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Road to the Civil War
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The Fugitive Slave Act
After long debate, The Fugitive Slave Act was passed by congress. This act made it so that runaway slaves get returned to their owners if they are found and recognized. Since the Northern states were a safe haven for fugitive slaves, this law diminishes the escape for slaves as they are demanded to be sent back to their owners. -
Slave Rescues
After the fugitive slave act, Northerners were outraged. Because of this they decided to revolt during court cases. They were saving fugitive slaves and smuggling them into safe haven in Canada. The first rescue was for a slave named Shadrach but this resulted in his rescuers to be called for prosecution. -
American Slave Society Meeting
At one of the American Slave Society meetings, Frederick Douglas, "repudiated the doctrine of disunion and announced that he would participate in the political process to advance an antislavery interpretation of the Constitution." (Varon, 238). This means that they would want to get rid of slavery through legislature and avoid war. They also thought that disunion would end up in someone going bankrupt which was not an option.
This is significant because it shows how war was not the first option -
Charles Sumner Speech
Charles Sumner "in an impassioned speech on August 26, 1852, called for the repeal of the Fugitive Slave Law" (Varon, 237) which compared their hatred for this act with the colonists outrage for the Stamp Act. This frightened the Whig party as they thought it would stir up controversy.
This was significant because it helped voice the opinions of abolitionists against the fugitive slave act. It also kept the Southerners on their toes knowing just how much they hated this act. -
Publication of Delany's The Condition, Elevation, and Destiny of the Colored People of the United States, Politically Considered
This book was published as a form of awareness for the slave population. They state that "The antislavery movement permitted blacks to do ‘'nothing but what our white brethren and friends say we must.'" meaning that they would have to adopt to white culture. As they did not want this, Delany brings the idea of living in the West with a black population so that they can adopt their own skills and culture to reach their destiny. This shows how slaves could've swayed away from the US completely. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas-Nebraska was created for the new territories of Kansas and Nebraska. The act made them able to vote on wether or not they were a free state or a slave state based on popular sovereignty. When this act was passed, many settlers rushed to these states as they wanted to claim it a free or slave state. -
Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas lasted from 1854-1856 as the new territories were put into place, it formed a divide between citizens as to wether or not it be a slave state. Five pro slavery people were killed by anti slavery settlers as they hashed out the debate with physical violence. -
Dred Scott case
This was a case that showed how slaves, wether or not free, could not have a say in court. It was ruled that the spread of slavery was legal. Northern lawmakers would not be able to keep slavery out of their states. This sparked because Dred Scott decided to sue his owner for his freedom since they had moved above the Louisiana Purchase, it would have technically deemed him free. -
Industrial Slavery
Slaves were working overtime to provide the boom of the tobacco industry. In Virginia, they were the nations leading Tobacco industry and it is said that "By 1860, slaves accounted for 48 percent of the city’s workingmen" (Varon, 239). This accounts for most of the working class of the entire state. This industry was booming as the state had cheap labor and high profits. This is significant because it shows just how much Virginia and the entire South's economy relied on slave labor. -
Abraham Lincoln is the Next President
Abraham Lincoln elected the 16th President of the United States is considered to be one of the most important presidents this nation has ever had. He was able to lead America through the civil war and preserve the Union. As a result, he also fought to abolish slavery. He was the first Republican president and created the stepping stones for the future of the Republican Party. -
War Crisis for the Confederacy
In 1861, the Confederacy were struggling to come up with supplies and equipment for their soldiers. They were at a disadvantage so they recruited 400,000 more soldiers. It is said that "Recruiters came in such numbers that the War Department had to turn them away" (McPherson, 341) showing how eager Southerners were to fight in the war. This shows just how much they were willing to do to keep slavery causing a threat to the North.