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Antebellum Period
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American Anti-Slavery Society (AASS)
The AASS was an abolitionist group founded by Arthur Tappan and William Lloyd Garrison. Their goal was to end slavery. By 1840 the AASS had more than 20,000 members. -
Gag Rule
The US House of Representatives instituted the "gag rule" which forbid the House from discussing anti-slavery petitions. The Gag Rule contributed to the longer length of slavery because Congress was not allowed to discuss it and therefore couldn't get rid of it. -
Mexican War Ends
The Mexican War ends with an American Victory. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ceded California and New Mexico to the United states.The treaty also gave the US sovereignty over Texas. This led to the Compromise of 1850. -
Compromise of 1850
Because of the Mexican American War there were divisions over slavery in new territory, such as California. So to fix these divisions Henry Clay created the Compromise of 1850 which admitted California as a free state. In exchange the south was guaranteed that no federal restrictions on slavery would be placed on Utah or New Mexico. The Compromise also created the Fugitive Slave Law. -
Fugitive Slave Act
The Fugitive Slave Act was created through the Compromise of 1850 by the United States Congress. The Fugitive Slave Act stated the return of runaway slaves to their southern slave owners. The law also required all US citizens and US marshals to assist in the capture of the runaway slaves. This law infuriated the Northerners and further created the division between the slave states and the free slave states. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Harriet Beecher Stowe was the author of "Uncle Tom's Cabin", an anti-slavery novel that changed many Americans views on slavery. Within its first year "Uncle Tom's Cabin" sold over 300,000 copies. The book helped strengthen the growing abolitionist movement. -
The Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was a vast network of abolitionists who helped slaves escape to the North and Canada to be free. Each year the Underground Railroad successfully moved hundreds of slaves to freedom. One of the famous "conductors" of the underground railroad was Harriet Tubman. Harriet Tubman helped free hundreds of slaves during her work with the Underground Railroad. -
The Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed by Congress. This act allowed the citizens in the states of Kansas and Nebraska to decide whether or not to be a slave state or a free state. The Kansas-Nebraska Act nullified the Missouri Compromise of 1820. The Act was largely supported by the Southerner slave states and largely opposed by the Northern free states. The Act also led to the sudden growth of the anti-slavery republican party. -
Bleeding Kansas
Because the Kansas-Nebraska Act called for popular sovereignty, the decision about wether Kansas would be a slave state or a free state came down to which side had more votes. This created "Bleeding Kansas", which was a series of violent political confrontations in Kansas between the anti-slavery citizens and the pro-slavery citizens. -
Dred Scott Case
Dred Scott was a slave who had been taken by his owners to free states and territories, so he attempted to sue for his freedom. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney denied Scott's request, claiming that blacks were not US citizens and therefor could not petition the court for their freedom. The Dred Scott case created a lot of controversy. -
President Abraham Lincoln
On this date Abraham Lincoln was elected president of the United States. Lincoln was the candidate for the Republican Party. His goal was to stop the expansion of slavery into western territories, and to ultimately abolish slavery. His election caused almost all of the Southern states to want to secede from the Union. -
American Civil War Begins
This year marked the begging of the American Civil War. South Carolina seceded from the Union, followed by Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. These southern states created the Confederacy and more states joined them. The northern states were called the Union. War broke out when the Confederacy attacked Fort Sumter, starting the American Civil War.
