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The electionof 1860 was a big one. The country knew that this election would be the ultimate test for the United States. The four main contenders for the presidency were Douglass, Breckinridge, Bell, and Lincoln. Douglass' party the Democrats were on the verge of collapse. They were divided, Northerners wanted Douglass while angry southerners wanted Breckinridge. They eventually agreed on nominating Douglass but the south wanted John C. Breckinridge, so they ran against each other. The Republicans saw how divided the Democrats were and saw it as an easy win. Instead of nominating William H. Seward they nominated Abraham Lincoln. They Nominated Lincoln because he was less radical on slavery than Seward. As predicted Lincoln dominated the free states with 59% of the electorial votes but only 39% popular vote. Breckenridge dominated the deep south leaving Douglass and Bell with very little votes. Abraham Lincoln was the first minority president. Immedatly following the election, the southern states called for Secession in December 1860. South Carolina was the first to secede after a convention was held where it was unaimously voted for. In the following weeks after the convention in South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Lousiana, Texas, and Alabama also decided to follow South Carolina. The Civil War had Begun.

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John brown was a famous abolitionist who thought slave uprising was the only way to get rid of slavery. His plan was to raid a federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, take the guns and equipment from there and give it to the slaves who would then start a general revolt. Brown's plan failed dramatically when his Raid at the federal arsenal went bad. General Robert E. Lee led federal troops at the fort, after two days of fighting, They finally captured Brown and six of his followers. They were tried for treason, convicted, and hung in Virgina. Later during the war, Brown was seen as a hero by Union forces and hailed as a martyr.

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The Lincoln-Douglass debates brought some of the most conterversial speeches and arguments for the time. The most famous of which was Lincolns "House Divided" speech. Lincoln says that the nation can't function with half wanting slavery and the other half not. Many Southerners saw Lincoln as a radical after this statement. In another debate in Freeport, Illinois Abraham challenged Douglass to give his thoughts on popular soverengity and the Dredd Scott decision. Douglass responded with the following "Slavery could not exist in a community if the local citizens did not pass laws maintaining it". His angered many southerners because they saw Douglass supporting the implications of the Dredd Scott Decision.

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Dred Scott was a slave in Misouri. He was transported to the free state of Wisconsin for 2 yeard before being sent back to Missouri. Scott then sued for his freedom claiming that since he lived in a free state, he was a free man. His case made it's way to the supreme court when in 1857 it was decided against Scott. It was against him because they decided that Scott had no right to sue in a federal court because the founding fathers never intended for African Americans to be U.S. citizens. Also is was decided that the Fugative Slave Law was unconstitutional Because it excluded slavery from Wisconsin and other northern states.

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The Republican party was formed in Wisconsin as a driect result of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. It was composed of mainly Free-Soilers, former antislavery Whigs, and former Democrats. Its sole purpose for creation was to oppose the spread of slavery. In Its very first platform, they demanded a repeal of the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Fugitave Slave Law. The Brand New political party quickly grew to become the second largest party in the country .

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Stephen Douglass the senator who drafted the Kansas-Nebraska Act, thought the slavery issue would resolve itself peacefully, it did not. There were two sides to the conflict, the antislavery farmers from the midwest and the Slave-Owners from Missouri who only wanted to expand slavery. The antislavery farmers held the majority in population. Northern abolitionists responded  to the southern slave farmers by Organizing the New England Emigrant Aid Company which paid for the transportation of emigrants to Kansas. Fighting soon broke out between the two sides and the area became known as "Bleeding Kansas". Proslavery forces moved into antislavery territory and attacked, destroying many buildings and killing two. A couple of days after the attack a radical abolitionist named John Brown made a counter attack against the southerners. He led antislavery forces to the town of Pottawatomie Creek and killed five people. The current president at the time, Pierce did nothing to stop or even aknowledge the turmoil in Kansas.

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nebraska nebraska act lawrence fort scott kansas missouri border war missouri compromise kansas timeline border ruffians games territory

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The Kansas Nebraska Act was formed because senator Stephen A. Douglass wanted to build a transcontiental railroad through the center of the United States. He wanted to do this because he wanted his real estate holdings to rise in Chicago. Douglass needed southern support in order to build his railroad. To do this he came up with a bill to divide the Nebraska Territories into two seperate states, Nebraska and Kansas. Then he would have the individual states vote on wether to have slavery or not. Since the territories were located above the 36''30' line, Douglass' bill allowed the opprotunity for southern slave owners to expand slavery into areas where it was presiously outlawed due to the Missouri Compromise. Northern Democrats hated this plan and viewed it as "giving in to the slave power". After months of debate, both houses in congress agreeded and the president signed it into law, giving it the name of the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854.

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This was a book written my Harriet Beecher about a slave named Tom and his brutal owner named Simon. The book is widely seen as the tipping point in starting the Civil War. The book focused on the morality of slavery rather than the economics. It  depicted brutal torture and beatings Tom recieved in the cabin by his master. It inspried an entire generation of Northern and European antislavery feelings. It opened the eyes of many as to what slavery actually was and how inhumane it was. Years after the book released Abraham Lincoln was recorded saying "so you're the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war."

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The new territory of California received a huge influx of new settlers, over 100,000. Due to this California needed to bring law and order to their land. They drafted a Constitution that labeled them as a free state. President Taylor supported the constitution. Southerners grew angry at this decision, so Henry Clay drafted another compromise to please both sides.
1. California is to become a free state
2. divide the Mexican Cession into two new states. Utah and New Mexico. let the settlers of the new states decide whether to be free or not.
3. The federal government is to assume Texas' debt of $10 million
4. Creation of the fugitive slave law which allows southern slave owners the ability to track down and return their escaped slaves who retreated to northern states.

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Formation of the Free Soil Movement 1848

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Formation of the Free Soil Movement 1848

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The free soil party was formed in 1848. It was formed by former members of the Whigs and Northern Democrats. They advocated for preventing the spread of slavery, free homesteads and land grants for small farmers in the west, and internal improvements. free