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Uncle Tom's Cabin is a novel written by abolitionist author Harriet Beecher Stowe. In it, Stowe comments on the harshness of slavery and the way white people treat African Americans through the fictionalized story of a black man named Uncle Tom. When the book was published, it was extremely controversial not only because of its contents, but because a woman wrote it. The North took kindly to Uncle Tom's Cabin, agreeing with the message of slavery's harshness. The South believed it was a threat. -
Since the Kansas-Nebraska Act gave these two new U.S. territories popular sovereignty to decide whether they were slave or free states, Bloody Kansas was mostly a war of free will. The proslavery and antislavery activists fought in a series of bloody acts of violence, all over what status their states would have. Buildings, such as the newspaper office, were burnt down, as well. Tensions and feelings of contempt between the north and the south were heavily exacerbated. -
In the aftermath of Bleeding Kansas, the United States was torn more than ever over the issue of slavery. Activists from both sides (that being antislavery and proslavery) are severely angered by one another. Antislavery activists formed the Republican party because they opposed the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and the spreading of slavery into new U.S. territories. The Republican Party soon gained both a lot of support and a lot of momentum. -
The Kansas-Nebraska Act established the two new territories of Kansas and Nebraska. When the question was brought up of whether these territories would be slave states or free states, the settlers were given "popular sovereignty," or the ability to decide for themselves whether or not either territory would allow slavery. In doing this, the Kansas-Nebraska Act also repealed the Missouri Compromise. All of these things together would eventually lead to Bleeding Kansas. -
Senator Charles Sumner, an antislavery Republican, made his "Crime Against Kansas" speech and heavily defamed Senators Stephen Douglas and Andrew Butler. The latter was not present at this time, which gave Sumner more leverage to verbally attack him more brutally. Later, Sumner tends to business, whilst Senator Preston Brooks -- kin to Andrew Butler -- storms into the room and begins to beat Sumner with a cane meant for disciplining dogs. This violence influenced the nation preceding war. -
Democrat James Buchanan defeats his competitors John C. Fremont and Millard Fillmore. During the campaign, the Republicans maintained a vehement antislavery position. The Democratic Party, however, won several key northern states by citing the possible disunionizing if antislavery sentiments prevailed. -
In the Supreme Court Case Dred Scott v. Sanford, the Courts declared that all slaves were property, and that as long as someone was of African descent, they could not be a free citizen of America. The Court also decided that Congress had no right to determine the status of slavery in new territories. The Missouri Compromise was declared unconstitutional, which limited popular sovereignty, since now that there was no definitive boundary between slave and free states, people had less choice. -
The Lecompton Constitution was the first of many constitutions for the new territory of Kansas. Lecompton, at the time, was Kansas's territorial capital. The Lecompton Constitution held clauses which protected slaveholding, and nothing in the document mentioned free African Americans. Initially, this constitution was rejected. However, James Buchanan offered the ultimatum of Kansas statehood only under the provisions of the Lecompton. Congress rejected it again. Kansas admitted as a free state. -
The Lincoln-Douglas debates were a series of formal political debates held by incumbent Stephen A. Douglas and challenger Abraham Lincoln, both competing for the newly-open senate seat. There were seven total debates held in the following cities of Illinois: Ottawa, Freeport, Jonesboro, Charleston, Galesburg, Quincy, Alton. These were the congressional districts in which Douglas had not yet spoken. Lincoln lost the senate election, but his popularity eventually got him elected as president. -
Before the closing of the Republican State Convention, the Convention members named Abraham Lincoln their candidate for the senate. On the final night of the Convention, Lincoln gave his "House Divided" speech. This speech was targeted at Stephen A. Douglas and anyone who may support him. The main idea of Lincoln's speech, as he outright said, was "a house divided against itself cannot stand." I.e., the union must reach and overcome a crisis in order to become whole again, and settle the score. -
John Brown led a raid on Harper's Ferry, with the intentions of seizing weapons and ammunition held there to begin a slave resolution. The raid was unsuccessful. However, it did lead the United States closer to disunion, as it did nothing to assuage the growing feeling of tension between the North and the South. John Brown was held for questioning in a room of the Harper's Ferry armory. -
John Brown was a radical abolitionist during the pre-civil war era, known for his involvement in Bleeding Kansas and his raid on Harper's Ferry. Brown often claimed, such as he did when questioned for his motives for the raid, that he was a conduit of God, doing only the work the Lord asked him to do. On December 2, 1859, John Brown was sentenced to death by hanging in Charles Town, Virginia. His execution was highly publicized in order to deter further abolitionist action. -
Abraham Lincoln defeats his three opponents in the presidential run: Stephen A. Douglas, John C. Breckinridge, and John Bell. The Democratic Party had become so split by this point that the three runner-ups were all from separate sub-parties. Lincoln, however, was a strong representative of the Republican Party. A lot of the Northern and Western states sympathized with Lincoln's wish to prevent the spread of slavery into other U.S. territories, and Lincoln's popularity soared. -
The southern states were furious after the election of 1860, when a Republican president was elected into office. A convention was held in South Carolina to pass an ordinance of secession in December of 1860. In January of the following year, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, and Georgia followed. After the attack on Fort Sumter, Virginia, North Carolina, Arkansas, and Tennessee also voted to secede. -
Lincoln tried his very best to appeal softly to the nation when giving his first inaugural addressed. He promised to the south that he would not interfere with slavery, and then asked for the confederacy to make peace with its northern counterpart. He put emphasis on the word "union," and attempted to get the states to recall the fact that they were part of one nation as a whole. Lincoln also made it clear that he would not condone secession or violence. He advocated for a peaceful resolution.