Essay: Kansas-Nebraska Act Topic Selection Assignment

1) Mary Boykin Chestnut: Mary B Chestnut was born on March 31, 1823, in Statesburg, South Carolina. She was the oldest daughter of a politician named Stephen Decatur Miller, who strongly supported states’ rights. It was the civil war that influenced her life and her views over slaver to a great extent. She became famous due to her diary, in which she wrote about the struggles experienced by the people during the American civil war, especially women. Till the war’s first battles, Mary supported her father and husband, but after seeing the horrors of the war, her views were more inclined towards anti-slavery. Also, in a time where women were not allowed to participate politically, she raised her voice for women (notablebiographies.com).
2) Edward Everett: Edward Everett was an American politician, pastor, educator, diplomat, and orator, born in April 1794, in Dorchester, Massachusetts. He was the governor of Massachusetts, president of Harvard and gave the speech before Lincoln’s at Gettysburg. His interest in politics and exceptional speaking skills influenced his career (wikipedia.org). Although, he supported Lincoln, but his prime motive was to keep the slavery issue out of national politics (history.ac.uk). His approach towards the issue of Kansas Nebraska was absolutely different from others and stands out to me.
3) Abraham Lincoln: Abraham Lincoln was an American lawyer and politician, who served as the sixteenth president of U.S.A. He was born in 1808 in a poor family in Kentucky and spent a rough childhood, partly because of slavery issues. That’s why he was against slavery. I found his role really important and interesting as he not only abolished slavery, but also preserved the union, strengthened the federal government, and modernized the economy. He was an influential speaker and his three-hour Peoria speech set the stage for his political future (wikipedia.org).
4) John Brown: John Brown was an American abolitionist, born in May 1800, in Torrington, Connecticut. Brown was born during the period of the Haitian Revolution and saw the Haitian slaves revolting against the French. The revolution had an obvious effect on him and his views on slavery. His action’s as an abolitionist and the tactics he used made him a public figure. He believed that armed insurrection was the only way to overthrow the institution of slavery. He was well known due to the Pottawatomie massacre and the raid on Harpers Ferry. Surprisingly, today he is recognized as both, a heroic martyr and visionary, as well as a madman and a terrorist (wikipedia.org).
5) Preston Smith Brooks: Preston S Brooks was an American politician and a member of the U.S House of Representatives. He was born on in a well-known family in Edgefield, South Carolina on August 05, 1819. His high tendency for undisciplined behavior influenced his life. Brooks is primarily remembered for his May22, 1856 attack upon abolitionist and republican Senator Charles Sumner. Sumner’s injuries were so serious that he had to take leave from his Senate duties for three years in order to recover. He was a strong advocate of slavery. Surprisingly, Brooks was against mistreatment and dishonor, and yet he supported slavery (battlefields.org).