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Compromise of 1850
This was a package deal. California would become a free state, Utah and New Mexico would be the chosen by popular vote among citizens, and a new Fugitive Slave Act would be developed and enacted. This Fugitive Slave Act was stricter, and the North did not want to follow it. The South didn't like the fact that they lost California and could potentially lose Utah and New Mexico. This was meant to help the issue of slavery expansion, but it only increased sectionalism between the North and South. -
Birth of Republican Party
Former members of the Whig party met in Wisconsin to crate a new party which was opposed to the expansion of slavery into western territories. They called themselves the Republican party. They rapidly gained supporters in the North, and had their first presidential candidate by 1856. Southern slave states threatened secession if a republican president was chosen. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
This act raises the 36° 30° line. It also mandates popular sovereignty for the states with new boarders. The North believes the South had no right to encroach onto their free land. This causes conflicts between pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers, and eventually leads to bleeding Kansas, a main catalyst for the civil war. -
Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas was a period of violence after the Kansas-Nebraska act was passed. Since these new areas were given popular sovereignty, the pro-slavery and anti-slavery members fought for control. This violence occurred for the next seven years. All of this violence showed that there was not going to be a compromise made, and that civil war was necessary. -
Dred Scott
Dred Scott vs. Sanford was a very controversial court case. Scott lived in a free state with his owner before returning to the slave state of Missouri. Scott argued that his time in a free state entitled him to emancipation. The end decision was that no blacks could gain citizenship, so they also couldn't petition the court for freedom. Abolitionists were outraged and sectionalism between the North and South was increased. -
Panic of 1857
The Panic of 1857 was caused by poor investments in internal improvements and manufactured goods in the North. This closed banks in the North and crashed their economy. The South was not effected, but it made them want to secede even more so they wouldn't have to worry about the same thing happening to their economy. -
Election of 1860
By 1860 the nation was divided. The presidential candidates were Lincoln, Breckinridge, and Bell. Lincoln ended up winning, but it was clear the South didn't want him. He received no votes in nine southern states. South Carolina seceded from the United States after the election. This was the beginning of the Civil War.
