1. Chapter 10 Section 4 The System Fails
By: Erica Bronstein, Abby Kaiser
Devon Massey, Andrew Chiang, and
Steven Aller

2. Setting the Scene
After the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act national attention focused on Kansas Territory
Under the new law, Kansas had to decide whether to allow or ban slavery
Majority of Kansas voted to
allow slavery to continue

3. Violence Erupts Antislavery groups in the
Northeast set up Emigrant Aid
societies to send New
Englanders to Kansas to fight
against slavery
New settlers were known as
free soilers
Free Soilers- a person dedicated to
preventing the expansion of slavery
into the western territories

4. Violence Erupts continued
Proslavery settlers in Missouri organized secret societies to fight against the free soilers
Kansas had two fighting capitals:
Topeka (antislavery) and
Lecompton (proslavery)
The tension created violence
On May 21, 1856 robbing began by proslavery supporters in Kansas

5. Bleeding Kansas John Brown got upset by the robberies
occurring that were done by the
proslavery groups
He believed he was “ God’s chosen instrument to end slavery”
May 24, 1856 Brown gathered New Englanders and they went to Pottawatomie Creek

6. Bleeding Kansas Continued
Brown and New Englanders captured five proslavery men from their homes and killed them in front of their families
This caused many raids throughout Kansas
The violence that occurred got the territory nicknamed “Bleeding Kansas”

8. Bleeding Sumner Violence spread to the U.S. capital
Senator Charles Sumner made a fierce and bold speech that insulted the South for allowing slavery
Especially, he verbally attacked Senator Butler of South Carolina
Preston Brooks, nephew of Butler, and a member of the House of Representatives was angry with Sumner’s speech

9. Bleeding Sumer continued
Days after Sumner’s speech, Brooks was offended so he beat Sumner with a cane
Sumner was badly hurt and never returned to full health
People in the South supported Brooks while the North was upset with Brooks actions
One Southerner sent Brooks a cane with the statement “Hit him again” engraved in it

10. Slavery and National Politics
Violence passed and peace returned to the country
The issue of slavery continued to dominate national politics

11. The Election of 1856 In Cincinnati, the Democrats
nominated James Buchanan
for president
The Republicans chose
John C. Fremont who had
no experience with politics
The American Party
nominated former President
Millard Fillmore

12. The Election of 1856 Continued
The Democrats supported the Compromise of 1850 and the Republicans did not
Buchanan won with south support and a little support form the North
Buchanan promised to “ stop the agitation of the slavery issue” in the North

13. The Election of 1856 Continued
Buchanan stated that slavery was going to end soon and hoped that the Supreme Court would help end it
However, the Supreme Court did not help end slavery and this inaction outraged the North
This divided the country further

14. The Dred Scott Decision
In March 1857 the most controversial case came to the Supreme Court
This case was
Dred Scott v. Stanford
Started with an enslaved
man: Dred Scott
He lived in Missouri and filed a law
suit against his owner

15. The Dred Scott Decision Continued
He argued that he and his wife had once lived in states/territories where slavery was illegal, so therefore he and his wife were actually free
The ruling was 7 to 2 against Dred Scott
The Supreme Court decided that even if a slave is living in a free state/territory, he or she is not free
It took ten years before the case was brought to the Supreme Court

16. The Dred Scott Decision Continued
Slaves were not citizens and
had no right to sue anyone
Also, the Court decided that
the Missouri Compromise was
unconstitutional
Slaves were property to their
owners so by law the Congress
could not take away property
without a reason according to
the Fifth Amendment

17. The Dred Scott Decision Continued
Antislavery forces were disgusted with the Dred Scott v. Stanford outcome
President Buchanan supported the court’s choice
Buchanan hoped that the national government would not have to deal with the slavery issue again

18. The Lecompton Constitution
The political fight over slavery was not over
In 1857 a proslavery group In Kansas elected members to a convention to write the
constitution
Most people who lived in Kansas opposed slavery

