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Admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. This was done to maintain the balance between free and slave states. -
In August 1846, David Wilmot declares that slavery should be barred from any territory gained in the Mexican-American War. Approved by the House, but rejected by the Senate. -
Zachary Taylor, part of the Whig Party, won the Election of 1848. Taylor defeated Lewis Cass. The Free Soil Party opposed the expansion of slavery into western territories. -
This compromise allowed California to enter the Union as a free state and abolished the slave trade in Washington, DC. In addition, New Mexico became a territory; set the boundary of Texas ar its current location. -
The Fugitive Slave Act was a part of the Compromise of 1850. Under this new act, runaway slaves were tracked and the North was required to return slaves to their owners in the South. The North was outraged.
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Written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. This was an anti-slavery novel. The book tells a story of Uncle Tom, a kind slave, his slave owner Simon Legree, and heroic Eliza Harris, the slave mother. This novel caused outrage in the South. -
Allowed for popular sovereignty. “U.S. Senate: The Kansas-Nebraska Act.” Senate.gov, 12 Dec. 2019, www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Kansas_Nebraska_Act.htm#:~:text=It%20became%20law%20on%20May,territories%20to%20sway%20the%20vote.. Accessed 12 Dec. 2021.
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Bleeding Kansas was a small civil war fought between Free Soilers and Pro-slavery forces. This was known as a rehearsal for the Civil War.
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From August to October of 1858, there were seven debates that focused on the issue of slavery. Lincoln gains a national following as a result.
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On October 16, 1859, John Brown and 21 men made a supreme gesture. They had captured prominent citizens and seized the federal armory and arsenal. “John Brown’s Harpers Ferry Raid.” American Battlefield Trust, 2021, www.battlefields.org/learn/topics/john-browns-harpers-ferry-raid. Accessed 13 Dec. 2021. -
Abraham Lincoln won the Election of 1860. A new political party was created, known as the Republican Party. This newly created party opposed the expansion of slavery. -
On December 20, 1860: South Carolina was the first state to secede.
By February 1, 1861, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas had seceded.
On February 7, 1861, these states became known as the Confederate States of America.