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What Happened: Congress passed five laws to settle tensions between free and slave states. It allowed California to enter as a free state and made a stricter Fugitive Slave Act that forced citizens to return runaway enslaved people.
How It Led to War: The Fugitive Slave Act angered Northerners who didn’t want to help enforce slavery. It deepened the divide between North and South over the issue of slavery. -
What Happened: This law let people in Kansas and Nebraska decide for themselves whether to allow slavery (“popular sovereignty”). It canceled the Missouri Compromise line that had banned slavery north of 36°30′.
How It Led to War: It caused violent fights between pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers, increasing hatred and division across the country. -
What Happened: After the Kansas-Nebraska Act, pro-slavery and anti-slavery groups rushed to Kansas to vote. Both sides fought violently, burning towns and killing opponents.
How It Led to War: The bloodshed showed that peaceful compromise over slavery was impossible. It was basically a mini civil war before the real one. -
What Happened: After Senator Charles Sumner gave an anti-slavery speech, Congressman Preston Brooks attacked him with a cane on the Senate floor.
How It Led to War: The brutal attack shocked the nation. The South celebrated Brooks while the North saw it as proof that slavery supporters were violent and dangerous. -
What Happened: The Supreme Court ruled that Dred Scott, an enslaved man, was not a citizen and had no right to sue for freedom. The Court also said Congress couldn’t ban slavery in the territories.
How It Led to War: Northerners were outraged, feeling that the government was controlled by pro-slavery forces. It pushed more people toward the anti-slavery cause. -
What Happened: Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas debated over slavery in Illinois while running for Senate. Lincoln argued against the spread of slavery, while Douglas supported popular sovereignty.
How It Led to War: The debates made Lincoln famous nationwide and showed how deeply divided the country was over slavery. -
What Happened: Abolitionist John Brown led a small group to attack a federal arsenal in Harpers Ferry, Virginia, hoping to start a slave rebellion.
How It Led to War: The raid failed, but it terrified the South. Southerners thought the North wanted to destroy slavery through violence. -
What Happened: Abraham Lincoln was elected President without winning any Southern states.
How It Led to War: The South saw Lincoln’s win as a threat to slavery and started seceding from the Union, beginning with South Carolina in December 1860.