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Comprimise of 1850
California wanted to be admitted as a free state. The New Mexico territory was argued to be slave or free states. Washington D.C. didn't want to be apart of the slave trade. As a result, California became a free state, New Mexico and Utah territories would decide the issue of slavery based on popular sovereignty (the decision of the people.) and the slave trade was outlawed in Washington D.C. but slavery itself would still be allowed. -
Fugitive Slave Law
The Fugitive Slave Law said that all free-blacks and fugitive(runaway) slaves were to be captured and sent back to the South. This made the abolitionists want to put more of an end to slavery. Plantation owners were mostly affected because they got more work done. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote the novel in
1852. It showed the evils of slavery. Southerners claimed it did not show the true picture as Stowe had never visited the South. This book changed the way many northerners felt about slavery. -
Dred Scott vs. Sandford
Dred Scott was a fugitive slave who sued for his
freedom. The case went to the Supreme Court. The Court ruled that Scott could not sue in court because he was not a citizen – he was property. Congress could not outlaw slavery in any territories. Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional. -
John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry
John Brown decided to attack the federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry to capture weapons for a slave uprising in Virginia. He was captured, tired, and convicted of treason and he was executed. -
Election of 1860
Stephen Doouglas and John Bell already faced each other in another election. Abraham Lincoln wanted to completely abolish slavery. John Breckinridge wanted slavery to spread. Lincoln was not on the ballot in 10 Southern states. Lincoln won only 39% of the popular vote but 59% of the electoral vote and won the election.
