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1848: The Mexican War Ends
The end of the Mexican War and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, congress passed the compromise of 185, which made California free and allowed people in Utah and New Mexico to choose for themselves, popular sovereignty. -
1850: The Fugitive Slave Act Passes
The Fugitive Slave Act was passed as part of the Compromise of 1850. This act forced any federal official who did not arrest a freedom seeker to pay a fine. It increased abolitionist to increase their efforts against enslavement -
1852: 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' Is Published
"Uncle Tom's Cabin or Life Among the Lowly" was written in 1852 by Harriet Beecher Stowe, an activist who wrote the book to show the evils of enslavement. The book made a huge impact on the way that Northerners viewed slavery. It helped further the cause of black activism -
1856: 'Bleeding Kansas' Riots Shock Northerners
In 1854, the Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed allowing Kansas and Nebraska decide to be free or practice slavery. By 1856, Kansas had become a hotbed of violence as pro- and anti-enslavement forces fought over the state's future to the point where it was nicknamed "Bleeding Kansas." -
1856: Charles Sumner Attacked by Preston Brooks on the U.S. Senate Floor
part of bleeding Kansas: violence occurred on the floor of the U.S. Senate. Congressman Preston Brooks, who favored enslavement, attacked Sen. Charles Sumner with a cane after Sumner had given a speech condemning the pro-enslavement forces for the violence occurring in Kansas. -
1857: Dred Scott Loses His Case to Be Free
In 1857, Dred Scott lost his case that argued that he should be free because he had been held as an enslaved person while living in a free state. The supreme court declined stating that he was still an enslaved person because such individuals were to be considered the property of their enslavers. This decision furthered the cause of North American 19th-century Black activists as they increased their efforts to fight against enslavement. -
1858: Kansas Voters Reject the Lecompton Constitution
In 1857, the Lecompton Constitution was created, allowing for Kansas to be a state that practiced enslavement. However, there was enough opposition that in 1858 it was sent back to Kansas for a vote. Even though it delayed statehood, Kansas voters rejected the Constitution and became a free state. -
October 16, 1859: John Brown Raids Harper's Ferry
On Oct. 16, 1859, he led a group of 17, including five Black members, to raid the arsenal located in Harper's Ferry, However, after capturing several buildings, Brown and his men were surrounded and eventually killed or captured by troops. Brown was tried and hanged for treason. This event added more fuel to the growing Black activist movement that helped lead to open warfare in 1861. -
November 6, 1860: Abraham Lincoln Is Elected President
With the election of Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln on Nov. 6, 1860, South Carolina followed by six other states seceded from the Union. South Carolina had warned it would secede if he won. Lincoln agreed with the majority of the Republican Party that the South was becoming too powerful and made it part of the party platform that enslavement would not be extended to any new territories or states added to the Union. -
April 12, 1861: The Attack on Fort Summer
The crisis over enslavement and secession finally became a shooting war when cannons of the newly formed Confederate government began shelling Fort Sumter, a federal outpost in the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina, on April 12, 1861.The attack on Fort Sumter produced no combat casualties. But it inflamed passions on both sides, and it meant the Civil War had started.