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In March of 1817, the state of New York finally abolished 200 years of slavery. July 4th, 1827 was set as the final emancipation, making NY the first state to completely abolish slavery. -
When Missouri applied for stateship, people were worried that it was going to tip the balance of free states vs. slave states. Then Senator Thomas proposed that above a certain latitude would be a free state and below it would be a slave state, thus becoming the Missouri Compromise. -
A slaver preacher named Nat Turner led a band of slaves from house to house killing white men, women, and children. They killed sixty people before they were caught by federal troops. This event led to the killing of more than a hundred slaves. -
The Wilmot Proviso was an amendment to an existing bill that stated that any land gained from Mexico would ban slavery in that territory. This bill passed the house but did not pass in the Senate. It would be talked about and debated again for several years. -
The Mexican-American War was a war that was fought over land that both sides wanted. This was was also the cause of the Wilmont Proviso, which caused its own problems. In the end, America won the war and we gained some of the land that we still own today.
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The Fugitive Slave Act stated that slaves who escaped that were found would have to be returned to their owners even if they were caught in a free state. The south enjoyed this law but it also gained increased Northern opposition over time. -
The debate was over whether to allow or forbid slavery in newly acquired territories. Henry Clay wrote the Compromise of 1850, the hopes that it would solve all problems because he believed that it would have to solve all or none. The proposal started a debate that would last seven months. In the end, some of the senators would not be there to see the end o the debate. New politicians that took their place eventually came to a compromise. -
The Kansas-Nebraska Act organized the previous territories into new states. Stephen A. Douglas, who created the bill, knew that the south would oppose it because it allowed for more free states. So he introduced popular sovereignty which stated that a state could vote on whether it would be a free state or not according to the majority vote of the population. -
Because of the newly introduced popular sovereignty, both sides wanted to win over the new states that were being formed. This led to many disputes and battles in Kansas because both the North and the South wanted another state to add to their side of the battle. -
Sumner, a politician from Massachusetts, gave a heated speech on slavery and "The Crimes Against Kansas." During this speech, he attacked Andrew P. Butler, who supported slavery. Days after, Butler's nephew, Preston Brooks came up to Sumner in the senate and beat him with his cane. After this on both sides Brooks became a hero, he resigned from the senate and ran again later. -
The Dred Scott case was the Supreme Court case in which a slave and his owner's brother argued over his freedom. Previously he and his master moved to a free state, and sometime after, his master died. Scott sued his master's widow because he said that his residency in a free state freed him from slavery. His master's brother fought this, claiming that he was now the owner of Scott. Eventually, the Supreme Court was involved and they ruled that Scott had no right under the Constitution. -
The Lincoln-Douglas debates were the presidential debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas on the morality of slavery. These debates gained massive attention and coverage, which is exactly what Lincoln intended since at the time he did not have much political exposure. Even though in the end Douglas won, Lincoln got the attention he needed to propel himself forward. -
The raid on Harpers Ferry was a raid that was led by John Brown who was also known for his actions that caused chaos in Kansas. He led in 18 followers in hopes to take the fortress on top of the hill and start a revolt in the slave However, this did not happen and they were quickly overpowered with 10 of his men killed in battle. He was convicted of treason and killed. -
In November of 1860, Abram Lincoln won the presidential election with the majority of electoral college votes but only two-fifths of the popular vote. The North and South at this time were becoming more and more split over the issue of slavery. -
After the election of 1860, in December, delegates from South Carolina got together and unanimously voted to secede from America. By the time Lincoln took office, six more states had seceded from the Union. President Buchanan said that states couldn't secede but the Union had no power to stop them as well. With the secession of so many states, the North was left confused and questioning for a time.