The Path to War

A. Whigs1. Winfield Scott

2. Was not trusted in the South

B. Democrats

1. Franklin Pierce

2. Promised to:a. honor the

Compromise of 1850

b. Enforce the Fugitive Slave Act

3. Won

II. Kansas-Nebraska Act

A. The Problem1. Stephen Douglas

wanted to create a Railroad to the West

2. Would require the rest of the Louisiana Purchase to become a territory

3. This would make it free territory

B. The Solution1. Douglas introduced

the Kansas-Nebraska Act

2. Divided the remaining land into two territories (KS & NE)

3. Popular sovereignty would determine if they were free or slave

III. “Bleeding Kansas”

A. Elections – Held 1855

B. Won by pro-slavery because thousands crossed the border from MO to vote

C. Anti-slavery forces formed their own government

D. Pro-Slavery forces attacked Lawrence, the anti-slavery capital

E. John Brown1. Abolitionist

2. Killed pro-slavery men in the Pottawatomie Massacre

F. Preston Brooks beat Charles Sumner on the Senate floor because of a speech he made

IV. New Divisions

A. Impact on Political Parties

1. Republican Party formed

2. The following parties split

a. Democrats

b. Whigs

c. Know-Nothing

B. Election of 1856Won by Democrat candidate James Buchanan

V. The Dred Scott Decision

A. The Case1. Dred Scott

a. Missouri Slaveb. Traveled with his

master to a Free State

c. Argued that he was free because he lived in free territory

2. Chief Justice - Tawny

B. Questions for the Court…

1. Was Scott a citizen or property?

2. Did he become free by living in a free state?

3. Was the ban on slavery on parts of the LA Territory constitutional?

VI. Lincoln-Douglas Debates

A. The Campaign1. Both

wanted the Illinois seat in the U. S. Senate

2. They debated 7 times

B. Lincoln

1. Argued slavery should not be allowed to spread

2. Did NOT want equality for African Americans

3. “A House divided against itself cannot stand”

C. Douglas1. Announc

ed the Freeport Doctrine

2. Americans could ban slavery

D. The Election1. Douglas re-elected.

2. Although Lincoln lost, the fame he gained through the debates helped him in 1860