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Wilmot Proviso
David Wilmot brought up the idea that congress should ban slavery in all parts of the U.S. that we gained from the Mexican-American war. It passed the House of Representatives, but failed in the Senate. Although it failed it still caused up rise in the South. Slavery supporters viewed it as an attack on slavery from the North. -
Compromise of 1850
It was created to make both supporters and anti-slavery people happy. To make this happen California was made a free state and it banned the slave trade in the capital. For the south they created popular sovereignty where people in the state would vote if it was a slave or free state. They also got the Fugitive Slave Act which said southerners could go get their slaves in the north. -
"Uncle Tom's Cabin" is first published
First published on March 20, 1852. It was written by Harriet Beecher because she was affected by the Fugitive Slave Act. She met with many people who escaped slavery and decided to write about it to make the whole nation realize how awful slavery was. It was a best seller in the North and made many people realize how concerning slavery was and how they were treated. The north began to view slaves as people while the south were outraged claiming it was false. -
Kansas - Nebraska Act
Stephen Douglas wanted a railroad from Illinois through the Nebraska territory to the Pacific Coast. In 1853 he suggested making a Kansas Territory and a Nebraska territory. Southerners objected right away because both of these territories would be free states. Douglas then decided slavery could be decided by popular sovereignty, by doing this it undid the Missouri Compromise. After months of arguing the southerners support enabled the act and it was signed in. -
John Brown's Massacre at Pottawatomie Creek
John Brown and 7 other anti-slavery men went to a pro slavery settlement. There they killed 5 pro slavery men and boys. After this it created fighting all over Kansas. People would murder anybody who didn’t have the same opinions as them. It made the name Bleeding Kansas. -
Dred Scott Desicion
The U.S. Supreme Court decided the case of Dred Scott vs. Sandford. Dred Scott was a slave who had been owned and his owner died while they were in the north and when he thought he was free he was brought back to Missouri. Scott then sued for his freedom he argued it with the point that he lived in Illinois where slavery was illegal. Then Roger B. Taney said two reasons -
Lincoln - Douglas Debate "A House Divided Against itself can not stand."
Illinois Republicans chose Lincoln to run against Douglas for the senate. Lincoln's speech was about how America cannot prosper or continue if half of them believe in slavery and half of them don’t. This made southerners believe he was anti-slavery. After this Lincoln challenged Douglas to public debates and many many people came to listen. It was a very popular topic and Douglas was towards popular sovereignty and Lincoln was against and said that slavery would eventually die out. -
John Brown's Raid at Harpers Ferry, Virginia
In 1859 John Brown created a plan that him and other people would go into the south and free people who were slaves. Him and a small group attacked Harpers Ferry, Virgina. He had wanted to take the guns that the U.S. army kept there. He gained control of the guns and hoped to give them to the slaves and revolt, but they were surrounded by Colonel Robert E. Lee’s troops. They killed ten of Brown’s followers and he himself was hurt and captured. -
Abraham Lincoln is elected as a Republican President
The Republicans chose Lincoln to run for president for the election of 1860. He was very popular in the north after the Lincoln-Douglas debates. The nation was very divided like Lincoln said it would be. Douglas begged for the southerners to stay faithful to the union, however when Douglas campaigned in the south he got eggs and rotten fruit thrown at him. Lincoln got only 40% of the popular votes, but had enough electoral votes to win the election. -
South Carolina Secedes from the Union
On December 20, 1860, when the news of Lincoln's election reached South Carolina they were the first to secede from the Union. After Lincoln’s election many southerners thought they didn’t have a say in the national government. They thought that the President and congress were against their views especially with slavery. -
Confederate States of America are Formed
6 states followed South Carolina out of the union, but not all south people agreed with leaving the union. In early February the leaders of the 7 states that seceded met up and decided to form a new nation called the Confederate States of America. -
Confederate Troops Fire at Fort Sumter, South Carolina
On April 12, 1861, at Fort Sumter the Confederate fired shells from the mainland. The attacks went on through the day and night. In the next few hours the wood in the fort caught fire and parts were crumbling. Throughout the day the forts flag had got knocked over and most of the wood was caught on fire and the men were gasping for air. This marked the beginning of the Civil War.
