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Mexican American War
After the United States annexed Texas from Mexico,border disputes became an issue.The ideals of Manifest Destiny had America expanding its limits,and Mexico refused to recognize Texas as an independent state.This short two year war would prove integral in Southern secession.Most northern states saw the war as an excuse for the South to gain more land and increase the amount of slave states,establishing more power in congress.These accusations created tension between the North and the South. -
Compromise of 1850
Henry Clay's compromise admitted California as a free state, slave trade was outlawed in Washington DC, and Texas lost its boundary dispute with New Mexico. The South was promised there would be no federal restrictions on slavery in Utah or New Mexico territories,slave holding was permitted in DC, and the Fugitive Slave Acts were passed. On the surface this compromise seemed fair, but in reality it helped the North significantly more than the South,giving free states the upper hand in congress. -
Fugitive Slave Act
The Fugitive Slave Act was possibly the most important part of the Compromise of 1850. The act was meant to be a beneficial to the South, making it impossible for slaves to run away. Runaway slaves were not to be considered free unless their owner had granted them freedom. Free states chose to ignore this law and continuously allowed fugitive slaves to reside within northern borders. This left Southern slave holding states outraged, further promoting sectionalism. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The South was unwilling to admit Nebraska as a new state, as it existed North of the 36°30' parallel and would be admitted as a free state under the long standing Missouri Compromise which had held the Union together. To resolve this issue, Kansas was made out of Nebraska and each state was to decide if they would be free or slave based on popular sovereignty. Kansas voted to be a slave state, violating the Missouri Compromise. Slavery would now have to be permitted North of the 36°30' parallel. -
Dred Scott Vs. Sandford
Dred Scott, a runaway slave from Missouri, had lived in Illinois for ten years as a free man. Upon his return to Missouri, Scott sued in court for his freedom. He lost the case. According to Articles III and IV, no person who was descended of a slave could officially be an American citizen, and therefore had no rights in court. This decision made it extremely difficult for slaves to gain freedom, and hurt Northern free states who had been harbouring fugitive slaves. -
Panic of 1857
As the prices of land fell, stocks began losing value, and wheat prices crashed, a banking institution collapsed and the news traveled quickly, sparking a panic among the general public. This was a more prominent issue in the North than the South, and the South managed to pull the country out of the panic on its slave based economy, leading the South to believe that the American Union would fail without slavery. This only added to the preexisting tensions and would further lead to the war. -
Election of 1860
The final straw for the South, president Abraham Lincoln won the running for president in 1860. Although he promised he would not get rid of slavery completely, the South saw this as their ultimate loss and predicted that slavery would eventually be prohibited everywhere. South Carolina began the secession from the Union, and many more states followed to form the Confederacy.
