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Missouri Compromise
After the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 issues arose about slavery in the newly acquired western territory, so the Missouri Compromise was created to diffuse these issues. From the Missouri Compromise, Missouri was admitted as a slave state, Maine was admitted as a free state, and the 36* 30' line was put in place. The 36* 30' line stated that north of the line was free and south of the line allowed slavery. The Missouri Compromise increased sectionalism between the north and the south. -
Nat Turner's Rebellion
Nat Turner lead the only effective slave rebellion in U.S. history. One night in Virginia, Turner lead a group of slaves that killed 50-60 white people. Eventually Nat Turner was found and hung, however his rebellion left an impact. After Nat Turner's rebellion southerners became worried about slaves, which lead to stricter laws against slaves and reduced what rights slaves had at the time. These stricter laws and decreased rights increased tensions between the Free-Soil party and slave owners. -
Mexican-American War
The Mexican American War began in 1846 and continued until 1848. The war was fought over the annexation of Texas, border disputes, and the United States increased want to expand westward. When the war ended with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, the debate over slavery in the new states began. The north wanted the new states to be admitted as free and the south wanted them to be admitted as slave states. This debate increased sectionalism and further divided the north and the south. -
The Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was created to solve the issues of slavery caused by the Mexican American War. There were five parts to the Compromise of 1850, but the most important were that California was admitted as a free state and that a stricter Fugitive Slave Law was passed. Although both the south and the north benefitted, the compromise only settled issues temporarily. Northerners were angry with the new Fugitive Slave Law which continued to increase separation from the north and south. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin was a fiction book written by Harriet Beecher Stowe which allowed citizens to realize how evil slavery was. The book became extremely popular very quickly selling 300,000 copies in the first year. The south was disgusted by the book and thought that it did not accurately portray slavery, some states even went as far as banning the book. This book greatly increased the anti-slavery feelings in the north, which further separated the north and south and sparked the Civil War. -
Bleeding Kansas
Popular sovereignty was used to decide whether Kansas would be admitted as a free or slave state. The issue with popular sovereignty was that pro-slavery border ruffians began fighting with northerners when they tried to move into the state. The northerners and the southerners continued to fight for five years over the debate of slavery in Kansas. This event was the first time that both pro and anti slavery supporters went to extreme measures for what they wanted and further divided the nation. -
Abraham Lincoln's Election
Abraham Lincoln won the election of 1860 despite being the candidate of the minority Republican Party. During this time Republicans opposed the expansion of slavery, which obviously the south did not like. Soon after Lincoln's election South Carolina seceded from the United States which triggered other southern states to begin to secede. It is quite obvious that the south did not approve of Lincoln or what he stood for which lead to a broken United States and the start of the Civil War.
