Kansas and Nebraska Act

Increased Sectionalism

○      Dred Scott Decision

○      John Brown’s Raid on Harpers Ferry

○      The Kansas-Nebraska Act

Dred Scott v. Sandford

• In 1846 Scott sued for his freedom in court. Helped by Abolitionist lawyers, he claimed that he was free because he had lived in free states for a long time.

• The Dred Scott case of the U.S. Supreme Court, which denied Scott his freedom by ruling that slave descendants were not U.S. citizens

John Brown and the Harpers Ferry Raid

• In 1859, abolitionist John Brown tried to lead a slave uprising in Virginia. His efforts costed him his life.

• Brown planned to take over the federal weapons arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. There were thousands of muskets and other weapons being stored there. If Brown could get control of these weapons, he could arm the slaves and they could fight back.

Harper Fery Raid

• The initial part of the raid was successful. Brown and his men captured the arsenal that night. However, Brown had planned on the local slaves coming to his aid. He expected that, once he had control of the weapons, hundreds of local slaves would join in the fight. This never happened.

Open Ended

What could be a reason why the slaves never showed up to Browns rebellion?

Kansas–Nebraska Act

• The Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska. The initial purpose of the Act was to open up thousands of new farms and make Transcontinental Railroad.

• It also allowed the states to vote on whether slavery was legal or not. The Act was a key step on the way to the American Civil War.

Bleeding Kansas

• It was an ugly war between pro-slavery, abolitionists and free-staters.

• the conflict was the question of whether Kansas, upon gaining statehood, would allow slavery, like neighboring Missouri, or prohibit it; that is, whether it would join the Union as a slave state or a free state.

Poll

Would you fight for something you felt was right even if it meant costing your life?

• Yes

• No