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Missouri Compromise
When Missouri received enough citizens to become a state, they wanted to be admitted as one immediately. Slavery was a heated issue at the time, so when Missouri wanted to be admitted as a slave state, Henry Clay then came up with a compromise that would have Missouri admitted as a state, but wouldn't throw Congress off balance. Missouri and Maine would be admitted as states at the same time and the 36'30 line would be established. This would determine which states would become free or slave. -
The Nullification Crisis
When Andrew Jackson won the Election of 1828, he passed a tariff that angered many people in the South. His vice president, John C. Calhoun, said that any state could nullify a federal law that they find unconstitutional. This then causes South Carolina to threaten to secede from the United States and Andrew Jackson then responds by forcing South Carolina to pay the tariff unless they want military attention. Henry Clay then came up with a compromise that lowered the value of the tariff. -
Compromise of 1850
After the Mexican-American War, Congress had many delegates that argued whether the territory won from Mexico should be admitted as slave or free states. Henry Clay later then compromised upon the issue by saying the following:
1. California would be admitted as a free state.
2. The slave trade would be abolished in Washington D.C.
3. Congress would not pass laws banning slavery from the rest of the new territory. -
Fugitive Slave Act of 1850
The Fugitive Slave Act was passed in the year 1850 by Congress. The act allowed slave catchers from the South to travel to northen states and brig escape slaves back to slavery. Many Northerners were angered due to these laws being passed and later caused John Brown's raid and the Ameican Civil War. -
Bleeding Kansas 1855
Before Kansas was admitted into the Union, there was a vote for whether the state would be pro-slavery or anti-slavery. Many people from Missouri then came and voted for pro-slavery representatives illegally. Anti-slavery opponents then started their own government, which was later attacked by the pro-slavery legislature. This angered abolitionist John Brown and he and his men murdered many of his pro-slavery neighbors. -
Dred Scott Decision
Dred Scott was a former slave who was dragged back into slavery. Dred Scott then late sued for his freedom by arguing that he lived in a free territory The court ruled that he wasn't a resident in Illinois or Wisconsin, African Americans were not considered citizens when the Constitution in 1787, and that he was property of his owner. -
Attack on Harper's Ferry
John Brown waned slaves to revolt and join his rebellion to end slavery in the South, so he decided that he needed to capture he arsenal at the army base in Harper's Ferry, Virginia to provide weapons for the slave. Brown sent word to slaves to come join him, but was unsuccessful, and he and his men were captured. Abolitionists in the North saluted Brown as he was put to death, which raised the issue of slavery between the North and South. -
The Election of 1860
When the Election of 1860 concluded, Abraham Lincoln won with a majority vote from the North. This angered the South as a result since they did not see his name on the ballet. This later then causes the South to secede from the Union, starting with South Carolina, to form the Confederate States of America.
