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Missouri Compromise
Made by Congress to try to stop the rivalries between sectional and political views after Missouri wanted to be a slave state in late 1819. When this was asked, it angered the north that were free slave states. It would give more power to the slave states by making the balance uneven. This had 3 parts. The first part stated that Missouri would become a slave state. Secondly, Maine would become a free slate so the balance wasn't interrupted. Lastly, there was to be no slavery past the 36-30 line. -
Texas Annexation
President van Buren didn't want to annex Texas at first because Mexico threatened to start a war. Noone worried about annexing Texas after that until 1844. President Tyler restarted negotations with the Republic of Texas but Mexico had a treaty to prevent it. He didn't have enough votes to ratify this. Before leaving office, he tried again with a joint resolution between the 2 houses of Congress. With the support of President-elect Polk, Tyler got the joint resolution passed and Texas is annexed -
54-40 or Fight!
President James. K. Polk believed in the Manifest Destiny and wanted to have all of the western territory. Him and Great Britian were almost at war because Polk wanted to the land in between the 54-40 line. They soon came to an agreement and decided Polk could have land from the 49th parallel line. -
Wilmot Proviso
As a result of the Mexican War, this was made to ban slavery from the land that U.S received. Wilmot had been for the free states in the north rather than slavery. He was loyal while in office until he came up with his proviso. -
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
This treaty ended the Mexican-American War in favor of the U.S. The treaty added much more land to the U.S territory that would later become Texas, Cali, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona -
Compromise of 1850
This ended the separtion over slavery in the territory that was gained in the Mexican-American War. It had laws stating California as a free state, Utah and New Mexico either a slave or free state determined by popular sovereignty, settling a Texas-New Mexico boundary argument, ending slave trade in Washington D.C, and to make it easier for southeners to get their slaves back. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote this anti-slavery novel. What inspired her to write this novel is when she came across fugitive slaves and the Underground Railroad. It was written soon after fugitive slave laws became more strict. -
Republican Party Founded
In Wisconsin, former members of the Whig Party met to make this new party to go against the spread of slavery in the western territories. When the Kansas-Nebraska Act and the Missouri Compromise allowed free or slave states to vote what the state wanted to be by popular sovereignty, the anti-slavery Whigs got together and discussed making a new party. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
This allowed settelers to vote whether they wanted to be a free state or a slave state within the new states. This was called popular sovereignty. Stephen Douglas came up with this bill that soon overturned the Missouri Compromise with free and slave states. As tensions arose between anti-slavery and pro-slavery, the conflict became known as Bleeding Kansas. This conflict led the way to the American Civil War. -
Gadsden Purchase
This was an agreement between the U.S and Mexico to pay them 10 million dollars for land in Mexico that later becomes part of Arizona and New Mexico. It provided the land that was needed to make a southern transcontinental railroad and try to break the tension between the U.S and Mexico after the Mexican-American War. -
Brooks-Sumner incident
The Southern Congressman Preston Brooks beats Northern Senator Charles Sumner in the middle of the halls of Congress. Brooks was affended by Sumner while everyone was in a meeting. Sumner was talking down upon South Carolina and Brooks didn't like that whatsoever. He got fed up and started to beat Sumner with his cane. Brooks actions cause him to be a hero in the south and they sent him more canes telling him more need a beating like that. Sumner didn't return back in office for 3 years. -
Harper's Ferry Raid
John Brown, an abolitionist, led armed forces to Harpers Ferry. This raid was ment to be the first stage of a complicated plan to make an independent stronghold of freed slaves in mountains of Maryland and Virginia. Brown was later captured and sentenced to be hung. When he was executed, this raid made white Southern fears of slave rebellions even greater and made the tension between the North and South more intense before the Civil War. -
Election of 1860
With most of the votes coming from the north, Abraham Lincoln won the Election of 1860. Becuase he was from the north, south believed that he was an abolitionist. When Lincoln won, the Deep South separate themselves from the Union followed by the Upper South a few moths later. -
Firing at Fort Sumter
When President Lincoln came out and said they were going to resuplly the fort, General Beauregard bombarded the fort on April 12th. After fighting for 34 hours, Anderson and 86 other troops surrendered the fort on April 13th. Confederate troops stayed at the fort for 4 years but left it abandoned beofre the capture of William T. Sherman. After the Civil War, the fort was restored by U.S military and used in the Spanish-American War. -
First Battle at Bull Run
Confederate forces were brought together by Gneral McDowell. He mostly chose inexperienced and poorly trainly militiamen. Getting the alert, General Beauregard formed an armed force of about 20,000 men and later joined them together with 9,000 men formed by General Joseph Johnston. As these two met at Bull Run River, men, women, and children came to watch the first battle of the Civil War unfold. -
Monitor v. Merrimack
The 1st Confederate ironclad traveled down the Elizabeth River to attack the U.S blockade. It first attacked Cumberland and headed for attack on the Congress. On March 9, 1862 the Merricack was arriving for an attack but found a Union ship called the Monitor waiting for them. Even though the Merrimack carried more gun, it was slow and clumbsy. The Monitor was quick but lacked size. With 4 hours of fighting neither had that much damage. On May 11, 1862, the Merrimack was ordered to be blown up. -
Battle of Antietam
Confederate and Union troops in the Civil War clash around Maryland's Antietam Creek that is known to be the bloodiest one-day battle in American history. The stategy of this battle wasn't very good. It was savage and bloody for both sides. Confederates were pushed back but not yet beaten. Both sides held their ground pretty good. On September 18th, Union and Confederate troops gathered and buried their dead. -
Battle of Gettysburg
Confederate division marched into Gettysburg hoping to take supplies but instead they came across 3 brigades of the Union calvary. Reinforcements were gathered and came for both sides as the Union calvary held the field over in the mean time. On July 2nd, the battle began around 4 p.m. After 3 hours, the battle ended. -
Shermans March
Union General William T. Sherman led about 60,000 soldiers across a 285-mile march from Atlanta to Savannah, Geogia. The purpose of this march was to scare Geogia's civilian population into leaving the Confederate cause. His soldiers might not have destroyed any of the villages and towns along the way, but they did take livestock and burn down any of the houses owned by people that tried to stop them. -
Appomattox Court House
Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrendered about 28,000 of his troops to Union General Ulysses S. Grant in front of Wilmer McLean's home in the Appomattox Court House ending the Civil War. Days before this, Lee thought he could escape with the remainder of his army and meet in North Carolina to resume fighting. Union forces cut him and his troops off making Lee surrender.
