Transcript Ch.15,Sec.2 – The Crisis Deepens

Ch.15,Sec.2 – The Crisis Deepens
 The Fugitive Slave Act
- after the Compromise of 1850 was passed, Harriet Beecher
Stowe expressed her outrage towards slavery by writing her
famous novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin
- the 1850 law to help
slaveholders recapture
runaway slaves was called
the Fugitive Slave Act
- Northerners hated the law
& resented having to help
slave catchers
Ch.15,Sec.2 – The Crisis Deepens
- also, Northerners hated watching slave catchers capture free
African Americans and the Fugitive Slave Act also brought the
issue of slavery to their front doors
- Uncle Tom’s Cabin was published in 1852 and helped others
to see the immoralities of slavery
 The Kansas-Nebraska Act
- slavery became a controversial issue in the Nebraska territory
after Stephen A. Douglas drafted a bill separating the territory
into two areas: Nebraska & Kansas
- would the areas allow slavery or be free?
Ch.15,Sec.2 – The Crisis Deepens
- the issue was left to popular sovereignty where the people in
those areas would vote on the issue of slavery
- if the bill was passed and allowed slavery, the Missouri
Compromise would be voided
- unfortunately for
abolitionists, the bill
passed and became
known as the KansasNebraska Act, which
repealed the Missouri
Compromise, pleasing
Southerners
Ch.15,Sec.2 – The Crisis Deepens
- Kansas would soon turn into a major battle-ground over the
issue of slavery
 “Bleeding Kansas”
- thousands flocked into Kansas before the election to vote
illegally on the legislation legalizing slavery
- the legislation became packed with proslavery representatives
and both sides began arming themselves after the political
disputes
- eventually, both sides continually attacked each other for a
span of three years resulting in multiple deaths
Ch.15,Sec.2 – The Crisis Deepens
 Violence in Congress
- in May of 1856, Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts
delivered a speech attacking proslavery forces in Kansas and
Southern politicians
- Sumner was attacked for
his remarks and “Bleeding
Sumner” & “Bleeding
Kansas” became the
rallying cry for Northerners
seeking a new political
party opposing slavery