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Wilmot Proviso
The Wilmot Proviso excluded slavery from the new territories which would go against the Compromise of 1820 and disrupt the balance of 15 free and 15 slave states. The proviso's defeat only intensified sectional feelings which caused a divide leading to the Civil War. -
Free Soil Movement
The Free Soil Party was created by Northerners who opposed having slavery in the new territories. The party's objective was to stop the spread of slavery which clashed with the South's position on desiring slavery to expand throughout the Mexican Cession. The formation of parties further increased tensions between the North and South. -
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 admitted California as a free state. The remainder of the Mexican Cession was divided into Utah and New Mexico in which each territory voted on the issue of slavery. A ban was placed on slave trade in the District of Columbia but whites could still hold slaves. A new Fugitive Slave Law was passed and enforced strictly. The Compromise only delayed the resurface of issues regarding slavery and sectionalism which led to the Civil War. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin published
Uncle Tom's Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe, was about a slave named Tom and his brutal white owner Simon Legree. The book influenced the North to view all slave owners as cruel monsters. These "untruths" grew the South's hatred for the prejudice the North had against the South's way of life. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas-Nebraska Act was introduced by Stephen A. Douglas to divide the Nebraska territory into Kansas and Nebraska where each would vote whether to have slavery. The South was given an opportunity to expand slavery past the 36,30' line but the North saw this as a surrender to "slave power." After much debated the Act was passed and further divided the nation. -
Republican Party formed
The Republican Party was formed in response to the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Composed of Free Soilers and antislavery Whigs and Democrats, the Party's main goal was to stop the spread of slavery. As the Party grew, it was still strictly a Northern Party therefore its success alienated and threatened the South. -
Bleeding Kansas incidents
Both Northern abolitionists and neighboring slave states sent voters to Kansas to influence the vote over slavery. Fighting began to break out between pro and anti slave groups which became known as Bleeding Kansas. As Bleeding Kansas worsened, the Democratic Party became more separated into its north and south factions. -
Caning of Charles Sumner
After the Bleeding Kansas incidents, Charles Sumner verbally attacked the Democratic administration including Andrew Butler. Butler's Nephew, Preston Brooks, beat Sumner with a cane in response which outraged the North. Though the House voted to censure Brooks, the South praised his actions. This incident was another sign of growing passions in the North and South. -
Dred Scott vs Sandford decision
Dred Scott claimed he was on free soil therefore a free man. He sued for his freedom and the case eventually came to the Supreme Court which denied Scott. The Court declared all of the West was open to slavery which enraged Republicans and caused Northerners to suspect a conspiracy was in place to grow slave power. In turn, many former Democrats began to support the Republican Party. -
Lincoln-Douglas debates
The election for Senator was mainly a campaign between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas. Seven debates were held mostly on the topic of slavery. Even though Douglas won, he alienated southern democrats while Lincoln emerged as a national figure and leading Republican candidate for the presidential election of 1860. -
John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry
John Brown led a small slave uprising in Virginia by attacking a federal arsenal at Harpers Ferry. Robert E. Lee captured Brown and his followers and 7 including Brown were hung. The North condemned Brown's actions but the South were convinced that the North was trying to destroy the South through slave uprising. -
Election of Lincoln
The Election of 1860 was the last test of whether the nation would be able to stay together. The Democratic Party was Split into a North and South Party while a fourth party, the Constitutional Union, was formed from former Whigs, Know-Nothings, and moderate Democrats. After Lincoln won the election, South Carolina was the first to secede in December 1860 with many more Southern states following.
