Kaitlyn Grubbs

Honors U.S. Midterm 16/17

In the years leading up to the Civil War, there was a lot of controversy over decisions
made in regards to slavery. There were quite a few controversial decisions made. The extension
of slavery contributed to the coming of the Civil War in Bleeding Kansas, The Dred Scott Case,
and the Freeport Doctrine.
Bleeding Kansas was a result of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which gave it, along with
other territories, popular sovereignty. When it came time to vote if slavery should be allowed in
Kansas, many pro-slavery Missouri citizens came and not only voted to allow slavery, but to use
dear tactics such as threats to get other people to do the same. This was very controversial since
the president deemed the vote illegitimate and would not allow the decision to be made at that
time. The South had believed that the vote should have made the decision and were outraged that
the voted were illegitimate. This would also lead to the Pottawatomie Massacre lead by people
who were anti-slavery to kill seven men in Pottawatomie Creek for being pro-slavery. Bleeding
Kansas had been very controversial because the North had been outraged at the unfairness of the
vote.
The Dred Scott Case received a lot of publicity due to the controversial decision of
Supreme Court Judge Taney. A slave by the name of Dred Scott was fighting for his freedom
after his master died. During his masters life, they had lived in many different states, some of
which had laws banning slavery. His argument was that, since he had lived in free states, he
should be a free man. The controversial decision by Taney stated that, while Scott had been
living in free states, he was only property and not recognized as a citizen under the Constitution.

This decision had outraged the North who also argued that Scott should be a free black. Taney
said that Congress was allowed to manage slavery in the Articles of Confederation, but that was
not carried on to the Constitution, which outraged the North even more since they still believed
that Congress should be allowed to make that decision.
The Freeport Doctrine was one of the main factors in contributing to the coming of the
Civil War. Douglas and Lincoln had many debates with each other on various topics. One in
particular was when Lincoln asked Douglas if territories should have the ability to legislate
popular sovereignty. Douglas was in a tough situation, as no matter what he aid would make
either the North or South upset. Douglass response, however, had been able to outrage both the
North and the South. His response was that popular sovereignty should not be allowed in
territories because slavery would be allowed. He said how territories did not have to accept
slavery and that it would not be forced on them to accept slavery. Instead, territories could
legislate their own laws in order to limit slavery. The North, made up of mainly people opposing
slavery, was outraged due to the fact that slavery was legal. The South, made up of mainly proslavery ideas, had been opposed to the idea of slavery being limited, as many people there had
been big on the benefits of slavery. What Douglas said would later split up the Democratic Party
and ultimately be the reason as to why the votes for president would be so split, resulting in
Lincolns election.
All three of the factors over controversy over the extension of slavery would contribute to
the coming of the Civil War. Due to these decisions, the entire United States would be a lot more
uneasy.