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Northwest Ordinance (increased tension, political)
Passed by congress under the Articles of Confederation. It abandoned the ten districts established in 1784 and created a single Northwestern Territory out of the lands north of Ohio. The territory could be divided subsequently into between 3-5 territories. It also specified a population of 60,000 as a minimum for statehood, guaranteed freedom of religion and the right to trial by jury to residents of the northwest, and prohibited slavery throughout the territory. -
Missouri Compromise (increased tension, political)
The Missouri Compromise passed in 1820 provided for the admission of Maine to the United States as a free state along with Missouri as a slave state, maintaining the balance of power between North and South in the United States senate.It also barred slavery from the Louisiana Territory north of the 36°30' parallel. The Missouri Compromise failed to permanently ease the underlying tensions caused by the slavery issue -
Nat Turner Rebellion (increased tension, social)
Nat Turner was a black American slave and preacher born on the plantation of Benjamin Turner in VA. He led an armed revolt in Southhampton County, killing 55 men, women and children. He used his suppression and God as justification. After the revolt, Tuner hid for 6 weeks but was found and executed along with 100 other blacks. The rebellion was the only large-scale slave insurrection in the South during the 1800s and it led to further restriction of African American rights. -
Annexation of Texas (increased tension, political/social)
Wanted to strengthen their bond with their original home and legalize slavery which was illegal in Texas and Mexico. Some wanted peaceful settlement while others wanted to fight. They proclaimed their independence in 1836. Congress whether Texas should join the union or not because of an issue during the election of 1844. Some worried about upsetting the balance of slave and free representation in congress and the electoral college if Texas did become a state. -
Gag Rule (increased tension, political)
In May of 1836 the House passed a resolution that automatically "tabled" or postponed action on all petitions relating to slavery without hearing them. Congress could not prevent the anti-slavery people from petitioning the government but they could prevent the petitions being read when presented. -
Amistad Case (increased tension, social/economical)
In January 1839 African natives were captured and sold into Spanish slave trade, and placed aboard a Spanish slave ship. Days into the journey, a slave got free and freed other slaves. They revolted, killing most of the crew. Later the US seized the ship and slaves, who under law were property. The gov't charged the slaves with piracy/murder. The court ruled that it lacked jurisdiction, the acts took place on a Spanish ship in Spanish waters. Overall it brought attention to the issue of slavery. -
Mexican War (increased tension, political/economical)
When the US admitted TX as a state the Mexican government broke diplomatic relations with Washington. A dispute cam up over the border and Polk sent an army to Texas to protect it from invasions. Polk tried to buy land but was shot down so he sent Taylor’s army inTX across the Nueces River to Rio Grande where Mexicans attacked. Whigs believed that Polk purposley put the country into conflict. Others believed hostilities with Mexico were draining resources from issues in the Pacific Northwest. -
Wilmot Proviso (increased tension, political/economical)
Proposed by David Wilmot, a democrat from New York. The Wilmot Proviso was an unsuccessful amendment to a bill that stated slavery would not exist in any land gained from Mexico. It was passed House of Representatives but not in the Senate. -
California Gold Rush (increased tension, economic)
Began when word spread that gold was found in California, so thousands flocked into the area. In turn, California’s non-Indian population increased nearly twenty fold in 4 years. The increase led to statehood and decision of whether it should be a free or slave state. It also attracted the first Chinese immigrants to the west and free laborers/merchants hoping to profit from economic opportunity. Lastly, the gold rush created a serious labor shortage in California and led to Indian slavery. -
Compromise of 1850 (increased tension, political/economical/social)
The Compromise of 1850 was a package of five separate bills passed in September 1850 that defused a political confrontation between slave and free states on the status of territories acquired in the Mexican War. It admitted California as a free state, formed territorial governments in the rest of the lands acquired from Mexico (no restrictions on slavery), abolished slave trade but not slavery itself in Washington D.C. and passed a new and more effective fugitive slave law. -
Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 (increased tension, social/political)
The Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 attempted to solve the crisis of rising sectional tensions. It enforced the return of slaves to their owners and made the government responsible for assisting capture. The south was thrilled with the law but the north had great dismay. Southerners then began appearing in the North to pursue fugitive slaves. It caused the north to retaliate, rebel and create new laws. The southerners abused the law by giving rewards for slaves and caught slaves who were free. -
Publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin (increased tension, social/political)
Uncle Tom's Cabin is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. While Stowe did not start the war, Uncle Tom's Cabin did increase the differences between the North and the South. Many Northerners realized how unjust slavery was for the first time. Stowe's novel became a turning point for the abolitionist movement; she brought clarity to the harsh reality of slavery in an artistic way that inspired many to join anti-slavery movements. -
Kansas Nebraska Act (increased tension, political/economical)
Stephen A. Douglass realized that the Transcontinental Railroad would go through places with large Indian population, so he introduced a bill in January 1854 to organize a huge new territory that would eventually be split into two (Nebraska and Kansas). The Kansas Nebraska Act allowed people in the territories of Kansas and Nebraska (legislature) to decide whether or not to allow slavery within their borders. The Act also served to repeal the Missouri Compromise. -
Ostend Manifesto (increased tension, economic)
A private document written in 1854 making a case for the US to purchase Cuba from Spain, implying that the US should declare war if Spain refused. Document was leaked to the public. The North drifted toward the Republicans while the South agreed with the Ostend Manifesto because they liked to see the expansion of the US, and believed this would tip the Senate toward more Southern representation. Administration was charged with trying to enter another slave state in the Union. -
Dred Scott Decision (increased tension, social/political)
Dred Scott was a Missouri slave, his owner would bring him to states where slavery was forbidden. When the master died Scott sued his widow for freedom but the masters brother Sanford wanted ownership of Scott. Robert Tany ruled that it was illegal for blacks to be national citizens therefore Scott could not bring a suit to the federal court because he was not a citizen. Determined the Missouri Compromise unconstitutional, Congress could not deprive people of their slave property. -
Harper's Ferry (increased tension, social/political)
John Brown was an abolitionist who believed by seizing a mountain Virginia fortress, he could foment a slave insurrection in the South. So, Brown and a group of 18 other followers attacked and seized control of a US arsenal in Harpers Ferry. But the slave uprising Brown had hoped to begin did not happen. He was tried in Virginia for treason against the state and found guilty. Brown was sentenced to death (he and six followers were hanged) after 10 of his men already were killed. -
Crittenden Compromise (increased tension, political/social)
The Crittenden Compromise was an unsuccessful proposal to permanently enshrine (preserve) slavery in the United States Constitution and make it unconstitutional for future congresses to end slavery. Northerners opposed the Crittenden Compromise because they felt that it gave too much to the South. Free soil advocates like Abraham Lincoln rejected the idea of allowing slavery to expand farther than it already had. Overall Crittenden hoped it would appease Southern states and avoid war.
