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The Missouri Compromise
Before 1820, The North wanted to completely get rid of slavery while the South wanted to preserve it. In order for the tension between the North and the South to decrease, the government decided to keep an equal balance between the number of free states and slave states. After Missouri was accepted into the Union in 1820, the number of free and slave states became unbalanced. The Missouri Compromise was created, this compromise admitted Missouri as a slave state but also Maine as a free state. -
Compromise of 1850
This Compromise admits California as a free state. It also abolishes slavery in the district of Columbia. This compromise prevented the expansion of slavery throughout the US. This compromise divided the US leading to the Civil War because the north and the south had different opinions on slavery. -
Fugitive Slave Act
This law makes it a crime to help runaway slaves. It also helps slave owners recapture their runaway slaves. This law led to the civil war because many northerners believed it was an unfair law. -
Division of Political Parties
In the beginning of 1854 the political party called The Whig Party disintegrated. They decided to form an antislavery political party, this was the beginning of the Republican Party. This led to the Civil war because the South was afraid that if a Republican won the presidency, slavery would be abolished in the Southern states. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
This Act lets the people decide if slavery should be allowed in their states or not and it opens slavery into the northern states. People saw this as slavery being forced into their territory. This caused people to have very strong and divided opinions about slavery which led to the Civil War. -
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Bloody Kansas
A large violent outbreak in the US between people that supported slavery and people that were against it. This situation was completely out of control that the federal government couldn't help fix it which marked the beginning to the Civil War. -
Dred Scott Decision
Dred Scott was a slave that sued because he believed he should be set free since he lived in a free state. The Supreme Court told him that he was not a citizen and he had no rights. Many abolitionists believed this decision was unfair and it led the tension between the North and South to increase. -
Harpers Ferry raid
John Brown organized a slave rebellion in the south. His goal was to have enough slaves to fight with him and his men for the slaves freedom. This led to the civil war because after this event, more people realized how unfair slavery was. -
Election of Abraham Lincoln
The election of Abraham Lincoln to the presidency of the United States led to the Civil War. The south believed that Lincoln was against slavery and that his goal as president would be to abolish slavery. This caused tension between the South and the rest of the US. -
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Secession of Southern States
The election of Abraham Lincoln led southern states to secede from the United States. Abraham Lincoln believed that the southern states had no right to leave the United States and he sent troops to keep them from leaving. Right after this event the Civil War begun.
