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The Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise was an effort to maintain balance of power within Congress between Free and Slave states. When it was passed, the Missouri Compromise admitted Missouri as a Slave state and Maine was admitted as a Free state. Slavery was also to be excluded from all new states in the Louisiana Purchase north of the southern boundary of Missouri. However, the Missouri Compromise was repealed in 1854 by the Kansas-Nebraska Act. -
Nat Turner's Rebellion
In the deep south, slave rebellions were fairly common. Nat Turner's Rebellion, however, is historically known for being one of the bloodiest. Nat Turner,who was a slave, organized and started an uprising that spread through several plantations in southern Virginia. Turner and his rebellion ended up killing 55 to 65 people, with at least 51 of them being white. However, Turner's rebellion was cut short. The state caught most of the Rebel slaves and executed them. -
The Wilmot Proviso
The Wilmot Proviso was a failed attempt to ban slavery in new territory received after the Mexican-American War. The Proviso was passed twice in the House of Representatives, but both times failed in the senate. The intense atmosphere of the debate was a big factor leading to the idea and the first discussions of secession. -
The Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 admitted California as a free state and did not regulate slavery, potentially upsetting the balance between the free and slave states in the U.S. Senate. On January 29, 1850, Henry Clay thought of series of resolutions in attempt to avoid conflicts between the North and the South. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
"Uncle Tom's Cabin" is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom’s Cabin was the second-best-selling book in America in the 19th century, behind the Bible. Northerners loved Stowe's work, saying it opened their eyes to the horrors of slavery. However, Southerners protested that Stowe's work was slanderous. This one book widened the extreme division between the North and the South. -
Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas was caused by the Kansas- Nebraska Act of 1854. This allowed residents of the two territories to decide whether or not slavery should be permitted. This was judged by popular vote. Many people flocked to the territories, both pro- and anti- slavery, hoping to shift the decision by sheer weight of numbers. The two factors fought and debated for years, causing a blood shed of around 60 people. This led to even further tensions between the North and South. -
Dred Scott v. Sanford
Dred Scott was a Virginia slave who attempted to sue for his freedom in court. His case, which made it all the way to the Supreme Court, was shut down after Justices exclaimed that Scott, along with all slaves, was considered a piece of property and did not have the rights of a Human being. This sparked an even larger hatred between the North States and the South States. -
John Brown’s Raid
John Brown was an abolitionist "Jayhawker" during Bleeding Kansas. In October of 1859, John Brown organized a small band of white abolitionists and freed black slaves to raid a government arsenal in VA. His goal was to capture the arsenal and seize weapons, which he would then distribute to southern slaves and start slave uprisings. John Brown was captured and executed. His failed attempt lead to the Confederates militarizing and preparing for future raids. -
Abraham Lincoln’s Election
When Lincoln won the 1860 presidential election, Southerner fears that the Republicans would abolish slavery reached a new peak. Because of the result of the election, South Carolina and six other states seceded from the union. -
The Battle of Fort Sumter
With the secession of the southern states, some federal forts, like Fort Sumter, were now in "foreign" territory. Lincoln sent fresh supplies to the garrisons. On April 12th, 1861, Confederate warships underwent a 34 hr bombardment on Fort Sumter, causing the garrisons to surrender on April 14th. This officially marked the beginning of the civil war.
