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Northwest Ordinance
The NW Ordinance abandoned the ten districts from 1784 and created a single Northwest Territory out of the lands north of the Ohio territory that then be divided subsequently into between three and five territories. Once the population grew over 60,000, the territory could apply for statehood, guarantee freedom of religion, the right to trial by jury, and prohibited slavery throughout the territory. At the time, it was a fair deal as the South was gaining Kentucky and Tennessee.
EG (new land) -
Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise was established to create a balance of free and slave states in the United States. At the 36* 30' parallel, anything above it would become a free slate and any territory under it would become a slave. The compromise was a substantial effort to keep the balance so the North and South would be satisfied.
PG (law that kept balance) -
Nat Turner Rebellion
Nat Turner was a literate preacher that led one of the bloodiest slave revolts. He led a group of 40-50 slaves in killing his master and family along with another 55 white men, women, and children in the neighboring area. The insurrection increased southern fears of revolution. Both Virginia and North Carolina passed laws about not teaching blacks, outlawed preachers and teachers, and more segregation. The murders increased division between the sympathetic North and the uncaring South.
SR -
Gag Rule Enacted
Proposed by South Carolina representative, James Hammond, the Gag Rule was passed by the House in 1836. It denounced any petitions on the issue of slavery in order to try to ignore the problem. As a result, slavery became more prevalent as the issue put a bigger divide in the House. The Gag Rule of 1836 was unconstitutional as it violated the first amendment.
PR: this law angered the north, which worsened the tensions of war -
The Amistad Case (Civil Trial Begins)
An insurrection of illegally captured Black slaves was tried for murder as they killed the crew members on the Sierra Leon (the boat they were found on). The incident reached the Supreme Court in 1839 but first started in a Hartford court. It was falsified in Connecticut and the black slaves were acquitted, and the Supreme Court's 8-1 justified the decision as for the Transatlantic Slave Trade was illegal.
SR (insurrection itself)
PG (a lawful court case decision) -
Annexation of Texas
In the early 1820s, Mexico encouraged American immigration into Texas, hoping to help territory economically. In 1824, colonization laws were designed to attract American settlers. Stephen F. Austin established the first American settlement in Texas in 1822.
In 1834, the Mexican government established laws barring any further American immigration into the region, but it did not work.
EG; satisfied the South as Texas had important resources and benefited both the North and South economically. -
Wilmot Proviso
The Wilmot Proviso was proposed to David Wilmot a Democrat from New York. It was an amendment to a bill that stated that slavery would not exist in any land gained from Mexico.
It was passed in the House of Representatives but not the Senate. It was in a cycle of being called up, debated on, and voted on for many years after its original proposal. The south did not like the bill due to the fact that most of the acquired land would be south of the Missouri Compromise line.
PR (angered South) -
Mexican War Starts
On January 13, 1846, Polk ordered the small army to move across the Nueces River to the Rio Grande. Eventually, Mexican soldiers attacked the Americans and Congress declared war on May 13, 1846, by a wide majority. Whigs were critical thinking that Polk purposely led the country into war. Victory didn’t come quickly as Polk feared that Taylor did not have what it took to win a war
EG; in the essence of war, the war itself paused the Civil War because America was focused on defeating Mexico. -
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush of 1849 started after John Sutter discovered gold at his Mill. When the news spread that gold was found, many people flooded into the mines of California. The economic venture attracted people of all ages and locations as an influx of the Chinese population occurred. As the population grew, California was in preparation of becoming a state. Its divide on the Missouri Compromise line created a debate of whether it would be a free or slave state.
ER (brought in lots of $) -
The Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was a series of agreements that benefited both the North and South. The parts of the compromise were that California entered the country as a free state, the slave trade in DC was abolished, popular sovereignty would decide the issue of slavery in lands from Mexico, the disputed boundary of New Mexico and Texas would be resolved, and the Fugitive Slave Act would be enacted. The Compromise, overall, was equally balanced.
PG (minus the Fugitive Slave Act) -
Fugitive Slave Act
Part of the Compromise of 1850, the Fugitive Slave Act was a part in favor of the South. It affected both fugitive slaves and free black people as it required the return of runaway slaves and it promoted fake accusations of free colored men that could no longer testify in court in their defense nor have a trial by jury. The South enforced the law very strictly, but the North created laws to nullify the act which ended up having both sides disagree even more.
PR -
Publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin
Harriet Beecher Stowe published Uncle Tom's Cabin in 1852, becoming the most influential book ever published in America. The story was composed richly of what slavery was, telling the story of Uncle Tom. The book was able to spark a lot of conversation about slavery in both the North and the South. As a woman, Harriet Stowe broke boundaries in order to advocate for a severe issue.
SR -
Ostend Manifesto
The Ostend Manifesto was an effort to extend the nation's domain. Pierce was trying to purchase Cuba from Spain to gain for the United States. A group of people had sent Pierce a private document from Belgium that stated the seizing of Cuba by force. It was leaked to the public and enraged many antislavery northerners because it would bring a new slave state into the Union.
E (new territory) R -
Nebraska-Kansas Act
The Nebraska-Kansas Act divided the Nebraska territory into two states where Nebraska would become a free state and Kansas was considered a slave. The purpose of the act was to create popular sovereignty for newly acquired states and repeal the Missouri Compromise. Abolitionists were outraged about the divide. The act had created new political parties; Northern Whigs who were against the cause turned into Republicans and Southern Whigs who were in favor of the cause turned into Democrats.
PR -
Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas was the period of violence that emerged over the debate of slavery in the Kansas territory. Advocates of proslavery and abolitionists created opposing governments within Kansas and had armed associations that were ready to fight the other side. An important event of the time was the Pottawatomie Massacre led by John Brown that killed 5 anti-abolitionists. Bleeding Kansas was only a glimpse into what war would look like.
SR -
Dred Scott Decision
Dred Scott was a slave that had lived within a slave state and then a free state thinking that he could become a citizen because he had lived on free territory for six years. When he returned to Missouri (a slave state), he sued John Stanford (his owner) due to the fact that he wasn't a freedman. Taney's Supreme Court decided that Scott wasn't free. The court case influenced northern states to pass laws supporting African Americans and the Election of 1860.
PR (court case) -
John Brown and the Raid on Harper's Ferry
The Raid on Harper's Ferry by arson was an attempt by an anti-slavery zealot, John Brown, to initiate an armed slavery revolt. Though the raid had failed, it was significant as it convinced southerners that they couldn't live safely in the Union and it radicalized Northern advocates of reconciliation.
SR -
Crittenden Compromise Proposed
The Crittenden Compromise was created by the Know-Nothing, John Crittenden. The purpose of the compromise was to stall the war; however, it made time for the North to prepare a military and the South to hold secession conventions. It was made up of 6 constitutional amendments such as the reinforcement of the Missouri Compromise, protect slavery, and forbade the amendments to be changed. It was defeated in the Senate with no significant support as the compromise had no middle ground.
PR
