The Dred Scott Decision 1857

Chief Justice Roger B. Taney made the following ruling: Dred Scott was a slave who had lived for a time in free territory and filed suit to gain his freedom from his new “owners.” In 1857, his case reached the U.S. Supreme Court. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney made the following ruling: Scott had no right to sue in a federal court because he was not a U.S. citizen. Scott had no right to freedom because he had filed his suit in Missouri, a slave state. Furthermore, living in a free state did not make him free. Slaves are “property” and under the 5th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, Congress had no authority to prohibit a citizen taking their property into any U.S. territory. Therefore, the Missouri Compromise line of 1820 was UNCONSTITUTIONAL! This meant that Congress could NOT limit the spread of slavery into any of the western territories. Did this also mean that states could not ban slavery?

The Lincoln-Douglas Debates 1858

In 1858, Senator Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois, the author of the K-N Act and one of the most popular politicians in the U.S., ran for re-election. His challenger was Abraham Lincoln, an attorney and former Congressman who was largely unknown outside of his home state. Their series of debates captured the attention of the whole country. Douglas was a Democrat who planned to run for president in 1860. He supported popular sovereignty in the territories and believed that slavery would die out naturally over time. Lincoln was a largely unknown Republican who opposed the spread of slavery in the territories. Lincoln personally hated slavery and felt that it was immoral. He considered it a threat to free labor. Both Douglas and Lincoln opposed the spread of slavery but disagreed over how to stop it. At one their debates, Lincoln “trapped” Douglas by asking him if the people of a territory could exclude slavery. Douglas responded with the so-called “Freeport Doctrine” which stated that voters could block slavery in a new territory by simply refusing to legally enforce it.

The RESULTS of the Lincoln-Douglas Debates Douglas narrowly won the Illinois Senate election, but… He had damaged his chances for winning the Democratic nomination for president in 1860. Southerners dominated the Democratic party and they did not like the “Freeport Doctrine.” Lincoln lost but he received a lot of positive coverage in national magazines and newspapers. Many Republicans began to think that Lincoln might make a strong candidate for president in 1860. The national debate over slavery was growing more intense and North and South were more divided than ever.

JOHN BROWN ! 1859

John Brown’s Raid on Harper’s Ferry After the Pottawatomie Massacre in 1856, John Brown fled from Kansas. He was wanted for murder and spent the next few years hiding out in upstate New York. In 1859, he began to plan a slave uprising. His plan was unrealistic and it failed, but it would have a major affect on the coming of the Civil War. In October 1859, Brown led 18 men into the town of Harper’s Ferry, Virginia and seized the federal arsenal located there. His men took several hostages. He hoped that slaves in the surrounding area would rise up and join him and he would provide them with weapons from the arsenal. That didn’t happen. U.S troops stormed into the arsenal and many of his men were killed. Brown was captured alive, charged with treason & murder, found guilty and hanged less than two months later.

John Brown’s Raid on Harper’s Ferry John Brown’s raid did not free a single slave, nor did his death change any laws on slavery. What it did do was polarize the North and South! In the North, Brown was praised by many as a hero and martyr who had given his life to the cause of ending the evil of slavery. More moderate Northerners thought that Brown had gone too far. In the South, Brown was viewed as a terrorist and murderer who threatened the lives of white Southerners by trying to start a violent slave revolt.

The Election of 1860

The Election of 1860 Lincoln wins the Republican nomination as a “moderate” over the more “radical” William Seward. The Democratic party splits and holds two conventions. The Northern faction nominates Stephen Douglas, the Southern faction nominates John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky. A new party is formed called the Constitutional Union party which tries to reach a compromise. It only wins support in the “border states.” The split in the Democratic vote allows Lincoln to win the election without any support in the South.

Southerners are outraged that a “Black Republican” has won the election. Lincoln’s name did not even appear on the ballot in most Southern states. Southern extremists see only one solution….. Secession!