Challenges to Slavery:Chapter 12, Section 4

Conflict often brings about great change. A new antislavery party and a Supreme Court decision

divided the nation further on slavery.

Road to Civil War

The Dred Scott Decision• Main idea: The Supreme Court’s decision in the

Dred Scott case resulted in ever more division in the country.

• Mixed opinions on John Brown...– Seen as a political murderer by some

– Viewed as fighter for the cause of freedom by others

Republican Party• Kansas-Nebraska Act caused Democratic Party to divide

along sectional lines– Northern Democrats leaving party

• Whig Party destroyed– Differing views over slavery

• Free-Soilers, and Antislavery Whigs and Democrats formed Republican Party– Challenging proslavery Whigs and Democrats– Chose their own candidate to run in 1854 election

• Republican message:– Government should ban slavery from new territories– Showed strength in the North, winning control over House of

Representatives

Election of 1856• Democrats vs. Republicans (no Whig candidate)• Republican candidate John C. Fremont

– California explorer/settler (Bear Flag Republic)– Slogan “Free soil, free speech, Fremont!”

• Democratic candidate James Buchanan– Endorsed idea of popular sovereignty

• American Party (AKA the Know Nothings) candidate former president Millard Fillmore– Grew as a party between 1853-56– Attacked immigrants

• Presidential vote divided on sectional lines– Buchanan winning (almost all Southern state votes)– Fremont, not a single vote below Mason-Dixon line

John C. Fremont

James Buchanan

Millard Fillmore

Dred Scott• Until 1857, some slaves who lived in

free states had successfully sued for their freedom– Biddy Mason in California– Dred Scott, went all the way to the

Supreme Court• Dred Scott

– Slave bought by army doctor in Missouri (slave state)

– Moved to Illinois (free state) then to Wisconsin territory (where slavery was banned) then back to Missouri

– 1846, Scott sued for freedom, claiming he should be free because he once lived on free soil

The Court’s Decision

• Dred Scott’s case attracted a lot of attention– Immediate issue concerned only Scott’s status– Court had opportunity to rule on the question

of slavery in other territories

• Chief Justice Roger B. Taney said Scott was still a slave, not a citizen, and had no right to bring a lawsuit. He was property, and the 5th Amendment prohibits Congress from taking away property without “due process of law”

• Also, Congress had no power to prohibit slavery in any territory, making Missouri Compromise and popular sovereignty unconstitutional– Overall decision…The Supreme Court protected slavery

Reaction to the Decision• Court’s decision divided the

country even more

– South happy• Court had reaffirmed what they

had always believed, that nothing could prevent spread of slavery

– Northern Democrats pleased• Restricting spread of slavery ruled

unconstitutional

– Republicans and antislavery groups outraged

• “The greatest crime” ever committed in nation’s courts

Bridget “Biddy” Mason• Born a slave, worked in GA/MS• Slave owner moved his family

(and slaves) to CA to start a ranch andmine for gold

• Didn’t work out, so they moved to TX• That REALLY didn’t work, as enslaved people

couldn’t be moved from a free state (CA) to a slave state (TX)

• Resulted in Biddy, her family, and other slaves gaining freedom• Stayed in LA, worked for a doctor, saved money to

buy home and helped many people

1. Why would the Republicans have very little support in the South?

2. Why did the Whigs not last as a political party?3. What was Dred Scott’s argument?4. What different beliefs are seen in Dred Scott’s argument

and the Court’s ruling?5. How did the Dred Scott decision regulate the spread of

slavery?6. Describe the similarities and differences between the

cases of Biddy Mason and Dred Scott.

Lincoln & Douglas• Main idea: The Lincoln-Douglas debates helped Lincoln

emerge as a leader.

• 1858, Congressional election got national attention

– Democrat Stephen A. Douglas vs. Republican Lincoln

– Douglas “the Little Giant” disliked slavery, but thought controversy surrounding it would interfere with nation’s growth, and popular sovereignty was the answer

– Lincoln, mostly unknown, was smart, ambitious, and a successful lawyer…

Lincoln’s campaign started with…• “A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe

this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved – I do not expect the house to fall – but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other.”

Lincoln-Douglas Debates• Lincoln challenged Douglas to a series of debates,

meeting seven times from August-October 1858

– Thousands came to watch

– Main topic = slavery

• Douglas won congressional election by narrow margin, debates earned Lincoln national reputation

Raid on Harpers Ferry• Southerners were feeling threatened by growing

Republican power, violence increased their fears

– October 1859, John Brown led 18 men on a raid of Harpers Ferry, Virginia, their target a large arsenal

– Financed and backed by a group of abolitionists, Brown hoped to start a rebellion

– Brown and men were quickly defeated, and he was tried for treason and murder, and sentenced to hang

• Execution caused uproar in North

• Brown seen as hero and martyr

– Brown’s death became rallying point for abolitionists• South feared great Northern conspiracy against them

1. Would you consider John Brown a martyr? Why/not?2. Discuss the stages in the development of the Republican

Party.3. Who financed John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry?4. How did the Dred Scott decision reverse previous

decision made by Congress?5. Why did Lincoln emerge as a leader after the Lincoln-

Douglas debates?