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Compromise of 1850
Sectional conflicts over the spread of slavery into recently annexed regions as a result of the Mexican-American War...erupt
With this new "compromise," Henry Clay approaches the diplomatic table once more. -
Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Published 1852
Harriet Beecher Stowe's best-selling work was inspired by the passing of the Fugitive Slave Act. The Bible was the book with the second-highest sales in the late nineteenth century, behind Uncle Tom's Cabin. The book spurred many Southerners to step up their defense of slavery while motivating many Northerners to join the abolitionist campaign. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act, 1854
The Kansas-Nebraska Act was best described by historians William and Bruce Catton as "the most fateful single piece of legislation in American history." The legislation, which went into effect on May 30, 1854, was meant to be a political pact. However, it led to more enmity between pro- and anti-slavery camps and bloodshed. -
Bleeding Kansas, 1854-1861
Despite Douglas' best intentions, the popular sovereignty theory quickly resulted in bloodshed. The name "Bleeding Kansas" describes the guerilla fighting that took place in the Kansas Territory between 1854 and 1858 and resulted in the deaths of more than fifty pro- and anti-slavery activists. The Kansas-Nebraska Act, which stated that settlers in Kansas and Nebraska would exercise popular sovereignty to decide whether to permit slavery, was a primary cause of this bloodshed. -
Dred Scott Decision, 1857
According to Roger B. Taney, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, African Americans "had no rights which the white man was bound to respect; and that the negro might justly and lawfully be reduced to slavery for his benefit." Taney made this argument in his most famous ruling. He was traded in and out and treated like a common piece of merchandise. These phrases appeared in Taney's majority judgment in the Dred Scott v. Sanford case. -
Lincoln-Douglas Debates, 1858
Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas, two Illinois men campaigning for the Senate, engaged in a series of debates that propelled one of them onto the national political scene. Lincoln lost this election, but it helped him gain the support he needed from the country for his eventual victory over Douglas in the 1860 presidential contest. Lincoln and Douglas squared off in seven of Illinois' nine congressional districts throughout the course of the late summer and early fall of 1858. -
John Brown’s Raid, 1859
An ominous prophecy of the approaching Civil War was left behind by Brown for his jailer as he made his way to the gallows on December 2, 1859. As a lifelong opponent of slavery, Brown was no stranger to violence; in fact, he and his sons and followers had slain five pro-slavery men in 1856 as retaliation for the town of Lawrence, Kansas, which was home to abolitionists. Frederick Brown, Brown's son, was killed in the conflict. -
Abraham Lincoln’s Election, 1860
The election of Abraham Lincoln as president in 1860 served as the impetus for the secession of the South. White people in the South reacted swiftly because they thought that the election of a northern Republican to the highest office in the land would put an end to slavery and their way of life. The newly founded Republican party, which was less than ten years old, experienced a huge win with the election of Abraham Lincoln. -
Secession Winter, December 1860-March 1861
In his opening remarks to the second session of the 36th Congress on December 3, 1860, outgoing President James Buchanan offered an amendment to acknowledge the "right of property in slaves in the States where it now exists or may hereafter exist." One of the 72 suggested changes that were made in the winter of 1860 to prevent secession was this one. The Secession Winter was the period from after Abraham Lincoln's election in November 1860 to his inauguration on March 4, 1861. -
Fort Sumter, 1861
On April 12, 1861, Confederate troops opened fire at Fort Sumter in Charleston, South Carolina, beginning the American Civil War. The American soldiers stationed in Charleston Harbor at Fort Moultrie on Sullivan's Island after South Carolina left the Union relocated to Fort Sumter. Fort Sumter was a more defendable position since it was isolated on a small island with no other occupants and was situated across the bay from Fort Moultrie.