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Compromise of 1850 & The Fugitive Slave Act
The Compromise of 1850 was a package of five separate bills passed by the United States Congress in September 1850 that temporarily defused tensions between slave and free states in the years leading up to the American Civil War.
The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 was part of the Compromise of 1850. The act required that slaves be returned to their owners, even if they were in a free state.
This led to the Civil War because it caused a divide in the north and south. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act 1854
The Kansas-Nebraska Act repealed the Missouri Compromise, created two new territories, and allowed for popular sovereignty.
This pushed the country into civil war because it brought up how slavery could be extended into territories where it had been banned before. -
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Bleeding Kansas 1854-1856
Bleeding Kansas was a series of violent civil confrontations in Kansas Territory, and to a lesser extent in western Missouri, between 1854 and 1859.
This led to the civil war because it pushed the north and south further apart. -
Preston Brooks vs Charles Sumner 1856
Brooks vs Sumner occurred in the United States Senate chamber, when Representative Preston Brooks, a pro-slavery Democrat from South Carolina, used a walking cane to attack Senator Charles Sumner, an abolitionist Republican from Massachusetts.
This pushed the country into a civil war because it showed just how divided and violent this issue made people. After the incident Brooks was publicly supported by those who agreed with what he did, further showing the division of the north and south. -
Dred Scott v. Sandford 1857
A Supreme Court case that upheld slavery in United States territories, denied the legality of black citizenship in America, and declared the Missouri Compromise to be unconstitutional.
The Dred Scott Decision outraged abolitionists, who saw the Supreme Court's ruling as a way to stop debate about slavery in the territories. The divide between North and South over slavery grew and culminated in the secession of southern states from the Union and the creation of the Confederate States of America. -
Lincoln-Douglas Debates 1858
A series of formal political debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas, in a campaign for one of Illinois two United States Senate seats. The debates consisted of Douglas accusing Lincoln of being an abolitionist while Lincoln accused Douglas of wanting to nationalize slavery.
This led to the civil war because it pushed people to take sides and made them more eager to set themselves apart from those who didn’t have the same beliefs. -
John Brown’s Raid of Harper’s ferry 1859
John Brown, an abolitionist, and a group of his supporters left their farmhouse hide-out en route to Harpers Ferry. Descending upon the town, Brown and his men captured prominent citizens and seized the federal armory and arsenal.
This contributed to the civil war by showing how ruthless the north was by attacking the sources precious property. -
Election of Abraham Lincoln 1860
The election of Abraham Lincoln, who promised to abolish slavery, led to some southern states seceding from the union in 1860. Soon after Lincoln's inauguration in 1861, the first battle of the Civil War took place.