Dred Scott Decision, Election of 1860, Georgia Platform, Secession in Georgia, Alexander Stephens

Dred Scott was a slave that had lived in a free state for more than two years. He wanted to be free and sued for freedom in 1857. Roger Taney was the Supreme Court Justice at the time and said that he didn't have the right to sue because he wasn't a citizen, and that blacks could never be citizens. This angered the North. 

Three years later, in 1860, there was a presidential election. Abraham Lincoln was not even on the ballot in ten southern states, but still won. The South then realized that they had very little say in the government and states began seceding immediately. 

Georgia held a convention to decide whether or not they were going to secede. Secessionists wanted to leave, while cooperationists wanted to stay. In the end, the vote was for secession, all though it was not as unanimous as other states. Alexander Stephens was chosen as vice president of the Confederacy. Before, he wanted to stay in the Union if the Compromise of 1850 was followed and the Fugitive Slave Act was passed, but realized that slavery couldn't be avoided and it was better to secede.

Dred Scott
Alexander Stephens