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Missouri Compromise
The U.S. purchased Louisiana in 1803. Congress had to decide if states being made from this territory would be free or slave. Missouri applied to become a slave state.Maine wanted to come in as a free state. This would keep the balance between slave and free in Congress.Henry Clay wrote a compromise that said that any territory that became a state would be slave or free depending on where it was on the map. Any territory below the 36 30 line on the map would not be a free state. -
Compromise of 1850
The annexation of Texas and the gaining of the Mexican Cession land made the U.S. re-examine the issue of slavery. They had to decide if new states would be slave or free. When California asked to become a free state in 1849 people began arguing. The 36x30 line cut right thru the middle of California. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854
Nebraska was divided in half so there are 2 territories. Kansas and Nebraska.
Slavery in each territory would be decided by the voters=Popular Sovereignty.
Results:
Bleeding Kansas-lots of violence
The Democratic Party lost support in the North but gained it in the South. Democrats were pro-slavery.
The Republican Party is created and it gained power among those against slavery. -
Dred Scott Decision
The Supreme Court of 1857 ruled that people of African ancestry were not citizens and could not sue in Federal Court for freedom or anything else. 3They also ruled that the Missouri Compromise was not legal. They stated the government can not tell states they have to be slave or free.
Results:Angry anti-slavery voters voted for Abraham Lincoln for president in 1860. -
Presidential Election Of 1860
1860-Republican Abraham Lincoln won the Presidency.Republicans promised to:End the spread of slavery, Impose tariffs to protect US businesses
and to give free land in the West to settlers