Shortly after the election of 1848 that put Zachary Taylor in office, the nation went through a period of dilemma known as the Decade in Crisis. The events that occurred throughout this time inevitably lead to the Civil War in 1861. Polarization of the nation over slavery combined with a streak of incompetent presidents and continued conflicts over abolitionist literature ultimately lead to the secession of the south. .
The nation was polarized over slavery throughout the 1850s. One issue which caused the South's secession was John Brown's Raid at Harpers Ferry; the South saw this as a Northern plot to destroy the Southerners way of life, which extremely angered the South. The Caning of Sumner, in which Preston Brooks defended his uncle's honor by beating Charles Sumner, whose remarks included personal charges against Brooks" uncle, over the head with a cane on the Senate Chamber floor. This was another issue that caused tension between the North and South. Further more, Bleeding Kansas was an incident that showed differences between the Northern and Southern western expansionists in Kansas. .
Bleeding Kansas not only caused further problems with the North and South, but it was also an example of the poor involvement of the government during the 1850s due to incompetent presidents. Taylor, Fillmore, Pierce, and Buchanan all failed to provide solutions for the problems the nation was undergoing during the Decade in Crisis. If a Lincoln or a Washington would have been in office, chances of a Civil War would have been dramatically decreased. Although the presidents lacked solutions for many problems of the 1850s, many quarrels over abolitionist's literature added to the chaos.
One such piece of abolitionist literature was Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beacher Stow; the South saw the novel as a way of protesting their anti-slavery thoughts. Even though the novel was not published, the speeches of abolitionist's northerners given in the South didn't go well with the Southerners.
