Events Leading to the Civil War

By Shemar M.

  • Missouri Compromise

    Missouri Compromise
    A federal legislation in 1820, made Missouri a slave state to balance the free & slave states.

  • Nat Turner Rebellion

    Nat Turner Rebellion
    A rebellion that took place in 1831, to dismantle and overthrow slavery.

  • The Wilmot Proviso

    The Wilmot Proviso
    A proposal made in 1846, an attempt to propose to ban slavery in Mexico from the Mexican-American War.

  • Mexican-American War

    Mexican-American War
    The conflict between the United States & Mexico over vast territories. Took place in Texas, Mexico during the mid 1840s.

  • Gold Rush in California (48-49)

    Gold Rush in California (48-49)
    A gold rush took place in California in 1848. That lasted for about 7 years. For the search for gold.

  • Harriet Tubman and Underground Railroad

    Harriet Tubman and Underground Railroad
    An organized network, used to take slaves to their freedom during the 1840s & 1850s.

  • Compromise of 1850

    Compromise of 1850
    Series of measures to settle issues connected to slavery in 1850. To maintain the balance free & slave states when new states were added.

  • Fugitive Slave Act

    Fugitive Slave Act
    An Act that became part of the Compromise of 1850, which mandated that (escaped) slaves must be returned to their owners.

  • Uncle Tom’s Cabin

    Uncle Tom’s Cabin
    An anti-slavery novel, published in 1852, that focuses on the struggles of being a slave, based on how his life was.

  • Bleeding Kansas

    Bleeding Kansas
    A series of violent confrontations in Kansas, between 1854 & 1859.

  • Kansas-Nebraska Act

    Kansas-Nebraska Act
    An Act made in 1854, to organize the terrortories of Nebraska & Kansas and allowed for popular sovereignty.

  • Dred Scott V. Sanford

    Dred Scott V. Sanford
    A landmark decision in 1857, where the Supreme Court ruled that Americans of African descent.

  • Lincoln-Douglass Debates

    Lincoln-Douglass Debates
    The debates between Lincoln & Douglass in 1858, over the extension of slavery into American territories.

  • John Brown’s Raid on Harpers Ferry

    John Brown’s Raid on Harpers Ferry
    An effort in 1859, to initiate a slave revolt in Southern states.

  • Presidential Election of 1860

    Presidential Election of 1860
    Candidates for president for the 1860 election, between Lincoln, Bell, Douglas, & Breckinridge.

  • South Carolina Secedes from the Union

    South Carolina Secedes from the Union
    An event that happened in late 1860, due to the 1860 presidential election triggered cries for disunion across the slaveholding South.