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Harriet Tubman escapes to Philadelphia
Harriet Tubman and her brothers escaped from slavery. Harriet was given a piece of paper from her neighbor with two names and she told her how to find the first house to freedom. At the first house, she was put into a wagon, covered with a sack, and driven to her next destination where the safe names of people would help her cross the Mason-Dixon Line. Then, she took a ride with a couple passing by to Philadelphia. There, Harriet got a job where she saved her pay to help slaves. -
The Fugitive Slave Act
The Fugitive Slave Act or Fugitive Slave Law was passed by the United States Congress being part of the Compromise of 1850 between Southern slave-holding interests and Northern Free-Soilers Abolitionists nicknamed it the "Bloodhound Law," for the dogs that were used to track down runaway slaves. The Act was one of the most controversial elements of the 1850 compromise. It required that all escaped slaves, upon capture, be returned to their masters, and all people should cooperate. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin published
Harriet Beecher Stowe’s fictional exploration of slave life was eyeopening. Northerners felt as if their eyes had been opened to the horrors of slavery, while Southerners protested that Stowe’s work was slanderous. The book's popularity brought the issue of slavery to life for those few who remained unmoved after decades of legislative conflict and widened the division between North and South. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas-Nebraska Act created the Kansas and Nebraska territories and exposed conflicting interpretations of popular sovereignty. Which essentially opened all new territories to slavery by asserting the rule of popular sovereignty over congressional edict. The availability of millions of acres caused pro- and anti-slavery cohorts fled to Kansas and Nebraska, with the hopes of using popular sovereignty to their advantage. It repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1850. -
Dred Scott Decision
Dred Scott was an enslaved African American man in the United States who unsuccessfully sued for his freedom saying that because he had lived on free soil, he was no longer a slave. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney denied his suit for two reasons. First, he wrote, Scott did not have the power to sue in federal court because he was not a citizen. Second, Taney said, simply living on free soil does not make you free, because slaves were property. -
Abraham Lincoln debates Stephen Douglas
Stephen Douglas battled Abraham Lincoln in face to face debates around the state. The prize they sought was a seat in the Senate. Lincoln challenged Douglas to a war of ideas. Douglas took the test. The debates were to be held at 7 areas throughout Illinois. The fight was on and the nation was watching. The debates treated the issue of slavery and its extension into territories such as Kansas. The Lincoln Douglas debates transformed Abraham Lincoln into a national figure and soon the president. -
John Brown attacks Harper's Ferry
Abolitionist John Brown attempts to start a slave rebellion by taking over the Harpers Ferry arsenal. He led a raid on the federal armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, to seize the arms located there, spread them among local slaves and begin an armed rebellion. A small force of U.S. Marines, led by Col. Robert E. Lee, put down the uprising. There were mishaps on both sides; seven people were killed and at least 10 more were injured before Brown and seven of his remaining men were captured. -
Abraham Lincoln Elected
Abraham Lincoln is elected sixteenth president of the United States, the first Republican president in the nation who represents a party that opposes the spread of slavery in the territories of the United States. Abraham Lincoln was from the northern part of the country and wanted to put an end to slavery. -
South Carolina Secedes
December 20, 1860, South Carolinas legislature called for a special meeting. After the Lincolns election, the State believed that it could only have power if it created its own nation. Therefore, it seceded from the Union. South Carolina became the first slave state in the south to declare that it had seceded from the United States. Soon Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas in 1861 would secede. -
The Confederacy is formed
The states farthest south, where slavery and plantations agriculture were dominant, formed the Confederate States of America with Jefferson Davis as President. They established their capital at Montgomery, Alabama and took over federal forts on their territory.
