4. The Road to the Civil War and Secession

Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854)

Legislation that overturned the Missouri Compromise, allowing slavery's extension into federal territories.

Dred Scott's legal argument

Argued he was free because his master took him to live in free Wisconsin territory.

Roger Taney's view on property

Believed individual property rights were sacred and that slaves legally constituted property.

Dred Scott Decision: Black citizenship status

Ruled Black Americans were "beings of an inferior order" with no legal rights.

Dred Scott Decision: Missouri Compromise

Ruled it unconstitutional because Congress could not deny citizens their property rights.

1858 Illinois Senate Race candidates

Steven Douglas (Democrat) and Abraham Lincoln (Republican).

Outcome of 1858 Illinois Senate Race

Steven Douglas won the election, but Lincoln gained national prominence.

John Brown's Harper's Ferry Raid (1859)

An attempt to seize a federal arsenal and launch a massive slave rebellion.

U.S. officer who captured John Brown

Colonel Robert E. Lee.

Fate of John Brown

Convicted of rebellion and hanged in December 1859.

Historical impact of photography in the 1840s

Provided a more objective visual record of history compared to subjective paintings.

Democratic Party split in 1860

Split into Northern Democrats (Douglas) and Southern Democrats (Breckinridge) over a slave protection code.

Lincoln's early proposed slavery solution

A federal compensation package for slave owners followed by deportation of freed slaves.

First state to secede

South Carolina, in December 1860.

James Buchanan's response to secession

He did nothing, viewing secession as Lincoln's problem to solve.

First capital of the Confederacy

Montgomery, Alabama (later moved to Richmond, Virginia).

Fort Sumter (April 1861)

Federal fort in Charleston, SC; fired upon by Confederates, starting the Civil War.

The four original border states

Delaware, Maryland, Kentucky, and Missouri (slave states that remained in the Union).

Creation of West Virginia

Formed when the western counties of Virginia seceded from Virginia to remain in the Union.

Why Maryland was the most critical border state

If Maryland seceded, Washington D.C. would be entirely surrounded by Confederate territory.

Lincoln's initial justification for the war

To preserve the Union, framed to keep the critical border states loyal.

Confederate justification for secession

Publicly claimed "states' rights," but official ordinances explicitly cited protecting slavery.