-
The Mexican War Ends
This treaty, signed on, ended the war between the United States and Mexico. By its terms, Mexico ceded 55 percent of its territory, including the present-day states California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, most of Arizona and Colorado, and parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Wyoming. -
The Fugitive Slave Act Passes
The act required that slaves be returned to their owners, even if they were in a free state. The act also made the federal government responsible for finding, returning, and trying escaped slaves. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin' Is Published
Uncle Tom's Cabin tells the story of Uncle Tom, an enslaved person, depicted as saintly and dignified, noble and steadfast in his beliefs. While being transported by boat to auction in New Orleans, Tom saves the life of Little Eva, an angelic and forgiving young girl, whose grateful father then purchases Tom. -
'Bleeding Kansas' Riots Shock Northerners
Bleeding Kansas describes the period of repeated outbreaks of violent guerrilla warfare between pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces following the creation of the new territory of Kansas -
Charles Sumner Attacked by Preston Brooks
The Caning of Charles Sumner, or the Brooks–Sumner Affair, occurred in the United States Senate chamber, when Representative Preston Brooks, a pro-slavery Democrat from South Carolina, used a walking cane to attack Senator Charles Sumner, an abolitionist Republican from Massachusetts. -
Dred Scott Loses His Case to Be Free
that having lived in a free state and territory did not entitle an enslaved person, Dred Scott, to his freedom. In essence, the decision argued that, as someone's property, Scott was not a citizen and could not sue in a federal court. -
Kansas Voters Reject the Lecompton Constitution
In the next round of voting, on January 4, 1858, Kansas voters rejected the Lecompton Constitution by a decisive margin of 10,226 to 138, suggesting that Free-State supporters overwhelmingly outnumbered the proslavery element and that Lecompton's previous popularity at the polls was the product of nefarious voting . -
John Brown Raids Harper's Ferry
John Brown, a staunch abolitionist, and a group of his supporters left their farmhouse hide-out an route to Harpers Ferry. Descending upon the town in the early hours of October 17th, Brown and his men captured prominent citizens and seized the federal armory and arsenal. -
Abraham Lincoln Is Elected President
Lincoln won the Electoral College with less than 40 percent of the popular vote nationwide by carrying states above the Mason–Dixon line and north of the Ohio River, plus the states of California and Oregon in the Far West. Unlike every preceding president-elect, Lincoln did not carry even one slave state. -
civil war
The American Civil War was fought between the United States of America and the Confederate States of America, a collection of eleven southern states that left the Union in 1860 and 1861. The conflict began primarily as a result of the long-standing disagreement over the institution of slavery.
