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Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise of 1820 was a attempt to prevent the expansion of slavery into the new territory of the Louisiana Purchase. As a result, slavery was restricted above the 36/30 line, while everything south consisted of slave states. This compromis only served as temporary solution to the disagreements about slavery. -
54-40 or Fight
The 1844 Democratic presidential candidate James K. Polk ran on a platform of taking control over the entire Oregon Territory and used the famous campaign slogan, "Fifty-four Forty or Fight!" (after the line of latitude serving as the northern boundary of Oregon at 54°40').Through negotiations with the British after Polk's inauguration, the boundary between the U.S. and British Canada was established at 49° with the Treaty of Oregon in 1846. -
Wilmot Proviso
Congressman David Wilmot proposed a law to ban slavery in all of the territory aquired from Mexico. Wilmot's Proviso, however, was blocked by southern senators who feared that as soon as Northeners gained control of the Senate slavery would be abolished, and with it their way of life. -
Treaty of Guadalupe- Hidalgo
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which brought an official end to the Mexican-American War, was signed on February 2, 1848, at Guadalupe Hidalgo. With the defeat of its army and the fall of the capital, Mexico City, in September 1847, the Mexican government gave up to the United States and started thinking of ways to end war. -
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was a series of five bills that were intended to deal with the spread of slavery to territories in order to keep northern and southern interests in balance. Cali was entered as a free state. NM and UT could choose if they wanted to be free or slave states. This is called popular sovereignty. -
Texas Annexation
Texas was finally brought into the Union by President Tyler. It is believed that Tyler who did not like Polk did this as a way of insulting Polk. However, President Polk had kept in mind that Mexico had stated repeatedly that annexing Texas would result in war and he had kept this in mind during his decision. By annexing Texas, Mexico was quick to rise in anger and war was inevitable. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
"Uncle Tom's Cabin", written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, was an anti-slavery novel which revealed the true horrors and evils of slavery to the North. The South claimed it was an unfair depiction of slavery; however, that did not stop the growing number of abolitionists in the North. -
Gadsden Purchase
President Franklin Pierce sent James Gadsden to Mexico City in 1853 with a couple proposals for buying land to the south of the boundaries established by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo from Mexico. They eventually settled on a boundary which added 27,305 square miles to Arizona and 2335 square miles to New Mexico. The price was $10 million, and the Senate ratified the treaty on June 24, 1854. -
Republican Party Founded
Furry over "Bleeding Kansas" led to the birth of the Republican party in 1855 in Ripon Wisconsin. The Republican party mainly consisted of notherners, whos main concern was the limit the spread of slavery in all territories. This estranged the north and south even more. -
Kansas- Nebraska Act
Senator Douglas agreed to divide the Nebraske region into 2 territories: Nabraska and Kansas. From there the Kansas Nebraska Act was brought to attention and introduced the idea of popular sovereignty. The Missouri Compromise was repealed and the settler of the territories would decide for themselves to remain free or not. This decisoin divided both the democrat and whig parties, causing the formation of the Republican party. -
The Brooke's & Sumner's Incident
Congressman Preston Brooks of South Carolina beat Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts with his cane after Sumner gave a speach against slavery. Rather than showing remorse for the actions of their congressman, the South glorified Brooks' actions. Northerners were both disgusted and outraged. These were their most civilized leaders and this even spread uncertainty through out the U.S. -
Harpers Ferry Raid
John Brown (a white Northener) attempted a slave revolt at Harpers Ferry but failed. This confirmed the South's beliefs that the Northeners would gladly help Southern slaves revolt against their masters. This led the South to believe they could no longer live safely in the Union. -
Election of 1860
In the 1860 presidential election Abraham Lincoln was running for the Republican party while Breckinridge was running as a Democrat. The northern population led to the domination of the Republican party, leavin Lincoln as president. This struck fear in the South because the country was now being run by men against slavery. The South felt they had 2 choices; either leave the Union or be striped of their institution. -
Firing on Fort Sumter
President Lincoln sent 4 ships to resupply Fort Sumter, and let it be known that if the South tried to prevent it the North would attack. The South feard beign viewd as cowards for freely allowing the Union to run the fort and bombarded Fort Sumter for 2 days. This opened hostilities between North and South, and Lincoln called for volunteers, which made it clear he was prepared to fight to keep the South in the Union. -
1st Battle of Bull Run
The Union and Confederate forces met at Manassas, Virginia. Both sides planned to attack the other’s left flank with the majority of their armies. However, the confederates realized quickly the Union army’s plan and moved forces to meet the attack upon their left flank. At the same time, they were able to build up enough troops on the Union right side to overrun that flank leading to a disorderly retreat to the North. The Confederate army did not pursue the fleeing troops. -
Monitor vs. Merrimack
The Merrimack was completed in February 1856. At 256 feet long, it was one of the largest vessels in the U.S. Navy. USS Monitor , a 987-ton armored turret gunboat, was built at New York to the design of John Ericsson. It was the first of what became a large number of "monitors" in the United States and other navies. The Monitor distroyed the Merrimack. -
Battle of Antietam
On September 16, Maj. Gen. George McClellan confronted Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia at Sharpsburg, Maryland. At dawn September 17, Hooker’s corps performed a powerful attack on Lee’s left flank that began the bloodiest day in American military history. Attacks swept across Miller’s cornfield and fighting swirled around the Dunker Church. -
Battle of Ghettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg was the most expensive battle of the Civil War based on number of casualties. Lasting for over three days, from July 1-3, 1863, the Battle resulted in approximately 51,112 individuals being killed, wounded, missing, or captured. Despite the fact that the South continued to fight for two more years, it was a inevitable victory for the Union. This killed the plan for the south to take the war north. -
Shermans March
Atlanta lost to Sherman's Army in September 1864. He devoted his next few weeks to chasing Confederate troops through northern Georgia in a attempt to lure them into a fight. The Confederate's way of war doomed Sherman's plan to win on the battlefield so he made an different strategy: destroy the South by laying waste to its economic and transportation infrastructure. -
Appomattax Courthouse
On Palm Sunday, 1865, Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House, Virginia resulted in the end of the Souths attempt to create a different nation. It called for the emergence of a more powerful Federal government. In a way the struggle over how much power the government would hold had finally been settled. The War was nearly over!
