The Supreme Court in 1857, in the Dred Scott decision, held that a slave
was not a citizen and had no standing in the law, that Congress had no
right to prohibit slavery in the territories, and that the constitution
guaranteed slave property.

The Presidential campaign in 1858, which was signalised by the debates
between Douglass and Lincoln, resulted in raising the Republican power
in the House of Representatives, to equal that of the Democrats.

A fanatic Abolitionist, John Brown, with a few followers, seized the
Federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry in 1859, defended it heroically
against overpowering numbers, but was finally taken, tried and condemned
for treason. This incident served as an argument in the South for the
necessity of secession to protect the institution of slavery.

In the Presidential election of 1860, the Republican convention
nominated Lincoln. Douglass and John C. Breckenridge split the
Democratic vote, and Lincoln was elected President. This was the
immediate cause of the Civil War. The first state to secede was South
Carolina. A state convention, called by the Legislature, met on December
20, 1860, and declared that the union of that state and the other states
was dissolved. Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia and Louisiana,
followed in the first month of 1861, and Texas seceded February 1st.
They formed a Confederacy with a constitution and government at a
convention at Montgomery, Alabama, February, 1861. Jefferson Davis was
chosen President, and Alexander H. Stephens, Vice-President.

Sumter fell on April 14th, and the following day Lincoln called for
75,000 volunteers. The demand was more than filled. The Confederacy,
also, issued a call for volunteers which was enthusiastically received.