Events leading up to Civil War

  • Missouri Compromise

    Missouri Compromise
    The Missouri Compromise made Missouri join as a slave state, but made Maine join as a free state to keep the balance.
  • Nat Turner Rebellion

    Nat Turner Rebellion
    Nat Turner, a slave, rebelled with followers, and killed almost 60 white people.
  • The Wilmot Proviso

    The Wilmot Proviso
    Proposed that any territory acquired from Mexico had to be free.(not owning slaves)
  • Mexican-American War

    Mexican-American War
    War between the United States and Mexico started over land disputes. America won, and forced Mexico to give away half their territory.
  • Gold Rush in California 1848-1849

    Gold Rush in California 1848-1849
    Gold discovered in California caused many to come looking for gold. They became known as the "forty-niners"
  • Harriett Tubman and Underground Railroad

    Harriett Tubman and Underground Railroad
    Harriett Tubman escaped slavery into Philadelphia. She then helped with the underground railroad to help more slaves escape
  • Compromise of 1850

    Compromise of 1850
    California wanted to join as a free state which could cause an imbalance between free and slave states.
  • Fugitive Slave Act

    Fugitive Slave Act
    Act passed to force slaves that have escaped north to be returned to their slave owners in the south.
  • Uncle Tom’s Cabin published

    Uncle Tom’s Cabin published
    Novel against slavery that became very influential leading up to the civil war.
  • Kansas-Nebraska Act

    Kansas-Nebraska Act
    Rid of the Missouri Compromise resulting in popular sovereignty
  • Bleeding Kansas

    Bleeding Kansas
    People came to Kansas and started killing each other to sway votes
  • Dred Scott V. Sanford

    Dred Scott V. Sanford
    SCOTUS case ruling that slaves were not citizens, therefore, they receive no protection from the government.
  • Lincoln-Douglass Debates

    Lincoln-Douglass Debates
    Debate between Stephen A. Douglass and Abraham Lincoln about slavery
  • John Brown’s Raid on Harpers Ferry

    John Brown’s Raid on Harpers Ferry
    John Brown wanted to start a abolitionist movement by capturing the arsenal in Harpers Ferry, Virginia.
  • Presidential Election of 1860

    Presidential Election of 1860
    Lincoln V. Douglass election. Lincoln won
  • South Carolina Secedes from the Union

    South Carolina Secedes from the Union
    After a republican victory in the election, South Carolina assumed that slavery would be removed. This caused South Carolina to secede from the United States.