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Northwest Ordinance
The Northwest Ordinance, or Ordinance of 1787 established government in the new Northwest Territory. It created a specific process to adding a new state to the Nation, and it also ensured the new states equal rights and liberties to the original thirteen colonies. The big thing about the Northwest Ordinance in relation to the Civil War is it outlawed slavery in the new territories and guaranteed equal rights to all who lived there. This was the first time Slavery was outlawed anywhere in the -
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United States. Later policies and compromises would do similar things, and ultimately separate the U.S. into two sections. It is important because it was the first thing to sort of start the slow separation that would lead to the Civil War about 75 years later. -
Cotton Gin
The Cotton Gin is a machine that was originally meant to eliminate the need for slavery. It picked the seeds out of the cotton mechanically and much faster that slaves could. Instead it made the declining cotton economy sky rocket. Making cotton production easier and faster only made for more cotton plantations, and more slave usage to pick the cotton for the cotton gins. This was a driving factor towards the Civil War because it caused slavery to boom while it was previously declining. -
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As we know the Civil War was primarily caused by slavery disputes, which makes the cotton gin a big cause of the War. -
Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise did many things. It admitted Maine as a free state, and Missouri as a slave state. Probably the most important thing during the time, is it implemented the 36' 30 line. This line would cut off slavery to all the remaining northern territory from the Louisiana Purchase. There was much dispute over this. This was huge in leading towards the Civil War as it geographically separated the north from the south. This separation over slavery would eventually lead to the Civil War. -
Nat Turner's Rebellion
Nat Turner's Rebellion was a slave rebellion that was very close to success. Turner believed God called upon him to end slavery. He gathered a handful of other slaves and they escaped their plantation, killing over 50 white men on their way. They were caught about 2 months later and hanged for their crimes. The rebellion did a couple things. For the northerners it proved that slavery was neither a necessary evil or a positive good, rather an overall bad thing for everybody, especially slaves. -
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For the southerners it made them wary of more possible slave rebellions in the future. Opinions on the rebellion were separated. This further separation would continue and eventually lead us to the Civil War. -
Fugitive Slave Law
The Fugitive Slave Law/Act was put in place in 1850. It ensured slave owners the right to their "property" no matter where they ran away to. If a slave escaped into a free state he or she was still not protected. The problem(besides slavery in general) was that slave owners would often come into free states in chase of runaways and bring back the wrong individual. This is because all that was needed to prove a slave's identity was the owners accusation. Many free black men were brought into... -
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slavery during these years. In response came laws implemented by northerners to prevent this from happening. The Fugitive Slave Act separated the United States immensely and was a leading factor towards the formation of the Confederacy and the start of the Civil War. -
Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas was a period of time between 1855 and 1859. The Kansas-Nebraska act was put in place in 1854. Along with creating the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, it implemented the political doctrine of popular sovereignty. Popular sovereignty stated that certain territories(one being Kansas) could decide for themselves whether they would be a free state or a slave state. This caused for both northerners and southerners to flood into Kansas in hopes to turn Kansas in their favor. -
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This would lead to violence for nearly 5 years . There were several minor conflicts resulting in an estimated 55 casualties. This was arguably the first violent conflicts between north and south in regards of slavery. The division from Bleeding Kansas would help lead to the start of the Civil War in 1961. -
John Brown's Harper's Ferry
in 1859, active abolitionist John Brown would launch an attack on Harper's Ferry along with a group of supporters. They captured citizens and took charge of the federal armory. Brown had hoped to spark a slave rebellion and have all slaves in the town join him. None of them did. The town militia would battle with Brown and his handful of men until eventually the U.S. Marines, under soon to be Confederate General Robert E. Lee, would show up. They killed Brown's men and captured the rest. -
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Brown would be hanged for his crimes on December 2nd, 1859. Although a failure, his raid sparked even more tensions between free states and slave states. His raid made camaraderie between north and south now nearly impossible. This directly led to the secession of the south and the start of the Civil War.