Transcript Slavery and Politics

Unit 5 Notes 2
Events that led
to the Civil War
The new Fugitive Slave Act
of 1850 required citizens to
catch runaway slaves.
Those who let slaves get
away could be fined $1,000
and spend 6 months in jail.
The northerners disliked
this act.
A new court was set up to
hear cases regarding
runaway slaves. If a slave
was returned, the presiding
judge would get $10. If the
judge did not send a slave
to the south, he only
earned $5.
 Southerners felt
that the Fugitive
Slave Act was
justified because
they considered
slaves property.
 In addition,
Southern slave
catchers roamed
the North,
sometimes
capturing free
African Americans.
Uncle Tom’s
Cabin
 In 1852, Uncle Tom’s Cabin,
written by Harriet Beecher
Stowe, was released. It became
one of the most important
books in United States history!
 The book details the life of a
fictional slave who is beaten by
his owner, eventually Tom is
beaten to death. This book
convinces many northerners to
support abolitionists.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5gLVulWa4s
The Kansas-Nebraska Act
 While the Fugitive Act and
Uncle Tom’s cabin
increased tensions between
the north and south, the
issue of slavery brought
bloodshed to the west.
 In 1854, Senator Douglas of
Illinois drafted a bill to
organize territorial
governments for Nebraska
Territory. He proposed that
it be divided into two
territories – Nebraska and
Kansas.
 To get Southern support, he
suggested that the decision about
whether to allow slavery in each of
these territories be settled by
popular sovereignty. Popular
sovereignty is a system where the
residents vote to decide an issue.
 If this bill passed, it would result in
getting rid of the Missouri
Compromise by allowing people to
vote for slavery in territories where
it had been banned.
 The bill passed. It was known as
the Kansas-Nebraska Act.
Stephen
Douglas
Bleeding Kansas
 Proslavery and antislavery settlers
rushed into Kansas territory to vote for
the territorial legislature.
 In 1855, 5,000 Missourians came and
voted in the election illegally. As a
result, the official Kansas legislature
was packed with proslavery
representatives.
• Antislavery settlers boycotted the official government and
formed a government of their own.
• In May, a proslavery mob attacked the town of Lawrence,
Kansas. The attackers destroyed offices and the house of the
governor of the antislavery government.
• As news of violence spread, civil war broke out in Kansas.
• It continued for 3 years, and the territory came to be called
“Bleeding Kansas.”
Dred Scott was a slave
who lived in Missouri
for many years.
He moved with his
slave owners to the
Wisconsin Territory
where slavery was
illegal.
Dred Scott
After Scott’s owners
died, he was helped by
abolitionist lawyers to
file suit for his freedom.
Scott reasoned that he
lived in free territory
 His case, Dred Scott v. Sandford, reached the Supreme
Court in 1856.
 The Supreme Court ruled that Dred Scott was not a U.S.
citizen. As a result, he could not sue in U.S. Courts.
 The Court also ruled that slaves were property.
Chief Justice
Roger Taney
Minnesota Connection –
 Dred Scott and his wife lived at Fort
Snelling for a time. You can see where
he lived if you visit the Fort.
Brown Attacks Harpers Ferry
 In 1859, John Brown planned to take
the weapons in the U.S. arsenal at
Harpers Ferry, Virginia. He hoped to
inspire slave to rebel against slavery.
John Brown
 On October 16, 1859,
Brown and his followers
captured the arsenal.
 He sent out word to arm
local slaves but no slaves
wanted to join with
Brown.
 Brown and his followers
were captured by the
U.S. military. They were
tried, convicted, and
executed.
Presidential Election of 1860
• In 1860, Stephan Douglas
and Abraham Lincoln ran
against each for president.
• Lincoln had become well
known from their debates
about slavery.
• This time, Lincoln won,
becoming the 16th
president.
• As soon as Lincoln won the election, the
South started to secede. This means the
South split from the Union. They no longer
wanted to be part of the United States.
• Supporters of secession based their
arguments on the idea of states’ rights. They
said they had voluntarily joined the union, so
they could leave when they wanted.
• On December 20, 1860, South Carolina
became the first state to secede.
• The eleven states that had seceded formed
the Confederate States of America.
• They named Jefferson Davis as president.