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Missouri Compromise
In 1820, Henry Clay came up with the idea to stop the North and the South from fighting for the Mexican Cession territory. He decided to make a line 36.5 degrees North of the Equator. Every state north of the line would be anti-slavery, and everything south of the line would be decided with popular sovereignty. This decision would end up being very controversial, and it would be negated by other compromises. -
Wilmot Proviso
David Wilmot, from Pennsylvania proposed that all of the Mexican Cession should ban slavery, in 1846. This proposal was unsuccessful, so the South still got what they wanted and the Southern region of the Mexican Cession would still be decided by popular sovereignty. -
Compromise of 1850
In 1850, Henry Clay made another compromise, giving him the nickname Clay the Compromiser. His constraints were that California would be accepted as a state, Washington D.C would ban the slave trade but not slavery, Congress would pass the Fugitive Slave Act, an highly controversial act that fueled the Civil War. New Mexico and Utah would both decide based on popular sovereignty. -
Fugitive Slave Act
In 1850, after the Compromise of 1850, Congress made a law to make the compromise an actual compromise. They passed the Fugitive Slave Act, which allowed slaves that are in the North for any reason are to be captured and brought back to their masters. This was very controversial and it made the North mad because there were slave hunters everywhere. This ended up being one of the biggest causes for the Civil War to start. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
In 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote a book to show the oblivious North how bad slavery is, and how it should be banned. Abraham Lincoln even spoke on the topic, saying to Stowe, ¨So you’re the little woman who wrote the book that started this Great War!” This was another one of the main reasons of the Civil War. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act/Bleeding Kansas (Part 1)
In 1854, Stephen Douglas helped pass an act that allowed the use of foreign sovereignty to decide the rules of slavery in Nebraska. This resulted in scorns of Abolitionists and Pro-Slavery members to flock to Nebraska. By doing this, both sides hoped to overpower the other side in terms of votes. This was highly irregular because Kansas was already decided free. The Kansas-Nebraska Act exempted Kansas from the Missouri Compromise.(Continued) -
Kansas-Nebraska Act/Bleeding Kansas (Part 3)
Due to this event, the North and South were started to use more violent attacks on each other such as Harpers Ferry. This event is important because it is sometimes dubbed as “The First Battle of the Civil War”. (End) -
Kansas-Nebraska Act/Bleeding Kansas (Part 2)
With the amounts of people with different ideologies gathered in one concentrated area, conflict was inevitable. Pro and Anti Slavery members started to fight, and this caused a chain reaction across of all of Kansas. This called an event called Bleeding Kansas, which was important because it showed the compatibility of the North and South. Since the North and South loathed each other, and the goal of beating the other side started the event of Bleeding Kansas. (Continued) -
Dred Scott Case (Part 2)
They first declared that they had no right to promote or abolish slavery in the territory. Since the territory was not technically a state, the Court had no reign on them. They allowed popular sovereignty to be the deciding factor. Also, they denied Scotts statement. They said, as per the fourth and fifth amendment, that the Court had no right to “forcibly” take the property of another U.S. citizen. This event impacted history greatly. (Continued) -
Dred Scott Case (Part 3)
The case simultaneously negated the Missouri Compromise and showed that the Supreme Court would do nothing for or against slavery. Due to the loose rules on slavery, Scott found a loophole and almost found an out to his ownership. However, this event caused slavery to become more easy to accomplish and it made the North enraged. (End) -
Dred Scott Case (Part 1)
In 1857, a highly controversial case aroused to the attention to the U.S. Supreme Court. Slave Dred Scott argued that he was a free man because his slave owner resided in two free territories. Due to the law, Scott declared that he should be free. That was highly controversial. To resolve the issue, the Supreme Court did many things. (Continued) -
Lincoln-Douglas Debate (Part 1)
In 1858, a series of debates broke out between two people. Their names were Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas. Lincoln and Douglas debates throughout the country to win approval for the Senate seat, and to knowledge people on their points on slavery. Since the two were running mates, they tried to disprove each others ideals, and they also tried to solidify their own views. (Continued) -
Lincoln-Douglas Debate (Part 2)
These series of events significantly impacted history. Even though Douglas won the Senate seat, Lincoln obtained much fame. This fame allowed Lincoln to sweep the election of 1860. Since they both wanted the senate seat, and since both had different ideals on slavery, a little debate was bound to happen. Lincoln got a lot of fame out of this, and Douglas won the Senate seat. (End) -
John Brown’s Raid (Part 1)
In 1859, Abolitionist John Brown lead a attack on Harpers Ferry. His goal was to arm the slaves with the weapons he plundered. He wished for many people to join the raid, but barely anyone came. Nevertheless, Brown tried to raid Harpers Ferry. (Continued) -
John Brown’s Raid (Part 2)
He and his team were cornered and soon captured. John Brown was later hung for treason. This battle showed that war was coming, and it was inevitable. Due to the unfairness and antagonism the North received on trying to abolish slavery, Brown decided to lead the charge and he tried to change their minds forcibly. Even though he failed, Brown managed to convince many Northerners to promote violence to lead for change, and he also angered many Southerners. -
Lincoln’s Election of 1860 (Part 1)
In 1860, the election between presidential candidates Abraham Lincoln (R), Stephen Douglas (North) (D), John Breckenridge (South) (D), John Bell (Constitutional Union Party). These people were passionate on their ideals, and they hoped they would change the country for better. (Continued) -
Lincoln’s Election of 1860 (Part 2)
The issue of slavery was still rampart, and each candidate had their own respective ideas on how to solve it. Lincoln wanted to abolish slavery completely, Douglas opposed slave codes in the territories but supported popular sovereignty in the territories, Breckenridge supported slave codes in the territories and popular sovereignty, and Bell wished to avoid the slavery issue for now and wanted to bring the country together. (Continued) -
Lincoln’s Election of 1860 (Part 3)
Lincoln ended up winning the election due to the amount of fame and recognition he gained from his debates with Douglas. Since slavery was still a thing, someone had to become president and finally change where the U.S. lied in terms of it. When Lincoln became President, it was very upsetting for the Southerners because they believed Lincoln would compromise their rights. The South soon did something about this. (End) -
Southern Secession (Part 1)
In 1860, in direct response to Lincoln’s inauguration, the South decide to secede from the U.S. They felt Lincoln would revoke all their rights and become tyrant like. Although discouraged by Lincoln and some others, the South soon became the Confederate United States of America. (Continued) -
Southern Secession (Part 2)
Soon, conflict would arouse between the two sides. This event historically marked the exact point in time when the South no longer wished to be affiliated with us. They did not like how the new President would shape the country against slavery, so they decided to leave. This soon caused the Civil War. (End)
