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Missouri Compromise
The legislation admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a non slave state at the same time, so as not to upset the balance between slave and free states in the nation. -
Nat Turner Rebellion
A slave named Nat Turner led more than fifty followers in a bloody revolt in Southampton, Virginia, killing nearly 60 white people mostly women and children. -
Mexican American War
Stemming from the United States annexation of Texas in 1845 and from a dispute over whether Texas ended at the Nuces River or the Rio Grande. -
The Wilmot Proviso
It prohibited the expansion of slavery into any territory acquired by the United States from Mexico as a result of the Mexican American War settlement. -
Gold Rush in California
A rapid influx of fortune seekers in California that began after gold was found at Sutters Mill in early 1848 and reached its peak in 1852. -
Harriett Tubman and Underground Railroad
Harriet Tubman is one of the most well-known of all the underground railroad conductors, during a ten-year span she made 19 trips into the South and escorted over 300 slaves to freedom. -
Compromise of 1850
Its primary goal was to balance the interests of the slaveholding South and the free North and to prevent the secession of Southern states that could lead to dissolution of the Union. -
Fugitive Slave Act
The act required that slaves be returned to their owners, even if they were in a free state. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin published
It tells the story of Uncle Tom, an enslaved person depicted as sanity and dignified, noble, and steadfast in his beliefs. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The act repealed the Missouri Compromise, created two new territories, and allowed for popular sovereignty.