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Northwest Ordinance of 1787 GREEN (Economic, Social, and Political)
This ordnance was during the post-revolutionary america era. This rule established a new form of rules for the northwest region and got rid of previous ordinances that determined the settlement regulations there. This new ordinance allowed for freedom of religion, trial by jury, no slavery, and a population of 60,000 to apply for statehood. This set a precedent on how new regions of lands should be dealt with and admitted into the confederation. -
Missouri Compromise GREEN (Social and Political)
The Missouri Compromise arose from an imbalance issue when Missouri was to be admitted into the union. In this compromise, Maine was taken from Massachusetts and admitted into the union as a free state while Missouri was a slave state. To settle further conflicts, Missouri Compromise line was created. Any land admitted as a state above this line was to be free and anything below could have slavery. However, soon the South wanted to expand over this line and conflict occurred again. -
Nat Turner Rebellion RED (Political, Social, and Economic)
In Virginia, Nat Turner, a black slave preacher led the most deadly slave revolt in American history. 55 people were killed in the rebellion, with the white slave owners using rifles and the slaves using blunt objects. Turner was hanged with 16 of his followers after hiding for six weeks. After, white plantation owners reasserted control over the area. 30 slaves were killed immediately without a trail and 50 other slaves had a trial, resulting in 30 of those slaves being executed. -
Gag Rule RED (Political and Social)
Due to the creation of the petitioning American Anti-Slavery Society in 1834, the House passed a resolution which postponed all action on all petitions dealing with slavery. This gag rule was used to quiet a controversial situation. -
Amistad Case RED (Political, Social and Economic)
In this case, illegally shipped Africans from Cuba rebelled while at sea. These slaves were arrested and put in prison. The slaves were arrested for piracy and murder. The Circuit Court declared that these slaves were to be kept as private property. Abolitionists raised funds for a legal defense and found a translator so the Africans could share their side of the story. When the case was appealed to the Supreme Court, a 7-1 ruling declared the slaves free because they were illegally obtained. -
Annexation of Texas RED (Political)
In 1845, General Sam Houston led the Americans at the Battle of San Jacinto. He took Santa Anna prisoner and executed many Mexicans to get back at them for Goliad. Santa Anna signed a treaty giving Texas independence. The Mexican government tried to refute the treaty but there was no military to fight for it. -
Wilmot Proviso RED(Political and Social)
This was a failed proposal to Congress in 1846. However, in this proposal slavery was prohibited in any land acquired from Mexico. It was passed in the House but failed when it reached the Senate. This was debated and voted on for years, but was never made a law. -
Mexican War RED(Social, Political, and Economic)
First, Mexico had declined an offer to join the Union. There was territory between Mexico and American which included citizens from both regions. Tension built and war broke out when Mexicans said Americans shot at them first. President Polk was a strong advocate for this war and encouraged it. However, after a longer war than expected by Polk, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed that settled territorial issues and stopped settlement in certain regions between Mexico and America (1848). -
California Gold Rush GREEN (Economic and Social)
This gold rush attracted young males, but mostly families. Since many were leaving, there was a labor shortage and Indian slavery came about. Forty-niners was a term used to describe the people who dropped everything in the hope of success in California. This rush was a critical importance to California’s population increase. A small fraction of the 49ers found gold and profited from it. Many stayed in California who didn’t make profit and the population became one of the most diverse. -
Compromise of 1850 RED (Economic and Political)
Henry Clay proposed the compromise to Congress in 1850 which admitted CA as free state, new territorial governments without slave restrictions, new tough fugitive slave law. First phase of debating was led by Clay, Calhoun, Webster, who all wanted to settle the slave issue at once. After Clay’s proposal was defeated, the second phase of debate led by younger group; William Seward, Jefferson Davis and Stephen Douglas expressed their views. Finally, the Compromise of 1850 passed in September. -
Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 RED (Social and Political)
This was a law passed in 1850 by Congress which stated that northern states were required to return fugitive slaves back to their owners. Northerners became enraged when the slave owners came back to acquire their slave. The Northern citizens believed that the police were acting as kidnappers. This law gave an unfair advantage to the South, so the Northerners created personal liberty laws which protected fugitive slaves. However, this was breaking one of the guarantees in the Compromise of 1850. -
Publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin RED (Political and Social)
This novel is one of the most influential ever published in American history. The story tells the reader about slavery and about an aging black man, Uncle Tom, who is submissive to is white masters. The author, Stowe, describes how slavery violates the domestic values Americans lived by. This novel inflamed public opinion in both the North and South. This story was released in the last years before the civil war and Stowe was known as the “little lady that has brought this great war.” -
Kansas Nebraska Act and Bleeding Kansas RED (Political)
The Kansas Nebraska Act was created to split Nebraska into two territories (Kansas and Nebraska). Popular sovereignty decided whether the areas were slave or free states, which went against the Missouri Compromise. Tension grew and violence occurred over the status of Kansas (Bleeding Kansas). When it was time to vote, thousands of Missourians flooded into Kansas in order to elect a majority of pro-slavery forces into that legislature. In the end, slavery was legalized in Kansas. -
Ostend Manifesto RED (Political and Social)
A group of Franklin Piece’s envoys met with Spanish officials in Belgium to buy Cuba so they could extend slavery. However, the Spanish refused to sell it. When the public found out, the abolitionists accused the administration of trying to admit a slave territory into a balanced union. The South was refusing to support the admission of the new territory if it wasn’t a slave state. This exemplified how the North and South had set standards that couldn't be met peacefully. -
Dred Scott Decision RED (Political and Social)
This conflict, which occurred in Virginia, was between a slave Dred Scott and slave owner’s wife. Scott sued the widow when he was brought to free states but was still held as a slave. This case first went in favor of Scott when he was freed, but then was appealed by Sanford and the Supreme Court voted 7-2, claiming that Scott was private property and couldn’t be taken away due to the fifth amendment. -
John Brown and Harpers Ferry RED (Social)
John Brown was a white abolitionist who had planned the raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia. He armed slaves and then lead a rebellion through Virginia and beyond. Many northeastern abolitionists supported Brown and provided him with financial aid to carry out this mission. The South then decided that their lives were not secure and said the northern Republican Party was behind this rebellion, which was not true. -
Crittenden Compromise RED (Political and Social)
The Crittenden Compromise was an unsuccessful proposal to preserve slavery in the US and to make it unconstitutional for Congress to abolish slavery. This compromise was presented by Senator John J. Crittenden.
