Keith Mack
The Civil War was the culmination of a series of confrontations concerning the institution of slavery. In the pre-war years, slaves and free Black people had few civil rights, and the Dred Scott Decision further threatened to recast the political landscape by classifying slaves as property with no legal rights. Following the war, Congress adopted several measures, including the Fourteenth Amendment, to protect individual rights from state interference. The Fourteenth Amendment, ratified in 1868, addressed equal protection and due process under the law, formally defining citizenship and protecting the civil rights of citizens.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Common-law right before the Civil War | Slaves had no legal rights and were considered property |
| The right to assemble for slaves and free Black people was limited | |
| Slaves did not have the right to education | |
| The right to sue for freedom in court | |
| The right to vote | |
| The right to bear arms | |
| Freedom of speech | |
| Freedom of religion | |
| Right to use contraception | |
| Right to abortion |
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What You'll Learn
The Dred Scott Decision
The Missouri state court ruled against Scott, and he then took the case to a U.S. federal court, which also ruled against him, stating that it had to apply Missouri law. Scott then appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The Supreme Court, in a 7-2 decision, ruled that Scott was not an American citizen and therefore could not establish the "diversity of citizenship" required for a federal court to hear the case. The Court also struck down the Missouri Compromise, which prohibited slavery in U.S. territories north of the 36°30′ parallel, on the basis that it interfered with slave owners' property rights under the Fifth Amendment.
Dred Scott and his wife, Harriet Scott, remained enslaved until 1857 when they were freed by their enslavers. Dred Scott died of tuberculosis in 1858, while Harriet Scott lived until 1876, witnessing the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery in the United States. The Dred Scott Decision highlighted the urgent need for constitutional protections for the rights and liberties of African Americans, which were eventually addressed through amendments like the Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth Amendments following the Civil War.
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Nat Turner's Rebellion
On the evening of August 21, 1831, an enslaved preacher and self-styled prophet named Nat Turner launched the bloodiest slave rebellion in US history. Turner and his allies, a group of enslaved African Americans, killed between 55 and 65 white men, women, and children as they made their way through Southampton County, Virginia. Less than 24 hours after the revolt began, the rebels encountered organised resistance and were defeated.
Turner had been planning the rebellion for years, communicating his intentions to a small circle of trusted fellow slaves. He interpreted an annular solar eclipse on February 12, 1831, as a sign from God, and envisioned this as a Black man's hand reaching over the sun. He believed he was called by God to deliver his people from slavery and used preaching to convince people to join his revolt. Turner said he wanted to spread "terror and alarm" among whites.
The rebellion was effectively suppressed within a few days, but Turner survived in hiding for more than 30 days afterward. There was widespread fear among the white population in the rebellion's aftermath, and militias and mobs killed as many as 120 enslaved people and free African Americans in retaliation. Turner was eventually captured on October 30 and tried in the Southampton County Court. He was sentenced to be hanged on November 11, 1831, and his confessions were published within weeks of his execution.
The revolt had important ramifications outside of Southampton, as southern communities feared additional revolts. Abolitionists remembered the revolt as an important example of enslaved people's hatred for the system of slavery and their bravery. The revolt remains the clearest example of overt resistance in the United States to the system of slavery.
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The Sack of Lawrence and Pottawatomie Creek Massacre
The Pottawatomie Creek Massacre, which took place on the night of May 24–25, 1856, was a direct response to the Sack of Lawrence by pro-slavery forces on May 21. The Pottawatomie Creek Massacre was led by John Brown, an abolitionist who, along with his sons and a group of settlers, some of whom were members of the Pottawatomie Rifles, sought revenge for the sacking of Lawrence, a free-state town.
The group targeted pro-slavery settlers, abducting and killing five of them just north of Pottawatomie Creek in Franklin County. One of the teenage sons of the settlers was also abducted but ultimately spared. John Brown's followers insisted that he did not directly take part in the killings, but he did decide the fate of the men. The incident was one of the most violent episodes of the "Bleeding Kansas" period, which saw conflicts between pro- and anti-slavery settlers over whether Kansas would become a slave state.
The Sack of Lawrence saw pro-slavery forces destroy the presses and type of two abolitionist newspapers, the Kansas Free State and the Herald of Freedom, as well as the fortified Free State Hotel, and the house of Charles Robinson, the free-state militia commander-in-chief and leader of the "free state" government. The attack was ordered by a Douglas County grand jury, who claimed that the hotel had been used as a "fortress" and "arsenal", and that the newspapers were "seditious".
The violence in Kansas began in 1854, when the Kansas-Nebraska Act overturned the Missouri Compromise, which had prohibited slavery north of latitude 36°30'. Instead, it was decided that settlers would vote to determine the status of slavery in each state. This led to an influx of supporters from both sides into Kansas, resulting in escalating violence. The Pottawatomie Creek Massacre and the Sack of Lawrence are considered by historians to be among the opening salvos of the American Civil War.
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The Wilmot Proviso
The proposal only lasted three days in Congress, but it signified a shift in American politics, with the debate over slavery taking centre stage. The Wilmot Proviso also contributed to the formation of the Republican Party, which emerged with a strong anti-slavery stance. In 1847, Preston King reintroduced the Wilmot Proviso, this time expanding the exclusion of slavery beyond Mexican territory to include "any territory on the continent of America which shall hereafter be acquired". This version of the proviso passed in the House but was ultimately defeated in the Senate, and Polk's appropriation bill was passed without it.
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The 14th Amendment
A major provision of the 14th Amendment was to grant citizenship to "All persons born or naturalized in the United States," thereby granting citizenship to formerly enslaved people. This amendment extended the liberties and rights granted by the Bill of Rights to these newly emancipated people.
Another important provision of the 14th Amendment was the statement that "nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." This meant that the right to due process of law and equal protection under the law now applied to both federal and state governments.
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Frequently asked questions
The 14th Amendment of the US Constitution, ratified in 1868, extended liberties and rights granted by the Bill of Rights to formerly enslaved people. It also addressed issues of equal protection and due process under the law and formally defined citizenship in the United States.
The Dred Scott Decision was a ruling by the Supreme Court that classified slaves as property with no legal rights, threatening to recast the political landscape and intensifying polarization between pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces.
The Black Codes were laws passed in southern states after the Civil War to restrict the freedom of Black people, effectively allowing slavery to continue under a different name.
The Jim Crow laws were racial segregation laws enacted after the Reconstruction period ended in 1877. They remained in force until 1965.
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