Birth of the Republican Party Anger over the Kansas-Nebraska Act convinced former Whigs, members of the Free-Soil Party, and a few antislavery Democrats to work together during the congressional elections of 1854. This new coalition, an alliance of parties, became known as the Republican Party.

Sectional Division Grows Dred Scott was an enslaved man whose Missouri slaveholder had taken him to live in a free territory before returning to Missouri. Assisted by abolitionist, Scott sued to end his slavery, arguing that the time he had spent in free territory meant he was free. The case went all the way to the Supreme Court. Dred Scott v. Sanford was decided on by the Supreme Court. The court ruled against Scott because he claimed that African Americans were not citizens and therefore could not sue in the courts.

Kansas and Statehood The pro-slavery legislature of Kansas held an election for delegates to a constitutional convention. Antislavery Kansans boycotted the election, saying it was rigged. The convention wrote the Lecompton constitution in which slavery was legalized. Each side held its own referendum, or popular vote, on the constitution. Antislavery forces voted against it; pro-slavery forces voted for it. President Buchanan asked Congress to admit Kansas as a slave state. The Senate accepted the Lecompton constitution, but the House did not. In 1858 the settlers in Kansas held another referendum and voted to reject the Lecompton constitution. Kansas did not become a state until 1861.

Lincoln and Douglas In 1858 Lincoln was chosen by the Illinois Republicans to run for the Senate against the Democratic incumbent, Stephen A. Douglas. Lincoln and Douglas held a series of debates. Lincoln opposed the spread of slavery to the western territories. Douglas favored popular sovereignty. Douglas formulated the Freeport Doctrine. In this statement, Douglas accepted the Dred Scott ruling.

John Brown’s Raid John Brown, an abolitionist, planned to seize the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. (West Virginia today) He would then free and arm the enslaved people in the area and begin an insurrection, or rebellion, against slaveholders. Brown and his followers seized the arsenal on October, 16, 1859, but within 36 hours were captured by U.S. Marines. Brown was tried, convicted and sentenced to death.