Section 3 – pg 368 The Crisis Deepens Chapter 10 Section 3 – pg 368 The Crisis Deepens

A New Antislavery Party Pg 368 A New Antislavery Party As the Whig party split up in 1854, many northerners joined the new political party Republican Party: main goal was to stop the spread of slavery Attracted northern democrats and Free-Soil Party members Congressional elections held months after party formed Of the 245 candidates elected to the House of Reps, 105 were Republicans Causes Democrats to lose control of all but 2 northern state legislatures

2 years later, Republicans ran their first Presidential candidate Pg 368 2 years later, Republicans ran their first Presidential candidate John C. Fremont, the army officer who helped CA win independence during Mexican-American War Ran a strong antislavery campaign Democrat James Buchanan was elected Fremont had won 11 of the nation’s 16 free states

The Dred Scott Decision Pg 369 The Dred Scott Decision In March 1857 (3 days after Buchanan took office) Supreme Court decided the case of Dred Scott vs Sandford Big blow to antislavery forces Dred Scott was an enslaved person who was owned by a US Army doctor They lived in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Missouri With the help of antislavery lawyers Scott sued for his freedom Argued that he was free b/c they had lived where slavery was illegal

The Court Decides Pg 369 Chief Justice Roger B Taney wrote out decision for the court Decided Scott was not free for 2 reasons B/c he is a African American and therefore not a citizen, he had no right to sue in federal court Traveling to other territories does not matter b/c slaves are property and the Constitution protects citizens right to property Also decided that Congress had no power to prohibit slavery in any territory thus the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional

Pg 369 Reaction Supporters of slavery were very happy b/c this meant slavery was now legal in all of America Northerners were stunned at the decision African American leader Fredrick Douglas felt that outrage over this decision would bring more whites over to the abolitionist cause One northerner, an Illinois lawyer, Abraham Lincoln, spoke out against the decision Said that the idea that African Americans could not be citizens was based on a false view of history Soon, Lincoln became a central figure in the fight against the spread slavery

The Lincoln-Douglas Debates Pg 370 The Lincoln-Douglas Debates Lincoln had a brief career in politics Serves in the Illinois state legislature Elected to Congress as a Whig Left after a single term to return to Illinois to practice law Opposing the Kansas – Nebraska Act, brought him back to politics on the Republican side Had a rivalry against Senator Stephen Douglas who had written the act They both had courted Mary Todd, who ended up marrying Lincoln This hottie 

Pg 370 A House Divided In 1858, Illinois Republicans chose Lincoln to run for the Senate against Douglas Accepted the nomination “A house divided against itself cannot stand” Lincoln did not state that he wanted to ban slavery but many southerners were convinced that he was an abolitionist

Pg 371 Debating Slavery Lincoln challenged Douglas to a series of public debates Thousands of people were to hear him speak Douglas strongly defended popular sovereignty Said each state had the right to do what they wanted Also painted Lincoln as a dangerous abolitionist who wanted equality for African Americans Lincoln took the stand against the spread of slavery “If slavery is not wrong, then nothing is wrong” Said that slavery would die on its own but we need to keep it out of the west

Pg 371 In response to Douglas said that he had no interest in bringing social and political equality for whites and blacks But did state that he believed that African Americans had the right to the same freedoms under the Declaration of Independence In the end, Douglas won Senate election The debates had made Lincoln known throughout the country 2 yrs later, they meet against in the race for Presidency

Pg 371 John Brown’s Raid John Brown had been run out of Kansas after the Pottawatomie Massacre (when he killed 5 proslavery people) Went to New England where he hatched a plot to raise an army and free people in the South who were enslaved In 1859, Brown and a small band of supporters attacked the town of Harpers Ferry in Virginia Goal was to seize guns stored there by the US Army He thought that the enslaved African Americans would support him and he would give them weapons and lead them in a revolt

Pg 371 Brown’s forces got control of the guns but troops controlled by Colonel Robert E Lee surrounded Brown’s forces before they could escape Ten of Brown’s men were killed Brown was wounded and captured

Pg 372 At Brown’s trial, he sat quietly as the court found him guilty of murder and treason His defense was that the Bible had instructed him to care for the poor and enslaved Was sentenced to death Hung in Virginia on December 2, 1859 Many northerners considered him a hero The southerners saw it as proof that the north was trying to destroy their way of life