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Missouri Compromise
This compromise divided the nation in half along the 36th parallel. Half were free states, and half were slave states. The House of Representatives passed it on March 2, 1820. -
Nat Turner Rebellion
This was a slave rebellion in Southampton County, VA. This rebellion was led by slave preacher Nat Turner. Turner and his rebels killed 55 white men, women, and children in August of 1831. -
Mexican-American War
This was the invasion of Mexico by the U.S. in 1846. There was a dispute over land from the Rio Grande to Texas, which both countries claimed. This land dispute caused the U.S. to invade and seize the land. -
The Wilmot Proviso
A proposal to end slavery in territories acquired from Mexico in the Mexican-American War, this took place in 1846. -
Gold Rush in California
Gold was found in California by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill. This brought hundreds of thousands of people to California and started the California Gold Rush from 1848-1849. -
Compromise of 1850
A series of laws that defused a political confrontation between slave and free states in 1850. -
Harriett Tubman and Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was a network of routes taken by slaves escaping their plantations. This railroad was led by former slave Harriett Tubman who helped thousands of slaves, gaining freedom from 1820-1860. -
Fugitive Slave Act
Part of the Compromise of 1850. This act made it required that slaves shall be returned to their owners, even if they escaped to a free state. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
An Anti-Slavery novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. This book talks about the struggles of a slave named Tom who was sold many times and beaten. This book changed American attitudes towards slavery in the 1850's. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
A territorial act in 1854 that created and organized the territories of Kansas and Nebraska. This repealed the Missouri Compromise for those territories. -
Bleeding Kansas
A small, yet violent civil war in the Kansas territory from 1856-1859. This emerged from the opposing political views on slavery in the territory. -
Dred Scott V. Sanford
A court case in 1857 that decided that slaves who were descendants of former American slaves were not U.S. citizens. This upheld slavery in the states and declared the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional. -
Lincoln-Douglass Debates
A series of debates in 1858 between Abraham Lincoln and Senator Stephen Douglass. This debate addressed slavery, race, popular sovereignty, emancipation, etc. -
John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry
An effort in 1859 by abolitionist John Brown to initiate a slave revolt in the South by raiding the U.S. arsenal at Harpers Ferry, VA. This made John Brown a martyr to the antislavery cause. -
Presidential Election of 1860
The Election of 1860 which gave Lincoln a victory in both popular and electoral votes. This was the first time a Republican was elected president. -
South Carolina Secedes from the Union
On December 20th, 1860, South Carolina became the first state to secede from the federal Union. South Carolina was threatened by the election of Lincoln and decided that it wanted to leave the Union.