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“‘A house divided against itself cannot stand.’ I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved – I do not expect the house to fall – but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or the other. Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread of it… or its advocates will push it forward, till it shall become alike lawful in all the States, old as well as new, North as well as South.”
Dred Scott Decision • Scott: Slave from MO, taken to IL and WI by his owner, later returned to MO where his owner died • Scott sued for his freedom • Decision (Chief Justice Roger B. Taney): • Slaves did not have the rights of citizens • Scott had no claim to freedom because he was in MO when he began his lawsuit • Declared the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional
Lecompton Controversy • Proslavery Lecompton government applied for admission to the Union • President Buchanan approved • Owed his election to Southern states • Only 200 slaves in Kansas anyway… • Stephen Douglas fights back against decision, calling for popular sovereignty • Brought back for a vote, constitution is shut down
Lincoln-Douglas Debates • Who: Stephen Douglas and Abraham Lincoln • What: Election to the U.S. Senate • When: 1858 • Where: Illinois • Douglas: experienced incumbent Democratic candidate • Lincoln: Little known Republican politician and lawyer
Positions and Arguments • Douglas: Popular Sovereignty would settle the slavery issue in the territories on its own • Lincoln: Slavery was an immoral labor system based on greed • Douglas: Lincoln is an abolitionist who advocates racial equality • Lincoln: Douglas is a defender of slavery and the Dred Scott decision
Freeport Doctrine • “Slavery cannot exist a day or an hour anywhere unless it is supported by local police regulations.” • Stephen Douglas • In other words, there are ways around the Dred Scott Decision
Outcome • Douglas wins the Senate seat • Lincoln gains national attention with his condemnation of the “vast moral evil” of slavery • Republicans begin to view Lincoln as a strong presidential candidate for 1860
Harper’s Ferry • October 16, 1859 John Brown leads a band of 21 men into Harper’s Ferry, VA to seize the arsenal • Planned to distribute arms to slaves in the area and lead an uprising • Brown held 60 men hostage, but none of their slaves joined his revolt • Brown was hanged December 2, 1859
Election of 1860 • Lincoln (Rep.) v. Breckinridge (S. Dem.) v. Douglas (N. Dem.) v. Bell (Constitutional Union) • Lincoln wins, despite earning less than ½ of the popular vote (0 electoral college votes from the South) • Lincoln’s election becomes the last factor leading to Southern secession
Secession Dominos • South Carolina secedes Dec. 20, 1860 • Mississippi follows on Jan. 9, 1861 • Within a few weeks: FL, AL, GA, LA, TX had all seceded as well
Confederate States of America • Delegates met on February 4, 1861 and formed the Confederate States of America • Constitution closely resembled that of the U.S., but “protected and recognized” slavery • State’s rights stressed – each state was “sovereign and independent” • Jefferson Davis elected as President
