The Crisis Deepens

Take notes as the lecture is given. You will need to copy the titles

and what is in red.

The issue of slavery divides the country

• The North was against slavery and wanted to stop its spread.

• The South wanted to keep slavery as a way of life.

Compromise of 1850• Attempted the solve the problem

of free and slave states. From then on two states would be admitted to the Union at a time; one free and one slave.

• This was done to keep the balance of free and slave states the same.

Kansas-Nebraska Act• It said that the people of Kansas and

Nebraska would decide if there should be slavery in their states. This is called popular sovereignty.

• Popular sovereignty - when the people decide what to do

• The people in the North were afraid that slavery would spread.

Bleeding Kansas• Many people

rushed into Kansas and Nebraska so they could vote for or against slavery.

• This became known as “Bleeding Kansas.”

Harriet Beecher Stowe • author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin• Uncle Tom's Cabin – Story about

the cruelty of slavery was published in 1852.

• This book encouraged many people in the North to become abolitionists.

Fugitive Slave Act• An 1850 law that helped

slaveholders recapture runaway slaves.

• It was illegal to help a slave escape.

• A person could be put in jail if they did.

Republican Party• Political party created in 1854 to

stop the spread of slavery. • Began as a response to the

Fugitive Slave Act.

Presidential Election of 1856

• Republicans nominate John C. Fremont, a national hero from his exploration of the West.

• Democrats nominate James Buchanan. • The American or Know-Nothing party

nominated Millard Fillmore. • Buchanan won, but the election showed

that the Republicans were very strong in the North, and that the issue of slavery had divided the country.

Dred Scott Case• Dred Scott - a slave in Missouri. • Owner took him to the North where slavery was illegal.• Scott sued for his freedom because he was in a free

state.• The case reached the Supreme Court.• The Supreme Court ruled that Scott could not sue in

the U.S. because he was not a citizen. He was the property of his owner.

• The Court also said the Congress could not ban the slave trade in the territories.

• This case angered people in the North.

Lincoln and Douglas Debates

• In 1858, Abraham Lincoln challenged Stephan Douglas for senator from Illinois.

• Douglas and Lincoln debated over the issues of slavery.

• Lincoln had called slavery “a moral, a social, and political wrong.”

• Douglas said that slavery was up to the people.

• Douglas won the election, but Lincoln became a well-known figure after the debates.

John Brown• 1859, John Brown, who had murdered proslavery Kansans three

year earlier wanted to inspire slaves to fight for their freedom. • He planned to capture the weapons in the U.S arsenal at Harpers

Ferry, Virginia.• He wanted to give the weapons to slaves so they could start a

slave revolt.• They killed four people. • No slaves joined the fight and Brown and six others were captured

and hanged. • On the day that Brown was put to death, abolitionist rang bells in

his honor. Southerners were horrified by the reaction of the North.• The issue of slavery was becoming very tense.