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The Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise was the legislation that allowed for Missouri to join the Union as a slave state and Maine to join as a free state. It also stated that Missouri’s southern border would be the line that determined where slavery would be allowed in the future. All states north of the line would be free states and all states below would be slave states. This was important because it was one of the many compromises attempted to keep both sides happy, but would not work out in the future. -
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Conflicts Leading to the Civil War
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The Wilmot Proviso
The Wilmot Proviso was a proposed legislation that would outlaw slavery in territories that were acquired by the Mexican-American War. The legislation was pushed for a long time, but it was not passed. This proposal angered people who were pro-slave and prompted the first serious discussions of secession in the South. -
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Uncle Tom’s Cabin was published by Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852. It quickly became the second best selling book in America; the first best selling was The Bible. The book discussed the horrors of slavery which created a greater divide between the North and the South. -
Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas occurred after the Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed, which stated that the states would adopt the idea of popular sovereignty on the issue of slavery. Problems arose with this because abolitionists and people that were pro-slave flooded into Kansas to create a positive outcome for their side. This initiated violence between the people that were taking residence in Kansas. Bleeding Kansas was the first battleground of abolitionists and those who were pro-slavery. -
Dred Scott v. Sanford
Dred Scott v. Sanford was a Supreme Court case, in which a slave sued for his freedom. The Court ruled against him because African Americans were not considered citizens, they were property. This led a judge on the case to made a bold and controversial statement that the government could not regulate slavery because they could not tell citizens where they could have property. This infuriated abolitionists and created more division between the North and South. -
Lincoln-Douglas Debates
The Lincoln-Douglas Debates were a series of public debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas. During this, Douglas claimed that he agreed with the ruling of the Dred Scott case, but he believed that states could regulate or reject it. This upset the Southerners who believed that slavery could exist everywhere and did not believe that the government should be able to regulate it. -
John Brown’s Raid
John Brown was an abolitionist who thought the best way to solve the slavery issue was with violence. John Brown planned to capture the federal arsenal at Harper’s Ferry, arm and free the slaves, and start an insurrection. John Brown was caught and sentenced to death before fully executing his plan. Abolitionists saw him as a martyr, but to the Southerners it verified that the North was actively plotting against them. -
Lincoln’s Election
Abraham Lincoln was elected the president in 1860, and this drew the line for many Southerners. Lincoln gained all of his votes from the North, and did not receive support from the South. Lincoln’s election was a big deal because Lincoln was a Republican and he was not pro-slave. -
Secession from the Union
A month after the polls closed on Lincoln’s election, South Carolina and 6 other states decided to secede from the Union. As stated before, Lincoln becoming the president upset the Southerners greatly and drew the line for them. This was clearly a major step towards the war and officially divided the Union into two. -
The Battle of Fort Sumter
After 7 states had seceded, Lincoln made a decision to resupply southern forts with life-sustaining products. This caused tensions to arise between the Confederate and Union forces. After negotiations had taken place, the problems were still not resolved and the Confederate forces took action. They opened a 34 hour bombardment on Fort Sumter, until the Union forces chose to surrender. Abraham Lincoln then called for Union volunteers to end the rebellion, and the Civil War had officially begun.
