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Missouri Compromise
Henry Clay wrote the Missouri Compromise in 1820 which was a law that prohibited slavery in the U.S. above the 36 parallel line and allowed slavery under the line. They created the Missouri Compromise to balance the power in congress. It angered southerners because they were restricted to a couple states but the north ahd the whole northwest and middle of the United States. -
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Causes of the Civil War
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Wilmot Proviso
Congressman David WIlmot in the House of Representatives to prohibit slavery from expanding to the territory from the Mexican War. The proviso fueled the conflict between the south and north because the south thought they would get power in congress with the land from the Mexican War -
Zachary Taylor
Zachary Taylor took office in 1849. He helped admit statehood to California and New Mexico but other than that he did not do much in office. Many believe if he lived longer and served a full term he would have been a great president. -
Millard Fillmore
Millard took office just after president Taylor died in 1850. He was against slavery but still supported the fugitive slave act being strengthened in the Compromise of 1850. He also opposed California and New Mexico being admitted as free states into the union. -
Compromise of 1850
In 1850, Henry Clay introduced a series of revolutions in attempt to seek a compromise and avoid violence. In this compromise, slave fugitive is amended, California becomes a free state, and slave trade in Washington DC is abolished. This would lead to the fugitive slave act. -
Fugitive Slave Act
In 1850, Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act as part of the 1850 compromise. Black men, slave or not, were taking to the south because they were recognised as fugitives. Fugitives were taken to court to decide if they were runaway or not. This was biased because the judges were paid more to rule the slaves as runaways. This act infuriated the Northerners. It made all black people property even if they free. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Tom's cabin after going to the south and seeing what people were doing to the slaves. She wrote it as an anti-slavery arguement because she was horrified about what she saw and could not believe it. Uncle Tom's Cabin became the first book to hit 1 million sales and was the best selling book behind the bible. The south were infuriated because they thought they book was a horrible representation of their culture and eventually banned the book. -
Franklin Pierce
Franklin Pierce took office after Millard Fillmore. He was very depressed entering his presidency because his son died just before he took office and he was found grieving often. He could have stopped many bills from being passed but he didn't -
Kansas Nebraska Act/ Bleeding Kansas
In 1854 The Kansas-Nebraska act was passed. It allowed people in Kansas and Nebraska to decide if they were to be free or not. It also dissolved the Missouri compromise. Because of this, Northerners fled to Kansas and Nebraska to vote to make it a free state. There were many house raids and fights in Kansas between the north and the south. Some say it was the true start of the Civil War. -
Republican Party
In 1854, There was a Convention held by Abraham Lincoln in Jackson, MI. This was declared the first Republican convention. The Republican party was a party completely against slavery. The south said nobody will vote for Abraham Lincoln when he is on a ballot. -
Sumner Caning
On May 22nd of 1856 Charles Sumner was beaten with a cane in the middle of congress by Preston Brooks. Sumner gave a fierce speech about the flaws of south and slavery and southern congressman were heated. 2 days later Preston Brooks assaulted Sumner for his speech and the southern congressmen were surrounding them celebrating. The north was disgusted because congress was supposed to be a place for gentleman's not for riots. -
James Buchanan
He took office in 1857 after Franklin Pierce. He is considered the worst president of all time and he could have stopped the civil war from happening. He allowed slavery to move into the north by not taking a stand in the Dred Scott case. -
Dred Scott Case Part 1
In 1857, while James Buchanan was president, there was a slave suing his owner for taking him to the North and keeping him as a slave. This was supposedly against the law- no slavery in the North. However, Buchanan appointed the case to the supreme court, which was made up of mostly rich slave owners. The supreme court decided that slaves are property, and since no man can be stripped of his property, the man must continue as a slave. -
Dred Scott Case Part 2
This made the northerners very scared, as they realized that slavery could now exist in the north. This was a very large event leading to the civil war because slavery was getting out of hand and could now exist even in states/ territories banning slavery. -
Lincoln-Douglas Debate
The Lincoln-Douglas debate was a series of seven debates between Abraham Lincoln the republican and Stephen Douglas from the democratic party. Lincoln loses the debate and doesn't get the spot in congress. The south takes notice to what Lincoln said about slavery and how he was completely against it. -
Harpers Ferry
In 1859, Abolitionist John Brown lead a small group consisting of his sons into Harpers Ferry to raid the Federal Armory in current west virginia. He did this in hopes of a slave revolt, in which he pictured slaves coming out of the woods to fight with him against the south. However, no slaves showed up and Brown was caught and later hung. John Brown was considered a hero in the North, and he helped the North open their eyes to the fact something has to be done. -
Southern Secession
From 1860 to 1861, South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and Texas seceded due to Abraham Lincoln being elected president. This instantly triggered the civil war between the Union and the Confederacy which is the deadliest war America took place in. All the states that seceded were in the south and were slave states. -
Lincoln's Election
In 1860, Abraham Lincoln was elected president. Before he even took office, the Southern states stated to leave the country, as they said they would if Lincoln was even put in office. They did this because they knew he was a republican, and that he was going to fight to end slavery. After Lincoln was put in office, he led the north in the Civil War.
