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The compromise of 1850 and the Fugitive Slave Act
The congress passed these acts on September 18,1850. The act made the federal government responsible for finding and returning slaves to their owners, even if they were in a free state. The Compromise was a series of bills passed to address issues related to slavery. The bills provided for slavery to be decided by popular sovereignty in the admission of new states. This led us to the path of the civil war because the acts are gonna give the states the power to choose to be a slave state or not. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The act created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska. It was drafted by Democratic Senator Stephen A. Douglas, and signed into law by President Franklin Pierce. Douglas argued in favor of popular sovereignty, or the idea that the settlers of the new territories should decide if slavery would be legal there. This led us down the path towards the civil war because the territories will have to decide to be slave states or not. -
Bleeding Kansas
Also known as the Bloody Kansas, or the Border War was where there would be violent fights taken place in Kansas territory. These fights happened because of debates over whether or not Kansas should allow slavery. This led us towards a civil war because people are started to disagree whether or not Kansas should be a slave state. Not only just disagreements but causing violence as well. -
Preston Brooks vs Charles Sumner
The event occurred on May 22, 1856, where Representative Preston Brooks, a pro-slavery Democrat from South Carolina, used a walking cane to attack Senator Charles Sumner, who is a abolitionist Republican from Massachusetts. This led us towards the civil war because some people saw this as a good thing, while others thought how horrible it was for a representative to act like that. -
Dred Scott v. Sandford
In 1846, an enslaved man named Dred Scott and his wife, Harriet, sued for their freedom in St. Louis Circuit Court. A court case where the Supreme Court ruled that Americans of African descent, whether free or slave, were not American citizens and could not sue in federal court. Even through all his efforts, Scott lost in the case,
This led us to the civil war because it divided the North and South even more. -
Lincoln-Douglas Debates
From August to October of 1858, Abraham Lincoln took on Senator Stephen A. Douglas in a series of seven debates. Thousands of people and newspaper reporters watched as the two men battled over slavery and the battle over its spread into new territories. This led us to the civil war because there were famous figures who were being spectated by many, and those people had their own opinions on the topic. -
John Brown’s Raid on Harper Ferry
On the evening of October 16, 1859 John Brown, and a group of his supporters left their farmhouse hide-out en route to Harpers Ferry. Brown and his men captured citizens and seized the federal armory and arsenal. Brown had hoped that the local slave population would join the raid and weapons would be supplied to slaves. But unfortunately that didn’t happen. This led to the civil war because some saw Brown’s actions heroic, while others were glad he was stopped. -
Election of Abraham Lincoln
on November 6, 1860, where Republican Abraham Lincoln defeated Southern Democrat John C. Breckinridge, Democrat Stephen A. Douglas, and John Bell. And in the months following Lincoln’s election, seven southern states, led by South Carolina on December 20, 1860, broke away, which started off the American Civil War. This election basically caused the civil war.