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The Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was a group of people who help slaves escape to the North or Canada. It was estimated to have moved 100,000 slaves between 1810 and 1850. [https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2944.html] -
Invention of the Cotton Gin
In 1794 Eli Whitney, a US inventor, patented the cotton gin. The cotton gin sped up the process of harvesting cotton greatly. Although it revolutionized the cotton industry it brought the need for more slaves and the expansion of slavery among the states.
[http://www.history.com/topics/inventions/cotton-gin-and-eli-whitney] -
The Missouri Compromise
In 1819, Missouri requested entrance into the union as a slave state, which would disturb the balance between anti-slavery and pro-slavery states in congress. The compromise allowed Missouri to enter as a slave state but Maine would break away from Massachusetts to continue the balance in congress. The compromise also created an imaginary line between free states and slave states. [http://www.history.com/topics/missouri-compromise] -
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The Tariff of 1828 and Nullification Crisis
Also called the Tariff of Abominations, was created to protect American industry. Called the Tariff of Abominations by the South because of the effects on the plantations. This tariff set a 62% tax on 92% of imported goods. Before the tax the industries in the North were being driven out of business because of the low priced imported goods. The Nullification crisis ensued as result after this tariff. -
The Liberator is Published
The Liberator was a newspaper distributed weekly by William Lloyd Garrison in Boston, Massachusetts. on January 1, 1831 the first issue was published with the motto "Our country is the world--our countrymen are mankind." Garrison advocated the emancipation of all slaves and gained a reputation as the most radical of abolitionists. [http://www.accessible-archives.com/collections/the-liberator/] -
Nat Turner's Rebellion
A few years before, Nat Turner had a vision of a spirit telling him to slay his enemies. On August 13, he and six of his men went to the Travis household and killed their entire family and they continued from house to house killing every white person they saw. His "army" consisted of more than 40 slaves. [https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part3/3p1518.html] -
Wilmot Proviso
Designed to eliminate slavery in the land acquired after the Mexican war. To avoid the addition of a pro-slave territory, David Wilmot proposed an amendment to the bill. [http://www.history.com/topics/wilmot-proviso] -
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was created to divide the new territories. It said that the new state of California wold be free and that the New Mexico and Utah territories would use the popular sovereignty. [http://www.history.com/topics/compromise-of-1850] -
Uncle Tom's Cabin is Published
An anti-slavery novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, sold 300,000 copies in three months. While living in Cincinnati, she encountered the Underground Railroad, she wrote the book in reaction to the tightened slave laws. The book had a major impact on how the American public viewed slavery. [http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/uncle-toms-cabin-is-published] -
Kansas-Nebraska act
The act mandated popular sovereignty in the new state. This bill overturned the Missouri Compromise line. [http://www.history.com/topics/kansas-nebraska-act] -
Bleeding Kansas
After the overturning the Missouri Compromise the new territories used the principle of popular sovereignty. There was conflict between the pro-slavery and anti-slavery population in the territories. [http://www.history.com/topics/bleeding-kansas] -
Brooks-Sumner Event
On may 22, 1856, South Carolina Representative Preston Brooks and Representative Laurence Keitt severely beat Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts. This act was brought on by a speech given by Sumner that attacked slavery. [http://history.house.gov/HistoricalHighlight/Detail/35817] -
Dred Scott Decision
As the formal legal case, Dred Scott v. John F.A. Sandford. It was concerning the freedom of Dred Scott's rights. The supreme court deciding that African Americans were not and never could be American citizens. [https://www.britannica.com/event/Dred-Scott-decision] -
Lincoln-Douglas Debates
The Debates during the 1858 Illinois election are considered the most significant statements in American political history. This is said because the topics they discussed were very important. [http://www.history.com/topics/lincoln-douglas-debates] -
John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry
As a plan to start a slave revolt and destroy the institution of slavery, John Brown led a raid against a federal armory in Harpers Ferry, Virginia. [http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/john-browns-raid-on-harpers-ferry] -
Election of 1860
Held on November 6, 1860, in the election of 1860 Abraham Lincoln defeated John C. Breckinridge. After this election seven southern states seceded and set the stage or the American Civil War. -
Secession of Southern States
Between a series of events that began on December 20, 1860, eleven Southern states severed their ties with the Union. Hostiles began at Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor on April 12, 1861. [http://www.history.com/topics/american-civil-war/secession] -
Fort Sumter is Fired Upon
This battle signifies the beginning of the Civil War. The fort had created tension between the Union and the Confederacy. A supply ship attempted to reach the fort but the Confederate batteries drove it away. Lincoln did not send reinforcement but he did send food and claimed it as a humanitarian mission. The Confederate Congress decided that the fort must be acquired. On April 12, the Confederates opened fired on the fort. [http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/fort-sumter-fired-upon]