19. The Lecompton Constitution Continued
President Buchanan hoped that the problem of slavery in Kansas would end once Kansas became a state (it was a territory at the time)
President Buchanan endorsed the Lecompton Constitution
Democratic leader Stephen Douglas
spoke against the Lecompton Constitution
and criticized Buchanan for tolerating it

20. The Lecompton Constitution Continued
The Lecompton Constitution was defeated in 1858 by the people
According to the Dred Scott decision, Kansas was a territory and slavery remained legal.
Still, the free-soiler majority banned slavery

21. Lincoln and Douglas
Senator Douglas, also known as “the Little Giant”, criticized the Lecompton Constitution out of his beliefs and to be responsive to society
Douglas supported slavery
Douglas had been one of the most important senators but was overshadowed by the Republican opponent Abraham Lincoln

22. Lincoln and Douglas
Abraham Lincoln had practiced law as youthful adult and was recognized for his debate and his strength of character
These two political figures
confronted when competing
against each other in the presidential
campaign.
The campaign was noticed for the
debates against the two candidates
The seven debates that were
occurred were known as the
Lincoln-Douglas Debates

23. The Lincoln-Douglas Debates
The main topics of the debates were majority rule and minority rights
Their views:
- What they had in common:
1. Views on African Americans were similar

24. How Lincoln and Douglas Differed in Opinions
Supported popular sovereignty
Did not support popular sovereignty
Supported slavery
Opposed slavery
( In the North, he based his speeches mostly off of his opposition to slavery)

25. Lincoln-Douglas Debates Outcome
Douglas won
Lincoln gained a good reputation and was elected president two years later

26. John Brown’s Raid
John Brown raided a federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry in Virginia on October 16, 1859
Arsenal- place where weapons are made or stored
Brown and twenty-one other men were hoping to raid the arsenal and give the weapons to enslaved people so they could rebel

27. John Brown’s Raid Continued
United States troops
surrounded the arsenal
The troops killed half
of Brown’s men
Brown and the
surviving men surrendered
John Brown was
sentenced to be hanged for treason

28. John Brown’s Raid Continued
“ I John Brown am now quite certain that the crimes of this guilty land will never be purged away; but with Blood.” -John Brown (final message)
To white Southerners Brown was a criminal that tried to launch a rebellion
To Northerners Brown was a willing victim to the cause of justice.
Brown’s raid caused more anger between North & South

29. Reading Focus Question and Answer
1. Why did violence erupt in Kansas in the mid-1850s?
Violence erupted in Kansas because antislavery groups in the Northeast set up Emigrant Aid societies to send 1,200 New Englanders to fight in Kansas against slavery.

30. Reading Focus Question and Answer
2. How did slavery affect national politics in this period?
Slavery affected national politics because it was diving the North and the South more and more. In addition, it started to become a regional issue and the Republican Party formed over this issue.

31. Reading Focus Question and Answer
3. What problems did the Lecompton constitution cause?
The Lecompton Constitution caused problems including that people refused to vote for either option on the ballot because both choices protected slavery in Kansas. The Lecompton Constitution split the people in half.

32. Reading Focus Question and Answer
4. What important issues were discussed in the Lincoln-Douglas Debate?
The issues that were discussed in the Lincoln-Douglas Debate were slavery, equal rights for African Americans and Caucasians. Douglas supported popular sovereignty, which is when people get to decided if the state they live in is pro or anti slavery. Lincoln supported that idea of majority v. minority, which meant that majority could not affect on life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Lincoln had no intentions that blacks and whites should have equal rights; but blacks should be free.

33. Reading Focus Question and Answer
5. How did John Brown’s raid increase tensions between the North and the South?
John Brown caused more tensions between the North and the South because the North gave him sympathy and in the South, Brown was a criminal who tried to launch a rebellion aimed at their very lives. This deepened anger between the North and the South.

34. Citation
"Dred Scott's fight for freedom." PBS. 9 Apr <