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Period: to
Antebellum Period
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Publishing of Uncle Tom's Cabin (Document C)
Looking to illuminate the injustices of slavery in America, Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin. When many Americans read Uncle Tom's Cabin, they were stirred by the powerful images of cruelty Stowe included in her book, and sometimes became abolitionists. Her novel shows not only the power of good propaganda, but also how many Americans didn't know the truth about slavery and the treatment of slaves. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act (Document A)
By proposing the Kansas-Nebraska act, congressman Stephen Douglas was hoping to reunite the Democratic party with the old feeling of manifest destiny. In reality, all the Kansas-Nebraska Act did was create a deeper rift between northerners and southerners. This Act shows that slavery was most often the issue that divided the nation, and even when people didn't have a strong opinion, they tended to stay loyal to their side. -
Dred Scott Case Decision (Document H)
When President Buchanan urged the Supreme court to rule on the Dred Scott case with a decision that would cover the legality of slavery in all US territories, sectionalism in the US increased. In the case, the Supreme Court ruled that Scott was a slave, and by being so he, as well as all other slaves, was not a US citizen and thus didn't have the rights of a citizen. This decision by the courts shows how wide-spread pro-slavery sentiment was in the period preceeding the Civil War. -
Execution of John Brown (Document G)
In december of 1859, John Brown was hanged for treason after he tried to start a slave rebellion by taking weapons and amunition from a federal armory. After his execution, Brown was martyrized in the north, becoming a hero to many abolitionists. Brown's actions show how far some were willing to go to see slavery abolished and how deeply the want for abolition ran in some Americans. -
Secession of South Carolina (Document E)
After the election of Abraham Lincoln in November of 1860, many southerners questioned whether or not to stay in the Union. In December of 1860, South Carolina officially seceeded from the Union an the basis of the compact theory. As a result, six other states seceeded, forming the Confederate States of America, and ultimately causing the Civil War. South Carolina's secession shows the lengths some were willing to go when they thought their rights were in danger.
