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The Invention of the Cotton Gin
Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin in 1794. He invented this to make processing Cotton easier. This invention would make it so that slavery would skyrocket in America. Slavery was the main reason for the civil war, and this was one of the biggest reasons slavery got to be as big as it had gotten. With cotton being the base of southern economics, slavery would need to stay in place. The tension on whether or not to keep slavery would split the country into war. -
Missouri Compromise of 1850
The Missouri Compromise was a set of attempts at resolving the north and south conflicts. It is most famously known for the Fugitive Slave Act. The act states that if a slave runs away, the owner can track down the slave and put them back under their control no matter where the slave is. This act upset the slaves and the northerners very much because that meant there wasn't any free soil in America. The only thing the Missouri Compromise did for the North has stopped the Washington slave trade. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin was a book written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. The book was about a slave's life and how awful the slaves were treated. This gave the slaves hope and gave the slave owners worry that the slaves would rebel against them. This book helped fuel the abolitionist movement and helped get Abe Lincoln into office. Abe going into office would be one of the most prominent reasons for the state's secceeding. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
This made it so that the compromise of 1820 would be removed, and the states would now vote on slavery using popular sovereignty. This made it so that the south could move into these two territories and vote to have slavery in them. This made the northerners mad that the territories would have slavery. There would be an event called Bleeding Kansas where pro-slavery and anti-slavery personal had violent attacks. This worsened the relationship between the north and south and headed toward war. -
Pottawatomie Massacre
This is when John Brown and his five sons went out and killed five pro-slavery men with broad swords. This was part of Bleeding Kansas, and they would go into a couple of attacks where they killed pro-slavery men. This was a wake-up call to the north about what would have to be done for change to happen, and it warned the south that there were people who would kill to end slavery. This would help lead to a worse relationship between the north and south. This would cause tension and start a war. -
The Dred Scott Decision
The Dred Scott case was about a slave who tried to sue for his freedom while in a free state with his owner. The court ruled that he was not a citizen and could not have his freedom because of this. They also ruled that a slave could not be in court since they were technically not people. This decision outraged abolitionists and helped bring enough support to convince Lincoln to run for president. This case made it so that there were no free states at all, causing people to be very upset. -
Election of 1860
The Election of 1860 was the very last thing that happened to cause the south to succeed in the country. The south states had said that if Lincoln won the election that they were going to leave the country. Lincoln won the election in this pushed the southern states to leave the country, and we would go into war.