-
Period: to
Abolition
Forten’s unwavering belief that he was an American not only led him to oppose
colonization—the effort to resettle free blacks in Africa—but also pushed him fervently
to oppose slavery. Forten was joined in his opposition to slavery by a growing
number of Americans in the 19th century. Abolition, the movement to abolish
slavery, became the most important of a series of reform movements in America. -
Period: to
Missouri Compromise
Behind the leadership of Henry Clay, Congress passed a series of agreements
in 1820–1821 known as the Missouri Compromise. Under these agreements,
Maine was admitted as a free state and Missouri as a slave state. -
Santa Fe Trail
The settlers and traders who made the trek
west used a series of old Native American trails as well as new
routes. One of the busiest routes was the Santa Fe Trail,
which stretched 780 miles from Independence, Missouri, to
Santa Fe in the Mexican province of New Mexico. -
San Felipe de Austin
Stephen F. Austin’s father, Moses Austin, had received a land grant from Spain to establish
a colony between the Brazos and Colorado rivers but died before he was able
to carry out his plans. Stephen obtained permission, first from Spain and then
from Mexico after it had won its independence, to carry out his father’s project.
In 1821 he established a colony where “no drunkard, no gambler, no profane
swearer, and no idler” would be allowed. -
The Liberator
The most radical white abolitionist was a young
editor named William Lloyd Garrison. Active in religious reform movements
in Massachusetts, Garrison became the editor of an antislavery paper in 1828.
Three years later he established his own paper, The Liberator, to deliver an uncompromising
demand: immediate emancipation. -
Mexico Abolishes Slavery
Mexico abolished slavery in 1829. -
Nat Turners Rebellion
One of the most prominent rebellions was led by Virginia slave
Nat Turner. In August 1831, Turner and more than 50 followers attacked four
plantations and killed about 60 whites. Whites eventually captured and executed
many members of the group, including Turner. -
Stephen F. Austin gets arrested
Mexican politics had become increasingly unstable. Austin had
traveled to Mexico City late in 1833 to present petitions to Mexican president
Antonio López de Santa Anna for greater self-government for Texas. While
Austin was on his way home, Santa Anna had Austin imprisoned for inciting
revolution. -
The Oregon Trail
The Oregon Trail stretched from Independence,
Missouri, to Oregon City, Oregon. It was blazed in 1836 by
two Methodist missionaries named Marcus and Narcissa
Whitman. By driving their wagon as far as Fort Boise (near
present-day Boise, Idaho), they proved that wagons could
travel on the Oregon Trail -
Texas Revolution
the 1836 rebellion in which Texas gained its
independence from Mexico -
Period: to
Manifest Destiny
In the 1840s, expansion
fever gripped the country. Many Americans began to believe that their movement
westward was predestined by God. The phrase “manifest destiny”
expressed the belief that the United States was ordained to expand to the Pacific
Ocean and into Mexican and Native American territory. -
Mexican-American War
In 1844 James Polk, the newly elected president made a proposition to the Mexican government to purchase the disputed lands, after that offer was rejected troops from the United States were moved into the disputed territory of Coahuila, these troops were then attacked by Mexican troops. -
Texas enters the United States
On December 29, 1845, Texas entered the Union. -
The North Star
In 1847, Douglass began his own
antislavery newspaper. He named it
The North Star, after the star that
guided runaway slaves to freedom. -
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
On February 2,
1848, the United States and Mexico signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
Mexico agreed to the Rio Grande as the border between Texas and Mexico and
ceded the New Mexico and California territories to the United States. -
Compromise of 1850
Clay’s compromise contained provisions to appease Northerners as well as Southerners. To please the North, the compromise provided that California be admitted to the Union as a free state. To please the South, the compromise proposed a new and more effective fugitive slave law. To placate both sides, a provision allowed popular sovereignty, the right to vote for or against slavery, for residents of the New Mexico and Utah territories. -
Fugitive Slave Act
Under the law, alleged fugitive slaves were not entitled to a trial by jury. In addition, anyone convicted of helping a fugitive was liable for a fine of $1,000 and imprisonment for up to six months. -
Period: to
Underground Railroad
As time went on, free African Americans and white abolitionists developed a secret network of people who would, at great risk to themselves, hide fugitive slaves. The system of escape routes they used became known as the Underground Railroad. “Conductors” on the routes hid fugitives in secret tunnels and false cupboards, provided them with food and clothing, and escorted or directed them to the next “station.” Once fugitives reached the North, many chose to remain there. Others journeyed to Cana -
Uncle Tom’s Cabin,
In 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe published her novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which stressed that slavery was not just a political contest, but also a great moral struggle -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
Douglas introduced a bill in Congress on January 23, 1854,
that would divide the area into two territories: Nebraska in the north and Kansas in the south -
Dred Scott v Sanford
A major Supreme Court decision was brought about by Dred Scott, a slave whose owner took him from the slave state of Missouri to free territory in Illinois and Wisconsin and back to Missouri. Scott appealed to the Supreme Court for his freedom on the grounds that living in a free state—Illinois—and a free territory—Wisconsin—had made him a free man. -
LINCOLN–DOUGLAS DEBATES
Several months after the Dred Scott decision, one of Illinois’s greatest political contests got underway: the 1858 race for the U.S. Senate between Democratic incumbent Stephen Douglas and Republican challenger Congressman Abraham Lincoln -
John Brown/Harpers Ferry
On the night of October 16, 1859, John Brown led a band of 21 men, black and white, into Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia). His aim was to seize the federal arsenal there and start a general slave uprising. -
Lincoln is elected
Lincoln emerged as the winner with less than half the popular
vote and with no electoral votes from the South -
Formation of the Confederacy
In February 1861, delegates from the secessionist states met in
Montgomery, Alabama, where they formed the Confederate
States of America, or Confederacy -
Attack on Fort Sumter
By the time of Lincoln’s inauguration on March 4, 1861, only four Southern forts remained in Union hands. The most important was Fort Sumter, on an island
in Charleston harbor -
Battle at Antietam
McClellan ordered his men to pursue Lee, and the two
sides fought on September 17 near a creek called the
Antietam -
Emancipation Proclamation
On January 1, 1863, Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation. -
Battle of Bull Run
The first bloodshed on the battlefield occurred about three months after Fort Sumter fell, near the little creek of Bull Run, just 25 miles from Washington, D.C -
Conscriptions
. As the fighting intensified, heavy casualties and widespread desertions led each side to impose conscription, a draft that forced men to serve in the army. -
Income Tax
Congress decided to help pay for the war by collecting the nation’s first income tax, a tax that takes a specified percentage of an individual’s income. -
The Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg began on July 1 when Confederate soldiers led by A. P. Hill encountered several brigades of Union cavalry under the command of John Buford, an experienced officer from Illinois.
