An abolitionist novel written to show the brutality of slavery
Faced many criticisms, increased the anti-slavery movement in the North
Republican Party
Established by many groups of people forming together due to the shared belief in anti-slavery
Motivated by the Kansas-Nebraska Act
Kansas Nebraska Act
Passed by Stephan Douglas
Repealed the Missouri Compromise
Organized Kansas and Nebraska as territories
Allowed citizens to vote on whether or not slavery should be banned or not
Allowed popular sovereignty
Motivated Bleeding Kansas
Bloody Kansas
Violent acts between the pro-slavery and anti-slavery sides
Happened within the Kansas territory
Eventually led to Kansas's admission as a free state
Motivated the formation of the Republican Party and divided the nation even more
Brooks-Sumner Incident
Charles Sumner was giving a two-day speech about the events of Bloody Kansas
After the speech, while Sumner was working, Preston Brooks entered the Senate chamber and confronted Sumner about his statements, and then proceeded to hit him in the head with a metal cane
This split the nation; the North was on Sumner's side, whereas the South was on Brooks's side
Election of 1856
Election between James Buchanan and John C. Fremont
Democratic win for James Buchanan
Main conflicts that were addressed within the election were slavery and Westward expansion
The collapse of the Whig party happened during this election due to the second party system being ended
Though Buchanan addressed slavery, he was not able to solve it
LeCompton Constitution
A constitution that was pro-slavery, written for Kansas
Was rejected by the citizens of Kansas due to their strong views on anti-slavery
Passed in the Senate but denied in the House
Dred Scott
Dred Scott was an African American man who was enslaved
Due to living in Illinois, which is one of the states where the Missouri Compromise banned slavery, he went to the Supreme Court to seek freedom from his enslavement
The Supreme Court did not rule in Scott's favor, since it was believed that slaves were property, and the court did not want to remove citizens' rights to their property
Deemed the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional
House Divided Speech
An address given by Abraham Lincoln while he was running for a seat in the Senate
Argued against the Dred Scott decision, believed that if the United States was trying to be a free country that it would be too late due to decisions like that
Believed the United States was a divided house due to slavery
Wanted the United States to decide on either being fully free from slavery or not, they could not have both
Lincoln-Douglas Debates
A series of political debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephan A. Douglas
Competing for the Senate seat in Illinois
Debates were held in many towns across Illinois, totaling seven debates between the two
Harper's Ferry
The Harper's Ferry Raid was led by John Brown
Started as a slave rebellion, Brown led his followers to attack a federal armory
Brown and his group would hold people hostage and would cut off the telegraph lines, so help could not be contacted
Eventually ended on October 18th, and many U.S. Marines entered the armory and captured Brown
John Brown
Was an American abolitionist
Led the attack on Harper's Ferry
Led many violent acts against slavery
John Brown
After the raid on Harper's Ferry, Brown was captured by the U.S. Marines
John Brown
As a result of his violent action, Brown was publicly hung for treason against Virginia
Election of 1860
Election between Abraham Lincoln, Stephan Douglas, John Breckinridge, and John Bell
Ended in Lincoln winning
Showed a clear division between the North and South due to slavery
Secession
After Lincoln's win in the election, secession had started within the United States
South Carolina was the first state to secede from the Union
Southern states feared Lincoln's presidency since his views did not align with theirs
Lincoln's 1st Inaugural Address
Lincoln wanted to preserve the Union
Declared the secession illegal
Reassured the Southern states that he would not interfere with slavery
