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Invention of the Cotton Gin
Eli Whitney (1765-1825) patented the cotton gin, a machine that revolutionized the production of cotton by greatly speeding up the process of removing seeds from cotton fiber -
Missouri Compromise
An effort by Congress to defuse the sectional and political rivalries triggered by the request of Missouri late in 1819 for admission as a state in which slavery would be permitted. -
Nat Turner's Rebellion
Was a slave rebellion that took place in Southampton County, Virginia, during August 1831. Led by Nat Turner, rebel slaves killed from 55 to 65 people, the largest and deadliest slave uprising in U.S. history. -
The Liberator is published
The Liberator was a weekly newspaper published by William Lloyd Garrison in Boston, Massachusetts. -
Wilmot Proviso
Proposed an American law to ban slavery in territory acquired from Mexico in the Mexican War. The conflict over the Wilmot proviso was one of the major events leading to the American Civil War. -
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was the term used to describe a network of persons who helped escaped slaves on their way to freedom in the northern states or Canada. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed by the U.S. Congress on May 30, 1854. It allowed people in the territories of Kansas and Nebraska to decide for themselves whether or not to allow slavery within their borders. -
Period: to
Bleeding-Kansas
Bloody Kansas was a series of violent political confrontations in the U.S involving antislavery "free-staters", and pro slavery "Boarder Ruffian", or "Southern", elements in Kansas. -
Dred Scott Decision
This decision declared that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional and that Congress did not have the authority to prohibit slavery in the territories. The Dred Scott decision was overturned by the 13th and 14th Amendments to the Constitution. -
Lincoln-Douglas Debates
This was a series of seven debates between Abraham Lincoln, the Republican candidate for the United States Senate from Illinois, and incumbent Senator Stephen Douglas, the Democratic Party candidate. -
John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry
Abolitionist John Brown leads a small group on a raid against a federal armory in Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia), in an attempt to start an armed slave revolt and destroy the institution of slavery. -
Fort Sumter is fired upon
April 13th, Major Robert Anderson, garrison commander, surrendered the fort and was evacuated the next day. The Union would not recapture Fort Sumter for nearly four years. -
Election of 1860
Republican Abraham Lincoln defeated Southern Democrat John C. Breckinridge, Democrat Stephen A. Douglas, and Constitutional Union candidate John Bell. -
website links
(Http://www.history.com)
(Http://www.accessible archives.com)
(Http://www.civil war.org)
Http://www.Britannica.com
