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Missouri Compromise
Missouri Compromise: www.history.com
Began with Missouri’s 1819 request for admission to the Union as a slave state. Congress responded by aproving the request and admitting Maine as a free state. Then they formed a boundary between free and slave states. -
"54-40 or Fight"
"54-40 or Fight"
In addition to being the motto of Polk's presidential campaign, this phrase referrs to his want for the Oregon border to run as far north as the 54th parallel. -
Texas Annexation
Texas Annexation: www.history.com
President Tyler managed to have Texas admitted to the Union even under threat of war twith a Treaty of Annexation . -
Wilmot Proviso
Wilmot Proviso: www.history.com
The Wilmot Proviso was designed to ban slavery within territory acquired as a result of the Mexican War and was part of a bill to appropriate $2 million to negotiate a treaty with Mexico. It was presented by David Wilmot. -
Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidago
Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidago: www.americaslibrary.gov
The agreement brought an end to the war and extended the U.S. west to the Pacific Ocean with 525,000 square miles of former Mex. territory. -
Compromise of 1850
Compromise of 1850: www.history.com
California was admitted as a free state, creating Utah and New Mexico territories where slavery was determined by popular sovereignty. It settled the Texas-New Mexico boundary line, ended slave trade in D.C., and made it easier for southerners to recover fugitive slaves -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle tom's Cabin: History.com
Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote this anti-slavery novel. This influenced northerners to see the injustice of slavery. Southerners were outraged because they felt slavery was misrepresented in the novel. -
Gadsden Purchase
Gadsden Purchase: www.history.com
The Gadsden Purchase settled disputes over the Mexican border west of El Paso, Texas, and established the final boundaries of the southern United States. Also for $15 million, the United States gained 30,000 square miles of land (southern New Mexico and Arizona). -
Republican Party Founded
Republican Party Founded: www.history.com
Anti-slavery Whigs decided to form a new political party because its own party was falling apart over the crissis of slavery. Northerners readily supported the Republican Party and in 1860 Abraham Lincoln was elected president over a Democratic Party. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
Kansas-Nebraska Act: myloc.gov
This Act granted the right of popular sovereignty to Kansas and Nebraska specifically to determine whether or not their respective territories would allow slavery. Abraham Lincoln publicly apposed this because he found it to be a threat to the U.S. government and its foundations. This made him much more popular career-wise. -
Brooks-Sumner Incident
Brooks-Sumner: www.history.com
Senator Charles Sumner openly insulted a relative of Preston Brooks in his speech about the Kansas-Nebraska Act. Brooks, who had a history of violence, responded by beating Sumner while he was trapped at his desk. This made Brooks a hero in the eyes of southerners. -
Harpers Ferry Raid
Harper's Ferry Raid: www.history.com
John Brown led other abolitionist in the assault and raid of Harpers Ferry. His intent was to create an independent stronghold of freed slaves, but he was captured, convicted, and hanged for his attempt. -
Election of 1860
Election of 1860: www.history.com
Abraham Lincoln won the election with forty percent of the votes. Once this was announced, southern states began to secede from the Union. A month after Lincoln's inauguration, the American Civil War began. -
Firing on Fort Sumter
firing on Fort Sumter: www.history.com
Fort Sumter is where the first shots of the Civil War were fired. Confederate General P.G.T. Beauregard (Confederate) bombarded the fort as U.S. Major Robert Anderson (Union) occupied it. -
First Battle of Bull Run
First Battle of Bull Run: www.history.com
General McDowell (Union) sought out Confederate forces in Manassas. He was defeated by General Beauregard and his men. The government in D.C. was horrified and made to rethink their military strategy. -
Monitor v. Merrimac
Monitor v. Merrimac: www.history.com
The Monitor (Union) was constructed after seing the Confederate Merrimac in action. The Merrimac attacked ships along the Virginia coast and after lossing two ships, the Union sent in the Monitor to defeat the Merrimac.This battle between two ironclads ended in a draw. -
Battle of Antietam
Battle of Antietam: www.history.com
In this battle between Union and Confederate soldiers, there was no clear winner. However, the Confederates were the ones to retreat. This gave Lincoln the opportunity to issue the Emancipation Proclamation and fight for the abolition of slavery. -
Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg: www.history.com
Massive amounts of soldiers fought and died in this battle until General Robert E. Lee withdrew. This was the turning point of the Civil War, leading to the Gettysburg Address some months later. -
Sherman's March
Sherman's March: www.history.com
Union Gen. William T. Sherman led 60,000 soldiers across Georgia in his "March to the Sea." During this, Sherman and his men destroyed southern resources, including cattle and crops. He believed this would lead to a quicker end of the Civil War. -
Appomattox Court House
Appomattox Court House: www.history.com
Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered to Union General Ulysses S. Grant, ending the American Civil War.
