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Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise was a compromise between anti-slavery and pro-slavery veiws. The agreement states that slave states could not extend to the north of the 36* 30' latitude line. This made both the different groups of people happy. This was also an attempt to "balance to power" to reduce the tension. Missouri was the only exception to this law. Thirty years later, the Missouri Compromise was replaced with the Compromise of 1850. -
Mexican War
The United States, who due to Manifest Destiny, believed they could take over any land they wanted to, got into a war with Mexico in 1846 because they began to take over some of Mexico's nothern land. Mexico had warned that if the Unites States annexed Texas, it would veiw it as an act of war. Durning the war, there were many battles, like the battle of Palo Alto and the battle of Monterey. After the war, which ended on September 14, 1847, a peace treaty was signed February 27, 1848. -
Wilmot Proviso
The Wilmot Proviso, named after David Wilmot from Pennslyvania, was made to prohibit slavery in the new land aquired by the Unites States after the Meican-American War. The House of Representatives did not ratify, or pass, the bill. Southeners argued that Congress did not have the power to take away slavery. -
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was proposed by Henry Clay. It was a collection of five bills. It's purpopse was to keep the nation united while slavery threatened to pull it apart. One bill said that states would decided for themselves whether or not slavery would be allowed in that state. The most controlversal bill was the Fugitive Slave Act which made it illegal to not return a runaway slave to the South. This compromise also included California as a free state. -
The Publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin
The Publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin was very successful. It sold over 300,000 copies in the first year it was published. It was the best-selling novel of the 19th century. The book was about slaves who traveled through many of the hardships that slaves of the era were put through; differet slave owners, being sold as if they were items, not people, and running from the cruel people who chased them when the slaves escaped. It was written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. -
The Kansas-Nebraska Act
This act stated that the people of Kansas and Nebraska could decide for themselves whether or not they would be slave states. This caused citizens of both the North and South to rush to these states to vote and support their side of the eletion. Violence soon erputed, and as the death toll rose, the state was nicknamed "bleeding Kansas". After a lot of controversey having to do with election fraud, Kansas became a state on January 29, 1861. -
Lincoln-Douglas Debates
The Lincoln-Douglas Debates were between Abraham Lincoln and Stephan Douglas for a seat in Illinois United States Senate. There was only one out of the two seats avaliable. There were several debates. They took place in Ottawa, Freeport, Jonesboro, Charleston, Galesburg, Quincy, and Alton. Lincoln lost this election, but it helped set him up for his future as President of the United States. -
Election of 1860
In the election of 1860, Abraham Lincoln was the nominee for the Republican party, Stephen Douglass was the Northern Democratic nominee, John Breckinridge was nomintated but the Southern Democrates, and John Bell was the nominee for the Constitutional Union Party. Lincoln won the election without winning a single southern state. Angry with this outcome, Southern states began to secede from the Union, setting the stage for the civil war. -
South Carolina Secedes from the Union
South Carolina seceded from the Unites States on December 20, 1860 because Abramham Lincoln had become President. They started the new union, the Confederate States of America. After South Carolina's secession, the states of Texas, Tennesee, North Carolina, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia, Virginia, and Arkansas followed their example. They seceded because they were afraid that Lincoln would attempt to abolish slavery. -
Abraham Lincoln's Inauguration
Abraham Lincoln came into office at a difficult time. Despite the threat of the country splitting and the possibility of a war, President Lincoln's inauguration was normal. He, and the current President (President Buchanan) arrivied in Washington. They were met by a huge crowd. Lincoln was sworn in and he became the sixteenth Preisdent of the Unites States of America.
