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Events Leading Up To the Civil War
This timeline describes the various events leading up to the Civil War. Many of these events were primary reasons that the north and south infuriated each other and fought so hard for their causes. Many of these are surrounding slavery, which is one of the basic causes for the war. Slavery could not be solved by a simple court ruling. It was simply an issue of morality rather than legality. -
The Missouri Compromise
Henry Clay created a compromise to help the Union avoid breaking apart. The Missouri Compromise of 1820 added Maine to the Union as a free state and Missouri as slave in order to keep a balanced union. At first this idea kept the nation together yet pleased very few people. Secretary of State, John Quincy Adams, felt this was a temporary fix that would lead to war because rather than solving the issue of slavery, the compromise covered it up, this was like putting a band-aid on a festering sore. -
The Compromise of 1850
Henry Clay created another compromise in 1850, the same year it was accepted, which had something to please both the north and the south. It began by adding California to the Union as a free state, the Utah and New Mexico territories could decide whether or not they wanted slavery. The compromise ended the slave trade in the nation's capitol along with adding a Fugitive Slave Law to enforce. The event led to war because the North later refused to help enforce the Fugitive Slave Act. -
The Kansas-Nebraska Act
This bill was created by Stephen Douglas, passed in 1854, and added two new states to the union, Kansas and Nebraska. It abolished the Missouri compromise, allowing settlers in these states to vote on their positions for slavery. This led to civil war because many people moved to Kansas to support their side. This argument soon became violent and led to many riots and beatings. It separated the nation even further than before, since both sides were strongly defending their own. -
The Dred Scott Case
In 1857 a slave named Dred Scott sued for his freedom, arguing that being taken to Wisconsin, a free state, makes him free. Chief Justice Taney delivered the Dred Scott decision which stated that no slave or African American could ever be a citizen, therefore couldn't sue in a federal court. They also decided that living in a free state as a slave can't make one free. This event led to the war because it was a temporary fix where the south was delighted, where the North was infuriated. -
The Election of 1860
In 1860, Abraham Lincoln won the presidential election against Stephen Douglas and John Breckinridge, which was one of the final straws that broke the union. The republican party was delighted at the sight of possibly abolishing slavery but the south was infuriated. Soon after the election, Lincoln attempted to comfort the south by allowing them to keep their slaves. This once again didn't soothe southerners and on December 20th, 1860 South Carolina and six other states voted to leave the union. -
The Attack on Fort Sumpter
This event which took place on April 12th, 1861 was the kick off of the civil war. After Abraham Lincoln became president of a crumbling union, six states known as the Confederate States of America launched an attack on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor. After 33 hours, the fort finally surrendered without a single life lost. No lives were taken that day, but the entire union shook with fury. The faint idea of compromise was lost, this was the first event of the civil war
