Chapter 11 The System Fails Section 4

Violence Begins Under the Kansas-Nebraska Act both states would vote about slavery. This put slavery and anti-slavery groups in the areas at odds with each other Free Soilers from New England rushed to Kansas to help end slavery in the territory. Proslavery settlers in Missouri created secret societies to oppose the free soilers. Some even voted in the Kansas election illegally. Things began to escalate after a group of Southerners, with the support of a federal marshal, looted newspaper offices and homes in Lawrence, KS .

Violence Begins This action got a response from John Brown, an anti-slavery man who believed he was chosen by god to end slavery May 24th, Brown led several New Englanders to a proslavery camp in KS. While there they drug five men from their beds and killed them with swords in front of their family These actions sparked a summer of murderous raids and counterraids in Kansas called “Bleeding Kansas” This also happened in D.C. After a very fiery speech where Senator Charles Sumner made insults toward Senator Andrew Butler, two days later Butler’s nephew beat Sumner with his cane

Slavery & National Politics During the election of 1856 the Democrats supported the Compromise of 1850 and the Kansas-Nebraska Act. In opposition the Republicans declared the gov’t’s right to restrict slavery Buchanan won the election and promised the south he would “never stop the agitation of the slavery issue” Along with the election the Supreme Court handed down the decision on the Scott v. Sanford case The case happened when Dred Scott, a free man working in Missouri, filed a lawsuit against his owners for freedom because he had lived in the North Supreme Court said slaves a property and property cannot file lawsuits, slaves were not free if they had lived in free areas and declared the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional

Lecompton Constitution A small proslavery group in Kansas elected members to a convention to write a constitution (required to be a state) It was a proslavery constitution that most people refused to vote on. President Buchanan actually endorsed the constitution hoping it would help solve the problem. Stephen Douglas disliked the constitution and criticized Buchanan for accepting the constitution. After a revote the constitution would pass

Lincoln-Douglas Debates Stephen Douglas was running for reelection to the Illinois Senate against Abraham Lincoln Douglas, like many whites, thought that white Americans were superior to African Americans He even tolerated slavery because he believed in the absolute right of white citizens to choose the society and gov’t they wanted This race became recognized nationwide due to a series of debates between the two men The two men were very different- Douglas was stout and wore new suits. Lincoln was tall, awkward and thin and wore everyday clothing The debates showed two important gov’t ideas Douglas agreed with majority rule or popular sovereignty (voting on slavery) Lincoln was worried about minority rights or the majority should not limit rights because there are more of them

Lincoln-Douglas Debates Douglas and Lincoln had similar ideas about African Americans. They both did not agree with social or political equality of African Americans. Lincoln did not propose ending slavery in the south because he did not believe the gov’t had the power to do that- he thought it would die out on its own. Lincoln saw slavery as a moral issue. Douglas ends up winning the election.

John Brown’s Raid 3 years after “Bleeding Kansas” John Brown goes to Virginia to try to raid an arsenal Brown with 21 other men were to steal weapons, give them to slaves and let them kill slave owners and lead the US to moral renewal Colonel Robert E. Lee was alerted to the raid. He killed some followers and the others surrendered. John Brown was hung and killed. His actions deepened the split between the North and the South