The Dred Scott Decision

After the passing of the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the opening of new territories to slavery, how did many northerners feel?

• They felt glad that more states that promoted slavery would exist.

• They felt that none of the existing political parties reflected their growing concerns over slavery.

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What did antislavery leaders do in 1854?

• They chose a new presidential candidate.

• They formed a committee to form new antislavery states.

• They formed a new political party dedicated to fighting the expansion of slavery.

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Who became U.S. president in the 1856 election?

• John C. Fremont

• James Buchanan

• Steven Douglass

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DRED SCOTT AND JOHN BROWN

What was the U.S. Supreme Court case called Dred Scott v. Sandford about?

• Dred Scott sued for his freedom on the grounds that his master had taken him to live in the free state of Illinois.

• Dred Scott sued for $1 million, claiming that Sandford had stolen money from him.

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DRED SCOTT AND JOHN BROWN

What was the court's decision?

• The Court ruled that Scott was a free man.

• The Court ruled that Scott should remain a slave.

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DRED SCOTT AND JOHN BROWN

What was the effect of the Dred Scott decision?

• People in the North and South accepted the decision as fair and just.

• The decision was a major anti-slavery message, and abolitionists across the nation were excited.

• The strongly proslavery decision sparked outrage in the North and raised fears that southerners might try to extend slavery to the whole country.

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DRED SCOTT AND JOHN BROWN

How did John Brown's attack on Harper's Ferry and his subsequent arrest and hanging further divide North and South?

• Many southerners supported Brown's actions, but many northerners did not.

• To the dismay of southerners, many northerners refused to condemn Brown, instead viewing him as a person willing to die for the cause of abolition.

• Many northerners supported the decision to execute Brown, but southerners did not think it was needed.

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Image & Caption ("Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, West Virginia)

View the image and caption. Then answer the following question:

How did the town of Harpers Ferry eventually evolve over time into a place that John Brown and other abolitionists would have been happy about?

• It became a town where slavery expanded and free African Americans had few freedoms and rights.

• It became the site of one of the first integrated schools - attended by both former slaves and whites - in the nation.

• It became the place where women first gained the right to vote in the United States.