-
Missouri Compromise
Slavery is outlawed in all western territories above Missouri. It created tension between slave and non-slave states. -
Wilmot Proviso
It was a bill that came before Congress to provide funds for negotiating with Mexico. Democrat Wilmot attached an amendment to the bill stating that slavery shouldn't exist in the territory they acquired. The Proviso revealed the growing gap between the North and South over slavery. -
Mexican War
A war fought between the United States and Mexico. President Polk wanted to acquire the entire territory stretching from Texas to the Pacific. America believed that this was apart of their "manifest destiny". I feel like it will create a huge debate over adding slave and free states. -
Compromise of 1850
It was a compromise proposed by Henry Clay. He was seeking for a middle ground of the slavery debate. It allowed America to expand its territory. It settled the tension between the North and South for a while. California enters as a free states. -
Fugitive Slave Law
This act ordered all citizens of the United States to assist in the return of enslaved people who had escaped from their owners. I feel like it was established because they couldn't just let California enter as a free state and the south gets nothing. It favored the south. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
It was a powerful statement about the impact of slavery written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. It showed that slavery was opposed to beliefs that many Northerners cherished: the importance of women and the ideal of family. It showed that slavery could corrupt those born outside the system. It showed that slavery would ruin the United States. -
Kansas Nebraska Act (Popular Sovereignty)
It supported the practice of popular sovereignty. Stephen Douglas knew that it would make the Southerners happy. It raised the possibility that those states would enter as slave states. He thought the Northerners would back it because those states weren't suitable for farming. The Northerners were outraged. They saw it as a sellout to the South. Proslavery and antislavery groups were formed. -
"Bleeding Kansas" (Charles Sumner Attacked)
Led by John Brown, him and several New Englanders went to a proslavery settlement near Pottawatomie Creek. Brown and his men killed five men in front of their family. This event really pushed the North and South apart. It led to the establishment of the Republican Party. -
Dred Scott Decision
Declared that all slaves weren't citizens and had no right to sue in court, living in a free state or territory, even for many years, did not free a slave, and the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional. This meant that Congress had no power to ban slavery anywhere. All territories were open to slavery. -
Lincoln-Douglas Debates
It was a series of seven debates on the issue of slavery in the territories. It highlighted two important principles, majority rule and minority rights. It helped Lincoln with his Presidency. -
Election of 1860
Presidential election of 1860. It demonstrated the split between the North and South. It pitted Republican nominee Abraham Lincoln against Stephen Douglas, John Breckinridge and John Bell.The main issue of the election was slavery and states’ rights. The people were angry when Lincoln won because Lincoln was instrumental in the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment, which made slavery unconstitutional. -
Lower South Secedes
Six southern states left the Union and formed a new nation called the Confederate States of America. They were mad that a President could be elected without any southern electoral votes. This divided the nation completely. -
Attack on Ft. Sumter
The bombardment of Fort Sumter near Charleston, South Carolina by the Confederate States Army, and the return gunfire and subsequent surrender by the United States Army, that started the American Civil War.
