1. Chapter 6, Section 3

2.  In the 1840s, the support of political parties tended to reflect regional tensions—and slavery was at the center of these tensions.  Millard Fillmore put a distance between himself and Southerners when he supported the entry of California as a free state. ▪ Fillmore angered Northerners by supporting the Fugitive Slave Act and popular sovereignty. ▪ Fillmore was the last Whig president. ▪ The unity of the party died with the two great leaders— Henry Clay and Daniel Webster.

3.  Growing immigrant population of the 1840s led to a growth in Catholicism. ▪ The native-born individuals worried about this change were called nativists. ▪ The concerns over how this new group would affect society would yield an anti-immigrant movement, leading to a new political party known as the Know- Nothings. ▪ They became the American Party in 1855, and soon also divided over the slavery issue.

4.  In 1854, the Republican Party grew with opposition to slavery as the center of their philosophy.  The party grew in the North by attracting members of other political parties. ▪ By 1856, it had grown so much that it could challenge older, established parties.

5.  The Republicans nominated Mexican War hero John C. Frémont.  The Democrats nominated James Buchanan.  The Know-Nothings nominated former president Millard Fillmore.  James Buchanan won the election, but the Republican Party made a strong showing by winning one-third of the popular vote.

6.  US Supreme Court ruled on the court case Dred Scott v. Sandford. ▪ Summary of the case: ▪ Scott had been taken to the free state of Illinois by his slave master. ▪ Since he had lived in free lands, he himself was free. ▪ The Supreme Court ruled that since slaves were property, Scot could not sue for his rights. ▪ Missouri Compromise is illegal  can’t deprive slave masters of their property.

7. ▪ The ruling was made by Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger B. Taney. ▪ After the ruling, Southerners were encouraged and Northerners were angered. ▪ Frederick Douglass saw this decision as a blessing because he felt it would bring an end to slavery quicker. Why? It would hasten the decision over whether or not to allow slavery.

8.  Abraham Lincoln was brought up in poverty and self-taught. He began to practice law in 1836, and grew a reputation of integrity and directness. ▪ He was opposed to slavery but chose a middle course politically.  He opposed the Kansas-Nebraska Act and that put him at odds with Illinois politician Stephen A. Douglas. ▪ These two men were opposites in other ways besides politically—physical stature, amount of integrity, etc.

9.  Douglas was sympathetic to slavery, possibly because his wife had inherited slaves.  He wanted to win the support of Northern and Southern Democrats, but neither fully supported him.  Lincoln stood strong on his stance against slavery. While he did not believe that slaves should have full equality, he believed in the idea of natural rights.  Though Douglas won the election, Lincoln had definitely cultivated a reputation for himself that would last much longer in his political career.

10.  John Brown, unlike Lincoln and Douglas, believed slavery should be solved through violence.  He began planning an attack and recruited across the North, Midwest and West.  John Brown was against slavery.

11.  Led 21 men to the federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia.  His goal was to recruit local slaves once they arrived.  Why did he choose Harper’s Ferry? Location– many trains and canals nearby; good recruitment location. ▪ The effort failed. Brown and his men were outnumbered by local residents and federal troops.

12.  Reactions to John Brown’s raid increased tensions across the North and South. ▪ Some supported John Brown’s actions, others condemned them.  On the morning of his execution, John Brown declared that “slavery… [would not] be purged away…. without very much bloodshed.”