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Missouri Compromise
The missouri compromise took place in 1820. Henry clay wrote this. In this compromise, Missouri wanted to be a state and they wanted to be a slave state. So, to balance it out, congress added maine as a free state. Also, all states north of missouri would be free from slavery. -
Wilmot Proviso
The Wilmot Proviso was a law to ban slavery in land that we got from Mexico because of secession. It was proposed by David Wilmot. this happened in 1846. This plan failed in congress and it also was one of the events that caused or lead up to the civil war. The south saw this bill as an attack on slavery by the north. -
Compromise of 1850
California wanted to be added as a free state and, the slave trade was also outlawed in Washington, D.C. But, because the added a new free state, it had to be balanced so, the fugitive slave law was added. This means that slave owners can track down and recapture their slaves if they escaped to the north. This disregarded the missouri compromise and slavery started to move into the north. -
Fugitive Slave Act
Slavery is just unfair overall but now that california was just added as a free state, now and forever, slaves will never really be free. If you are a runaway or even if you really are free, you can still be accused of being a runaway and you could go back to slavery, and they don't care if you were free or a slave, you were just accused by the color of your skin. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
This is a novel written by an abolitionist named Harriet Beecher Stowe. She wrote it to “expose” all of the secrets and terrors of slavery. It made even more people angry with slavery. People in the north thought that slavery was a really evil problem in our country. But, people in the south thought that the book was just fake news. Which was not entirely false, because she didn't have any primary sources of slavery. But, some of it was really true and slavery was truly horrible and horrific. -
Kansas Nebraska Act / Bleeding Kansas
The Kansas act allowed the people to vote on the issue of slavery using popular sovereignty in Kansas. Although this seemed like a good idea at the time, it eventually turned pretty violent and bloody very quickly. They all had different views of slavery, so there were many disagreements and eventually, fights broke out, even in congress. They finally came to a conclusion and it was decided that Kansas would be added as a free territory and Nebraska would be a slave state. -
Dred Scott Case
A slave named Dred Scott sued for his freedom because he was held as a slave in two states that were free states, which was illegal. When this issue was brought to court, they said that he had no right in the first place to sue his master. The court came to a decision and said that even though he was living in a free state did not mean that he was free, and that slaves are property that were protected by the US constitution. The south was happy with this but the north was very angry with this. -
Lincoln Douglas Debate
Lincoln and Douglas both ran for senator. They disagreed on almost everything. They mostly disagreed on slavery. Douglas believed in slavery and states rights and that no negro should ever be a citizen of the US. Lincoln did not believe in slavery and he believed that everyone deserved the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Douglas won the election but, Lincoln was seen as a national figure. The debates helped the people see what they believed in and it helped them vote. -
John Brown's Raid
John Brown attacked many pro-slavery people. One attack was when he ambushed an artillery. People started fighting back and most of his men were killed, and they were in there for days. He did not like slavery and he was against it but, he wanted to fight pro-slavery people and have slaves fight with him that is why he took over the artillery to steal weapons to fight with. But, no slaves showed up to help him. And because of all his violent actions, he was sentenced to death. -
Lincoln's Election of 1860
Four candidates ran for president, this included Abraham Lincoln, who criticized slavery, Stephen Douglas, who favored individual states deciding on slavery, John Breckinridge, who supported slavery in the territories, and John Bell, who promised to protect slavery and keep the nation together. The election ended up with two democrats against one republican. This caused a split vote. Abraham won the election and the democrats made a huge mistake, they could have won but they split their votes. -
Southern Secession
After Lincoln was elected president, the south started to secede, beginning with South Carolina. There was a base in SC called Fort Sumter. There were some US troops that snuck there and SC did not like that, so they started to starve them. The south attacked Sumter and the US troops surrendered. This started the civil war and after the this, five more states succeeded and soon the whole south will to form the Confederate south. Lincoln never wanted war, but now he had no choice.
