es he opposed with all his strength. Of his
sincerity there could be no doubt. He was a speaker and writer of
singular power, commanding, by the use of simple and homely language,
the hearts and minds of those who heard him speak or read his printed
words. He had gone far enough in his opposition to slavery; but not too
far. He was the man of the hour! Amid lusty cheers from ten thousand
throats, Lincoln was nominated for the presidency by the Republicans. In
the ensuing election, he carried all the free states except New Jersey.

=References=

P.E. Chadwick, _Causes of the Civil War_ (American Nation Series).

W.E. Dodd, _Statesmen of the Old South_.

E. Engle, _Southern Sidelights_ (Sympathetic account of the Old South).

A.B. Hart, _Slavery and Abolition_ (American Nation Series).

J.F. Rhodes, _History of the United States_, Vols. I and II.

T.C. Smith, _Parties and Slavery_ (American Nation Series).

=Questions=

1. Trace the decline of slavery in the North and explain it.

2. Describe the character of early opposition to slavery.

3. What was the effect of abolition agitation?

4. Why did anti-slavery sentiment practically disappear in the South?

5. On what grounds did Calhoun defend slavery?

6. Explain how slave owners became powerful in politics.

7. Why was it impossible to keep the slavery issue out of national
politics?

8. Give the leading steps in the long controversy over slavery in the
territories.

9. State the terms of the Compromise of 1850 and explain its failure.

10. What were the startling events between 1850 and 1860?

11. Account for the rise of the Republican party. What party had used
the title before?

12. How did the Dred Scott decision become a political issue?

13. What were some of the points brought out in the Lincoln-Douglas
debates?

14. Describe the party division in 1860.

15. What were the main planks in the Republican platform?

=Research Topics=

=The Extension of Cotton Planting.=--Callender, _Economic History of the
United States_, pp. 760-768.

=Abolition Agitation.=--McMaster, _History of the People of the United
States_, Vol. VI, pp. 271-298.

=Calhoun's Defense of Slavery.=--Harding, _Select Orations Illustrating
American History_, pp. 247-257.

=The Compromise of 1850.=--Clay's speech in Harding, _Select Orations_,
pp. 267-289. The compromise laws in Macdonald, _Documentary Source Book
of American History_, pp. 383-394. Narrative ac