The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on the case of Dred Scott, an enslaved man who had lived in a free state and sued for his freedom. Within a year of the election, another event intensified the divisions in the nation over slavery.

Chief Justice Roger B. Taney handed down the controversial decision in March, , failing health, hearing, and eyes took 4 hours to read decision.

ruled against Scott. said slaves were property and not allowed to sue in court. said the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional. pleased the South. angered the North and abolitionists. The Dred Scott decision:

In 1858, in a race for the Illinois senate seat, Stephen A. Douglas and Abraham Lincoln debated the issue of slavery. The seven debates got national attention.

Douglas won the Senate seat by a slim margin. The debates gave Abraham Lincoln national recognition that was important in the 1860 presidential election. Both candidates believed the issue of slavery had to be resolved peacefully, within the framework of laws.

His goal was to inspire local slaves to join a revolution that would defeat slavery. John Brown organized a small party of men and attacked a federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry in Virginia.

John Brown’s raid failed but intensified national division. Most abolitionists (black and white) refused to join Brown although a few sent money for guns. Brown was arrested, tried, and executed. Lincoln and other Republicans condemned Brown. The South was on alert and many prepared for war.

The election of 1860 had four candidates.

With no national candidate dominating the campaign, Lincoln won with just over half of the electoral votes needed and 40 percent of the popular vote.

The vote for Abraham Lincoln was mostly a vote for moderation toward the issue of slavery and a vote for the Union. However, the South felt it no longer had a voice in the national government and did not see how it could remain in the Union.

South Carolina was the first southern state to leave the Union. At a state convention held six weeks after Election Day, legislators voted to secede. It was a unanimous vote. X

Outgoing President Buchanan publicly condemned South Carolina’s action. However, he did not use force to prevent it. Within weeks, six other Southern states followed South Carolina.

closely resembled the U.S. Constitution. stressed the independence of each state. implied that states had the right to secede. forbid importing new slaves from other countries. The constitution of the Confederate States of America:

Jefferson Davis, former senator from Mississippi, became president of the Confederate States of America.

he urged peace between the Confederacy and the Union. he decided to try to hold on to the Union forts the Confederacy claimed, such as Fort Sumter. When Lincoln took office: However, Confederate forces attacked and captured the fort in defiance of Lincoln.

After Fort Sumter fell, Lincoln declared that insurrection existed. Four more southern states immediately joined the Confederacy.

The North had many resource advantages with a larger population, more factory production, and more railroads.

The North’s strengths The South’s strengths Factory production Railroad miles An established navy A representative functioning government Recognition from European nations A psychological advantage– fighting to preserve their way of life Strong military tradition– inspiring leaders such as General Robert E. Lee Strategic advantage– fighting a defensive war on familiar ground

The war strategies of the Confederacy: They planned a long war to erode the Union’s will to fight. They planned only to methodically defend their own territory rather than invade the North. They sought political recognition from France and Britain to maintain cotton trade.

The war strategies of the North were known as the Anaconda Plan. The plan was to blockade Southern ports with its navy and gain control of the Mississippi River to split the Confederacy in two.