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The compromise of 1850
-The acts called for the admission of California as a "free state," provided for a territorial government for Utah and New Mexico, established a boundary between Texas and the United States, called for the abolition of slave trade in Washington, DC, and amended the Fugitive Slave Act- The compromise pushed the nation further towards the end of slavery, the south was worried it would put an end to slavery
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Kansas-Nebraska act
- The Kansas-Nebraska Act raised the possibility that slavery could be extended into territories where it had once been banned.
- The act intensified the debate over slavery in the The United States, which would later lead to the Civil War
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Bleeding Kansas
-There were three political groups in Kansas (pro slavery, free staters, and abolitionists)
- Violence broke out immediately between these opposing factions and continued until 1861 when Kansas entered the Union as a free state on January 29.
- Altogether, 55 people were killed in the territory from 1854 to 1861.
-The violence caused a greater divide between the North and South and their debate of slavery -
Preston Brooks vs Charles Summer
-On May 22, 1856 in the United States Senate chamber, Preston Brooks, a pro-slavery Democrat from South Carolina, used a walking cane to attack Senator Charles Sumner, an abolitionist Republican from Massachusetts. -The beating nearly killed Sumner and contributed significantly to the country's debate over slavery -
Dred Scott vs Sandford
-Slave Dred Scott sued his master because his master moved from slave territory to free territory. The Supreme Court ruled against Dred Scott, saying people have the right to control their property, which meant slavery could be allowed even in the northern free states -The Dred Scott Decision outraged abolitionists, therefore The divide between North and South over slavery grew and culminated in the secession of southern states from the Union -
Lincoln Douglas Debates
-The main focus of these debates was slavery and its influence on American politics and society
-The debates consisted of Douglas accusing Lincoln of being an abolitionist while Lincoln accused Douglas of wanting to nationalize slavery
-Douglas repeatedly attacked Lincoln's supposed radical views on race, claiming his opponent would not only grant citizenship rights to freed slaves but allow Black men to marry white women which scared many white Americans -
John Browns Raid on Harpers Ferry
- An assault by an armed band of abolitionists led by John Brown on the federal armoury located at Harpers Ferry, Virginia -The assault resulted in 16 deaths -The raid symbolized the ruthlessness of the North, of abolitionism, in attacking the cherished institutions of the South. The trial and execution of Brown pushed the nation closer to civil war
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Election of Abraham Lincoln
-Abraham Lincoln won the presidential election of 1860 in a four-way contest. Although Lincoln received less than 40% of the popular vote, he easily won the election
-His election was one of the main purposes for the outbreak of the Civil War. After being sworn in as president, Lincoln refused to accept any resolution that would result in Southern secession from the Union.