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3/5ths Compromise
The 3/5ths clause was a compromise between the Northern and the Southern states in the Constitution. It counted 3 out of every 5 slaves as part of the states population and as property for taxing purposes. -
Invention of the Cotton Gin
In 1794, United States inventor Eli Whitney patented the cotton gin. Whitney learned about cotton on a plantation near Savannah Georgia that was run by Catherine Greene and her plantation manager Phineas Miller. Since cotton was and ideal crop that was in high demand, Whitney invented an easier way to remove the seeds from the cotton fibers. -
Whiskey Rebellion
Taxed was imposed on whiskey in 1791. Farmers of western Pennsylvania were very hostile to the idea because many of them distilled and profited from whiskey. In July of 1794, a group of whiskey rebels attacked and destroyed a tax inspector's home. Alexander Hamilton, Treasury Secretary at the time, pushed for the use of military force. By the time the militia got there the rebellion had collapsed. Hamilton took this as proof that the young federal government could keep order. -
Gabriel's Rebellion
A blacksmith named Gabriel, owned by Thomas Prosser of Henrico County, Virginia, planned to enter Richmond with force, capture the Capitol and Virginia State Armory, and hold Governer James Monroe hostage to bargain for freedom for Virginia's slaves. Heavy rains delayed the plans. A few of the slaves told their masters and Gabriel and his consirators were arrested and hanged. After this Virginia's law makers imposed new restrictions on slaves and free blacks. -
Embargo Act of 1807
This was Thomas Jefferson's nonviolent resistence to the British and French attach on U.S. merchant ships. On Jefferson's request both houses of Congress considered and passed the act very quickly in December of 1807. But the act backfired. The act had little to no effect in England, while American merchants delt with setbacks and southern cotton farmers lost their British market. -
The Missouri Compromise
This was a compromise about what should be done about the newly acquired land in the U.S, To keep things balanced between the North and South, Congress ruled that Maine was admitted as a free state, Missouri was admitted as a slave state and the rest of the Louisiana Purchase was to be slave free. -
The Tariff of Abominations
President John Quincy Adams approved the bill on May 19, 1828. This tariff was to protect norhtern and western agriculture products from competition with foreign imports. But the resulting tax on foreign goods raised the cost of living in the South and cut the profits of New England's industrialists. -
Nat Turner's Rebellion
Nat Turner's Rebellion was a slave rebellion that took place in Southampton County, Virginia. Turner and a group of his followers killed some sixty white men, women, and children before they were captured and executed. Conditions for slavery worsened as a result of this rebellion. -
Nullification Crisis
It was a confrontation between the state of South Carolina and the Federal Government in 1832-33 over South Carolina's attempt to declare the Federal Tariffs of 1828 and 1832 void within their state boundaries. The resolution of the Nullification Crisis in favor of the Federal Government undermined the Nullification Doctrine. This doctrine was a constitutional theory that upheld th rights of states to nullify federal acts whithin their boundaries. -
The Compromise of 1850
Congress had to compromise again on new land gained by the U.S. The North's accomplishements included California becoming a free state, New Mexico and Utah deciding whether or not to become a free or a slave state and slave trade being abolished in Washington DC. The South's accomplishments included the fugitive slave act being passed. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
This was a book written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. It gave an example as to how slaves where treated at that time and it grabbed the attention of the American public. Across the north, people became more aware of the horrible way slaves were treated. And in the south, the but was met with outrage and was branded as an irresponsible book of distortions and overstatements. -
The Kansas-Nebraska Act
Here Congress repeals the Missouri Compromise. So once again they were deciding on what to do with the Louisiana Territory. They came up with the Kansas-Nebraska Act, written by Stephen Douglas. This act made it so that the slave issue was decided by Popular Sovereignty. -
Bleeding Kansas
After the Kansas-Nebreaska Act, both the Kansas and Nebraska territories were open to popular sovereignty. Rival governments had been established in Kansas by late 1855, one backed by proslavery Missourians and the over backed my antislavery groups. Civil conflict came with the polictical polarization. The goal of the fighting was that if you could kill enough of the other side you would win the elections. -
John Brown's Raid
John Brown was a radical abolitionist who believed in the violent overthrown of the slavery system. On October 16 1856, he led an attack on the Harper's Ferry federal complex and siezed it. He wanted slaves to rise up and join himbut none did. Local militia and citizens fought against them and a few people ended up dying on both sides. After Brown's execution, he was viewed as a martyr in the north. -
The Dred Scott Case
This was the supreme court case of Dred Scott v.Sanford. and it was led by Chief Justice Roger B. Taney. Scott was a free slave who had lived in Illinois and Wisconsin before had moved back to Missouri. He appealed to supreme court in hopes of being granted his freedom. Taney declared that all blacks were not and could never be citizens of the United States. The courts also ruled the Missouri Compromise unconstitutiona, permitting slavery in all territories of the country. -
Election of 1860
This election turned out to be a caotic one. Abraham Lincoln was able to barely win the elections. But soon after that South Carolina seceded from the Union. -
South Carolina secedes from the Union
South Carolina was the first state to secede from the Union after President Lincoln was elected. After this many of the states followed before the Fall of Fort Sumter and a few seceded after the fall.
