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The Missouri Compromise
As an attempt to balance the amount of free states and slave states and to end the north's attempts to prohibit slavery expansion, Missouri entered as a slave state and Maine as a free state. This led to the Civil War because it started a chain of conflict between the North and South regarding slavery laws. -
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 admitted California as a free state and allowed Utah and New Mexico to decide which they wanted to be. It also ended the slave trade in Washington D.C. and it made it easier for slave owners to get their runway slaves back with the passing of the Fugitive Slave Act. -
Uncle Toms Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin is an anti-slavery novel that was written by Harriet Beecher Stowe following the Fugitive Slave act. The novel made a great impact on those who were both for and against slavery, but regardless, it greatly impacted the way America viewed slavery. As the opposition towards slavery increased in the North, the protection for the institution increased in the South. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas-Nebraska act was in 1854. It divided Kansas and Nebraska into two different territories. This act was controversial because a Democratic Senator, Stephen A. Douglas, decided to let popular sovereignty decide whether the territories would be free or slave states. Popular sovereignty had not been used before when registering states as free or slaves. Southerners from Missouri would go to the areas to vote illegally for slavery. The voting increased tensions between the North and South. -
Pottawatomie Creek Killings
The Pottawatomie Creek Killings was the act of John Brown, his five sons, and three friends murdering five pro-slavery men in the Pottawatomie Creek area. The Pottawatomie Creek Killings were a cause in the Civil War because it was an act of being serious about what side they were on and how dangerous it could be to have different opinions. It just caused a fight between the South and North because no one wanted to back down. -
Dred Scott Decision
The Dred Scott Decision was the Supreme Court stating that just because an enslaved human (David Scott) was in free land didn't mean he was a free person and was not able to take legal actions like suing someone. The Dred Scott Decision was a cause of the Civil War because it outraged abolitionists and made the fight between Slave states (South) and not slave states (North) even more intense because they had different view points on the decision. -
Raid On Harpers Ferry
The Raid On Harper's Ferry was a raid set up by John Brown. The raid consisted of the slaves in the south revolting and taking over the arsenal at Harper's Ferry (it was a fail). The Raid On Harper's Ferry was a cause of the Civil War even though it failed because it completely broke up any relationship between the South and North.