#lt6

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Let’s start with the Acts. Kansas-Nebraska and the Compromise of 1850 (back in my father’s day, but still relevant). The Kansas-Nebraska Act caused the first violent conflict. The two territories of Kansas and Nebraska were added, but at the same time, it was decided that the legality of slavery would be determined by popular sovereignty - the population got to choose. What should’ve been expected happened: southerners and northerners alike flocked to the two territories to try to establish the two territories as either a slave or free state, respectively. The compromise of 1850 didn’t help either, as it killed the Missouri compromise, which would’ve stated the Nebraska would be free and Kansas would be a slave state because of geographical location. Now any state anywhere could be either, causing much conflict and debates over what the majority opinion was. Along with these we had the Dred Scott case. A slave, Dred Scott, escaped and was found in the North. Now slaves were technically private property. So the owners of Scott were able to claim him. They’d found a loophole. Slavery was technically legal in the North, so long as they were bought in the south. The government became aware that two sets of laws can’t exist in the same country.  Two major violent conflicts were Harper’s Ferry and, the tipping point, Fort Sumter. Harper’s Ferry was a military base with an armory. A man named John Brown stormed the armory, using the weapons to help free the slaves through violence. Robert E. Lee of the South then killed Brown, and realized northerners would never accept slavery. The split had happened, but wasn’t official yet. Fort Sumter changed that. A Fort in the South, owned by the North, was continued to be used for trading. Confederates ordered evacuation of Northern Troops, who refused, but didn’t use any military force. This left the decision of war up to the South, and they chose to have it. An attack was made and war broke out. This is not a good time to be alive. I hope, for your sake, the two nations remain separate and find peace soon.