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Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise was meant to keep people happy and relieve some tensions by admitting Missouri as a slave state and at the same, admitted Maine as a free state to keep the number of states between slave/free even and keep everyone calm about it so it didn't escalate -
End of Mexican-American War
Although it may not be for the best, war is one of the only things that can be almost guaranteed to unite a country. With the end of a common enemy for the country to work against, it only left us to fight among ourselves which could create problems. Without the stress of the war, people were able to think more about their country and what it should be. People disagreed here and this would lead to the eventual Civil War. -
Fugitive Slave Act
Often a slave would try to run away and escape to a free state where they might be safe and able to start a life. The fugitive slave act stated that if you saw a runaway slave in a free state, you had to aid to the capture and return of them to their owner. People were upset by this because they didn't want to be forced to go out of their way to help someone, whether or not they believed in slavery. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin was an anti slavery novel that tried to show people what it was like for slaves and to lead people towards their sympathy to earn support. This lead to even more setup for the Civil war as many people were very unhappy about this. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
Leading up to the Civil War, many attempts were made to try and calm the public and reach a less stressful time for the country. The Kansas-Nebraska was one of those failed attempts to try and balance the country. It ended up only making people angry for the reasons they thought it would work. -
Lecompton Constitution Rejected
The Lecompton Constitution was one of four proposed constitutions for the state of Kansas. However, when it was rejected, people weren't necessarily happy about it. This created even more tension which helped build up to the civil war. -
Brooks Attacks Sumner
As the build up to the Civil War went by, tensions rose over the politics regarding slavery. With stress compiling it was only a matter of time before someone cracked. In 1856, Preston Brooks attacked Charles Sumner with his cane. Both of these two men were esteemed congressmen and this event is a great example of how pre civil war lead to violence which would grow to split the nation in two. -
Dred Scott Decision
Dred Scott was a slave who lived in a free state for a long time until it became a slave state where he lost his freedom. This became a political and philosophical question which people were unhappy about. -
John Brown Raids on Harper Ferry
John Brown led a group of abolitionists to an attack on the federal armory to try and free slaves and destroy the idea of slavery. They won but what they did was illegal and this made people on both sides of slavery upset. -
Lincoln's Election
Abe Lincoln was the sixteenth President of the United States of America. Along with being one of the most famous Presidents, played a key part in the Civil war.
