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Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 consists of five laws passed in September of 1850 that dealt with the issue of slavery and territorial expansion. As part of the Compromise of 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act was amended and the slave trade in Washington, D.C., was abolished. Furthermore, California entered the Union as a free state and a territorial government was created in Utah. -
Kansas Nebraska Act
The Kansas-Nebraska Act repealed the Missouri Compromise, created two new territories, and allowed for popular sovereignty. It also produced a violent uprising known as “Bleeding Kansas,” as proslavery and antislavery activists flooded into the territories to sway the vote. -
Bleeding Kansas
A series of violent civil confrontations in Kansas Territory, and to a lesser extent in western Missouri. -
Preston Brooks vs. Charles Sunmer
The caning of Charles Sumner, or the Brooks–Sumner Affair, occurred on May 22, 1856, 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 vs Sandford
Landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that held the U.S. Constitution did not extend American citizenship to African Americans, and thus they could not enjoy the rights and privileges the Constitution conferred upon American citizens. -
Lincoln Douglas debates
Series of seven debates between the Democratic senator Stephen A. Douglas and Republican challenger Abraham Lincoln during the 1858 Illinois senatorial campaign, largely concerning the issue of slavery extension into the territories. -
John Brown’s Raid on Harper’s Ferry
A raid by John Brown to initiate a slave revolt in Southern states by taking over the United States arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia. -
Election of Abraham Lincoln
Won the presidential election of 1860 in a four-way contest. Although Lincoln received less than 40% of the popular vote, he easily won the Electoral College vote over Stephen Douglas, John Breckenridge, and John Bell.