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