-
The Missouri Compromise
Missouri joins the union as a slave state and Maine as a free state. There can be no slavery north of Missouri's southern border in the future. -
Period: to
Critical Events Leading to the Civil War
-
South Carolina Nullification Crisis
A state can nullify a federal law it deems unconstitutional. -
The Wilmot Proviso
David Wilomot, a representative from Pennsylvania introduces a bill that would ban slavery run any territory gained from Mexico. The bill fails and angers southerners. -
The Compromise of 1850
Introduced by Henry Clay. The slave trade is abolioshed in Washington D.C., California comes in as a free state. There is a strengthened fugitive slave law and congress could not make any law regarding slavery in any territory gained from Mexico. -
The Publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin
Written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, some northereners are shocked by the brutal portrayel of slavery. Southerners are angry over what they claim to be an unfair portrayel of the treatment of slaves. -
The Kansas Nebraska Act
Allows the use of popular soveriegnty to determine whther slavery will be legal in Kansas and Nebraska. This led to a mini civil war in the territories. -
Dredd Scott Supreme Court Case
Dred Scott, a slave who was brought temporarily to a free state, sues for his freedom. The Supreme Court ruled against Scott saying he was not a citizen, that slavery could not be banned anywhere in the U.S. or its territories under the Fifth Amendment and that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional. -
The Lincoln Douglas Debates
A series of debates during the 1858 senate race in Illinios between Abraham Lincoln, the republican and Stephen Douglas, the democrat. The debates centered around each candidates position on slavery. Douglas favored the use of popular soveriegnty, Lincoln proposed that slavery should not expand. -
John Brown's Raid on Haper's Ferry
John Brown the abolitionist and a group of supporters, sieze the federal arsenal in Harper's Ferry, Virginia. The goal was to incite a slave rebellion and distribute weapons from the armory to the slaves. The raid failed and Brown was tried and hanged. This both terrified and angered southerners. -
