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Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise of 1820 by Henry Clay quieted the differences between the North and South for a while. It balanced the power of the union by adding two states. The line was lateral separating northern states from the southern states. Above the line would be free states and below the line would be slave states. However, the Mexican American War put the conflict to spark because new territory was added. -
Wilmot Proviso
A representative named David Wilmot from Pennsylvania introduced a ban on slavery in all Mexican Cession territories. The bill did not pass and made southern slaveholders angry. This would cause tension between the north and south later on. -
Compromise of 1850
Congress passed many laws in 1850 to solve the issue over slavery. The bill supposedly allowed slavery to expand over the Missouri compromise line and also attempted to limit slavery in some areas like Washington DC. However the bill failed due to the harshness between the North and South. -
Fugitive Slave Act
Congress passed many laws in 1850 to solve the issue over slavery (the most controversial topic of the compromise). The bill passed allowing slave owners to capture their runaway slaves and allow people to accuse runaways. Suspects did not have the right to trial either. This also forced northerners to participate in slavery, something they were against. Many people resisted against the act with the underground railroad. -
Uncle Tom´s Cabin
In 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe published the novel, Uncle Tom´s Cabin, about an enslaved man who is abused by his cruel owner. This allowed many northerners who did not know much about slavery to better understand how cruel slavery really was. Southerners thought the book was propaganda and overly exaggerated. -
Kansas Nebraska Act / Bleeding Kansas
The act allowed people and territories to decide whether you are save or free states by popular sovereignty. Southerners were happy with the act because it allowed them to make more states slave states. Northerners were angered thinking Douglas had betrayed them into making more states slave states. Many northerners moved to Kansas to vote to free the state of slavery. During this time, violence broke out in Kansas. This is where the name, ¨Bleeding Kansas¨ comes in. -
Dred Scott Case
The Dred Scott Case was a case of an African American man who argued that his owner and him lived in places where slavery was illegal. He argued that this meant he was a free man and he was not a slave anymore. The decision however, proved that slavery was expandable anywhere, This made southerners happy but northerners horrified. The decision makes the Missouri Compromise of 1820 irrelevant. -
Lincoln Douglas Debate
The debate made national headlines and was for the senate. The debates helped voters see the views of the candidates. The debates also made the debate over slavery more clear and made people more passionate over the issue of slavery. -
John Brown´s Raid
John Brown raised a group of followers to help him free slaves in the south in 1859. They attacked the town of Harpers Ferry, Virginia. They stole guns and planned to start a revolt. The revolt was reliant on slaves rising up to join Brown, but none came to his aid. Brown was captured / executed and ten of his followers died. -
Lincoln’s Election of 1860
Lincoln was in favor to ban slavery and give them equal rights. Southerners feared this and threatened to secede the union. This caused a lot of controversy and caused some of the southern states to secede. -
Southern Secession
Southerners feared the election of Lincoln would get rid of slavery. They threatened to secede if not compromise. Fort Sumter was won by the confederate south (the fort where Lincoln sent food and more supplies to the opponents). When the boat sent to Fort Sumter was attacked by South Virginia many other states joined South Virginia and the Confederacy was formed. This was considered the beginning of the civil war.
