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Attack on Fort Meims -> Indian Removal Act
Starting with the Attack on Fort Mims, President Jackson started the conflict of the Indian Removal Act. Jackson's justifications and the intricacies of his loopholes meant that the Cherokees among other Native American Groups were exiled from their old homes to their new ones out west. -
Nat Turner's Uprising
Nat Turner, a slave in Southampton County, Virginia, staged a bloody revolt that had far-reaching consequences for slaves at the time. In August 1831, he used the eclipse of the sun as an omen before he and his friends/relatives rose and killed at least 55 white men, women, and children. After that, the US Army promptly dispersed this and then sent a message by having their heads on pikes. -
Bad Axe Massacre
The Bad Axe Massacre took place in the Wisconsin Territory, and was caused because Chief Black Hawk of the Sauk and Fox peoples along with his followers had refused to leave the rich, well-watered territory of western Illinois. As a result, the US Army promptly chased him down and at Bad Axe, destroyed 850 of Black Hawk's 1000 men. -
Battle of Palo Alto
The Battle of Palo Alto is recognized to be the very first battle of the Mexican-American War. The Mexican General Mariano Arista had seen Taylor's order to take his forces up to the borderline as a hostile invasion of Mexican territory, and so they engaged each other in battle, then subsequently the next day, at Resaca de la Palma. -
The Seneca Falls Convention
The Seneca Falls Convention was a significant part of the uproaring demands for revised rights for women and slaves. With the continuation of the 19th century, women were continually overlooked by men, and so with the Seneca Falls Convention, a new push for egalitarian views were established. -
The Fugitive Slave Act Passed
The Fugitive Slave Act had initiated the Southern stance on slaves for the next 10 years: there would be no bounds for reclaiming what they viewed was their property. This unwavering view could only be conflicted with force. -
Preston S. Brooks assaults Charles Sumner
The beating of Charles Sumner may very well explain the tensions between the North and the South as well as the simultaneous issue of Bleeding Kansas. Charles Sumner, after his "Crime Against Kansas" speech, was hit in the back of the head by the pro-slavery representative while attaching postal frank copies to his speech. -
Acquisition of Oregon
The acquisition of Oregon had seen two conflicting sides, that is the United States and the British in Canada, on who should get what. The Oregon Trail's main purpose was to get settlers into Oregon so that the United States could lay more of a claim to the territory, and this would illustrate the American desire for westward expansion via Manifest Destiny. -
Secession of South Carolina
South Carolina was the first state to secede from the Union, and this was promptly followed by the rest of the South, which would eventually become the Confederate States of America. This would eventually start the domino effect of the US Civil War. -
Battle at Fort Sumter
The first battle of the US Civil War was the Siege at Fort Sumter. Confederate forces surrounding the fort had requested the surrender of the fort and when this demand was denied, proceeded to fire cannons at the fort, initiating the Civil War. The fort would surrender one day later, but the damage would have been already done.