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Importation of Slaves Ends
This was a social/political event where, under Article 1, Section 9, Clause 1 of the Constitution, it was stated that no new slaves were permitted to be imported into the United States, officially abolishing the African slave trade. -
The Missouri Compromise/The Compromise of 1820
Signed by President James Monroe, the Missouri Compromise was a law that entered Missouri into the Union as a slave state; Maine into the Union as a free state; and established a 36’30" line that divided the Louisiana Territory, with slavery being allowed below the line and not allowed above the line. This law was passed as an attempt to address growing sectional tensions regarding the issue of slavery and was a political event. -
The Wilmot Proviso
David Wilmot made a congressional proposal that claimed that if any new territory were to be acquired from Mexico, slavery would be banned in that land. This proposal outraged southerners as it threatened the expansion of slavery in the new territories and thus threatened the south’s political power. The bill did not pass, but it proved as an important political event that reignited the debate over the issue of slavery in the West and showed the growing anger of many southerners over the issue. -
The Compromise of 1850
This was a political and social event that saw an Act which admitted California as a free state, allowed New Mexico and Utah to decide whether or not to be a free state, and included the heavily controversial Fugitive Slave Act. -
The Fugitive Slave Act
The Fugitive Slave Act, part of the 1850 Compromise, stated that runaway slaves were to be returned to their owner even if they were in a free state. The Act required citizens to assist slave catchers in capturing fugitives or else they could be jailed. This act proved to be a social event that angered Northerners, who found the seizures of African Americans to be unjust, alongside the requirement for citizens to help capture runaways. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Witnessing the horrors of slavery firsthand incited Harriet Beecher Stowe to write Uncle Tom’s Cabin, a book that would capture the true horrors of slavery. The novel sold millions of copies, and theatrical dramatizations of the novel allowed the story to reach an even wider audience. The publication of Uncle Tom’s Cabin proved to be an important social event that changed Northern perceptions of African Americans and slavery, fueling sectional tension between the North and South. -
The Kansas Nebraska Act
Stephen A. Douglas introduced the Kansas Nebraska Act in order to open the northern Great Plains to settlement. The Act repealed the Missouri Compromise, allowed slavery in the region through popular sovereignty, and created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska. This Act proved as a crucial political and social event that angered Northern Democrats and anyone that opposed slavery, but was passed in spite of the large opposition. -
Bleeding Kansas
This was a political event that saw those in favor of the expansion of slavery and those against it engaging in territorial civil war over the new territory of Kansas. 200 people lost their lives in the fight, as this event set the stage for the upcoming Civil War. -
The Caning of Charles Sumner
Charles Sumner delivered a speech that accused pro-slavery senators of forcing Kansas into the ranks of slave states, singling out Senator Andrew P. Butler. Sumner was attacked by Preston Brooks, Butler’s second cousin, leaving the senator severely bleeding on the floor. This barbaric attack, and the Southern praise for Brooks, strengthened the Northerners' disdain for slavery and proved to be a social breaking point where civil discourse over the issue of slavery was no longer an option. -
The Dred Scott Decision
A landmark court decision and political event that ruled that African Americans, regardless of whether they were slaves or had ancestors who were slaves, had no legal view in court as they were not viewed as American citizens. The court also declared the Missouri Compromise to be unconstitutional, limiting Congress' attempts to limit the spread of slavery.