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Northwest Ordinance (Red)
Who: Congress
What: Created 1 singular Northwest Territory, could be divided between 3 and 5 territories, 60,000 minimum pop for statehood, freedom of religion, trial by jury, and (Most important) slavery was prohibited,
Where: Original Northwest Territory/Old Northwest
When: 1787
Why: Allowed more states to be made and for farmers to expand, stopped expansion of slavery -
Missouri Compromise (Green)
Who: James Monroe
What: Created line at 36,30 parallel where slavery was legal to the south, illegal to the North, Allowed for the admission of Maine and Missouri into the Union, later line bent and ended up being repealed in Kansas-Nebraska Act and declared unconstitutional in Dred Scott case
When: 1819
Where: 36,30 parallel
Why: To keep balance of slave and free states -
Nat Turner Rebellion (Red)
Who: Nat Turner, slave who could read and read bible
What: Turner led slave revolt that killed 55 people, Stricter slave codes were made because of fear of slave uprisings.
Where: Southampton County, Virginia
When: August 23, 1831
Why: Wanted to fight back against the evils of slavery -
Gag Rule (Green)
Who: James K. Polk: Speaker of the House, John Quincy Adams: against the ruling
What: Law that made petitioning Congress about slavery illegal, Violated 1st amendment, Fought by Quincy Adams, Eventually repealed in 1844 after 4 different congresses.
Where: United States Congress
When: December 1835- December 3rd, 1844
Why: Proposed to deescalate tensions over slavery between the North and South -
Amistad Case (Red)
Who: John Quincy Adams, Joseph Cinque, Lewis Tappan
What: Led by Joseph Cinque, 54 African captives took control of the Spanish schooner Amistad, which had been carrying them to slavery in Spain, the captives were captured by US warship of the coast of Long Island NY, Abolitionists John Quincy Adams and Lewis Tappan helped the supreme court free the captives
When: August 1839
Where: US Supreme Court, Atlantic Ocean
Why: Abolitionists wanted to stop slavery any way they could. -
Annexation of Texas (Red)
Who: Stephen Austin
What: Stephen Austin led revolt to make Texas an independent nation, easily crushed, battles between, 1836 Texas claimed independence from mexico, Texans wanted to join the Union, north opposed new slave territory, rejected by Jackson, main issue of 1844 election admitted in 1845, worsened US-Mexico relations, Would give more pro slavery representation in congress
Where: Modern Texas
When: 1836-1845
Why: Manifest Destiny, expansionism -
Mexican War (Red)
Who: United States, Mexico
What: Mexico refused to sell California and New Mexico, Congress declared war in May 1846, Public opposed because they wanted more money in pacific northwest, US captured Mexico City, in the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo US got New Mexico, California, and the Rio Grande set as Texas border, anti-slavery movement against acquisition of new possible slave land
Where: New Mexico Territory
When: 1846-1848
Why: US wanted to add New Mexico, California, and Texas to the Union -
Wilmot Proviso (Green)
Who: David Wilmot, Pennsylvania Representative
What: Rejected bill that would ban slavery in the New Mexico territory
Where: House of Representative, New Mexico
When: August 1846
Why: To stop the expansion of slavery in new America -
California Gold Rush (Red)
Who: Chinese, Indians, Young Men from Old Northwest
What: Frantic worldwide search for gold, San Francisco Population increased from 14,000 to 220,000 in 4 years, brought Chinese to America, Indians slavery for labor shortage, tiny fraction got rich, increase California population after the gold rush, caused petition for statehood
Where: San Francisco, California
When: 1848-1852
Why: People wanted to get rich off of gold -
Fugitive Slave Laws (Red)
Who: Northern States
What: Made northern state pursue people claimed to be fugitive slaves, north didn’t want to enforce, convinced north government of slave power in the south, ignored by government, liberty laws passed to nullify state laws
Where: Above the Missouri Compromise line
When: After the Compromise of 1850, intensified in 1854
Why: Apart of the Compromise of 1850, Southern portion, North got California as a free state -
Compromise of 1850 (Green)
Who: Congressmen Henry Clay and Stephen Douglas
What: Slave trade was abolished in D.C., California would be admitted as a free state, Popular sovereignty would decide slave in New Mexico, Texas ceded their western lands to U.S. in exchange for $10 million, Stronger fugitive slave laws were made in the north
Where: U.S. Senate
When: Proposed January 29, 1850
Ratified September 1850
Why: A compromise between the North and South was needed to settle growing disputes over slave vs. free states. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin (Red)
Who: Harriet Beecher Stowe
What: An anti-slavery novel, had profound effects on attitudes toward African-Americans and slavery, helped lay groundwork for civil war, 2nd best selling book of 19th century
When: 1852
Where: Written in CT
Why: To show Americans to horror of slavery -
Kansas Nebraska Act, Bleeding Kansas (Red)
Who: Illinois Congressman Stephen Douglas
What: proposed to open white settlement to new territory, Nebraska, divided territory in 2, Kansas Slave and Nebraska Not slave, formed republican party, caused Whigs to dissolve, Kansas and Nebraska popular sovereignty for slavery,
Kansas legalized slavery, Free staters made their own constitution excluding slavery, Led to violence between free and slave people
Where: Nebraska Territory
When: 1854
Why: To connect Illinois out west with railroads -
Ostend Manifesto (Red)
Who: U.S.President Franklin Pierce
What: Pierce failed to buy Cuba from Spain, Private document from Ostend Belgium recommended to seize Cuba by force, when released made notherners upset about another slave state
Where: Ostend, Belgium/ Washington D.C.
When: 1854
Why: President Pierce wanted to expand the United States by adding Cuba to the Union. -
Dred Scott Decision (Red)
Who: Chief Justice Roger Taney, Dred Scott
What: Dred Scott was a former slave, moved as a slave to Wisconsin and Illinois where slavery was illegal, when master died Scott sued and give freedom, brother in law of owner sued and ruling was reversed, Scott tried to appeal but couldn’t appeal because he was private property, Missouri compromise always unconstitutional
Where: Wisconsin, Illinois, Supreme Court
When: March 6, 1857
Why: Congress couldn't take private property without due process -
John Brown Raid on Harper's Ferry (Red)
Who: John Brown
What: John brown and others tried to take control of US arsenal at Harper Ferry, Convinced southerners they could not live safely in the union, thought republicans supported brown
Where: Harper's Ferry, VA
When: October 16, 1859
Why: To start and armed slave rebellion -
Crittenden Compromise (Green)
Who: John Crittenden of Kentucky
What: Called for permanent constitutional amendments that would guarantee the permanent existence of slavery in slave states, reaffirm fugitive slave and Washington D.C. slavery issues, Reestablished Missouri Compromise, Southerners were willing to accept it but Republicans would not allow slavery to exist
Where: U.S. Senate
When: December 18, 1860
Why: To prevent conflict between the overwhelming issue of slavery
