0812 The Rise of Abraham Lincoln & John Brown (1858-1860)
The next test for the Republican party came in 1858 in Illinois. Abraham Lincoln, a Republican, challenged Democrat Stephen Douglas for his seat in the Senate. Because most Americans expected Douglas to run for President in 1860, the race captured the attention of the whole nation.
0811 Dred Scott Case 1857 & Republican Party 1854
With Congress in an uproar, many Americans looked to the Supreme Court to settle the slavery issue and restore peace. In 1857, the Court ruled on a case that involved an enslaved man named Dred Scott.
0810 Kansas-Nebraska Act
Sectionalism and debates over slavery led to violence and political rifts because the Compromise of 1850 satisfied neither northerners nor southerners. The slavery debate continued to divide the nation. Soon, the debate turned violent, and the nation headed reluctantly toward civil war. The issue of slavery caused fighting in Kansas and even on the Senate […]
0809 Uncle Tom’s Cabin 1852
An event in 1852 added to the growing antislavery mood of the North. Harriet Beecher Stowe, a New England woman, published a novel called Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Stowe wrote the novel to show the evils of slavery and the injustice of the Fugitive Slave Act.
0808 Compromise of 1850
For a time after the Missouri Compromise, both slave and free states entered the Union peacefully. However, when California requested admission to the Union as a free state in 1850, the balance of power in the Senate was once again threatened.
0807 Missouri Compromise of 1820
In 1819, there were 11 free states in the North and 11 slave states in the South. The era of sectionalism, or tension between people loyal to their section, or region, lasted from the 1810s to the 1860s. During this era, each of these two regions, or sections, had different economies, political views, and ideas […]
0806 Arts and Lit
As the United States grew in strength and size, new, distinctly American styles developed in the visual arts, literature, music, and thought. These new styles reflected American society in the years between 1820 and 1860.
0805 Women’s Rights (1820-1870)
Women had few political or legal rights in the mid-1800s. They could not vote or hold office. When a woman married, her husband became the owner of all her property. If a woman worked outside the home, her wages belonged to her husband. A husband also had the right to hit his wife as long […]
0804 Abolition
Even in colonial times, some Americans opposed slavery. In the early 1800s, northern states began to make slavery illegal. By the 1830s, a growing abolition movement was working to free slaves nationwide. However, the movement faced opposition.
0803 Reform
The emphasis the Second Great Awakening placed on improving society inspired many Americans. Women often played a leading role in these reform movements. These Americans launched a number of reform movements, with far-reaching effects on prisons, care of the disabled, education, and attitudes toward slavery.
