applies-today -
Bordewich, Fergus M. “How Lincoln Bested Douglas in Their Famous Debates.” Smithsonian.com, Smithsonian Institution, 1 Sept. 2008, www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-lincoln-bested-douglas-in-their-famous-debates-7558180/.
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The compromise of 1850, which decided the status of western territories as slaveholding or free soil, brought up many issues. The nation came to realize with the compromise that soon, they must make a decision on slavery. If the delicate balance of slave and free states was toppled, then one side would surely become the minority.
Caption: Map depicting the Compromise of 1850, National Geographic -
Instead of deciding for the state, popular sovereignty was implemented to determine the status of Kansas. The resulting bloody battles to occupy the state are now known as 'Bleeding Kansas' and are considered by some as the first battles of the Civil War.
Caption: 'Forcing Slavery Down the Throat of a Freesoiler', Essentialcivilwarcurriculum.com -
Dred Scott, who had sued in Missouri after being refused freedom despite being in a free state, was denied freedom by the Supreme Court. Perhaps more significantly, the court claimed that whites were not bound to respect any black rights.
Caption: Front page of Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, Phillidelphia Tribune, 2019 -
The debates held in 1858 between Fredrick Douglas and Abraham Lincoln would end up shaping the slavery debate all the way up to the election. Both were eloquent politicians who were no stranger to charismatic practices, so it was now up to the people to decide the fate of slaves in America.
Caption: Painting of the Lincoln-Douglass Debates, Smithsonian -
With the election of Abraham Lincoln, the people effectively expressed the majority's dissent of slavery. If the tension between states was in any way unclear before, the results of the 1860 election put those tensions on a pedestal.
Caption: Portrait of Abraham Lincoln, Smithsonian
