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Declaration Ignores Slaves
The Declaration of Independence declares that "all men are created equal. It does not deal with slavery explicitly but contains a clause attacking the king for emancipating slaves and arming them to fight against the colonists. -
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civil war
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Eli Whitney Invents Cotton Gin
Eli Whitney invents the cotton gin, which allows for the cultivation of short- staple cotton and revolutionizes the industry, dramatically increasing its profitability and the land areas that can be utilized for growing the crop. This dictates the westward spread of cotton growing and its backbone: slave labor. -
Slave Trade Ban
Congress passes a law prohibiting Americans from participating in the African slave trade. The ban, which goes into effect in 1808, will be inconsistently enforced until 1861. -
Louisiana Purchase Sets Slave Debate
The United States purchases Louisiana from France for $15 million. The large acquisition will set the stage for future debates over slavery in the territories. -
The Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise was only a temporary solution to the slavery issue in unorganized territories. The Tallmadge amendment only added to the conflict because it stated "further introduction of slavery or involuntary servitude prohibited.. and children born within that said state.. shall be free at the age of 25 years." -
Slave and Free States Equal
Missouri is admitted to the Union as a slave state, but Congress agrees to forbid slavery in all other territory north of Missouri's southern border. With the addition of Missouri, the Union consists of twelve slave states and twelve free. -
Jackson Election
Democrat Andrew Jackson (a slaveowner) is elected president of the United States. He is the seventh president elected; every president thus far, with the exception of John Adams and his son John Quincy Adams, has been a slaveowner. -
The Mexican War Ended
With the end of the Mexican War, America was ceded western territories. This posed a problem: as these new territories would be admitted as states, would they be free or slave? To deal with this, Congress passed the Compromise of 1850 which basically made California free and allowed the people to pick in Utah and New Mexico. This ability of a state to decide whether it would allow slavery was called popular sovereignty. -
Fugitive Slave Act
As a portion of the Compromise of 1850, a new—and much harsher—Fugitive Slave Act is passed. It strengthens the enforcement of the fugitive slave clause in the Constitution makes the federal government responsible for the apprehension and return of all escaped slaves, and facilitates the job for slave catchers. The fugitives in question are denied a jury trial. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin Was Released
Uncle Tom's Cabin or Life Among the Lowly was written in 1852 by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Stowe was an abolitionist who wrote this book to show the evils of slavery. This book, which was a best seller at the time, had a huge impact on the way that northerners viewed slavery. It helped further the cause of abolition, and even Abraham Lincoln recognized that this bok was one of the events that led to the outbreak of the Civil War. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas-Nebraska Bill passes, largely thanks to Stephen A. Douglas, the Democratic senator from Illinois. In effect the bill repeals the Missouri Compromise and its prohibition of slavery in the Northwest by authorizing settlers to determine for themselves the status of slavery in their communities. Controversy over the bill will drive a wedge into the Democratic Party, shatter Whig unity, and spur the creation of the Republican Party in the North -
John Brown Raid on Harpers Ferry
Under the cover of darkness, radical abolitionist John Brown crosses the Potomac River with twenty-one men, including five blacks. They plan to incite a massive insurrection by arming local slaves with weapons from the federal arsenal. The plan backfires and ten of Brown's men are ultimately killed; his forces kill four, including a Marine. Brown and six others are apprehended. -
John Brown Trial
John Brown is quickly tried and convicted of conspiracy to incite insurrection and treason against the state of Virginia. At his sentencing, he declares, "Now, if it is deemed necessary that I should forfeit my life for the furtherance of the ends of justice, and mingle my blood further with the blood of my children and with the blood of millions in this slave country whose rights are disregarded by wicked, cruel, and unjust enactments, I say, let it be done."10 -
John Brown Executed
Radical abolitionist John Brown is hanged in Charlestown, Virginia (modern-day Charles Town, West Virginia). Six of his associates, two of them black, follow at a later date. Brown becomes an antislavery martyr and his attempted insurrection creates panic in the South. -
Lincoln Elected
Abraham Lincoln is elected president of the United States, defeating both Democratic candidates, Stephen Douglass and John Breckinridge, and the Constitutional Union Party candidate, John Bell. -
Confederacy Begins
The Confederacy is created with the adoption of a provisional constitution in Montgomery, Alabama. -
Jefferson Davis Elected
Jefferson Davis is inaugurated as the first (and last) president of the Confederacy. -
Attack on Fort Sumter
On this day, rebel forces in South Carolina open fire on federal fort in Charleston Harbor and force its surrender. The Civil War is started with this attack. The nation is now at war against itself. Many people refer to the Civil War as brother vs. brother because families would be torn apart between pro-salvery and anti-slavery. Many siblings fought against each other in this war. This was a war fought between citizens in the same country.
