PEOPLE

John C. Calhoun

. Pro-slavery South Carolina Senator

. Warned government leaders of the danger of abolitionists

. Said blacks were inherently barbaric and slavery civilized them

. In 1837 speech, warned of disunion over issue of slavery

Jefferson Davis

. First and only President of Confederacy

. Mississippi Senator at time of secession crisis

. Originally argued against secession but went along with his state's vote for it

Stephen A. Douglas

. Powerful Illinois Senator throughout the 1850s

. Sponsored 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act, which led to creation of Republican Party

. Best known for engaging Lincoln in series of debates in 1858 Illinois Senate race

. Douglas defeated Lincoln in 1858 senate election, before Lincoln easily defeated Douglas in 1860 presidential race

Thomas Jefferson

. Third U.S. president; principal author of Declaration of Independence

. Virginia slaveholder but envisioned gradual end to slavery

. Authored 1787 Northwest Ordinance, which barred slavery north of Ohio River

. His Ordinance drove first wedge between "free" North and slaveholding South

Abraham Lincoln

. Anti-slavery Republican, elected U.S. President, 1860

. Lost to Democrat Stephen Douglas in 1858 Illinois Senate race, but that campaign earned him Republican nomination for president, 1860

. Moderate stance on emancipation; not abolitionist, but against slavery's expansion

. His election triggered secession crisis, which led to Civil War

Dred Scott

. Virginia slave who migrated with his owner to Missouri in 1820s

. Sold to military man posted in Illinois, a free state; tried but failed to buy his family's freedom, so sued for freedom instead

. U.S. Supreme Court rejected his appeals, but he eventually was freed by his owners

Roger B. Taney

. Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, beginning in 1835

. Delivered majority opinion in Dred Scott case, 1857

. Struck down part of Missouri Compromise that barred slavery in northern territory, arguing that Constitution protected slavery

. Argued blacks had "no rights that a white man is bound to respect," so Scott had no right to sue

Nat Turner

. Virginia slave preacher in early 1800s

. In 1831, led major slave rebellion that left over 50 whites dead before Turner and other leaders caught and executed

. His revolt convinced southern leaders that laws protecting slavery (and punishing rebels) had to be strengthened

Eli Whitney

. Invented the cotton gin in the late eighteenth century

. Yale graduate and blacksmith who took management job on Georgia plantation

. His machine revolutionized cotton production by speeding cotton seed removal

. Made cotton profitable, inadvertently leading to huge growth in slavery

EVENTS

1787 Northwest Ordinance

. Federal measure drafted by Thomas Jefferson, a Virginia slaveholder

. Allowed for creation of several new states north of Ohio River

. Each new state could be equal member in Union as long as it prohibited slavery

. Drove first major wedge between "free" North and slaveholding South

1820 Missouri Compromise

. Drafted to limit spread of slavery while allowing Missouri to practice slavery

. Admitted Missouri to the Union as slave state, Maine as free state

. Banned slavery in all other territory above 36º30'

. Only seemed to solve disputes between slave and free factions

1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act

. Sponsored by Stephen A. Douglas, Democratic senator from Illinois

. Allowed settlers in new territories to vote on status of slavery in Northwest

. Repealed 1820 Missouri Compromise and prohibition of slavery in Northwest

. Controversy surrounding act led to creation of antislavery Republican Party

1857 Dred Scott v. Sandford

. Supreme Court case regarding legality of slavery in free states

. Dred Scott, a slave, sued for his freedom by arguing that his owner took him into the free state of Illinois and thus made him free

. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney delivered majority opinion against Dred Scott

. Struck down part of Missouri Compromise that barred slavery in Northwest, ruled blacks had no rights

1858 Lincoln-Douglas Debates

. Series of public debates held during 1858 Illinois Senate race

. Republican Abraham Lincoln versus incumbent Democrat Stephen A. Douglas

. Major topic of debate was expansion of slavery

. Douglas won the election, but Lincoln's strong performance in debates earned him Republican nomination for president in 1860

1860 Presidential Election

. Abraham Lincoln wins 4-way race to become first Republican president

. Democratic Party split into factions before election

. Lincoln won despite receiving zero electoral votes in 10 southern states

. South Carolina seceded from Union in response to Lincoln's victory

1861 Fort Sumter Attack

. First shots fired in American Civil War, 12 April 1861, at Union-controlled Fort Sumter in South Carolina

. Jefferson Davis, president of Confederacy, ordered strikes against Union forces

. Attack spurred U.S. President Abraham Lincoln to call for war against Confederacy

GROUPS

Republican Party

. Founded in 1854 during controversy surrounding Kansas-Nebraska Act

. Motivated by one goal: to prevent the spread of slavery

. After 1858 Illinois Senate race, Abraham Lincoln became its most promising politician

Liberty Party

. Abolitionist political party created in 1830s

. First political party to object to existence of slavery in U.S.

. Never very popular

Democratic Party

. Dominant political party of antebellum period; strongly influenced by southern slaveholders

. Rift grew between northern and southern Democrats in years leading up to the war

. Some northern Democrats joined the newly created Republican Party in the 1850s

. Further split in months before 1860 presidential election, when many southern delegations withdrew from Democratic Convention

Whig Party

. One of two major parties from 1830s to 1850s, represented alliance of pro-development southerners and rich northern merchants and industrialists

. Pursued modern society built on federal aid for industry, tariffs, national bank

. Abraham Lincoln's first political party

. Controversy over 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act led to its demise

CONCEPTS

Abolitionists

. Unlike antislavery advocates, attacked slavery mainly on moral grounds and demanded immediate end to slavery

. Politically powerful, despite comprising only a small portion of total northern population

. Southern slaveholders and political leaders feared they would incite war

. Lincoln was not an abolitionist

Antislavery

. Antislavery advocates were not necessarily abolitionists

. Opposed mainly to expansion of slavery into American territories rather than seeking its abolition in the South

. Posed threat, like abolitionists, to slaveholding South

. Argued that free labor and not slave labor was key to the nation's future

. A congressional agreement to censor all discussion of emancipation in Congress, mid-1830s

. Demanded by southern leaders

. Most northern Whigs voted against it, most northern Democrats for it

. Abolitionists responded by flooding Congress with emancipation petitions

"Peculiar Institution"

. Historical term for slavery in the United States

. Called "peculiar" because it was essential to the nation's economy while also so divisive as to result in political upheaval and war

Secession Crisis

. Sequence of events that led to the creation of Confederate States of America

. Reaction to election of Republican Abraham Lincoln as president, 1860

. South Carolina was the first to secede, 20 December 1860

. SC's action triggered quick secession of 6 more states: MS, FL, AL, GA, LA, TX

. Lincoln tried but failed to use negotiation to resolve the crisis

PLACES

Missouri

. Threatened sectional balance of power when it sought to enter the Union as a slave state in 1820

. Resulting Missouri Compromise banned extension of slavery to other territories farther north

Kansas

. Controversy over whether Kansas should enter Union as free or slave state led to near civil-war conditions there from 1854-1859