Runaway slaves are no longer free once they reach a free state. They have to flee to Canada or Mexico where slavery is illegal. Harriet Tubman makes her first trip back to the South as a conductor on the Underground Railroad. Thousands of runaway slaves are helped to freedom via the Underground Railroad. 1854 Kansas-Nebraska Act repeals Missouri Compromise on 1820, and the Northern Territory is opened to slavery.
Republican party is organized.
1856 Pro-slavery forces burn parts of Lawrence, Kansas. The Dred Scott Decision by the U.S. Supreme Court denies citizenship to all blacks whether they are slaves or free. Therefore, free blacks can't vote, hold public office, serve on juries, or even apply for a patent. He is captured and hanged on December 2, 1859. 1863 President Lincoln signs Emancipation Proclamation, on January 1, freeing slaves in the rebel states.