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Northwest Ordinance (Red)
(Political Development)
Who: adopted by the U.S. Congress.
What: provided a method for admitting new states to the Union by specifying a population of 60,000 to attain statehood, offering free religious practice, the right to a trial by jury, and the abolition of slavery within the territory.
Where: U.S. Northwest Territory.
Why: provided a more efficient way of admitting new states to the Union than the method specified in the Ordinances of 1784 / 1785. -
Missouri Compromise (Green)
(Political Development)
Who: passed by the U.S. Congress.
What: prohibited slavery north a line drawn in the mid-west just below Missouri (excluding Missouri which was a slave state).
Where: in the mid-western U.S. along the 36'30' parallel.
Why: to maintain the balance of power between both the Southern slave states and Northern free states. -
Nat Turner Rebellion Begins (Red)
(Social Development)
Who: Nat Turner, a slave preacher, and armed band of African Americans.
What: the armed insurrection killed 60 white men, women, and children before being defeated.
Where: Southampton County, Virginia, U.S.
Why: to inspire other African Americans to fight back against slavery and highlight African American willingness to fight. -
Nat Turner Rebellion Ends
The rebellion is overpowered by state and federal troops leading to the execution of more than a hundred African Americans in the aftermath. -
Gag Rule (Red)
(Political Development)
Who: proposed by John C. Calhoun, a South Carolina Senator.
What: a law designed to prevent any discussion of slavery in the House of Representatives.
Where: the Congress of the U.S.
Why: the law was passed in an attempt to silence all opponents who stood against the practice of slavery. -
Amistad Case (Red)
(Political Development)
Who: United States v. Schooner Amistad.
What: U.S. Supreme Court case resulting from the rebellion of Africans on board the Spanish schooner La Amistad in 1839.
Where: rebellion occurred on board the ship while sailing off the cost of Cuba.
Why: the case was heard because it was in violation of treaties signed by Great Britain and Ireland, Spain, and the United States against the international slave trade. -
Annexation of Texas (Red)
(Political and Economic Development)
Who: the Republic of Texas.
What: after much debate, the Texas territory was admitted as a U.S. state, long after gaining independence from the Mexican government in 1836.
Where: territory encompassing the Republic of Texas.
Why: annexation for the necessity of U.S. expansionism was strongly supported by the Democrats and their nominee, James K. Polk, who claimed victory in the election of 1844. -
Mexican War Begins (Red)
(Political Development)
Who: the United States and Mexico.
What: a conflict between the U.S. and Mexican governments, lasting a little less than three years.
Where: the California and Texas territories and along the U.S. and Mexican borders.
Why: in the drive for expansionism, the U.S. took increasing interest in California, which was under Mexican control. Disputes were also becoming violent over the official location of the Texas border. -
Wilmot Proviso (Red)
(Political Development)
Who: introduced by Representative David Wilmot of Pennsylvania, an antislavery Democrat.
What: a proposed amendment to the Appropriation Bill prohibiting slavery in any territory acquired from Mexico.
Where: Congress of the U.S.
Why: the bill attempted to settle the dispute over what should be done with the newly acquired territories in terms of slave laws. -
California Gold Rush Period Begins (Red)
(Economic and Social Development)
Who: James Marshall, Californians, immigrants from various parts of the world.
What: the movement of hundreds of thousand of people from various parts of the world to the California gold fields in search of their own riches.
Where: U.S. state of California, Sierra Nevada mountain range.
Why: James Marshall's discovery of traces of gold in the Sierra Nevada led people to abandon their livelihoods and travel to California to search for gold. -
Mexican War Ends
Nicholas Trist is sent to negotiate a settlement with the Mexican government. Mexico signs the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, ceding California and New Mexico to the U.S. as well as acknowledging the Rio Grande River as the official boundary of Texas. -
Compromise of 1850 (Green)
(Political Development)
Who: proposed by Henry Clay
What: stated California would be admitted as a free state, territorial governments would be formed and lands acquired from Mexico with no restrictions on slavery, the abolition of the slave trade in the District of Columbia, and a new more effective fugitive slave law.
Where: the Congress of the U.S.
Why: the compromise attempted to resolve the growing sectional differences the country was facing. -
Fugitive Slave Act (Red)
(Political Development)
Who: outlined in the Compromise of 1850, proposed by Henry Clay.
What: required all fugitive slaves, upon capture, to be returned to their masters in the South and ordered citizens of free states to cooperate.
Where: passed by the U.S. Congress and exercised in Northern and Southern state territory.
Why: the act was meant to discourage slaves from attempting to escape and to ensure southern slave owners would not have to risk losing their property. -
Publication of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" (Red)
(Social Development)
Who: written by Harriet Beecher Stowe.
What: the book described the hard life of slaves on Southern plantations who were forced to be submissive to their white masters.
Where: the book was written at Stowe's residence in Maine.
Why: the book inflamed both public opinion in the North and South, allowing residents of free states to read about the horrors and terrible conditions that southern slaves were faced with. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act and Bleeding Kansas (Red)
(Political and Social Development)
Who: pro and antislavery residents in both Kansas and Nebraska.
What: violent disputes arising between residents of Kansas and Nebraska with conflicting views concerning the practice of slavery.
Where: primarily the border and states of Kansas and Nebraska.
Why: the residents of Kansas and Nebraska with conflicting viewpoints on slavery established their own governments which heavily contradicted one another. -
Ostend Manifesto (Red)
(Political Development)
Who: Franklin Pierce and the American public.
What: a private document sent to Pierce by a group of his envoys from Ostend, Belgium, making a case for seizing Cuba by force.
Where: drafted in Ostend, Belgium
Why: Pierce had been diplomatically attempting to buy Cuba from Spain and since 1848 and had been getting nowhere. The document however, was leaked to the public, outraging abolitionists who accused Pierce of attempting to bring a new slave state into the Union. -
California Gold Rush Period Ends
By the mid 1850s, mass migration to the California gold fields had reduced substantially, and the age of the Great California Gold Rush slowed to an end. -
Dred Scott Decision (Red)
(Political and Social Development)
Who: Dred Scott, Rodger Taney, U.S. Supreme Court.
What: decision ruling against Dred Scott's case that was backed by justice Rodger Taney and affirmed Dred's new master was entitled to his property.
Where: the U.S. Supreme Court.
Why: the decision was made based on the ruling that slaves are considered the property of their masters, therefor they are not entitled to the freedom and rights of citizenship. -
John Brown and Raid On Harper's Ferry Begins (Red)
(Political and Social Development)
Who: John Brown who was a strong abolitionist, and his 18 followers.
What: Brown attacked the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry, Virginia with his armed band of African Americans and his sons.
Where: Harper's Ferry, Virginia, U.S.
Why: the hope was to seize weapons and ammunition at the armory as a way of inspiring a full scale slave insurrection. -
Raid On Harper's Ferry Ends
John Brown and his remaining men are defeated U.S. Marines under the command of Robert E. Lee. Brown is charged with treason against the state of Virginia and hanged along with six of his men. -
Crittenden Compromise (Green)
(Political Development)
Who: introduced by John J. Crittenden, a senator form Kentucky.
What: it proposed the permanent addition of slavery to the U.S. Constitution, making it unlawful for future congresses to end slavery.
Where: the Congress of the U.S.
Why: aimed to succession crisis among the Southern states, address fears and grievances of those who supported slavery, and putting a stop to all antislavery activities.
