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Texas Becomes A State
Texas became the 28th state in the United States. Formerly part of Mexico, Texas had been an independent country since 1836. Since its independence, Texas had sought annexation by the U.S. However, the process took nearly ten years due to political divisions over slavery. -
The Wilmot Proviso Is Introduced
The Wilmot Proviso was a plan created by David Wilmot that would ban all slavery in any territory that might become part of the United Sates. On February 1, 1847, the Senate approved the bill but rejected the proviso. As a result, the proviso never went into effect. The proviso passed the House of Representatives because a majority of the representatives came from the North. Even though the proviso wasn't passed, it scared the south greatly at how close it came to being passed. -
The Mexican American War Ended
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the Mexican-American War in favor of the United States. The United States obtained parts of modern day California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona known as the Mexican Cession. The war had begun almost two years earlier, in May 1846, over a territorial dispute involving Texas and ended with yet another win for the United States. -
The Compromise of 1850 Is Created
Senator Henry Clay introduced a series of resolutions in an attempt to seek a compromise and avert a crisis between North and South. As part of the Compromise of 1850, California was admitted as a free state, popular sovereignty would decide the issue of slavery in newly acquired western territories, slave trade was outlawed in the District of Columbia (Washington D.C.), and a harsher Fugitive Slave Act was implemented after being passed on September 18, 1850 by Congress. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin Is Published
Harriet Beecher Stowe, daughter of an abolitionist minister, was deeply disturbed by the Fugitive Slave Act. So, she decided to write Uncle Tom's Cabin to describe the horrors of slavery to a wide audience of people through a book. It became the second best-selling book of the 19th century after the Bible. This book helped fuel the Abolitionist Movement to new levels and advancing the nation's march towards Civil War. -
Bloody Conflict Takes Place In Kansas
Bleeding Kansas, a mini civil war between pro- and anti-slavery forces, occurred in Kansas from 1854 to 1861. The Kansas-Nebraska Act established that slavery in Kansas and Nebraska would be decided via popular sovereignty, which caused many Northerners and Southerners to go to the newly created Kansas Territory to vote. Thousands of pro-slavery voters came from Missouri to sway the vote which many abolitionists thought to be unfair and violence broke out and Kansas became a battleground. -
Brooks Attacks Sumner At The Senate
Charles Sumner gave a fiery speech in the Senate against pro-slavery supporters in Kansas. He singled out southern politician Andrew Butler. Butler's nephew, Preston Brooks, heard about this and proceeded to beat Sumner unconscious with a cane. Many southerners sent Brooks canes in support of his actions. -
Dred Scott Sues For Freedom
Dred Scott, the slave of a U.S. Army doctor, sued the government for his freedom after the death of the doctor citing that he had lived in free territories for several years. This case made it all the way up to the Supreme Court to which the final decision was written by Roger B. Taney. He stated that Scott was not a free man because he had no right to sue because African Americans were not citizens.He also stated that slaves were property so it did not matter where he lived. -
John Brown Raids Harpers Ferry
Effort by abolitionist John Brown to initiate an armed slave revolt in Southern states by taking over a United States arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia where he was eventually stopped by Robert E. Lee. It has been called the dress rehearsal for the Civil War. -
Lincoln Is Elected President
Abraham Lincoln was the Republican candidate of the election of 1860 and was supported by all Northerners. He was running against pro-slavery supporters Stephen Douglas and John Bell. Ultimately, Lincoln won the election by a landslide due to the south's votes being split between two candidates. Lincoln's victory incited chaos into our country starting with South Carolina seceding from the Union because of Lincoln's passive way of handling situations.
