Written Assignment #1

1. What events strengthened the antislavery movement in the years just before the Civil War?
The events that took place prior to the start of the Civil War were in many ways keystones that helped shape the war itself. These events were perceived to be hostile in an already tense time in this young countries years out of infancy. To narrow the events just before the war is just a snapshot view of what can be considerably a lengthy debate. These events to include “The Missouri Compromise of 1820”, “Nat Turners’ Rebellion in the summer of 1831”, “The Compromise of 1850”, “Harriet Beecher Stowe’s 1852 fictional novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”, The “Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854”, The controversial 1857 Dredd Scott decision, in which Dredd Scott v. Sanford ignited a hail storm in which the match was struck and set to the time fuse for the war. The 1859 raid by John Brown on Harpers Ferry in Virginia, The presidential election of 1860 in which Abraham Lincoln was elected president by an overwhelming margin of victory, and of course the start of the war- the battle of Fort Sumter in 1861.
This list is not all inclusive and each event has a true backdrop that supports these in each step of the way. Nat Turner’s rebellion of 1831 is a strong precursor to what John Brown did in 1859. Although Turner was a Black Slave and Brown a White sympathizer, each man took a stance similar to what the country was founded upon with it revolutionary war from Britain. The novel “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” written by a slave was a number 2 seller behind only the bible in the 19th century and its words had a profound effect on both Northerners and Southerners alike.
I can continue to speak of these events but this assignment would take on a new look from short essay answers to a full blown report on the events prior to the Civil War. I would like to highlight the