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Conflicts Leading Up to the Civil War
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The Wilmot Proviso
The Wilmot Proviso was proposed by David Wilmot and was created to eliminate slavery in the lands gained from the Mexican-American War. However, the southern-dominated Senate failed to pass the Wilmot Proviso which increased the discussion of the slavery issue and prompted the first serious discussions of secession. -
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was a set of laws that dealt with the issue of slavery. Within these laws, California entered the Union as a free state, the trading of slaves was abolished in Washington DC, and the compromise prevented further territorial expansion of slavery. This was intended to be a solution to the slavery issue, but it merely delayed it. -
Fugitive Slave Act
The Fugitive Slave Act was a part of the Compromise of 1850. This act allowed southern slaveholders to capture fugitive slaves that had escaped to free states. Also it caused increased tensions between the North and the South and drew attention to the inhumanity of slavery. In addition to this, this act helped to create abolitionists such as Fredrick Douglas who experienced slavery firsthand. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin is a book written by American abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe. This novel portrays the evils of slavery and is written to relate to the American pubic and to influence their feelings about slavery. Stowe's novel helped create the spread of abolitionists from a relatively small circle to a more general public which set the tone and political climate for the election of 1860. All in all, Uncle Tom's Cabin played a major role in the battle to end slavery. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas-Nebraska Act allowed the people in Kansas and Nebraska to decide for themselves whether or not to allow slavery in their territory. This Act also repealed the Missouri Compromise which helped create a balance of slave and free states and kept the Union from falling apart. Both pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers rushed to these states hoping to determine the results of whether or not there would slavery which further created tensions and divisions between the North and South. -
Dred Scott Decision
The Dred Scott decision was the court case of Dred Scott v. Sandford. This case was to determine whether Dred Scott, a slave, could win his freedom because he lived with his master in a state where slavery was illegal. The justices ruled against Scott, and he was sent back to his master. This showed the public the Supreme Courts opinion which stated that blacks had no rights and "rejected the right of any territory to ban slavery within its own borders". This inflamed the North's public opinion. -
John Brown's Raid
John Brown was an abolitionist who lead a small group on a raid against a federal armory. Brown wanted to destroy the institution of slavery by starting an armed slave revolt. Unfortunately, his plan didn't work; slaves in the area did not join the raid, the US Marines put down the raid, most of John Brown's men were killed or captured, and Brown was charged with murder and was later hanged. Within one year of this raid, the first Southern state seceded from the Union. -
Abraham Lincoln’s Election
Abraham Lincoln won the November 1860 election. Lincoln maintained a moderate stance on the issue of slavery, however, he did oppose the expansion of slavery in new western territory. This posed a threat to the South which caused seven southern states to secede from the Union which officially created a divided nation and a Civil War within the first months of his presidency. -
Secession of South Carolina
South Carolina's secession caused states like Mississippi, Florida, and Alabama to also secede to form the Confederacy. Because Lincoln wouldn't be inaugurated until March 4, James Buchanan still presided over the country and he believed secession to be illegal, but he found using the army to be unconstitutional, so the matter was left for Lincoln. -
The Battle of Fort Sumter
The Battle of Fort Sumter began with a small group of Union troops that were isolated in South Carolina when the state seceded from the Union. The battle began when the Confederate's cannons were aimed at various points at Fort Sumter. The shelling by the Confederates surrounding the fort caused the Union gunners to begin returning fire. Both sides exchanged fire and the Civil War had officially begun.
