The Nation Divides

I. RAID ON HARPERS FERRY

A. John Brown1. Wanted to start an

uprising and arm local slaves

2. Planned to kill any southerners that got in the way

3. After two years of trying to build an army he had only 20 men

B. The Raid1. Took place at

Harper’s Ferry in October 1859

2. Men were sent into the country side to recruit slaves – no one joined

3. Locals attacked – Brown was hurt eight of Brown’s men were killed

C. Aftermath1.Federal Troops led by Col. Robert E. Lee arrived the next day

2.John Brown was arrested, convicted and hanged

II. ELECTION OF 1860

A.Democrats nominated two candidates one from the North (Douglas) and one from the South (Breckinridge)

B.The Constitutional Party - nominated John Bell

C.Republicans nominated Lincoln – he promised not to abolish slavery where it already existed

Douglas Breckinridge

Bell Lincoln

D. Results1.Lincoln won 180 of the 183 electoral

votes in the free states – not a single southern state

2.The results angered the South – it showed they were losing political power

THE SOUTH SECEDES

A. Southerners’ Reaction1.The South thought their economy

would be destroyed without slavery2.South Carolina led Southern

secessionists in the belief they could leave the Union

3.Crittenden proposed a series of amendments to keep the South from leaving, Lincoln and the republicans rejected them

B. The Confederate States of America

1.South Carolina seceded

2.They were followed by Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas

3.The Confederate States of America created a constitution very similar to the US

4.Jefferson Davis was elected as President

C. Lincoln Takes Office1.Lincoln opposed

the idea of Southern Secession

2.He announced that the he would keep all governmental property

3.He also announced that the his government would not provoke a war