1 Chronology of Main Events 1850Fugitive Lave Law passed 1852Uncle Tom's Cabin appears 1853Franklin Pierce inaugurated as President 1854Republican party founded; Kansas-Nebraska Act passed 1856Violence erupts in Bleeding Kansas 1857James Buchanan inaugurated as President; Dred Scott decision 1858Lincoln-Douglas debates 1859John Brown raids Harpers Ferry 1860South Carolina secedes 1861Abraham Lincoln inaugurated as President; Confederacy formed A DECADE OF CRISIS 1850—1861

2 A Decade of Crisis: I. Slavery or No???? Are we still asking that old question? A. The Fugitive Slave Law – This allowed slaveholders to get their slaves back if they ran away to a free state. a. Federal marshals could be used to regain the slave. 2. Abolitionists charged that the law made it possible to kidnap “free Americans” a. If you were caught helping a slave you were fined 1,000 and got 6 months in jail. 3. Personal Liberty Laws were passed in the North to get around the FSL

3 a. The FSL became difficult to enforce. b. About 300 African-Americans were returned to the South. 4. Slavery was becoming more real to people in the North. B. Uncle Tom’s Cabin – Written by Harriet Beecher Stowe a. It had more of an impact on Americans than any piece of literature since “Common Sense” b. There were 5,000 copies sold in 2 days and 300,000 in a year. - No other book except the Bible had ever sold so many copies. What do you think??? What effect did Uncle Tom's Cabin have on the nation?

4 2. It exaggerated everything 3. It said that slavery was evil a. Slavery went against Christian Ethics and the Declaration of Independence. 4. The North loved it 5. The South hated it 6. When Abraham Lincoln met HBS, he said “So, this is the little woman who started the big war.” II. Kansas-Nebraska Act – 1854 A. This was introduced by Stephen Douglas 1. The idea was that the settlers would decide whether or not they wanted slavery in their territory.

5 a. South – Kansas b. North - Nebraska 2. It repealed the Missouri Compromise 3. The North was upset because it could extend slavery into the territories. 4. Douglas’ goal was to build a transcontinental railroad. B. Popular Sovereignty doesn’t work in Kansas 1. The people there couldn’t decide if they wanted slavery or not a. It pitted settler vs. settler C. This led to a mini civil war and became known as “Bleeding Kansas”.

6 III. New People….New Issues…. New Political Parties!! A. The new immigrants were subject to discrimination. 1. We had new immigrants coming from Ireland, Germany and Scandinavia to the North to work in the factories 2. Nativism – This was the policy of favoring native born people over immigrants a. You saw this in the cities where there was competition for jobs. b. The immigrants would work for less

7 a. Nativists thought that Catholics couldn’t understand democracy because they were used to following the Pope. 3. Anti-Catholicism was common. - We have only had two Catholics run for President – Al Smith (1928) and JFK (who won in 1960) B. The Know-Nothing Party started. 1. They wanted to restrict immigration 2. They were successful because nativist sentiment was strong

8 C. The new “Republican” Party – Based only in the North 2. It favored a. Higher wages b. A transcontinental railroad c. A high protective tariff d. No slaves in the territories!!! D. James Buchanan (D) becomes President – The Republicans had a strong election though.

9 IV. Crisis to Showdown A. Dred Scott v. Sandford – Scott was a slave whose master took him to a free state. 2. Scott claimed he was free, because freedom went with the land. 3. The Supreme Court faced 2 questions: a. Was Scott a citizen of the United States? b. Was he actually free because he was in a free state? 4. Roger B. Taney (Chief Justice) said slaves were not citizens of the United States therefore Dred Scott had no right to sue.

10 5. This ruling essentially legalized slavery. B. The Lincoln/Douglas Debates – Stephen A. Douglas was running for the US Senate seat in Illinois. a. Abraham Lincoln was challenging him. 2. The most important issue was slavery in the territories. a. Douglas was for popular sovereignty b. Lincoln said that Congress could and should keep slavery out of the territories. 3. Douglas won the election

11 C. John Brown’s Rebellion – He wanted to end slavery 2. He wanted to get control of the arsenal in Harper’s Ferry Virginia so that the blacks could revolt. a. Colonel Robert E. Lee surrounded the arsenal and forced Brown to surrender. 3. Brown was put on trial, found guilty of treason and hanged. 4. This further divided the North and South.

12 D. Lincoln Becomes President – He won in a four way race with only 40% of the popular vote and 59% of the electoral vote. 2. The South feared that its way of life and economy were in danger. E. South Carolina Secedes – December Followed by 6 other states a. Mississippi b. Florida c. Alabama d. Georgia e. Louisiana f. Texas

13 2. They formed the “Confederate States of America” a. They named Jefferson Davis as the 1 st (and only) President of the Confederate States of America. b. People were guaranteed the right to own slaves. THE NATION IS NOW DIVIDED!!!!