Existing comment:
1857 -- Dred Scott Decision. The U.S. Supreme Court rules a Negro is not entitled to the rights of Federal citizenship and that the Missouri Compromise is unconstitutional because Congress has no power to prohibit slavery.
1857 -- A Southerner denounces slavery. Hinton R. Helper in his book The Impending Crisis of the South calls for the end of slavery as an economic system. The Republicans use Helper's criticisms as a political weapon.
1859 -- John Brown's Raid at Harpers Ferry. |