In 1854, land became a serious problem again. Settlers and businessmen wanted to move into present day Kansas. Tensions were uneasy between North and South and this claim for land made it even worse. Senator Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois decided to create the Kansas-Nebraska Act. This act gave the south the opportunity to have two more slave states, since Nebraska and Kansas got to decide whether or not to be slave. Kansas turned out to be slave, which upset the long lasting Missouri Compromise. The Missouri Compromise had been keeping the Union together for thirty-four years, but it was repealed in 1854 by the Kansas-Nebraska Act. The North was upset about the recently acquired land becoming a slave state, and were also upset about the recent bill being signed to allow the Kansas-Nebraska Act. The bill signed in 1854 had a major impact on the political parties. The Whig Party was split because every North Whig opposed the bill and every Southern Whig voted for it. The Southern and Northern Whigs split themselves into two different parties: the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. Many of the compromises were ignored and laws being violated, thus the beginning of the Civil War.
Dred Scott Case:
Dred Scott was a slave born in Illinois, a free state. Over the course of his life, Scott was sold to a military sergeant. The sergeant brought Dred Scott to Missouri, a slave state. Stating that he had been born in a free state, Scott sued for his freedom. After a long and tiresome debate, the court finally ruled Dred Scott guilty and a slave. The Supreme Court said that all parts of western territories were open to slavery. The Southerners were glad about the court's decision but the Northerners were mad. They believed that the decision was planned and they were suspicious of slave power conspiracy. These arguments increased North and South tensions. In the end, Scott claims that he died a free man.
John Brown:
Out of all the raids and attacks due to slavery, John Brown's raid was probably the most violent and the most remembered. On October 16, 1859, John Brown, an abolitionist, led 21 on a raid to Harper's Ferry, Virginia. Brown tried to start a slave uprising but was captured after a two day siege. The attack on Harper's Ferry failed and John Brown was captured and taken to court. He was found guilty of treason and was hanged on December 2, 1859. The raid gave both sides, North and South, different views of slavery and of each other. The North liked how violent Brown was, but the South disagreed with it. The South was convinced that the raid was proof of the North's idea to use slave revolts in order to destroy the South. Northerners praised John Brown and his brave actions to abolish slavery. On the other hand, John Brown's raid caused Southerners to set up militias and gave the decision to break away from the North in 1861. This raid was a major event that assisted in the start of the Civil War.
John Brown
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