THEIR DEATH

Upon the deaths of the respective members of the Great Triumvirate, the nation spiraled into a Civil War. The Kansas-Nebraska Act, an attempt to compromise over slavery in 1854, was instituted to reduce tension and possibly formulate a political solution over the issue. The provisions of this act annulled that of the Missouri Act, and the dislike led to violence in Kansas. This legislation brought into Congress by senator Douglas was even more controversial than the Compromise of 1850. The act also brought about a new leader in politics, Abraham Lincoln, who would provide an eloquent voice against slavery. The election of Lincoln into office outraged pro-slavery Southerners and would ultimately lead to the secession crisis. James Buchanan's message to Congress offended Southerners by claiming secession was illegal, and it perplexed Northerners by claiming that the federal government could not prevent secession. Political tensions rose, and consequential events inflamed passion in the South to form their own state, the Confederacy.