-
Importation of Slaves Ends
This act by Congress made it illegal to participate in slave trade with other nations. This was the first goal for anti-slavery as many people debated the morality of slavery. This event was economic, social, and political. -
Importation of Slavery Ending Continued
Economically it prohibited worldly slave trade, socially it helped please those against slavery and those with slavery by limiting slaves being purchased and sold but still allowing slavery within the U.S. Politically many politics had different views on slavery and this was the outcome of their political debates. -
The Missouri Compromise
This compromise would allow for Missouri to be a slave state but only if Maine joined the union as a free state. This contributes to westward expansion as it caused the rest of the Louisiana Purchase on one side of a line to be banned of slavery. This was political and social as this compromise seemed to maintain balanced power in Congress for those against and those for slavery. -
The Wilmot Proviso
This bill would ban slavery in the land acquired by the U.S. after the Mexican War. This bill was not passed though still had an impact on slavery. This would've affected all the southwestern states like California and Arizona to ban slavery. This politically and socially created division as the idea of it angered those for slavery, the southerns who feared that if Wilmot Proviso's bill was passed it would affect slavery everywhere else and create an unbalance of free and non-free states. -
The Compromise of 1850
The Wilmot Proviso wanted to ultimately get rid of slavery but Senator Henry Clay who was responsible for the Missouri Compromise wanted to restore balance which was disrupted by California wanting to be a free state. This led to The Compromise of 1850 which allowed California to be a free state but also affected westward expansion by forcing Texas to give land to Utah and New Mexico. This was political in hopes to have balance of pro slavery and anti slavery also same socially. -
The Fugitive Slave Act
This came along with The Compromise of 1850 and was the second act of this kind to be passed. This act punished those who assisted the slaves run away or do not help find the slave accused of escaping, they would be fined. The accused would be brought to a federal commissioner and the slave holder or accuser as favored as commissioner would receive more money if the accuser one versus the accused, the slave. -
The Fugitive Slave Act Continued....
This affected them socially, economically, and politically as it socially created hostility for slavery, poltically favored the accuser, and economically affected those being fined or those being paid more. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Isabella Porter Jones who write Uncle Tom's Cabin told about African Americans being taken by slave catchers. This written then came out as a book. This changed many peoples views on slavery, angering southerners. Ultimately during westward expansion many pro-slavery people lived in the southern states and ant-slavery lived in the northern states. This book heightened the division socially and politically between the north and south. -
The Kansas Nebraska Act
Southerners believed that the Missouri Compromised must be repealed so Nebraska could be organized. Senator Stephen A. Douglas created a bill which repealed the compromise and allow slavery in the region. Affecting westward expansion causing the region to be broken up in Nebraska, Iowa, and Kansas. This politically and socially angered northerners, especially democrats as the act was passed. -
Bleeding Kansas Continued...
This created great political and social division as pro-slavery and anti-slavery people saw each other to be greater threats. Politically, senators began to accuse one another. -
Bleeding Kansas
Kansas was split into two different governments, one pro-slavery and one anti-slavery. This was because pro-slavery illegally voted for a pro-slavery legislature so anti-slavery people created their own government within Kansas. This caused the border ruffians who were pro-slavery to attack an anti-slavery town, Lawrence. This was then called the "Bleeding Kansas" as 200 people had died after a year from the territorial civil war. -
The Caning of Charles Sumner
Political and Social division was growing and strong after the Bleeding of Kansas. John Brown a very strong anti-slavery activist who marched to Lawrence in part of the guerrilla forces for anti-slavery he was to late. This angered him greatly as he took his sons and other men to a pro-slavery settlement in Kansas where they killed 5 men. Brown evaded being captured and planned for an invasion into the southern states. -
The Caning of Charles Summer Continued
The actions by Brown exampled the further and ever growing social conflicts in the states. Many people who traveled west were affected on which state to live in based off their slavery beliefs as now it was clear that many were either for slavery or strongly against it and weren't afraid to fight for their beliefs. -
The Dred Scott Decision
James Buchanan told that the nation should let the Supreme Court decide whether territories be free or not. The Southern majority was expected to rule in favor for slavery in their territories which did happen. This decision heightened the intensity between politics as the Supreme Court ruled that the federal government could not stop slavery in the territories and that limiting the expansion of slavery west was unconstitutional. -
The Dred Scott Decision Continued
This allowed pro-slavery people to travel freely with slaves during the westward expansion.