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Northwest Ordinance
This law governing western U.S. settlement divided the northwest into 5 territories. It required a population of 60,000 to become a state, guaranteed freedom of religion and the right to trial by jury, and prohibited slavery. This set the groundwork for admitting states into the Union, as these reorganized territories would eventually become states. It also changed the balance between slave and free states and set the stage for argument over slavery. -
Missouri Compromise
Westward expansion led to an issue of states being admitted as free or slave. Usually states would join the Union in pairs, one Northern and one Southern, but when Missouri wanted to join as a slave state, there was no corresponding free state. This compromise granted Missouri statehood as a slave state and Maine as a free state, and drew a line at the 36-30 parallel, prohibiting slavery north of this line. The first major compromise over slavery, this averted sectional crisis for a time. -
Nat Turner's Rebellion
During this slave rebellion, Nat Turner, a slave preacher, led a revolt of armed slaves throughout Southampton County, Virginia. They killed 60 whites before being stopped by state and federal troops. More than a hundred blacks were executed in the aftermath. The rebellion terrified southerners, causing them to view blacks as dangerous and further restricting their rights. It increased tensions between the North and South because the North felt sympathy for the slaves who faced harsher control. -
Gag Rule
This bill, proposed by Southern Democrat James Hammond, tabled petitions on the issue of slavery. Its purpose was to protect slavery by preventing the House from considering anti-slavery petitions. This was unconstitutional, as it went against the First Amendment’s right to free speech and petition. It exacerbated tensions and separated the opposing sides even more by shutting down the voice of abolitionists. It also set the precedent for future gag rules. This was repealed on December 3, 1844. -
Amistad Case
53 illegally purchased African slaves being transported from Cuba aboard the Spanish ship Amistad seized control of the vessel and tried to return it to Africa. However, the U.S. Navy seized the ship and the slaves were imprisoned. The Africans were eventually allowed a trial and declared free in 1841, since the international slave trade was illegal. Antislavery groups then funded their passage back to Africa. This case brought attention to the issue of slavery and led to abolitionist support. -
Annexation of Texas
In the early 1820s, Texas was part of Mexico. When the Mexican government encouraged American immigration into Texas, tensions grew over lack of assimilation into Mexican culture, and slavery, which Americans wanted to legalize. In 1836, Americans declared independence. After winning the Battle of San Jacinto, Texas was given independence, and was finally admitted as a slave state in 1845. This caused controversy and exacerbated tensions because it would upset the balance and benefit the South. -
Wilmot Proviso
During the Mexican War, Polk asked Congress to appropriate $2 million for purchasing peace with Mexico. Representative David Wilmot of Pennsylvania, an antislavery Democrat, introduced an amendment to the bill prohibiting slavery in any territory acquired from Mexico. This so-called Wilmot Proviso passed in the House but failed in the Senate, and fueled conflict between North and South over the issue of power in Congress. It is an example of sectional debate leading up to the Civil War. -
Mexican War
This conflict between Mexico and the U.S. emerged from tensions due to Texas' annexation, Polk’s desire for New Mexico and California, and a Texas-New Mexico border dispute. The war ended on February 2, 1848 with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, through which the US gained California and New Mexico. This caused sectional conflicts over whether these new territories would become free or slave states. The South feared that the new states would become free, and it led to southern talk of secession. -
California Gold Rush
When traces of gold were found at John Sutter’s Mills, people flocked to California. This led to a huge increase in California’s population, and as a result, it applied for statehood. However, California ran through the Missouri Compromise line, and had no previous history of slavery, so there was confusion over whether it would be admitted as a free or slave state. This increased tensions because California’s admission to the Union would alter the balance between slave and free states. -
Compromise of 1850
This compromise included five parts to calm the sectional crisis: California would be a free state, popular sovereignty in the Mexican cession, fixed the Texas-New Mexico boundary on the Rio Grande, outlawed the slave trade in Washington D.C., and passed a stricter fugitive slave law. Congress could not pass this bill, so it was separated into parts which each side could vote on individually, allowing it to be passed. This postponed war, but angered the North and South and increased tensions. -
Fugitive Slave Act
A part of the Compromise of 1850, this replaced the 1783 Fugitive Slave Act and appealed to southerners. It required all citizens to return runaway slaves to their owners. It allowed free colored men to be sent back to the South, and took away their some of their freedoms. The law was opposed by northerners who felt the government was in the hands of a slave power. As a result, many states nullified it, which angered southerners. This increased tensions and caused the South to want to secede. -
Publication of Uncle Tom's Cabin
Written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, this anti-slavery novel was one of the most influential books ever published in America. The novel gained so much popularity and brought the message of abolitionism to a huge new audience. It portrayed kind slaves victimized by a cruel system. The book was criticized in the South, but it gain northern abolitionist support, and Stowe became a hero to many northerners. It helped to inflame sectional tensions in both the North and South leading up to the Civil War. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
Stephen Douglas proposed this bill to open new territory to white settlement known as Nebraska. Southerners opposed because Nebraska would become a free state, so he split the area into Nebraska and Kansas, and imposed popular sovereignty in the territory. This repealed the Missouri Compromise because both states were above the 36-30 line and should have become free. It caused Bleeding Kansas, a series of violent conflicts that emerged when Kansas became a slave state, and led to the Civil War. -
Ostend Manifesto
President Franklin Pierce was attempting to acquire Cuba from Spain since efforts began in 1848 by Polk. In 1854, a group of his diplomats sent him a private document from Ostend, Belgium, planning to seize Cuba by force if Spain refused. When the Ostend Manifesto was leaked to the public, it enraged many antislavery northerners, who believed that the administration was trying to bring a new slave state into the Union. They blocked the passage. This exacerbated tensions leading up to the war. -
Dred Scott Decision
Dred Scott was a slave whose owner took him to live in free land. When his owner died, Scott sued for his freedom. The Supreme Court ruled that Scott could not sue because he was property, not a citizen. Property could not be taken according to the 5th Amendment. African Americans had no citizenship, and virtually no rights under the Constitution. This challenged the Missouri Compromise and was a defeat for the anti-slavery movement. It increased tensions and led to Lincoln’s election in 1860. -
John Brown and Raid on Harpers Ferry
John Brown was an anti-slavery radical who led 18 followers to take control of an arsenal in Harpers Ferry, Virginia, hoping that many slaves and abolitionists would join and start a rebellion. However, the uprising did not occur, and Brown was forced to surrender and executed. The attack caused southerners to feel that they were not safe in the Union, and that the Republican Party was associated with Brown. It inflamed tensions before the Civil War, and led to southern secession. -
Crittenden Compromise
Senator John J. Crittenden submitted this proposal as a last attempt to prevent conflict, trying to satisfy southerners. It proposed to reenact the Missouri Compromise and extend it west, compensate owners of fugitive slaves, allow for popular sovereignty in territories, protect slavery in Washington D.C., and forbid interference with the interstate slave trade. Being opposed by Republicans and Lincoln, it was unsuccessful. This led right up to the Civil War, as no compromise could be reached.
