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First laws abolishing slavery
Many northern states persuaded Congress to make it illegal for ships to bring any new slaves from Africa inside their own boundaries. -
Southern states' dissatisfaction
Southern slave owners, which invested their money in slaves, expressed disagreement claiming that restricting slavery would violate the principle of states' rights. -
Missouri Compromise
As a 24th new state, which Congress allowed for admission, Missouri attempted to add an antislavery amendment, but it was not welcomed. As a consequence, it unleashed a political dispute between proslavery and antislavery forces that led to the American War. -
Mexican-American War
Its end meant new territories for the United States (1.3 million square km), which burned the dispute between free and slave states. -
Abraham Lincoln elected president
When Abraham Lincoln candidate of the anti-slavery Republican Party won the 1860 election seven Southern states (South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas) seceded and organized the Confederate States of America. -
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Secession of the Southern states
The withdrawal of 11 slave states precipitated American Civil War: South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina. -
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Lincoln Blockade of Confederate Ports
It's an act of war whereby one party blocks entry to or departure from a defined part of an enemy's territory. Lincoln proclaimed a naval blockade of the Confederate states and this is when Civil War begun. -
Fort Sumter
This was the location of the first engagement of the American Civil War. Located at the entrance to the harbour of Charleston, South Carolina. After being threatened, Lincoln didn't want to accede to disunion but after a 34-hour bombardment, Federal forces surrendered to Confederate troops. Within weeks, four other states joined the Confederacy (Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina).