Download - Slavery and Secession
Slavery and Secession
Section 10-4 pp. 324-331
Slavery Dominates Politics
• The Dred Scott Decision – Decided by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney– Court ruled that: • Living in a free territory did not make Scott free • Slaves are considered property under the Constitution • States can’t deny a person their property• Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional
– Impact: • Slavery can exist anywhere in the U.S. • Worsened sectional tensions
Slavery Dominates Politics
• The Lecompton Constitution – President Buchanan endorses pro-slavery
government of Lecompton, KS– Caused Democratic Party to split
Lincoln-Douglas Debates
• Lincoln and Douglas debate slavery in the territories
• Douglas favored popular sovereignty
• Lincoln believed slavery was immoral
Lincoln-Douglas Debates
• The Freeport Doctrine– Douglas’ position that
a territory could exclude slavery by refusing to pass laws supporting it
Passions Ignite• The Raid at Harper’s Ferry, VA– John Brown attempted to seize a federal arsenal
and start a slave uprising – U.S. Marines capture Brown, who is tried and
executed for treason
Passions Ignite
• Reactions to John Brown’s Hanging– Some Northerners saw
him as a martyr – Southerners saw him
as a criminal – Worsened tension
between North and South
Lincoln Is Elected President• The Election of 1860 – Candidates: • Stephen Douglas (Democrat) • John C. Breckenridge (S. Democrat) • Abraham Lincoln (Republican) • John Bell (Constitutional Union)
Southern Secession
• Reaction to Lincoln’s Election – Southerners believe they will have no voice in the
national gov’t – South Carolina secedes from the Union on
December 20, 1860 – Six more states secede before Lincoln’s
inauguration
Southern Secession
• The Shaping of the Confederacy – Secessionist states
form Confederate States of America
– Write constitution that protects slavery
– Elect Jefferson Davis as their president