Answer:
The correct order is:
1. Dred Scott Decision
2. Brooks-Sumner Incident
3. House Divided Speech
4. John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry
Step-by-step explanation:
Here is the correct chronological order of the events:
- Dred Scott Decision: This legal ruling was announced on March 6, 1857, by the United States Supreme Court, which held that African Americans, whether free or enslaved, could not be American citizens and had no standing to sue in federal court. It also declared that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional.
- Brooks-Sumner Incident: This occurred on May 22, 1856, when Congressman Preston Brooks physically attacked Senator Charles Sumner with a cane on the floor of the United States Senate. The incident was a result of the strong tensions over slavery and heightened sectionalism.
- House Divided Speech: Delivered by Abraham Lincoln on June 16, 1858, when he accepted the Illinois Republican Party's nomination for the U.S. Senate. In this speech, Lincoln famously said, "A house divided against itself cannot stand," expressing his views on the growing divide over slavery in the United States.
- John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry: This event took place on October 16-18, 1859, when abolitionist John Brown and a group of supporters attempted to seize the federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia), with the aim of starting a slave revolt. The raid was unsuccessful, and Brown was eventually captured and executed.