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Northwest Ordinance
Event Type: Economic Abandoned the 10 districts that were created by the Ordinance of 1784 and instead formed a single Northwest Territory from the land north of Ohio. It also specified that a population of at least 60,000 was needed for a territory to become a state, enforced freedom of religion and trial by jury in the Northwest, and prohibited slavery throughout the territory. Tensions: RED (prohibited slavery in Northwestern territory, which caused controversy) -
Missouri Compromise
Event type: Political Henry Clay explained that if Missouri did not become a slave state, then Maine would be blocked from admission into the Union. Thus, the Senate agreed to combine the Maine and Missouri proposals so that Maine would be admitted as a free state and Missouri as a slave state. Tensions: GREEN (both the North and South liked this resolution since it added both a slave and free state to the Union. It balanced the ratio of slave to free states). -
Nat Turner's Rebellion
Event Type: Social In 1831 Nat Turner, a Virginian slave and preacher, led slaves through South Hampton County and murdered about 50 white people. They were finally stopped and in response 120 African Americans and 56 slaves were killed, including Turner. Black slaves and black churches lost some of their religious rights. Educational rights were also lost. Tensions: RED (caused more tension between the North and South and more motivation for violence and war) -
Gag Rule
|Event Type: Political| Created by Representative James Hammond of South Carolina (D), it forbade the discussion of certain topics within groups, particularly slavery. The House of Representatives was not allowed to discuss, consider, or make petitions or resolutions about slavery. John Quincy Adams claimed it violated freedom of speech and it was repealed in December of 1844. |Tensions: RED (It silenced anti-slavery citizens and didn't allow for opposition or discussion, which caused anger)| -
Amistad Case (US v. Amistad)
Event Type: Political A group of 53 slaves from Cuba took over the Amistad ship that was transporting them and tried to sail back to Africa. It was then captured by the US Revenue Service ship. Many Americans wanted to return the slaves to Cuba, but abolitionists wanted them freed. John Quincy Adams explained that foreign slave trade was illegal, so they couldn't be returned. They were returned to Africa. Tensions: GREEN (they weren't US slaves so it did not affect tensions) -
Annexation of Texas
Event Type: Economic In the 1820s Mexico allowed Americans to migrate to their territory Texas for economic and protective reasons. However, many Americans wanted to get independence from Mexico and use the fertile land of Texas to grow cotton and create plantations. Tensions: RED (caused conflict between expansionists who wanted more territory to expand slavery and those who opposed. Texas eventually entered the Union as a slave state, which worsened tensions between the North and South.) -
Mexican War
Event Type: Economic Tensions had risen between the US, who wanted Mexican territory for settlement and economic benefit, and Mexico. The Mexicans refused to fight for months, but they crossed the Rio Grande and attacked the American soldiers. Congress officially declared war on Mexico in May 1846. It was ended by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which gave the US Mexican territory. Tensions: RED (gave US California and New Mexico, which caused more conflict about the status of the states) -
Wilmot Proviso
Event Type: Political Created by ant-slavery Democrat David Wilmot of Pennsylvania, it prohibited slavery in any territory acquired from Mexico. It was passed in the House but not the Senate. It was debated many times within the government before finally being passed in August of 1846. Tensions: RED (caused pro-slavery citizens and the South to become angry that they couldn't use slavery in the territory they gained, such as Texas) -
California Gold Rush
Event Type: Economic In January of 1848, carpenter James Marshall found traces of gold in the foothills of Sierra Nevada while working on Sutter's Mill. The news spread nationally and soon internationally, attracting thousands of Americans and immigrants to California. Tensions: RED (caused racial and ethnic tensions and forced the government to decide whether California was going to be a slave state or free state) -
Compromise of 1850
Event type: Political Presented to the Senate on January 29, 1850 by Henry Clay, it admitted California as a free state, formed new boundaries for Texas, created Utah and Mexico as territories, and abolished slave trade but not slavery itself in DC. Also included the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850. It was passed in September of 1850 after much debate and revision within the Senate. Tensions: RED (its policies were more in favor of the South, so it worsened Northern anger and opposition) -
Fugitive Slave Act of 1850
Event type: Political This was the second Fugitive Slave Act passed because citizens weren't abiding by it. It was created by James M. Mason of Virginia. It enforced harsher punishment that included fines if Northerners didn't capture runaway slaves. It allowed slaves to be captured by Southern slave owners, even if they were in a free state. Tensions: RED (Conflict between the North and the South since the North didn't want to capture slaves.) -
Publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin
Event type: Social Written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, it combined emotion with the political ideas of abolition of slavery. It portrayed good slaves as victimized by a horrible system of slavery through its characters, such as Uncle Tom and Simon Legree. It spread an antislavery message to a large audience and had a huge influence on the American people Tensions: RED (emphasized the urgency to end slavery and the need for war by motivating anti-slavery citizens) -
Kansas Nebraska Act (Bleeding Kansas)
Event Type: Political Created by Senator Stephen Douglas of Illinois (D) to allow white settlement. The territory was split into Kansas and Nebraska. This Act also repealed the Missouri Compromise and allowed each of the territorial legislatures to decide if slavery was to be legalized or not. It became a law in May 1854. It caused political conflict and John Brown's Pottawatomie Massacre in Kansas (hence "Bleeding Kansas") Tensions: RED (conflict between pro-slavery and anti-slavery citizens) -
Ostend Manifesto
Event Type: Economic Situation in which President Franklin Pierce tried to diplomatically purchase Cuba from Spain, but James Buchanan encouraged him to take it by force in a letter from Ostend, Belgium. Tensions: RED (made tensions worse since expansionist slave owners wanted more territory and anti-slavery citizens didn't want slavery to expand) -
Dred Scott Decision (Dred Scott v. Sandford)
Event Type: Political Scott tried to sue for being enslaved in a free state, but Sandford claimed Scott had no right to sue since he was considered property rather than a citizen. Chief Justice Roger Taney explained that Scott was not a citizen since he was African American and therefore had no right to sue. He also explained that Scott could not be taken out of slavery, even in a free state, since Congress could not take property from citizens. Tensions: RED (North was angry about decision) -
John Brown and Raid on Harper's Ferry
Event Type: Social In the fall of 1859, John Brown and the "Secret Six" planned to seize a mountain fortress in Virginia to cause a slave insurrection in the South. Brown and 18 followers ended up attacking a US arsenal in Harper's Ferry, VA from October 16-18. 10 of Brown's followers were killed and Brown was tried for treason and hanged with 6 more of his followers. Tensions: RED (convinced Southerners that the Union was unsafe and that the North was trying to revolt) -
Crittenden Compromise
Event Type: Political Proposed by Senator John J. Crittenden of Kentucky, it called for several amendments that would allow slavery to permanently exist in slave states. This would meet Southern interests about fugitive slaves and slavery in DC. It also called for the reestablishment of the Missouri Compromise so that slavery was prohibited north of the line and legal south of it. Tensions: RED (Southern Senators agreed, but Republicans didn't since they opposed the expansion of slavery)