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Election of 1844
The election of 1844 was a contested election that mostly dealt with the issue of the expansion of slavery into the newly acquired U.S. territories or states. John Tyler, running with the Democrats, advocated for slavery and supported all claims to Oregon, but Polk won the election by a narrow margin. -
Arising of New Political Parties
The Mexican-American War gave birth to new parties, one of which was the conscience Whigs; they accused President Polk of going to war simply to add more slave states to the Union and to preserve the Democrats' control in the government. Also, the Free Soil Party emerged, a group that depicted slavery as a threat to Republicanism and to the Jeffersonian ideals of a freeholder society. -
Election of 1848
Zachary Taylor (Whigs) was running against Lewis Cass (Democrat) in this election that mostly focused on expanding slavery. Taylor won because of his moderate stance (he opposed slavery in the territories but not in the South). This was the first election since the creation of new parties, notably the Free Soil Party. -
Compromise of 1850
Five separate laws were passed to mollify the South in adding new free states to the Union in order to preserve it. These laws included a New Fugitive Slave Act, California as a free state, a resolution of a boundary dispute between New Mexico and Texas (in favor of New Mexico), abolition of the slave trade in the District of Columbia, and organization of the rest of the conquered Mexican lands into the territories of New Mexico and Utah. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
Stephen Douglas proposed to repeal the Missouri Compromise and organized the unorganized Western region into two territories: Nebraska and Kansas. This proposal was highly unpopular (due to the question of whether they would be free or slave states), and essentially finished off the Whig Party, which later morphed into the Republicans. -
Election of 1856
John C. Frémont (Republican) ran against James Buchanan (Democrat) in this election, with Buchanan winning. This race was important because the fate of the republic hinged on his ability to hold together the Democratic Party and to solve the issues that were raised in the past. -
Ableman v. Booth
This Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that the Fugitive Slave Act was unconstitutional because it violated the rights of Wisconsin's citizens, and denied the authority of the federal judiciary to review its decision. However, the ruling was overturned by the Supreme Court of the United States in 1859, which affirmed the supremacy of the federal courts and upheld the constitutionality of the Fugitive Slave Act. -
Dred Scott v. Sanford
This landmark case raised the issue of Congress's constitutional authority over slavery. It involved a slave who had lived in free land, and thought that since he was on free land, he was no longer a slave. The court ruled against him, but it was a highly controversial ruling. -
Lincoln-Douglas Debates
Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas, competing for the Senate seat from Illinois, had a series of seven debates that discussed important issues such as slavery. These debates were publicized and followed by many, including outside of Illinois. -
Election of 1860
Because the Democrats were divided, the Republicans sensed a win, and chose Lincoln as their candidate because he took a more moderate view on slavery. When Lincoln won the presidency, Southerners felt that slavery was threatened; to many Southerners, slavery was an ingrained institution that represented a way of life.
