The American Pageant:                    Cornell Notes

Chapter 19   

                                                                                                                                  

By:Ryan Nestor     Eric Benevides

Dred Scott Bombshell

• Dred Scott, A black slave, tried suing for freedom on the basis that he lived on free soil for five years.o However after much

debate, the ruling was that he could not sue because he was a black slave and not a citizen.

The Financial Crash of 1857• Physcoligically the worst of the 19th century.

o California gold helped to inflate the currency, the demands of the Crimean War overstimulated the growing of grain, and the speculation in land and railrodas made things much worse.

o "Bread or Death"• The North was most effected due to its grain; the South cruised by on

its well prospering cotton.o Seemed to prove that cotton really was King.

• The government began to offer land (160 acres) for revenue.o North argued that this land would attract under-payed workers.o South argued that their plantation business could not thrive on

160 acres.o Congress passed a homestead act for 25 cents an acre, however

it was vetoed.•  

An Illinois Rail Splitter Emerges

• Senator Douglas's term was coming to an end in Illionois.o Republicans decided to have a Springfield lawyer run

against him known as Abraham Lincoln. • He was referred to as "Honest Abe" due to his refusal to

participate in cases that he had to suspend his conscience to defend.

• Lincoln won the senatorial election against Douglas, served onwe term in Congress

The Great Debate: Lincoln v. Douglas• Lincoln challenged Douglas to a series of joint debates, 7 debates

were held between the two through August and October in 1858.• Most famous debate was made in Freeport, Illinois dealing with the

debate topic, which came to be known as the Freeport Question, if a state were to vote down slavery, though Supreme Court said you could not do this under the Dred Scott decision, would the Court or the People win?

• Douglas' response to this question ,which came to be known as the Freeport Doctrine, was that no matter how court ruled it, if a states popular opinion was to vote down slavery, slavery would be put down.

• These debates proved to be one of the first battlefields of the Civil War. 

•  John Brown organized and led a group of about 20 men to start an uprising of slaves to establish a "free black state".

•  On October 1859, Brown and his men assaulted Harper's Ferry. Killing many men,which some were innocent, his attempt to take control there was unsuccessful for the slaves were ignorant to what Brown was trying to accomplish.

•  Brown was captured and sentenced to death.•   His death was seen as noble and in the eyes of abolitionist he was

seen as a martyr. His death was also key in the motivation of those against slavery in the states as well as government Pre-Civil War.

John Brown: Martyr or Murderer

The Disruption of the Democrats• Democrats met in Charleston to nominate their candidate for the

Election of 1860.• Northern Democrats were for Douglas while the Southern

Democrats were not due to the Freeport Doctrine.• Southern Democrats walked out of the convention and a decision

was not met.• They tried again in Baltimore with the same outcome, although the

Northern Democrats nominated Douglas as their candidate.• The Southern democrats had their own meeting and nominated

John C. Breckenridge.• A neutral party of democrats met and formed the Constitutional

Union Party and nominated John Bell.

Yes, that is me playing hockey.