The Union in Crisis Unit 1 Section 2 Part 1

A. Expansion and Slavery The gold rush caused California to be considered for statehood Argument over whether it should be slave or free Compromise of said that California would be admitted as a free state -also said that there would be harsher punishments for runaway slaves Fugitive Slave Act -made it a federal crime to help runaway slaves -this act outraged northerners

B. Uncle Tom’s Cabin Harriet Beecher Stowe published a book called Uncle Tom’s Cabin -it told of the horrors of slave life -people across the country and in Europe read it and were shocked This book made many people change their minds about slavery

C. Bleeding Kansas The U.S. wanted to build a RR to connect CA. to the rest of the U.S. Senator Stephen A. Douglas wanted to organize the western lands into two territories: Kansas and Nebraska He also wanted to allow the territories Popular Sovereignty -this is the right of a state to choose whether or not to have slavery -to be decided by a vote of the people Northerners were outraged The Kansas Nebraska Act passed

There was a rush to settle Kansas Both pro-slavery and anti-slavery people rushed to settle Kansas Caused a lot of violence in the territory

John Brown In Kansas, a sheriffs posse attacked and burned Lawrence, Kansas, a free- soil district (No slavery) In response, John Brown a fanatical abolitionist murdered five pro-slavery people This was called the Pottawatamie Creek Massacre By 1956, Kansas had two gov’ts, one pro-slavery and the other, Free Soil

The Dred Scott Decision James Buchanan became president in 1856 He pledged not to interfere with slavery In 1857, there was a supreme court case call the Dred Scott Case -Dred Scott was a slave who lived in the north w/ his master -he and his master moved back to the south -Scott claimed that he was now a free man, because he had lived in the north The Supreme Court ruled that Slaves were property and thus had no rights

In Kansas, pro-slavery people tried to pass a constitution called the Lecompton Constitution This constitution protected slavery Congress was deadlocked on what to do, so they admitted Kansas to the Union as a free state Southerners felt betrayed by the federal gov’t

John Brown’s Raid John Brown had been planning on leading a slave revolt They didn’t have weapons, so he tried to capture the U.S. Arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, VA. The U.S. military stormed the arsenal and killed most of Brown’s men Brown was taken to trial and hanged for his actions Some people questioned Brown’s sanity, but many northerners considered him a hero

Lincoln’s Path to Presidency Abraham Lincoln was born into a poor southern family Lincoln became a member of Congress in the 1850s Lincoln opposed slavery and offered many solutions to the problem, though they were considered radical He became a member of the new anti-slavery party called the Republican Party

He became famous for his debates with Stephen Douglas for senator Called the Lincoln- Douglas Debates -thousands of people gathered to listen to the debates -Lincoln did not became senator, but he did beat Douglas in the debates

Election of 1860 After gaining popularity from the Lincoln- Douglas Debates, Lincoln decided to run for president Many southerners threatened to secede from the union if Lincoln were elected In the North, Lincoln went against Douglas for the Rep. party’s ticket In the South, John C. Breckinridge and John Bell fought for the southern ticket When the actual election came, Lincoln won the election even though his name was not even put on southern ballots

The South Secedes After Lincoln was elected, South Carolina was the first state to secede A few months later, 11 southern states followed Reactions differed Some northerners thought they’d be better off without the South Some argued whether or not the constitution allowed the gov’t to do anything about it

Forming the Confederacy The Southern government was called the Confederate States of America Their president was Jefferson Davis Both sides tried to compromise to bring the south back into the union, but they failed