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Civil War Leadup
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Missouri Compromise
In an effort to keep the balance of power in Congress between slave and free states, the Missouri Compromise was passed in 1820 adding Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. It was proposed by Henry Clay. The Goal was to keep peace on both sides of the union, as tension was boiling. Three years later the Missouri Compromise was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in the Dred Scott decision. -
Wilmot Proviso
In 1846, David Wilmot from Pennsylvania wrote a bill in congress to ban slavery in new territory acquired by the Mexican Cession. It was a very controversial topic, and while it pleased the north, it was not popular in the south. The bill did not pass however, but it greatly angered southern slaveholders that congress was considering the issue. This event caused future tension between free and slave states. -
The Fugitive Slave Act
Part of Henry Clay's famed compromise of 1850, The Fugitive slave Act allowed free and runaway slaves in the north to be brought back to slavery in the south. It angered many northerners and many abolitionists, but it pleased the south. Many falsely accused slaves were taken back to the south, regardless of if they were even a slave before that. The ability to take back slaves in states that prohibited slavery was deplored upon in the north, it created a even deeper divide in the Union. -
Compromise of 1850
The compromise of 1850 was a series of laws that aimed to resolve the never ending bickering about slavery. The compromise allowed slavery to potentially grow above the Missouri Compromise line, and the law also banned slavery in D.C. and potentially California. This idea was originally introduced by Senator Henry Clay. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
In 1853, Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin. It was a novel about the horrors of slavery. It was so controversial because People in the North saw the horrors of slavery for the first times in their lives. This book also came at a time where the debate about slavery was starting to heat up and caused more people started to join the abolitionist movement. -
Kansas Nebraska Act/ Bleeding Kansas
On May 30th in 1854, U.S. Congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act. This act allowed the people of the two states to decide if they were for or against slavery. After this law was passed, both supporters of slavery and anti-slavery rushed to the two states to put their votes in. The two sides were not very fond of eachother and fights started to break out and the death count rose earning it the nickname Bleeding Kansas. -
Dred Scott Case
The Dred scott case was a major part of the events leading up to the civil war. Scott was a slave who was moved to the west. He thought he could sue because the land that he was in did not allow slavery. He thought this would apply to him once he moved there. Sadly, the court’s decision was that, as property (since he was black), he did not have the right to sue. The North was horrified that the entire West could accept slavery. The South was happy that they could now expand wherever they want. -
Lincoln Douglas Debate
There were 7 debates between Lincoln and Douglas. They were running against each other for U.S. Senator from Illinois. Lincoln was a republican and Douglas was a Democrat. Lincoln actually ended up losing to Douglas but that played a big role in Lincoln’s presidential candidate run, which he ended up winning. -
John Brown's Raid
John Brown was a staunch abolitionist. He and his group of 18 men raided Harper’s Ferry in hope of starting a slave revolt. After they captured Harper’s Ferry the U.S. Marines came in and took Harper’s Ferry back. In total John lost 10 men to death and 7 were capture. He was also captured and later hung for what he did. He had the right idea of slavery being bad, but ended up as more of a terrorist with his actions. -
Lincoln's Election
Lincoln fought in the election against one Union party, and two democratic nominees. Lincoln won over all of the free states, and eventually made his way into presidency. The republican party won. This angered the south, as they supported slavery. This led to the secession of the south in 1860 -
Southern Secession
As soon as President Lincoln won the election south Carolina secede from the union and the battle of fort Sumter took place, when other states heard about the supplies sent to the fort. Lincoln stated that the north should take back their military posts in the south. This made more states such as Tennessee and Pennsylvania succeed. This led up to the civil war they seceded and formed the confederate states of America.
