Slavery and Secession

By Claudia Ruiz and Lindsay Lemont

Dred Scott vs. Sandford

Background• Scott was a slave who

traveled through the Midwest with his master

• After the death of his master, began lawsuit to claim freedom

• Said that because he had lived in free states, he should be free

Decisions• Slaves did not have the

same rights as citizens• Scott did not gain freedom

as he was in a slave state during the time of the death

• Missouri Compromise declared unconstitutional

Dred Scott vs. Sandford (cont.)

Effects• Missouri Compromise

unconstitutional– No such thing as slave and

free states– Slaves are property– Opened the doors for slavery

Dred Scott

Lecompton Constitution

• Occurred in the fall of 1857• Involving the proslavery

government at Lecompton, Kansas– Wrote a constitution– Applied for admission to the

Union• Free-Soilers– Rejected constitution• Protected the rights of

slaveholders

Lecompton Constitution (cont.)

• Legislature called for referendum in which people could vote for the constitution– It was voted against

• President Buchanan endorsed the constitution– Provoked the wrath of

Illinois Democrat Stephen Douglas

Lincoln-Douglas Debates

• Between Stephen Douglas and Abraham Lincoln

• 7 open-aired debates devised to counteract Douglas’ well-known name– To be held throughout Illinois– Debates on the issue of slavery

• Douglas accepted• Some of the most celebrated debates in

history

Lincoln-Douglas Debates (cont.)

• Douglas – Supported Popular Sovereignty – Did not think slavery was immoral• Saw it more as a backward labor system

• Lincoln– Free-Soiler– Believed slavery was immoral• System based on greed

Lincoln-Douglas Debates (cont.)• Each candidate tried to

distort the view of the other– Lincoln made Douglas look

like a defender of slavery– Douglas made Lincoln

seem like an abolitionist• Lincoln asked Douglas a

crucial question during one of the debates– The answer came to be

known as the Freeport Doctrine

Freeport Doctrine

• Lincoln asked Douglas whether or not settlers could vote to exclude slavery from their state

• Douglas replied with, “Slavery can not exist a day or an hour anywhere, unless it is supported by local police regulations,”– This became known as the

Freeport Doctrine

Slavery

• http://www.history.com/topics/slavery/videos#civil-wars-greatest-myth

Primary Source Citations

• Mintz, S. (2007). Digital History. Retrieved 10/17/2011 fromhttp://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu

• Danzer, Gerald A. "Slavery and Seccession." The Americans. Orlando, FL: Holt McDougal/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012. 324. Print.

• Bailey, Thomas Andrew, David M. Kennedy, and Lizabeth Cohen. The American Pageant. 11th ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1998. Print.

Picture Citations• Slave. Photograph. Web.

http://bullythebear.blogspot.com/2011/09/you-have-nothing-to-lose-but-your.html.

• Dred Scott. Civil War. Clayton J. Butler. Web. http://www.civilwar.org/education/history/african-american-experience/the-african-american.html.

• Lecompton Constitution. Photograph. Kansas Archives. Kansas Memory. Web. http://www.kansasmemory.org/item/207409.

• Wolf, Al. Lincoln-Douglas Illustration. 2009. Veedersburg. Www.hmdb.org. Al Wolf, 7 Nov. 2009. Web. http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=24321.

• Tolpo, Lily. Freeport Lincoln Douglas Debate Collectible Prin. Lincoln Art. Lily Tolpo. Web. http://www.lincolnartbytolpo.com/main/page_lily_tolpo_gallery_freeport_lincoln_douglas_print.html.