“The War Between the States” “Brother Against Brother ”

Causes of and Events Leading to the Civil War Continual Debate over State’s Rights Issue of Slavery Dred Scott Decision 1857 John Brown’s Slave Revolt at Harper’s Ferry 1859 Election of Abraham Lincoln as 16 th President 1860 Confederate States secede from the Union 1861

Harriet Beecher Stowe’s publication Uncle Tom’s Cabin fueled the fire of the slavery debate. Harriet TubmanHarriet Beecher Stowe

”…that all constitutional means should be used to prevent the increase, to mitigate, and finally to eradicate the evil of slavery,”

"What I mean by the higher law is,… the law of nature; by which we suppose that God, in giving man his existence, gave him the right to exist; the right to breathe vital air; the right to enjoy the light of the sun; to drink the waters of the earth; to unfold his moral nature; to learn the laws that control his moral and physical being; to bring himself into harmony with those laws, and enjoy that happiness which is consequent on such obedience,… was the theory of that law applied to the condition of African slavery in the United States? Unquestionably, to all.” -John Brown Frederick Douglas

John Brown Took Harper's Ferry Hostage October 16, 1859 J ohn Brown's raid was perhaps the final spark that ignited the Civil War. Certainly the words he spoke at his death would be remembered: "Now, if it is deemed necessary that I should forfeit my life, for the furtherance of the ends of justice, and MINGLE MY BLOOD FURTHER WITH THE BLOOD OF MY CHILDREN, and with the blood of millions in this Slave country, whose rights are disregarded by wicked, cruel, and unjust enactments -- I say LET IT BE DONE."

Amidst the country’s unrest, citizens dutifully elected their leader. But this unifying action did not unify the nation.

Lincoln Quote of the Week "I am naturally anti- slavery. If slavery is not wrong, nothing is wrong. I can not remember when I did not so think, and feel." --From the April 4, 1864 Letter to A.G. Hodges

Letter to Fort Sumter from Abraham Lincoln This letter was sent to Captain Anderson with the newly elected President’s assurance of support just prior to the fall of Fort Sumter.

Dred Scott Decision 1857 John Brown’s Slave Revolt at Harper’s Ferry 1859 Continual Debate over State’s Rights Issue of Slavery Election of Abraham Lincoln as 16th President 1860 Confederate States secede from the Union 1861 The gap between brother and brother grew until finally the country was walking down

Dred Scott Decision 1857 John Brown’s Slave Revolt at Harper’s Ferry 1859 Continual Debate over State’s Rights Issue of Slavery Election of Abraham Lincoln as 16th President 1860 Confederate States secede from the Union 1861

Power Point Presentation developed as part of the Adventure of the American Mind Project funded through the Library of Congress. Original documents and photos come from the American Memory Collection of the Library of Congress