The Democratic National Convention convenes in Charleston, South Carolina, with Senator Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois as the front-runner for presidential nomination. Before the convention begins, delegations from seven Deep South states (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, …
Stephen A. DouglasWilliam YanceyJohn C. BreckinridgeDemocratic PartySouthern Democrats+1 moredemocratic-partyslaverypolitical-manipulationelection-1860sectional-crisis+1 more
The first of seven Lincoln-Douglas debates took place on August 21, 1858, in Ottawa, Illinois, as Republican challenger Abraham Lincoln faced Democratic Senator Stephen A. Douglas in a contest focused almost entirely on slavery’s expansion into the territories. The debates exposed fundamental …
Abraham LincolnStephen A. DouglasRepublican PartyDemocratic Partyslave-powerdemocratic-erosioninstitutional-capturepolitical-debatesystematic-corruption
Kansas voters rejected the fraudulent Lecompton Constitution by an overwhelming margin of 10,226 to 138 on January 4, 1858, in a referendum that exposed the pro-slavery document’s lack of popular support. The constitution had been drafted by a pro-slavery territorial legislature that consisted …
James BuchananStephen A. DouglasKansas votersLecompton Conventioninstitutional-captureslave-powerelectoral-fraudsystematic-corruptiondemocratic-erosion
A fraudulent referendum on the Lecompton Constitution occurs in Kansas Territory, with pro-slavery forces manipulating the process to attempt forcing slavery on Kansas despite the Free-State majority. Free-State settlers refuse to participate in the June 1857 election for constitutional convention …
James BuchananStephen A. DouglasPro-slavery delegatesBorder RuffiansFree-State settlerslecompton-constitutionelectoral-fraudslavery-expansionbleeding-kansasinstitutional-corruption+1 more
Congress passes and President Franklin Pierce signs the Kansas-Nebraska Act, creating the territories of Kansas and Nebraska while repealing the Missouri Compromise’s prohibition on slavery north of the 36°30’ parallel. The Act, drafted by Democratic Senator Stephen Douglas of Illinois, …
Stephen A. DouglasFranklin PierceU.S. CongressPro-slavery Border RuffiansFree-State settlerskansas-nebraska-actslavery-expansionpopular-sovereigntybleeding-kansaslegislative-corruption+1 more
Franklin Pierce delivered his inaugural address on March 4, 1853, after defeating Winfield Scott in a landslide with 254 electoral votes to 42 as a pro-slavery Northern Democrat. Pierce expressed hope that the Compromise of 1850 had permanently settled the slavery question, stating “I …
Franklin PierceStephen A. DouglasDemocratic PartySlave Powerinstitutional-captureslave-powerpolitical-deceptiondemocratic-erosionterritorial-expansion