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There was a state convention for the South to leave the Union on December 20, 1860. 6 states followed South Carolina's lead to leave and made the Confederate States of America.

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Lincoln ran for president and sailed to victory with 40 percent of votes, almost all from the north. White southerners feared that Congress would try to abolish slavery.

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John Brown wanted to end slavery by arming slaves and rebelling. John Brown and most of his army was killed but his death note intimidated the south.

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There was a debate between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas. Stephen Douglas says that the issue of slavery has been put to rest but Lincoln disagrees. Lincoln lost the election.

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A slave named Dred-Scott decided to go to court to win his freedom. Chief Justice Taney delivered the Dred-Scott Decision, which states that African American can never be a citizen in the United States.

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Senator Sumner Charles suspected that Douglas's plan was to turn Kansas into a slave state. Preston Brooks got angry that Sumner would say those things to Douglas. He beat Sumner until his cane broke. Southerners saw him as a hero and Northerners saw him as a monster.

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Settlers poured in to Kansas, either to oppose or support slavery. Soon, the argument turned violent.

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Stephen A. Douglas made a bill called the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which created 2 territories, Kansas and Nebraska
The settlers decided if the states would be slave states or free. The act was passed in 1854.

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People in ththe north and south were unhappy about the fugitive slave act. The slave act takes that you can’t help a slave escape and you should help return the slave to their owner. The north didn’t approve the slave act because they opposed slavery. The south didn’t approve the slave act because barely any fugitive slaves got caught.

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Henry Clay had a plan to admit California and make both the north and south happy. California would be admitted as a free state while Ohio and Utah would decide if they would be a free state or slave state. His plan also ended slave trade in Washington D.C. his plan also asked for a strong fugitive slave law. Congress adopted his law in September, 1850.

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Congress didn’t know if they wanted to make the territory claimed from Mexico free states or slave states. Southerners wanted it to be slave states but northerners wanted it to be free. California applies for admission as a free state. The north and south had mixed opinions about this so Congress was deadlocked about admitting California.

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David Wilmot added an amendment to president James Polk’s bill known as the Wilmot Proviso. It says that neither slavery or involuntary servitude shall ever exist in the territory gained in the Mexican-American war. The Wilmot Proviso passed the House, but got rejected by the Senate.

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Slaves rebelled by running away from their owner to the north. The northerners helped the slaves escape, so they were no better than bank robbers to the southerners.

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In 1836, congress voted to set aside all antislavery petitions, which became known as the "Gag Rule". Abolitionists continued to attack slavery, despite the gag rule.

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The Missouri Compromise of 1820 admitted Missouri to the Union as a slave state and Maine as a free state. This maintained the balance of power between free and slave states.