Elijah Lovejoy

Over the course of decades, the issue of slavery, a prominent topic that attributed to countless problems and controversies, served as a significant role in the United States by establishing a division of the anti-slavery North and pro-slavery South. Due to these distinct viewpoints and years of simmering tensions between the northern and southern sectors of the United States, the two apprehensive regions collided and conducted the Civil War, the deadliest conflict in American history. The outbreak of the American Civil War comprised of a series of events, but the four most significant events that triggered the rise of the war were the death of Elijah Lovejoy, the supreme court decision of Dred vs. Scott, the Harper’s Ferry takeover, and the

However, Lovejoy received negative feedback from his non-abolitionist community because of his personal viewpoints. Because several of his neighbors did not approve of the printing press, they decided to break into his printing press shop, vandalize the shop, and dismantle Lovejoy’s press machine. These actions were concluded in order to send a subjective warning to Lovejoy so they could persuade him to stop publishing his abolitionist literature. Regardless, Lovejoy persevered and he reassembled his machine, reorganized his shop, and continued to spread his thoughts and opinions on slavery to the community. Since Lovejoy did not comprehend the neighbor’s message beforehand, the neighbors mutually agreed on another attempt to take action for the second and third time. The neighbors trespassed Lovejoy’s shop and dismantled the printer press again. Nonetheless, the persistent abolitionist kept responding in the same manner by resuming to print. Eventually, the neighbors became extremely frustrated and decided to implement a new strategy. For their fourth attempt, the neighbors organized another break-in, disassembled the press, and disposed it in the Mississippi River. But once again, Lovejoy remained persistent,

The Dred Scott decision involved two slaves, Dred Scott and his wife, who originated from one of the recognized slave states, Missouri, but they were relocated to settle in Wisconsin, a state where slavery was prohibited. In 1846, Scott filed a lawsuit and “sued for his freedom on the grounds that his residence in a free state and a free territory had made him free.” In 1854, Scott’s “case ultimately went to the Supreme Court.” By landing in the Supreme Court, the justices ruled seven to two against the Dred Scott and his wife for multiple reasons. One main reason that the court specified was that whether African Americans are enslaved or not, they were never recognized as citizens of the United States. Therefore, the justices believed that the case should not have been heard or discussed in the Supreme Court to begin with. The second reason was that regardless of any African American being transferred to a free state, does not necessarily change their social status. Thirdly, the Supreme Court ruled that the Missouri Compromise of 1820, a compromise that outlawed slavery north of the 36˚30’ latitude line, is unconstitutional because the Congress declared that they had “no power to ban slavery from any territory.” The decision was critical due to increasing the North population’s unease, and their concern that the South will begin to transport slaves to freed states, which will