Study Guides
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Source: McGraw-Hill Professional
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2.
Sectionalism
Sectional Division As time went on, it became more and more clear that Americans felt more loyalty to their state and region than they did to the nation as a whole. They thought of themselves as Virginians or New Yorkers, northerners or southerners. This marked a ...
Source: McGraw-Hill Professional -
3.
Abolitionist Literature
Abolitionist Literature Greatly to the chagrin of the southerners, the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act energized the abolitionist movement in the North. Most northerners opposed the institution of slavery, but many had taken no active steps against it. Two of ...
Source: McGraw-Hill Professional -
4.
Free Soil, Whig, Democrat, and Republic Political Parties
New Political Parties As the battle between the proslavery and antislavery factions continued, northerners formed new political parties in their attempt to combat the spread of slavery and maintain their power base in Washington. The Free-Soil Party, formed in ...
Source: McGraw-Hill Professional -
5.
Kansas-Nebraska Act
Kansas-Nebraska Act In 1854, Senator Stephen Douglas of Illinois, soon to go down in history as Abraham Lincoln’s most famous political opponent, introduced the Kansas- Nebraska Act into Congress. The act proposed the following: ...
Source: McGraw-Hill Professional -
6.
John Brown and “Bleeding Kansas”
John Brown and “Bleeding Kansas” The Free State Party had made the town of Lawrence its headquarters. In May of 1856, hundreds of Border Ruffians marched on Lawrence and sacked the town. When this news reached the ears of the fiery abolitionist John ...
Source: McGraw-Hill Professional -
7.
Dred Scott Decision
Dred Scott Decision In 1857, the Supreme Court took a stand on the issue of slave status. A Missouri slave named Dred Scott sued for his freedom on the grounds that he had lived in Illinois and Minnesota—free territories—for four years. The Court ruled ...
Source: McGraw-Hill Professional -
8.
The Lincoln-Douglas Debates
The Lincoln-Douglas Debates In 1858, one of the most important figures in American history appeared on the national political scene. Abraham Lincoln, a self-educated Illinois lawyer, had served one term in the House of Representatives, but had not achieved ...
Source: McGraw-Hill Professional -
9.
Harpers Ferry
Harpers Ferry On October 16, 1859, John Brown struck what many people referred to after- ward as the first blow of the Civil War. Brown had left Kansas and gone east to raise an African American army. His belief in the power of arms to end slavery speedily was ...
Source: McGraw-Hill Professional -
10.
The Election of 1860
The Election of 1860 In 1860, the Republicans nominated Abraham Lincoln for president. The Democrats, for the first time in many years, were not agreed on a favorite candidate. The Democratic convention nominated Stephen Douglas, but the southerners found him too ...
Source: McGraw-Hill Professional
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