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A Moral Issue
During 1810-1870 it brought out the issue of slavery. Many compromises were made to try and solve this issue, but none of them worked. As the North gets angry at slavery thinking it is unconstitutional, and the South's economy depends on it, many issues are starting to appear. This is trying to solve the issue of "are all men created equal"? Does this apply to slaves or only whites? -
The Missouri Compromise
A Compromise that was admitted by Representative Henry Clay of Kentucky to admit Missouri to the Union as a slave state and Maine as a free state. Also it made an imaginary line across across the Louisiana Purchase at latitude 36°30ʹ. Above the line slavery is banned except in Missouri. This led to the Civil war because the North would get more power from this. -
The Compromise of 1850
A compromise made by senator Henry Clay. It started with admitting California to the Union as a free state which pleases the North. It allowed the New Mexico and Utah territories to decide whether to allow slavery benefiting the South. Clay's plan also ended the slave trade in Washington, D.C. to support abolitionists. Finally, it called for passage of a strong fugitive slave law to support slaveholders. This plan failed and had angered the Northerners and Southerns more. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
A bill proposed by Senator Stephen Douglas which created two new territories, Kansas and Nebraska. It abolished the Missouri Compromise and left it up to the settlers to allow slavery or not. Douglas called this policy "popular sovereignty". It was passed in 1854. Some settlers now came to Kansas to support or abolish slavery. This conflict led to "The Bloodshed in Kansas", and "Violence in Congress". It led to anger even more Northerners and please more Southerns. -
The Dred Scott Descion
A slave named Dred Scott had sued the state for his freedom. The argument was that Dred had passed through Wisconsin which was a free state,but he was a slave who lived in Missouri. Chief Justice Taney had declared that Scott couldn't sue for his freedom in a federal court because he wasn't a citizen, and he couldn't become a citizen ever. He couldn't become one because no African American slave or free could become a citizen.This angered the Northerners to a furious rage and pleased Southerns. -
Election of 1860
The Republicans nominated Abraham Lincoln for president. The Democrats had split into North and South factions where Northerners nominated Stephen Douglas and Southerns nominated John C. Breckinridge. Another group called the Constitutional Union Party nominated John Bell of Tenessese for president. Lincoln is elected president with only 40% of the votes, all of which came from the North. The South is now the minority fearing Congress will abolish slavery. -
Attack on Fort Sumter
Some Confederates in Charleston, South Carolina opened fire on Fort Sumter. Heavy shelling came for thirty-three hours and no one was hurt. the Confederates forced the defenders of the fort to take down the American flag and put up a white flag of surrender. This action made Northerners have patriotic outrage. This had started the Civil War.
