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Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was a package of five separate bills passed by the United States Congress in September 1850, which defused a four-year political confrontation between slave and free states regarding the status of territories acquired during the Mexican-American War (1846–1848). -
The Electoral Fruits of 1856
Buchanan won because there were doubts about Fremont’s honesty, capacity, and sound judgment. Perhaps it was better that Buchanan won, since Fremont was not as strong as Lincoln, and in 1856, many people were still apathetic about slavery, and the South could have seceded more easily. -
Kansas in Convulsion
John Brown, a crazy man (literally), led a band of followers to Pottawatomie Creek in May of 1856 and hacked to death five presumable pro-slaveryites.
This brutal violence surprised even the most ardent abolitionists and brought swift retaliation from pro-slaveryites. “Bleeding Kansas” was earning its name.
By 1857, Kansas had enough people to apply for statehood, and those for slavery devised the Lecompton Constitution. -
The Dred Scott Bombshell
On March 6, 1857, the Dred Scott decision was handed down by the Supreme Court. -
The Electoral Upheaval of 1860
Lincoln won with only 40% of the popular vote, and had the Democratic Party been more organized and energetic, they might have won.
