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Missouri Compromise
Between pro-slavery and anti-slavery Americans who wanted more land for their side but also wanted to keep their votes even so that one side didn't have more support than the other. Missouri ended up being passed as a state and then Maine was also passed as a state in order to keep the free states and the slave states balanced in votes. -
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Causes of the Civil War
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Wilmot Proviso
In the year of 1846, on the eighth of august, David Wilmot has declared that he wished to ban slavery in territory gained from the Mexican American War. Wilmot feared an addition to a pro slave territory, however the Proviso is seen as an event leading up to the Civil War. As the south seemed to dislike the proposed Wilmot Proviso, the slave-free north would have been in favor of the idea. -
Zachary Taylor's Presidency
America's 12th president, Zachary Taylor, was revolted by the idea of slavery, and worked to stop the spread of the idea. Taylor was also against the compromise of 1850, which abolished slave trade and further separated the north and south. -
Compromise of 1850
Five bills were passed by the US senate addressing a 4-year dispute between slave states and free states. Henry clay, or the Great Compromiser, proposed the solution of the compromise in January of 1850, but they were later passed in September of 1850. -
Millard Fillmore's Presidency
Unlike Taylor, the 13th president Fillmore worried about the compromise, and ended up signing it. He was not nominated for a second term. -
Fugitive Slave Act
On September 18 of 1850, Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act/Law. The law stated was a compromise between the Pro-slave South and free soils of the North. Nicknamed the 'Bloodhound Law', the act was an effort to catch runaway slaves an bring them back to their masters, however 'Slave-hunters' often caught any person of color, whether they were free or not. Bloodhound dogs were used to find the slaves, which gave the act its interesting name. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
The book 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' was written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, and was first published on May 20th, 1852. The novel revealed the dark secrets of slavery, something that surprised the North and offended the South. Upon visiting the South, Stowe recalled seeing a slave owner beating a slave with a whip, a painful experience that paved her inspiration for the book. In 1852 alone, the book sold over 300,000 copies, and was the second-bestseller of the century. The book was banned in the South. -
Franklin Pierce's presidency
Shortly before his election into office, Pierce tragically lost his 11 year old son in an accident. This put major stress on the 14th president, which could have resulted in his lack of consideration for Bleeding Kansas. The president later signed the Kansas Nebraska Act. -
Creation of the Republican Party
Whigs, or people who believed in Anti-Slavery, had begun meeting to discuss creating a new party. On May 20th of 1854, the Republican party was founded in Wisconsin. The Republican party was strictly anti-slavery, meaning that a majority of the members were most likely Northern. The South would have opposed the idea of the Republican party. -
Bleeding Kansas
Over the course of 7 years(starting in 1854), Bleeding Kansas was a debate addressing the validity of slavery in America. While the south found it to be a part of their culture, the North strongly opposed the idea. Bleeding Kansas was a series of fights between pro and anti slave owners, which were all very violent. Some people would even call the Kansas Nebraska Act a civil war in itself. The act allowed Kansas to decide if it wished to be a slave state. -
Sumner Caning
On May 22 of 1856, democrat Preston Brooks beat Charles Sumner with his cane. Sumner, the day before had delivered a speech on slavery, and went as far as insulting many land owners who used slaves. Sumner was pummeled almost to death, as the fellow members of senate stood around Brooks and Sumner laughing. -
James Buchanan's Presidency
James Buchanan, the 15th president of America, was highly disliked by the North for his claim that black people are to be property. His law background made him believe that Jury makes the law, and like Fillmore, wasn't nominated to run for a second term. -
The Dred Scott Case
The Dred Scott Case was a decision between a slave living in a free state with his owner (Dred Scott) and his owners Mrs. Emerson, and John Sanford. Scott attempted to sue both of his owners for his freedom claiming that he had a Missouri citizenship but he eventually lost the case because the judge believed that Scott was property so it wasn't possible to have a citizenship or to have freedom. -
The Lincoln Douglas Debate
They were a series of debated between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas during the presidential election of 1858. The debates discussed topics such as slavery and they took place in Illinois between 9-21-58 and 10-15-58. -
Harpers Ferry
On October sixteenth eighteen fifty nine John Brown and a few of his people went to raid the Harpers Ferry U.S. military arsenal. The raid was supposed to be a beginning to an elaborate plan to keep free slaves up in the mountains of Maryland and Virginia. -
Lincoln's Election of 1860
On November 6th, 1860 Abraham Lincoln won the presidential election against John Breckinridge, John Bell, and Stephen Douglas. He was elected because he was against slavery and a majority of the people in the US were also against. The event impacted the way the civil war played out because it was a key part of why the north won the war. President Lincoln supported the north in the war so he was a major factor in getting the supplies and communication that was needed to win the war. -
Southern Secession
The southern secession was when 7 of the states from the U.S. wanted to break away from the country and become their own nation. The states that were involved were South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas. It affected the outcome of America because the country nearly split into two nations but it didn't.
