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Road to the Civil War
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Missouri Compromise
Proposed by Henry Clay, the Missouri Compromise declared that territories above 36 degrees North Latitude would become free states, and territories below 36 degrees South Latitude would become states open to slavery. This led to many future arguments and debates regarding slavery, as well as many territories being frustrated that they can't choose their own stance on slavery. -
Nullification Crisis
The country was outraged at President Andrew Jackson's tariff of abominations. Thus, South Carolina passed the Nullification Act, which declared the tariff illegal. South Carolina also threatened to leave the Union if the federal government challenged them. -
Compromise of 1850
Due to the Compromise of 1850, California entered the Union as a free state, the Mexican Cession was divided into the New Mexico and Utah territories, the D.C. slave trade ended, the Fugitive Slave Act was passed, and the Texas-New Mexico border disputes were solved. -
Fugitive Slave Act
The Fugitive Slave Act forced all citizens to assist in the capture of fugitive slaves, otherwise they could be fined or put in jail. It also made it so judges that put fugitive slaves back to the south would recieve 10 dollars, and judges that freed them recieved 5 dollars. Northerners were outraged at this act, as it was very pro-slavery. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin was a novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, a New England woman. It was written to expose the evils of slavery and the injustice of the Fugitive Slave Act. Southerners believed this book was biased propaganda, and more northerners started to believe that they must act in order to stop slavery. -
Start of the Republican Party
The Republican Party wanted to keep slavery out of the western states, and was formed by anti-slavery Whigs, Free soilers, and Northern Democrats. Because of the creation of this northern party, among other things, Southerners believed that their say in government was fading. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas Nebraska Act instated popular sovereignity to decide Nebraska and Kansas' stances on slavery, and divided Kansas territory into Kansas and Nebraska. This angered the North because Nebraska and Kansas were both above the Missouri Compromise line, yet the could become slave states. -
Bleeding Kansas
A pro-slavery group in Kansas raided the town of Lawrence, which was an anti-slavery stronghold. They destroyed homes and free-soil newspapers, all the while killing Lawrence's inhabitants. John Brown rode with his 4 sons and two other men to Pottawatomie Creek, and murdered 5 of the anti-slavery raiders. This led to guerilla warfare across the state of Kansas, which the newspapers referred to as "Bleeding Kansas". This conflict resulted in 200 deaths, and slavery debates in the Senate. -
Brooks Attacks Sumner
Charles Sumner a member of the Senate, criticized the pro-slavery legislation of Kansas and pointed out Andrew Butler specifically. Butler wasn't present to hear this, but a few days later, his nephew, Brooks Butler, who is also a Senate member, attacks Charles Sumner with a heavy cane, beating him quite seriously. Southerners supported Brooks, sending him canes in the mail as appreciation, while Northerners believed this was another piece of evidence showing how slavery leads to violence. -
Dred Scott Decision
The Dred Scott Decision declared that Dred Scott remain a slave, and that the Missouri Compromise and Compromise of 1850 were unconstitutional, making slavery legal nationwide. This decision caused the South to rejoice and the North to become furious and condemn the decision. -
Lincoln Douglas Debates
Abraham Lincoln debated Senator Stephen Douglas on the topic of slavery, fighting for United States Senate candidacy. Almost every day they had a debate, and although Lincoln lost the election, he was know publicly known as a strong politician, setting up his later election as president. -
Raid on Harper's Ferry
John Brown, a northern abolitionist, decided to raid an armory in Virginia, thinking that local slaves would revolt, and that he could lead them in a anti-slavery mob. When John Brown overtook the armory, no slaves arrived to help him, and he was captured and sentenced to death. To the northerners, John Brown was seen as a martyr for a cause that was bigger than himself. The south was outraged at this northern outlook on such a hardened criminal. -
Election of 1860
Lincoln won the 1860 Presidential Election in a landslide, mostly due to the fact that northern voters outnumbered southern voters. Southerners begin to feel that their impact on the government was fading, and that the government was working against them. This led to southern states seceeding from the Union to form the Confederacy. Confederate forces began overtaking federal forts in the South, marking the start of the Civil War. -
South Carolina's Secession
South Carolina is the first state to secede from the Union. John Crittenden tried to stop secession, but his compromise got little support. A year after South Carolina seceded, 6 other states followed suit, and formed the Confederacy.
