Section #1 - Causal Factors
Public Violence
Attacks on abolitionists and warfare in Kansas turn verbal disputes into murderous engagements.
| Year | Event | Description | Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1804 | Burr-Hamilton Duel. | Aaron Burr kills Alexander Hamilton in Weehawken, NJ, ending a bitter political feud. | Chapter 26 |
| 1831 | Nat Turner’s Rebellion. | Turner leads a band in killing 60 whites; savage reprisals and lynchings follow across the South. | Chapter 63 |
| 1837 | Murder of Elijah Lovejoy. | Abolitionist minister is murdered by a mob in Alton, Illinois, and his building burned. | Chapter 83 |
| 1841 | Cincinnati race riot. | White mob assaults a candy store; armed Freedmen fight back until the local militia intervenes. | Chapter 101 |
| 1854 | Anthony Burns rescue. | Mob assaults the city jail to free a runaway; a U.S. Marshall is fatally stabbed. | Chapter 172 |
| 1856 | Caning of Charles Sumner. | Brooks assaults Sumner with a walking cane on the Senate floor, causing years of injury. | Chapter 202 |
| 1856 | Pottawatomie Massacre. | John Brown begins revenge for Lawrence, leaving five supposedly pro-slavery men hacked to death. | Chapter 203 |
| 1859 | Harpers Ferry Raid. | Virginia Militia under Robert E. Lee storm the Fire House fort and capture John Brown. | Chapter 241 |