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The Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise was an effort to balance out the power in congress between both slave and free states. Missouri entered as a slave state and Maine entered as a free state. -
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 consisted of five bills that attempted to resolve disputes over slavery in new territories added to the US. It admitted California as a free state, New Mexico and Utah got to decide if they wanted to be a free or slave state, defined a new Texas-New Mexico boundary, slave trade ended in Washington DC, and a strict fugitive slave law was enacted (Fugitive slave act of 1850). -
Fugitive Slave Law
The Fugitive Slave Law was part of the Compromise of 1850. It states that slaves must be returned to their owners even if in a free state. Citizens were demanded to catch runaway slaves, and if not they were fined. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin was a book written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. It was meant to show the horrors of slavery by telling a story of an old slave by the name of Uncle Tom who was whipped to death by his owner. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas-Nebraska Act had repealed the Missouri Compromise, created two new territories (Nebraska and Kansas), and the slavery issue would be decided by popular sovereignty. -
Pottawatomi Creek Killings
John Brown and four of his sons had murdered five pro slavery men at three different cabins along the Pottawatomie Creek. -
Dred Scott Decision
The Dred Scott Decision was a court case that ruled that having lived in a free state and territory did not entitle an enslaved persons freedom. Scott was property rather than a citizen, and could not sue in federal court. -
Lincoln-Douglas Debate
The two had debated over the slavery issue. Lincoln believed that slavery should not spread anymore than it has and Douglas believed that slavery should be decided by popular sovereignty. -
Raid on Harper's Ferry
The raid on Harper's Ferry was a raid led by John Brown and his followers. Five blacks and thirteen whites were led to attack Harper's Ferry. The plan was to start a slave revolt, but no one came to help. In the end a good amount of Brown's men were killed and Brown was arrested and found guilty of murder and treason. Then eventually was hanged. -
Election of 1860
In the presidential election of 1860, Lincoln ran against Douglas and won even after an overwhelming amount of people voted for Douglas. Southerners were angry because they thought that it was proof that the North had too much power, and they threatened to secede from the union.