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End of the importation of slaves
At the Constitutional Convention in 1787, delegates fought over the importation of slaves and agreed that Congress can regulate but not ban the importation of slaves prior to the year 1808. After the year 1808 Congress could prohibit the importation of slaves, which it did with the Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves. -
The Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise (aka The Compromise of 1820) was an agreement made in Congress aimed at balancing free and slave states in the Union. It allowed Missouri to join the Union as a slave state but only if Maine joined the Union as a free state, easing tensions between the pro-slavery and the abolitionists. -
The Wilmot Proviso
In 1846, a representative from Pennsylvania, David Wilmot, introduced the Wilmot Proviso. This proposed a ban on slavery in any territory gained from Mexico. This angered Southerners, who saw it as a threat to slavery, but Northern Democrats passed it in the House. However, the Senate refused to vote on it, fearing it would upset the balance between free and slave states. This increased tensions in the United States, which would late lead to Bleeding Kansas and the Civil War. -
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was a series of laws aimed at easing tensions between free and slave states. It allowed California to enter the Union as a free state, while the New Mexico territory and the Utah territory could decide on slavery themselves. The compromise also included a stronger Fugitive slave act to appease the south. -
Fugitive Slave Act of 1850
The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was part of the Compromise of 1850 and stated that citizens, even in free states, were required to assist in the capture and return of escaped enslaved people. It imposed heavy penalties on anyone who aided escaped slaves and denied them the right to a jury trial, Increasing tensions between the North and South. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin, written by Harriet Breecher Stowe, is a novel that sparked an abolitionist view point in the North. It became a bestseller and and fueled the abolitionist movement leading up to the Civil War. -
The Kansas-Nebraska Act
In 1854, Franklin Pierce signed into law the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which removed the restrictions on the expansion of slavery outlined in the Missouri Compromise, allowing the settlers of new territories to vote on whether slavery would be allowed within the territory. -
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Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas was a series of confrontations in the Kansas Territory during the mid-1800's, as pro-slavery and anti-slavery clashed over whether Kansas should enter the Union as a free or slave state.The violence erupted as a direct repercussion on the Kansas-Nebraska Act. -
The Caning of Charles Sumner
On May 19, 1856, Preston Brooks, a representative from South Carolina, attacked Charles Sumner with a cane in the Senate chamber following an anti-slavery speech Sumner gave. The incident showcased the extreme tensions surrounding the issue of slavery, escalating conflicts leading to the Civil War. -
The Dred Scott Decision
The Dred Scott decision, delivered by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1857, ruled that Dred Scott, an enslaved man, was not entitled to freedom despite living in a free state. The Court declared that African Americans, whether enslaved or free, could not be considered U.S. citizens and had no right to sue in federal court. The decision also invalidated the Missouri Compromise by stating that Congress had no authority to prohibit slavery in the territories, intensifying national tensions over slavery.