-
Northwest Ordinance
The Northwest Ordinance was adopted in July of 1787. The Confederation Congress passed this act which would split the territory into grids of towns. These could each be individually sold to people and companies.
Economic
Green -
Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise was signed in 1820 by James Monroe. It admitted Missouri into the Union as a slave state and Maine as a free state. It also banned slavery in any of the remaining Louisiana Purchase land.
Political
Green -
Nat Turner Rebellion
Nat Turner was a slave from Virginia who led an army of other slaves in a revolt in 1831. He claimed that he was sent by God to kill as many white people involved in slavery as possible. Turner and his followers went from plantation to plantation in Sothampton County, Virginia. Their actions resulted in stricter laws revolving around slavery, increased northern and southern tensions, and a massacre responsible for the murder of over 200 black people.
Social
Red -
Gag Rule
The Gag Rule was proposed by a committee led by Charles Pickney in December, 1835 and passed in May, 1836. It was a congressional rule that forbade any discussion regarding slavery because many members of congress felt that slavery was too distracting of a topic.
Political
Green -
Annexation of Texas
Texas was annexed by the United States in December, 1845 as the 28th state. John tyler worked in secrecy to pursue the annexation of Texas and eventually brought it to Congress. It was narrowly admitted as a slave state which added to the sectional tensions.
Political
Red -
Mexican War
The Mexican War was an armed conflict that lasted between Mexico and the United States from 1846 to 1848. It followed the annexation of Texas because the Mexicans argued that Texas was still their land and the United States had no right to annex it. The border between Texas and Mexico was also disputed between the two nations.
Political
Red -
Wilmot Proviso
The Wilmot Proviso was suggested by David Wilmot in August, 1846. It passed in the House of Representatives but fell short in the Senate. If it had passed, it would have banned slavery in any new territories gained during the Mexican War. Just the suggestion of this amendment heightened sectional tensions.
Political
Red -
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848 and lasted until 1855. The first piece of gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. It wasn't long before news spread and about 300,000 people migrated to California in search of gold. At the time, California was under the unique circumstance where it was not technically yet a territory so federal laws, including the Fugitive Slave Act, were not strictly enforced. This attracted many free blacks.
Economic
Green -
Fugitive Slave Act
Henry Clay proposed this act as part of the compromise of 1850 to build on the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793. It appealed to southerners as it allowed slave owners to send slave hunters north to find their escaped slaves. Southerners asked for stronger legislation because they felt that they were losing profits. Even free blacks who were accused as being escaped slaves couldn't protect themselves. The north strongly opposed it and formed mobs or passed laws to ban this act.
Economic
Red -
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was created by Henry Clay. It consisted of 5 major points which stated California would become a free state, New Mexico and Utah could vote on whether they wanted to be free or slave states, made renditions to the Fugitive Slave Act, any newly gained territory from Mexico could vote on whether it would be a free state or slave state, and slave trade in Washingon D.C. would be abolished. This was created in hopes of weakening northern and southern conflict.
Political
Red -
Publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin was written by Harriet Beecher Stowe and published on April 1, 1852. It is an anti-slavery novel which tells the story of Uncle Tom, a long suffering slave. It was the second best selling book of the 19th century. Because of how popular it was, it was widely responsible for the abolitionist movement in the 1850s. Defenders of slavery fought back with protests but abolitionists heavily praised the novel.
Social
Red -
Kansas-Nebraska Act/Bleeding Kansas
Stephen Douglas proposed the Kansas Nebraska Act in 1854 and it was passed on May 30, 1854. This act created two separate territories in the land that was part of the Louisiana Purchase north of the Missouri Compramise line. It also opened this land to white settlement and repealed the Missouri Compromise. Illegal voters in Missouri swelled the vote in 1855. Physical violence ensued after pro-slavery forces attacked free staters and led to the Potawatomie Massacre.
Political
Red -
Ostend Manifesto
The Ostend Manifesto was passed in October, 1854 under the administration of Franklin Pierce. It was a document that stated that the United States should purchase Cuba from Spain. If Spain declined, it also said that the United States should go to war with Spain. Southerners wanted to acqure Cuba as a slave state. It was immediately denounced in the northern states and in Europe.
Political
Red -
Dred Scott
Dred Scott was a slave who was taken into free states by his masters and then back to Missouri. When he returned to Missouri, he sued for his freedom on the grounds that he was taken to free territory. He was then sued in return because he didn't have the right to sue, as he wasn't a legal citizen. The decision, delivered in 1857, sided with Stanford and against Scott. This set the precedent that the federal government wouldn't support black Americans.
Social
Red -
Harper's Ferry
John Brown led a raid in Harper's Ferry, Virginia in October, 1859. It was a violent slave revolt which had the end goal of taking over the United States Arsenal. John Brown wanted this uprising to result in a much larger scale slave revolt. This insurrection didn't end up working for the slaves and just led to more hostility between the north and south and made the southerners feel unsafe under the Union.
Social
Red