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Antebellum
The time period leading up to the American Civil War -
Underground Railroad
A system which secretly helped slaves escape to northern states and Canada so that they could be free. According to one estimate the South may have lost as many as 100,000 slaves between 1810 and 1850, with the peak of the railroad being in the 1850’s. Perhaps one of the most notable participants is Harriet Tubman, a former slave, who helped rescue about 70 people. -
Compromise of 1850
This admitted California into the union as a free state and more strongly enforced the Fugitive Slave Act. The agreement was successful in postponing conflict between the north and south for a short period of time. However it did not address the issue of imbalance of slave and free states within the nation. -
Fugitive Slave act of 1850
A law that was originally passed in 1793, it authorized local governments to capture escaped slaves and then return them to their owners. It also penalized anyone who helped these slaves. This law was heavily resisted which lead to the passage of a new version of it as part of the Compromise of 1850. Harsher punishments were put in place for aiding slaves and more provisions regarding runaways were added. -
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
An anti-slavery novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe and published in 1852. It was a fictional story about slave life. Northerners felt that the novel enlightened them about the horrors of slavery, while Southerners believed that Stowe’s work misrepresented the situation. The book became the second best seller (the bible being the first) and started a feeling of support for anti-slavery movements across the nation. -
Formation of Republican Party
New factions formed within the nation’s 2 political parties. This lead to the transformation of the Whigs into becoming the Republican party. The vast majority of its support and members were from the north and the party had an anti-slavery emphasis. The South viewed the formation of the Republicans as an element that could become problematic. -
Bleeding Kansas and Kansas-Nebraska Act
For the Kansas-Nebraska Act it was decided to allow citizens of the territory Kansas to vote to decide if they were going to be a free or slave state once they were admitted into the union. This lead to a lot of disagreement between the voters with differing viewpoints. Fights and other acts of violence broke out at the polls and this event became known as Bleeding Kansas. -
Dred Scott Case
Dred Scott was a slave who attempted to sue for his freedom and citizenship, the case eventually reached the supreme court. It was then decided that he could not be free because he was a slave and therefore a piece of property which meant that he had none of the rights afforded to a typical U.S. citizen, this applied to all slaves. -
John Brown’s Raid on Harper’s Ferry
John Brown was an abolitionist who organized a group of his supporters to go to Harper’s Ferry and seize federal armory and arsenal. This was in hope of that these weapons would be supplied to slaves who would then fight for their freedom. However this did not happen as Brown was caught and sentenced to death for his crimes. -
Lincoln’s Election
Abraham Lincoln won the election of 1860 despite not being on many of the ballots in southern states. He was a member of the anti-slavery republican party which lead to the South feeling that he was against them. Shortly after this some states started to secede from the nation. -
Southern Secession
The withdrawal of 11 slave states from the union, starting about a month after the election of 1860. These states wanted to become a separate nation; The Confederate States of America. They would have their own government allowing more state rights and slavery throughout the whole nation. South Carolina was the first state to declare secession followed by Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas, then by Virginia, North Carolina, Arkansas, and Tennessee.
