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Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise was a way to cool down the tension of slavery. When new territories are annexed into the union it will be decided if they are a slave state or a free state. Many states wanted more states on their side to control the government with a majority. The compromise was made to keep the number even. This was intended to keep states satisfied. -
Wilmot Proviso
The wilmot proviso was a proposal in congress to limit slave states. The proposal stated than any territories won from the mexican american war should not be slave states. The reason behind this is that mexico outlawed slavery.The territories did not allow slavery in the first place. This proposal was not passed. -
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was five bills passed by the United States Congress in September 1850. That slowed tensions between slave and free states leading up to the Civil War. When California joined the union the compromise made it a free state. The union became unstable causing arguments. -
Fugitive slave act
The fugitive slave act would allow southern plantation owners catch runaway slaves in free states. This was implemented as a way to help the southern states. It was not enforced as much as it was supposed to be. Free states did not always follow the law and turn the slaves over. -
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin tells the story of an enslaved person seen as grounded in his beliefs. He is being transported by boat to an auction in New Orleans. He saves a white girl's life whose grateful father then purchases Tom. This book was a big seller in the abolition movement. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 was an act that created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska. It was made by Stephen A. Douglas. It was signed into law by President Franklin Pierce. It became law on May 30, 1854. It also produced an uprising (Bleeding Kansas). -
Scott v. Sanford
The Dred Scott Decision was seen as a way to stop debate about slavery in the territories. The divide between North and South over slavery grew. Southern states from the Union and the creation of the Confederate States of America. Then it was later overturned allowing African Americans citizenship. -
John Brown’s Raid
John Brown's raid was from October 15 1859 to start a slave revolt in Southern states. He took over the Harpers Ferry, Virginia. Sixteen people were killed in the raid. Ten of them were Brown's men. John Brown, was taken to jail in Charles Town, Virginia, on October 19. -
Election of 1860
Abraham Lincoln won the presidential election of 1860 in a four-way contest. Although Lincoln received less than 40% of the popular vote. Lincoln was not liked at all by the south. The South saw Lincoln as a threat to slavery. He had too much power and was more viewed as a Northerner who wanted to abolish slavery. -
Battle of gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg was the bloodiest battle of the civil war. It gave the North a major morale boost to push back the south. North had 3,155 killed and the South had 3,903 killed. It was Robert E lee's biggest defeat and crushed his morale. After this battle the confederacy was bound to fail.