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Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was supposed to be a middle ground between slavery and freedom. The states were divided into Free-States and Slave-States. After a lot of arguing and debate between the two sides, Congress passed five laws that were known as the Compromise of 1850. It was made illegal to help free slaves, people were also required to help search for runaway slaves as well. Although it was a Compromise, there were still those who wanted to fight against it and those who fought for it. -
Period: to
Prelude to the Civil War
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Kansas-Nebraska Act
In 1852 there was a divide among the American voters between the Whig party and the Democrat party. The Southerners did not like the Missouri Compromise of 1820 which divided the slave and free states into the North and South. The Kansas-Nebraska Act stirred things up and from it was born the Republican Party. The Republican Party was in support to end slavery and was made up of abolitionists, Free-Soil Party members, northern Whigs, and some of the democrats who opposed the Kansas-Nebraska Act. -
Bleeding Kansas
In the years 1855 and 56, pro-slavery and anti-slavery activists flooded Kansas in an attempt to influence the rule of the territory. Proslavery people from Missouri crossed the border to Kansas to vote and were considered border ruffians. Close to 60% of the votes were fraudulent. Pro-slavery activists began taking over and after two presses were attacked a man named John Brown got a group together and executed some of the pro-slavery activists. -
Dred Scott Decision
Dred Scott was born into slavery in Virginia. Dred was then relocated to Missouri because of the Missouri Compromise. In 1820, Dred Scott moved with his owner to Illinois and then to Wisconsin, they were both in the Northwest which was slave-free territory. Scott argued to for his freedom through a legal process and was granted his freedom. The decision was then reversed and he was enslaved. Scott kept fighting for his freedom but the outcome made it so Black people weren't considered citizens. -
The Election of 1860
With Lincoln running for president, democracy was threatened. Lincoln did not support the divide between free states and slave states and was pushing to end slavery. Fire-Eaters set out to prevent any northern democrat parties from developing and did not want Douglas to run for president. Lincoln won the November election with 40% of the popular vote and won all of the northern states except for New Jersey. -
Works Cited
1: The image shows a map of the United States and the different territories in it during the year 1850. (credit “User:Golbez”/Wikimedia Commons)
2: Map of US territory of free states and slave states (credit “McConnell James” Loc.gov)
3: A group of men being executed (credit “Marais De Cygnes Massacre.” Encyclopædia Britannica)
4: Dred Scott (credit “Dred Scott” Encyclopædia Britannica)
5: 1860 Election map (credit “American Presidential Election, 1860.” Encyclopædia Britannica)