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Invention of the Cotton Gin
In 1793 of April, Eli Whitney had desgined and constructed the cotton gin. The cotton gin was a machine that automated the separation of cottonseed from the short-staple cotton fiber. His invention of the cotton gin revolutionized the cotton industry in the United States. Since cotton became very profitable, it depended on a large amount of cheap labor, slaves. -
Missouri Compromise
In 1820, the Missouri Compromise was passed to preserve the balance of power in Congress between slave and free states. It admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. However, this law prohibited slavery in the Louisiana Territory north of the 36° 30´ latitude line. But in 1857, the Missouri Compromise was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court which ruled that Congress didn't have the authority to prohibit slavery in certain territories. -
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave
The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass is a memoir written by former slave Frederick Douglass. The text describes the events of his life. It is considered to be one of the most influential pieces of literature that fueled the abolitionist movement of the early 19th century. -
Free-Soil Party
In 1848, a political party was founded known as the Free-Soil Party. It was formed by supporters of the 1846 Wilmot proviso, which included members of the Whig Party, the Liberty Party, and anti-slavery "Barnburner" Democrats. The Free-Soil Party campaigned against the expansion of slavery into the territory from Mexico, it argued that free men on free soil comprised a morally and economically superior system to slavery. -
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 consisted of 5 laws that were passed in September of 1850 that dealt with slavery. In order to seek a compromise between the North and South, senator Henry Clay introduced a series of resolutions on January 29, 1850. It amended the Fugitive Slave Act and abolished the slave trade in Washington, D.C. It also entered California into the Union as a free state and created a territorial government in Utah. Furthermore, it passed a boundary dispute between Texas and New Mexico. -
Fugitive Slave Act
The Fugitive Slave Acts of 1793 were laws that allowed for the capture and return of runaway slaves within the territory of the United States. Those of 1793 authorized local governments to seize and return escaped slaves to their owners and impose penalties on anyone who aided in their escape. Resistance of this law led to the added provisions of 1850 which regarded runaways and levied harsher punishments for interferment of their capture. -
Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad
Harriet Tubman was born a slave in Maryland's Dorchester County around 1820. During a ten-year span, she made 19 trips into the South and helped aid in the freedom of over 300 slaves by 1860. She became so well known for leading slaves to freedom that Tubman became known as the "Moses of Her People." In 1856, there was a bounty offered for capture of a $40,000 reward but yet was never caputred and never failed to lose a "passenger." -
Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin
The first copy of Uncle Tom's Cabin was published on June 5, 1851 in the anti-slavery newspaper, The National Era. Author Harriet Beecher Stower was exposed to the public face of slavery which influenced her writing. The text changed how Americans viewed slavery for it demanded that the United States should give on the promise of freedom and equality. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
In January of 1854, Illinois Senator Stephen Douglas introduced a bill that divided the land west of Missouri into two territories, Kansas and Nebraska. This would allow the settlers of the new territories to decide if slavery would be legal there or not, this concept was known as popular sovereignty. On May 30, 1854, the Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed and it resulted in violence between pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers which preluded to the Civil War. -
Bleeding Kansas
In 1854, once the Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed, pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers gathered into Kansas to try to influence the decision whether the area became a free state or a slave state. Abolitionist John Brown led the anti-slavery in Kansas before his raid on Harpers Ferry. Violence broke out as both sides were fighting for control. "Bleeding Kansas" is the term used to describe the period of violence during the settling of the Kansas territory. -
Dred Scott v. Sandford
Dred Scott was a slave in Missouri but later resided in Illinois( free state). Upon returning to Missouri, he sued in the Missouri courts for his freedom. However, he was unsuccessful; slaves were not considered citizens of the US and couldn't sue in Federal courts. This case declared that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional and Congress didn't have the authority to prohibit slavery in territories. As a result, the Dred Scott decision was overturned by the 13th and 14th Amendments. -
The Election of 1860
For United States presidental election of 1860, Republicans nominated Abraham Lincoln and the Democrats nominated Stephen Douglas. However, southern states found him to be "too moderate" so they also nominated John Breckinidge to run against Lincoln, Bell, and Douglas. During this time, people would cast their ballots for the nominee along their geographical line. Lincoln became president and days after his election, states started to leave the Union which was the start to the Civil War. -
The Beginning of the Civil War
Following the election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860, Southern states were infuriated with the presidency of someone who was against slavery. They threatened to leave the Union; in 1860, South Carolina was the first slave state to secede which was followed by others in early 1861. The Civil War began with the attack on Fort Sumter in the harbor at Charleston, South Carolina. In early April of 1865, the Confederacy surrendered and President Johnson declared an end to the war on May 9, 1865.
