Dred Scott Decision 1856

In 1856 a slave named Dred Scott came to question the court. Scott was from Missouri. Scott's owner took him north where they then lived there for four years. When they arrived home, Scott's owner died. After this happened, Scott hoped to gain back his freedom. When the court discussed this case, they concluded that slaves did not have the rights of citizens. In the end, Dred Scott, had no claim to freedom.

Charles Sumner Beaten By Preston Brooks- 1856

During the time of Bleeding Kansas in 1856 great violence took place on the Senate Floor. Following the Kansas-Nebraska Act Senator Charles Sumner went on a 2-day speech saying how it was a “crime against Kansas”. During this speech he mentioned a few names and not in a good way. One of those names happened to be Andrew Butler and unfortunately for Sumner, Butler’s cousin Congressman Preston Brooks was present. Angered by his speech Preston stepped in and savagely beat Sumner with his cane. In the position Sumner was in at his desk he had no way of escaping the attack and was stuck getting beat, Thankfully one of his fellow senators’ finally stepped in and removed Brooks. It was three years before Sumner was fully recovered and returned to the Senate. This incident did not phase the people in the south as much as it did the people in the north. Northerners were outraged by this because they saw Sumner as one of their own. Conflict was most definitely brought up between the north and south due to this.

The Depression of 1857

The Depression of 1857 started when Europe refused to buy American agricultural products and quickly spread around the nation. With Europe declining purchases, many businesses and corporations in Ohio started to fail leading them to shut down. The Ohio Trust Company (bank) failed due to Europe declining purchases and corruption. This caused worry and panic, which rapidly spread across the country especially in the North. Many businesses began to shut down or reduce their production which caused the unemployment rate to rise. While corporations continued to shut down, many men were left unemployed causing the US  to go into a depression. This depression affected many citizens in the north and south. Though, it had a much greater affect on the North which caused a continuation of uprising conflict.

Nativism and the know nothing party 1854

In 1854, Nativists created a new political party called the know nothing party. Nativism is the belief that US born americans are better and more important than imigrants. The nativists did not like the number of new immigrants coming into the counrty. The party was short lived because the northerners and southerners were divided over the issue of slavery in the territories.

Lincoln-Douglas Debate 1858

The Lincoln-Douglas Debate was a political debate between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas . Lincoln was a Republican and a firm opponent to slavery while Douglas was for slavery.  The debate was held during the 1858 campaign for a US Senate seat from Illinois . The debate was about slavery, popular sovereignty , and the legal and political status of black Americas. Lincoln believed that the government could not endure a society that was half free and half slave. This debate between them wen ton whether to make Slavery lawful in all states or not for four months Lincoln and Douglass crisscrossed Illinois , traveling nearly 10,00 miles and participating in seven face to face debates. Douglass had a strategy to picture Lincoln as a fanatical black republican whose goal was to incite the civil war, emancipate the slaves , and make blacks the social and political equals of whites. But Lincoln and Douglass had contrasting views on the problem of slavery Lincoln argued that slavery was a dying institution that had reached its natural limits and could not thrive where climate and soil were inhospitable. Douglass regarded slavery as a dynamic , expansionist institution , hungry for new territory. These debates catapulted Lincoln into the national spotlight and made him a serious presidential possibility in 1860 . The conflict between north and south was heating up.

Harpers Ferry Incident- October 16th, 1859

On October 16^th, 1859 John Brown led 21 men to the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry. Brown’s intention was to raid the arsenal and distribute the weapons to slaves in the area. With this in mind they were going to spark a slave revolt. This plan did not last long because federal troops emerged on the scene capturing Brown along with all of his men. Brown was then tried for treason, convicted, and executed for his actions. When all of this went down many northerners saw Brown as a hero while southerners saw him as a “lunatic supporting anti-slavery movement”. This incident showed rising conflict between the North and South.

Lincoln becomes President 1861

Lincoln was the 16^th president of the United States of America . By the time Lincoln was inaugurated on march 14^th 1861 , seven states had already seceded and the Confegerate States of  America had been formally established with Jefferson Davis as its elected president . One month after being elected president the U.S Civil War started The North and south were in an all out fight over slavery. the south had felt stripped of its power, and felt they had no more say. So he war was started and the south was winning. But by the time it was it became 1863 the tide had turned against the Confederacy , Lincoln emancipated the slaves.