1850- 1861 timeline..

  • Uncle Tom's Cabin

    Uncle Tom's cabin depicted the harsh realities of slavery and showed the mistreatment, and the suffering slaves had to go through. The northerners were horrified, and this evoked them to embrace antislavery even more.
  • Bloody Kansas

    Bloody Kansas was violence that happened between pro-slavery and anti-slavery supporters. This event highlighted the division of the country which later on contributed to the Civil War.
  • Republican Party

    The republican party was founded by anti-slavery supporters and other groups, these groups came together to try and stop the expansion of slavery into new territories. The republican party was growing rapidly from support of northerners.
  • Kansas Nebraska act

    The Kansas Nebraska revoked the Missouri Compromise, and it created the Bloody Kansas and popular sovereignty. This act contributed to the Civil War by strengthening the debate over slavery in the states.
  • Brooks-Sumner Incident

    Preston Brooks (south) beat another congressman, Charles Sumner, so badly he nearly killed him. This symbolized that people were willing to resort to violence which led to the Civil War
  • Election of 1856

    In the election of 1856, the republican party had its first major appearance. As John C. was explaining his plan about anti-slavery, Southerners were becoming worried that their way of living would soon change.
  • Lecompton Constitution

    The Lecompton constitution had clauses protecting slaveholding in the state of Kansas. This also promoted the expansion of slavery causing more conflict between the north and south.
  • The Dred Scott decision

    The Dred Scott decision angers many people who thought slavery was wring, mostly the northerners. This even led to the Civil War by convincing many Northerners that the south was determined to extend slavery to other territories.
  • House Divided Speech

    The House divided speech was given by Lincoln, after he accepted the nomination as the states US senator. Lincoln said that allowing slavery in some states would only weaken the union.
  • Lincoln- Douglas debates

    The debated between Lincoln and Douglas. Lincoln told everyone that Douglas wanted to nationalize slavery and Douglas said Lincoln was an abolitionist. So, people saw where each candidate stood in the terms of slavery.
  • John Brown's raid

    John Brown raided Harpers ferry was an attempt to start a slave revolt. Many Southers just viewed this event as a way for northerns to attack them which led to distrust between the two.
  • Harper's Ferry

    Harpers ferry was a small town that held the John Brown raid. The raid scared the south that slaves would rebel.
  • Election of 1860

    The election of 1860 was viewed as a breaking point for the nation. Lincoln won this election causing the south to be alarmed. The south didn't like this decision because their thoughts weren't the same as the presidents which led to secession sentiments.
  • Secession

    When the southern states started to separate themselves, this was seen was a rebellion by the north. This led to the civil war by having separate governments with different ideas and causing both sides to prepare for military conflict.
  • Lincoln's 1st Inaugural Address

    Lincoln wished for a peaceful resolution between the north and the south in his address. He also rejected the ability of secession by the south.