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Missouri Compromise 1820-1821
Behind the leadership of Henry Clay, Congress passed a series of agreements under which Maine was admitted as a free state and Missouri as a slave state. -
San Felipe de Austin
In 1821, Stephen F. Austin established a colony between the Brazos and Colorado rivers in honor of his father. The main settlement was named San Felipe de Austin, in Stephen's honor. Brought 20,000 Americans in Texas. -
Mexico Abolishes Slavery
Mexico had abolished slavery in 1829 and insisted the new settlers in Texas free their slaves. -
Nat Turner's Rebellion
Led by Virginia slave Nat Turner, August 1831 Turner and more than 50 follows attacked four plantations and killed about 60 whites. -
Oregon Trail
Stretched from Independence, Missouri, to Oregon City, Oregon. Blazed in 1836 by two Methodist missionaries named Marcus and Narcissi Whitman. By driving their wagon as far as Fort Boise, they proved that wagons could travel on the Oregon Trail. -
Texas Revolution
The 1836 rebellion in which Texas gained its independence from Mexico. -
Manifest Destiny
Expressed the belief that the US was ordained to expand to the Pacific Ocean and into Mexican and Native American territory. -
Santa Fe Trail
Route used by settlers and traders who made the trek west. The trail stretched 780 miles from Independence, Missouri, to Santa Fe in the Province of New Mexico. -
Texas Enters the US
Southerners wanted Texas in order to extend slavery while Northerners feared that the annexation of more slave territory would tip the uneasy balance in the Senate in favor of Slave States. -
Mexican-American War
April 25, 1846 – February 2, 1848, an armed conflict between the United States of America and the United Mexican States due to Mexico refusing to give up certain lands. -
The North Star
An antislavery newspaper created by Frederick Douglass in 1847, encouraged that abolition could be achieved without violence. -
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
US and Mexico signed this treaty under which Mexico agreed to the Rio Grande as the border between Texas and Mexico and ceded the New Mexico and California territories to the US. -
Fugitive Slave Act
Under law, alleged fugitive slaves were not entitled to a trial by jury and anyone convicted of helping a fugitive was liable for a fine of $1,000 and imprisonment for up to six months. -
Compromise of 1850
California created controversy for the North and South regarding it being a free state. Henry Clay worked to shape a compromise both the North and South would except and presented this compromise to the senate. To please the north, California would be admitted as a free state, for the south, the compromise proposed a new and more effective fugitive slave law. A provision allowed popular sovereignty, the right to vote for or against slavery for residents of the New Mexico and Utah territories. -
Harriet Tubman
A famous conductor of the Underground Railroad. Led 300 slaves to freedom and also went by Moses. -
Underground Railroad
The system of escape routes fugitive slaves used. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
A novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852, which stressed that slavery was not just a political contest, but also a great moral struggle. Expressed her lifetime hatred of slavery and stirred abolitionist protests. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
Repealed the Missouri Compromise and establish popular sovereignty for both territories. Became law in 1854. -
Abolition
The movement to abolish slavery, became the most important of a series of reform movements in America. -
Dred Scott v. Sandford
Dred Scott was a slave whose owner took him from the slave state of Missouri to free territory and back. He sued because he was in soil of free territory. The court ruled against him. -
Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas Debates
Neither wanted slavery in the territories, but disagreed on how to keep it out. Douglas believed deeply in popular sovereignty. Lincoln believed slavery was immoral. Douglas won the Senate seat. -
John Brown's Raid/ Harper's Ferry
Led by John Brown, an abolitionist, on October 16 1859, a band of 21 black and white men went to Harpers Ferry, Virginia. Their aim was to seize cereal arsenal there and start a general slave uprising. -
The Liberator
A paper written by white abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, encouraged antislavery and immediate emancipation. -
Abraham Lincoln Becomes President
Lincoln became president in 1860. He was successful against other candidates because he had the republican vote and was moderate in his views. -
Conscription
As the fighting intensified between the North and the South, it led to both sides to impose conscription, a draft that forced men to serve in the army. -
Income Tax
Congress created income tax to help pay for war. It was a tax that takes a specified percentage of an individual's income. -
Formation of the Confederacy
Southern states wanted to secede. In February 1861, delegates from these states met in Montgomery, Alabama where they formed the Confederate States of America. -
The Battle of Fort Sumter
The Battle of Fort Sumter took place April 12-14, 1861 near Charleston County. General Anderson (north) and General Beauregard (south) both fought on opposing sides during this battle. This was one of the opening battles of the cival war. The confederates ended up wining this battle. Shocking the north and boosting the south's confidence. -
The Battle of Bull Run
The Battle of Bull Run took place on July 21, 1861 near Manassas Junction, Virginia. General McDowell headed the North and General Beauregard South. This battle was known as the first battle of the civil war. The victory went to the south which gave the south more confidence and shocked the north. Many northern realized war would not be as easy as they had thought. -
The Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam was fought along Antietam Creek, at Sharpsburg, Maryland on September 17, 1862.Genals Robert E. Lee (south) and George McClellan (north) both commandeered on different sides during the bloodiest day in American history. After many hours of fighting the south withdrew, thus the union could claim a victory. All though the union won they suffered losses of over 12,000 with this many men dead Lincoln felt he had no choice, but to fire McClellan. -
The Emancipation Proclamation
The Emancipation Proclamation was a document written by Abraham Lincoln January 1, 1863 to free all the slaves living in the south.This document was basically pointless because the south had all ready seceded so they didn't follow northern laws.The only thing that happen as a result of this doucument was the south was angered and fuleled more. -
Battle at Vicksburg
Took place from May 18, 1863 to July 4, 1863 In Vicksburg Mississippi. The commanding officers of this battle were General Ulysses S. Grant (north) General John C. Pemberton (south). This battle resulted in a union victory thus, the confederacy lost one of their major strongholds. Also as a result of this battle the union successfully split the confederacy in half. -
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg was fought from July 1 to July 3, 1863. Its considered to be the most important battle of the civil war. The commander of the south was still General Lee, but again the north had a new commander, General George G. Meade. After three days of fierce fighting, Lee withdrew his army back to Virgina. Resulting in a Union Victory. -
Gettysburg Address
In November 1863, a ceremony was held to dedicate a cemetery in Gettysburg and there, Lincoln spoke for a little more than two minutes. The speech helped the country remember it is a unified nation. -
Sherman's March
Led by William Sherman, military commander of the union, in spring of 1864 through Georgia to the sea, creating a wide path of destruction. After reaching the ocean, Sherman's forces- followed by 25,000 former saves- turned north to help Grant "wipe out Lee". -
Surrender at Appomattox Court House
On April 9, 1865 in a Virginia town called Appomattox, Lee and Grant met at a private home to arrange a Confederate surrender. Within a month, all remaining Confederate resistance collapsed. The Civil War had lasted 4 years. -
Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
April 14, 1865, five days after Lee surrendered, Lincoln was shot in the back of his head at a theatre. This was the first assassination of a US president. The assassin was John Wilkes Booth, a southern sympathizer. -
Thirteenth Amendment
Ratified at the end of 1865, stated "neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States."
