-
Period: to
19th century
-
Missouri Compromise (1820)
Missouri: slave state
Maine: free state
36’30” Line: Free Above; Slave Below -
Wilmot Proviso
Banned Slavery in the Mexican Cession -
Compromise of 1850
California: free state
New Mexico: slave state
Texas could be separated into 5 other states
Ban Slave Trade in Washington DC
New Fugitive Slave Law -
Fugitive Slave Act
The Fugitive Slave Act was passed as part of the Compromise of 1850. This act forced any federal official who did not arrest a runaway slave liable to pay a fine. This was the most controversial part of the Compromise of 1850 and caused many abolitionists to increase their efforts against slavery. This act increased the Underground Railroad activity as fleeing slaves made their way to Canada. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin Was Released
Uncle Tom's Cabin or Life Among the Lowly was written in 1852 by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Stowe was an abolitionist who wrote this book to show the evils of slavery. This book, which was a best seller at the time, had a huge impact on the way that northerners viewed slavery. It helped further the cause of abolition, and even Abraham Lincoln recognized that this bok was one of the events that led to the outbreak of the Civil War. -
Bleeding Kansas shocked Northerners
In 1854, the Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed allowing the Kansas and Nebraska territories to decide for themselves using popular sovereignty whether they wanted to be free or slave. By 1856, Kansas had become a hotbed of violence as pro- and anti-slavery forces fought over the state's future to the point where it was nicknamed 'Bleeding Kansas'. The widely reported violent events were a small taste of the violence to come with the Civil War. -
Charles Sumner is Attacked by Preston on the Floor of the Senate
One of the most publicized events in Bleeding Kansas was when on May 21, 1856 Border Ruffians ransacked Lawrence, Kansas which was known to be a staunch free-state area. One day later, violence occurred on the floor of the U.S. Senate. Pro-slavery Congressman Preston Brooks attacked Charles Sumner with a cane after Sumner had given a speech attacking the pro-slavery forces for the violence occurring in Kansas. -
Dred Scott
Dred Scott, a slave, was the focus of an 1857 Supreme Court decision that angered Northern anti-slavery forces and escalated tensions leading to secession and war. -
Lecompton Constitution Rejected
When the Kansas-Nebraska Act passed, Kansas was allowed to determine whether it would enter the union as free or slave. Numerous constitutions were advanced by the territory to make this decision. In 1857, the Lecompton Constitution was created allowing for Kansas to be a slave state. Pro-slavery forces supported by President James Buchanan attempted to push the Constitution through the US Congress for acceptance. However, there was enough opposition that in 1858 it was sent back to Kansas for a
