This woman was probably the single most influential

This woman was probably the single most influential factor in converting moderate northerners to the abolitionist position. Who is she and what did she do?

Harriet Beecher Stowe’s depiction of slavery brought tears to the eyes of readers throughout the North and Europe.

While her book was met with sympathy and outrage at the cruelty of slavery in the North, it was met with outrage of a different kind in the South. What did southerners have to say about Uncle Tom’s Cabin?

The increasing radicalization of Americans over the issue of slavery first played out in Kansas.

U. S. Capitol Building (1850) Then, it found its way into the chamber of the United States Senate.

Preston Brooks Representative from S. C. Charles Sumner Senator from Massachusetts

On May 19, 1856, Sumner gave a speech attacking slavery. In that speech he insulted Brooks’ uncle Senator Andrew Butler (SC).

In response, on May 22 Brooks entered the Senate chamber and beat Sumner with his walking stick until it broke.

It was in this atmosphere that voters headed to the polls in the election of 1856.

In 1854 a new political party emerged, gathering support from voters across the North. They received support from: Anti-slavery Whigs Anti-slavery Democrats Free Soil / Free Labor supporters Nativists / Know Nothing Party

Drawing on it’s Free Soil background, the Republicans strongly supported banning the further extension of slavery in the territories.

James Buchanan (Democrat) John C. Freemont (Republican) Millard Fillmore (Know-Nothing / Whig)

How can we explain the defeat of the Republicans and the victory of the Democrats in the election of 1856?

A year later, the pro-slavery government in Kansas met at the town of Lecompton. There they proposed a potential state constitution that allowed slavery and provided protection for all slaves already in the territory.

President Buchanan, surrounded by southern advisors, supported the Lecompton Constitution, outraging many northern Democrats.

Stephen Douglas held firm to his commitment to legitimate popular sovereignty. Thus, he called for a true popular vote on the Lecompton Constitution amongst the people of Kansas. In doing so he upset the southern Democrats

Into this atmosphere of violence in Kansas and the Senate Chamber, the Supreme Court stepped in and changed everything.

In 1830 a slave named Dred Scott lived with his owner in St. Louis, Missouri. Over the next several years Scott accompanied his master on numerous trips into Wisconsin and Illinois.

Under the Missouri Compromise this was designated as free territory. Scott sued for his freedom arguing that because he was in free territory his master should have been forced to free him.

In the court case of Scott v. Sandford the Chief Justice Roger B. Taney issued an opinion that rocked both abolitionists and slave owners. I will now show you a picture of Roger B. Taney, perhaps the ugliest man in U. S. history.

1. Dred Scott was, in fact, property and as such could not even file suit in the federal court system. 2. Furthermore, Congress could not make laws that deprive a person of property, without due process of law.

3. If slaves are property, then Congress cannot pass laws that limit slavery, or exclude it from any territory of the United States. 4. Therefore, the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional, and any state that voted to exclude slavery under popular sovereignty would also be violating the Constitution’s guarantee of protecting property.

Slave owners rejoiced. Under the Dred Scott decision it appeared they could take their slaves anywhere in the territories they chose.

Northerners were outraged! Taney, and the majority of the court were from the South and many northerners suspected a pro-slave conspiracy. Those supporters of popular sovereignty were equally disturbed by the decision.

As America was debating things like the Lecompton Constitution and the Dred Scott decision, the economy took a huge hit.

Causes: -Gold pouring in from California led to the devaluing of U. S. currency. - Farmers had been producing to feed Europe during the Crimean war. When the war ended, demand for food dropped, and thus so did prices for farm commodities. -Tariff of 1857, passed before the Panic took off, reduced tariff rates by 20%.

Impact: -Northerners called for 1) an increase in tariff rates, and 2) free farm land out West. - These two potential solutions would be used by the new Republican party to attract voters. - The Southern economy was relatively unscathed leading Southerners to believe that they did not need the North or West for their own economic survival.

In 1858 the state of Illinois needed to hold an election for United States Senate.

The incumbent was the Little Giant himself, Democrat Stephen Douglas, author of the Kansas. Nebraska Act and the dominant supporter of Popular Sovereignty. He was also the likely choice for President in 1860.

The challenger was the Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln, former conscience Whig.

Lincoln and Douglas engaged in a series of debates throughout Illinois, designed to let the voters know where they stood on the issues of the day.

The most important of these debates took place in the town of Freeport.

At Freeport, Lincoln asked Douglas a seemingly simple question: Did the Dred Scott decision deny the people of a territory the right to ban slavery through popular sovereignty?

The second Lincoln asked this question, Stephen Douglas was screwed!

Did the Dred Scott decision deny the people of a territory the right to ban slavery through popular sovereignty? If Douglas said no, who would be pissed and why? If Douglas said yes, who would be pissed and why?

Did the Dred Scott decision deny the people of a territory the right to ban slavery through popular sovereignty? How did Douglas answer the question?

Based on his answer, the voters in Illinois returned Douglas to the Senate. However, the Lincoln Douglas debates had two even more important outcomes.

1. Abraham Lincoln became a well known name throughout the nation. Between 1858 and 1860 he went on a speaking tour gathering political support for a possible presidential campaign. 2. Stephen Douglas fatally split the Democratic party over the Freeport Doctrine. Southern Democrats would not support his candidacy for president in 1860.

For John Brown, the Dred Scott decision was the last straw. He began to plot taking direct action against slavery.

In early 1859, Brown and his sons gathered in Harper’s Ferry Virginia. There he hoped to start a rebellion amongst the local slave population.

Brown attempted to seize a federal arsenal located in the town. He then hoped to give guns to the local slaves. The U. S. army, under Robert E. Lee quickly moved in and put an end to Brown’s plan.

Many in the North applauded Brown’s actions. Slave owners across the South were horrified. They worried that others would follow Brown’s lead. In either case, Brown was convicted of starting a rebellion and was hung.