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Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise was legislation that attempted to balance the North’s and South’s desires by making Missouri a slave state and Maine a free state. It also prohibited slaves in any of the other land acquired in the Louisiana Purchase that was above the 36°30′ parallel. -
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Nullification crisis
The nullification crisis was a conflict in which, after President Andrew Jackson failed to listen to the concern of southern states regarding the Tariffs of 1828, which they felt taxed them unfairly, the state of South Carolina declared a Nullification Ordinance of both the Tariffs of 1828 and the failed attempt at a compromise, Tariffs of 1832. It all ended when the Compromise Tariff of 1833 passed, and it took back its Nullification Ordinance. -
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Dred Scott v. Sandford
In 1837, Dred Scott's owners took him and his wife to Illinois, a state in which slavery was illegal. This caused Scott to sue for his freedom claiming that since Illinois was a free state, he had been freed by entering it. The case would go up to the supreme court before being denied. He would eventually be enfranchised in 1857, but he would die from tuberculosis a year later. -
Wilmot Proviso
The Wilmot Proviso was an unsuccessful attempt at banning slavery in territories acquired in Mexican-American War. Although it would pass the House, it would fail the Senate. There would be another attempt a year later, which would also fail. -
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was five bills passed that passed through September of the year 1850. They made California both a state and slave free, made trading slaves illegal in Washington D.C, defined Texa’s borders, and established New Mexico and Utah as territories, putting no restrictions on slavery. This was all done in an attempt to defuse tensions between the North and the South. -
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin (a.k.a. Life Among the Lowly) was an anti-slavery book written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Although it helped to establish some negative stereotypes towards black people, it is considered to have changed attitudes towards black people and slavery. -
The Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas-Nebraska Act was an act that created Kansas and Nebraska. Senator Douglas added an amendment in order to gain pro-slavery votes that said that the settlers in the new territories would vote on whether slavery would be legal or not. Instead of slavery being automatically illegal like the Missouri Compromise made it be. -
Lincoln-Douglas Debates
The Lincoln-Douglas debates were seven debates held during the 1858 Illinois senatorial campaign between the Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln and the Democratic candidate Stephen Douglas. They mostly focused on slavery and whether it would be allowed into the territories obtained through the Louisiana Purchase and the Mexican Cession. -
John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry Arsenal begins
Lasting from Oct 16, 1859 – Oct 18, 1859, John Brown’s raid on Harpers Ferry Arsenal was an attempt by John Brow and 22 others to take over the Harpers Ferry Armory in order to incite a slave revolt. -
The 1860 Presidential Election
The 1860 President in which, Abraham Lincoln beat John C. Breckinridge, Stephen A. Douglas, and John Bell. Lincoln did not appear in any of the slave state’s ballots. This was the first time a Republican was elected president. Around a month later, the South would secede.