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Missouri Compromise
In 1818, Mossouri sought admission to the Union as a slave-holding state. After two years of bitter debate, the Missouri Compromise was agreed upon. This Compromise admitted Missouri to the Union as a slave state and admitted Maine as a free state to maintain the balance in the senate. -
Tariff of 1828
Congress passed the Tarrif of 1828, known as the "Tariff of Abominations." The tariff earned this nickname because it made foreign products expensive for people to buy, esecially if they did not have industry in their region producing similar items. -
Nat Turner's Rebellion
Nat Turner, a slave, along with about 60 other slaves led a violent rebellion that resulted in the deaths of more than 50 Virginians. Nat and many others were executed for their part, or suspected part, in the revolt. -
The Tarrif of 1832
Also known as the Compromise Tarrif, the Tarrif of 1832 was passed by Congress in an attempt to appease the South after the Tarrif of 1828. Unsatisfied, John C. Calhoun resigned from the vice presidency and South Carolina issues an Ordinance of Nullification, which declared both tarrifs are unconstitutional and would not be honored within the sovereign state of South Carolina. -
Compromise of 1850
Disagreements erupted over whether land acquired from Mexico after the Mexican American War would become slave or free states. The compromise admitted California as free state, and the inhabitations of the territories of New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona. and Utah would be allowed to decide whether or not to permit slavery in their territories when they applied for statehood. -
Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin
Plublished in responce to the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, it had sold two million copies worldwide within two years of being published. After the bible, Uncle Tom's abin was the highest selling book of the 19th century. President Lincoln read Uncle Tom's Cabin before announcing the Emancipation Proclamation in 1862, and when he met Stowe, exclaimed, "So this is the little woman who started this great war!" -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
This act repealed the Missouri Compromise. This allowed settlers in the territories of Kansas and Nebraska to decide whether they would allow slavery within their borders when they applied for statehood. -
"Bleeding Kansas"
Disagreements over whether slavery should be allowed in Kansas led to violence among settlers. -
Dred Scott Decision
Dred Scott, a slave, sued for his freedom on the grounds that since his master had taken him to live in territories, he should be free. As a non-citizen and a slave viewed as property, Scott was not entitled to file a suit. The Court also ruled that Congress had no power to exclude slavery from the territories; therefore, the Missouri Compromise and other legislation limiting slavery were unconstitutional. -
Lincoln-Douglass Debates
These debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglass, sponsor of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, were primarily over the issue of slavery. The debates forged Lincoln into a prominent national figure and solidified his Republican Party's antislavery platform. -
John Brown's Raid
John Brown and 22 other men raided the town of Haroer Ferry, Virginia, hoping to arm and free slaves. Brown and his raiders captured many of the towns most important citizens and held them hostage. Within 24 hours, Brown was captured and convicted of treason, murder, and conspiracy to incite slave rebellion. He was hanged that December.
