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Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise was meant to create a balance between slave and non-slave states. Congress passed this bill that granted Missouri statehood as a slave state with conditions that slavery must be prohibited in the rest of the Louisiana Purchase north of the 36th parallel. This compromise focused on how slavery would be dealt with in the expansion of the U.S.. Many felt the compromise made it seem that the north was more aggressive in its anti-slavery views causing southern resentment. -
Nat Turner's Slave Rebellion
Nat Turner's Rebellion was a slave rebellion in Southhampton County, Virginia led by Nat Turner. The rebellion lasted two days and resulted in rebel slaves killing from 55 to 65 people, at least 51 being white. The rebellion was a direct result of the growth of slavery in the south and raised southern fears of a general slave uprising and effected the attitude of Southerners towards slavery. The rebellion led to the education of slaves becoming outlawed -
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
This document officially ended the Mexican-American War and forced cession northern territories of Alta California and Santa Fe de Nuevo Mexico to the United states ultimately adding 525,000 square miles to United States territory. This is significant to the Civil War because with all the acquired land what was the U.S. going to do about the slave anti-slave state balance. -
The Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was 5 separate acts including the strengthening of the Fugitive Slave Act that was highly unpopular in the North due to the requirement to seize and return escaped slaves to the South. The North gained California, Texas lost territory but was compensated with 10 million dollars to pay for its debt. Slave Trade was prohibited in Washington D.C. but slavery was not. The Compromise overturned the Missouri Compromise and left the overall issue of slavery unresolved. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe is an anti-slavery novel that helped lay the groundwork for the Civil War and secure Abraham Lincoln's presidential victory by showing the horrors of slavery. The novel increased the differences between the North and South. Northerners began to realize how inhumane slavery was and Southerners tried twice as hard to defend the institution. -
Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas began from a debate over the legality of slavery in Kansas. In order to force the acceptance of slavery in Kansas, "border ruffians" traveled from Missouri into Kansas territory. Border Ruffians did this by voting so slavery would become permitted in Kansas. This event also staged the ground for the Civil War because it is arguably the first battles of the Civil War and the fighting grounds/battlefield where the forces of anti-slavery and slavery met. -
Abraham Lincoln's Election
A former Whig, Lincolns political platform opposed the expansion of slavery in territories. When Lincoln was elected, it hurdled the Civil War into full effect. Lincoln campaigned anti-slavery but vowed to not interfere with territories where it existed. Lincoln's election caused the southerners to fear that Republicans would abolish slavery everywhere.
