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The Missouri Compromise.
A debate over where slavery would be allowed and where it wouldn't be. Eventually, they decided that Missouri would enter as a slave state and Maine would enter as a free state. -
Compromise of 1850.
A series of 5 laws were passed that dealt with slavery and territorial expansion. It was decided that California would enter as a free state and that the area gained from the Mexican Cession would be divided into Utah and New Mexico. The slavery issue would also be settled by popular vote. -
Fugitive Slave Law.
A law that came from the compromise of 1850, it required citizens to catch runaway slaves, and anyone who didn't comply got fined $1,000 or put in jail for 6 months. In addition, if they returned a slave they got $10 and if they freed a slave then they got $5. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin.
Also known as " Life Among the Lowly ", is a anti-slavery novel that was written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. The novel had a tremendous effect on African Americans and slavery in general. This novel was even banned in the South as " abolitionist propaganda" , and a number of pro-slavery writers responded to this novel as " Anti-Tom Literature ". -
Kansas-Nebraska Act.
The Kansas-Nebraska act was a act that created many different territories of Kansas and Nebraska. It had allowed people in those territories to decided for themselves whether or not to allow slavery into their body. The act was passed by the U.S. Congress on May 30, 1854. This act was composed by Democratic Senator Stephen A. Douglas. -
Pottawatomie Creek Killings.
The Pottawatomie Creek Killings or the Pottawatomie Massacre was a event that took place on May 24, 1856. The Massacre began when John Brown wanted to seek revenge for the Sack of Lawrence which ended in a murder of five pro-slavery men that took place near the banks of the Pottawatomie creek. -
Dredd Scott decision
The Dred Scott decision was a legal case that the U.S. Supreme Court decided that a slave who inhabited in a free state would not have the right to freedom. It also said that African Americans were also not able to become U.S. citizens and that the Missouri compromise is unconstitutional. This further sparked the Civil War -
Lincoln-Douglass Debate.
This was a string of 7 debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas. This took place during the 1858 senatorial campaign in regards to the slavery extension in territories. -
Raid on Harper's Ferry.
The act of assault by an armed group of abolitionists led by John Brown. This all took place on Harper’s Ferry in Virginia. This was one of the major events that lead to the Civil war. -
Election of 1860
This was the American presidential election, which was held November 6th, 1860. Abraham Lincoln rose victorious, as he defeated John Bell, Stephen A. Douglas, and John C. Breckinridge. The electoral college was split between the Northern and Southern democratic concerning slavery. A few months after Lincoln’s election, seven southern states seceded, which ultimately set a template for the civil war.