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Mexican War
Causes of the Mexican-American War. Texas gained its independence from Mexico in 1836 -
Wilmot Proviso
The Wilmot Proviso was designed to eliminate slavery within the land acquired -
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was a package of five separate bills which defused a four year political confrontation between slave and free states regarding the status of territories acquired during the Mexican American War 1846–1848 -
missouri compromise
The Missouri Compromise was a United States federal statute devised by Henry Clay. It regulated slavery in the country's western territories by prohibiting the practice in the former Louisiana Territory north of the parallel 36°30′ north, except within the boundaries of the proposed state of Missouri. -
Uncle Tom’s Cabin is published
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republican party formed
y February 1854, anti-slavery Whigs had begun meeting in the upper midwestern states to discuss the formation of a new party. One such meeting, in Wisconsin on March 20, 1854, -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
he Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed by the U.S. Congress on May 30, 1854. It allowed people in the territories of Kansas and Nebraska to decide for themselves whether or not to allow slavery -
“Bleeding Kansas”
Bleeding Kansas, Bloody Kansas or the Border War was a series of violent political confrontations in the United States involving anti-slavery "Free-Staters" and pro-slavery "Border Ruffian", or "southern yankees" elements in Kansas between 1854 and 1861, including "Bleeding Congress". -
Charles Sumner caned in the Senate
the "world's greatest deliberative body" became a combat zone. In one of the most dramatic and deeply ominous moments in the Senate's entire history, a member of the House of Representatives entered the Senate chamber and savagely beat a senator -
Dred Scott vs. Sandford
In Dred Scott v. Sandford (argued 1856 -- decided 1857), the Supreme Court ruled that Americans of African descent, whether free or slave, were not American citizens -
John Brown’s Raid at Harper’s Ferry
Abolitionist John Brown leads a small group on a raid against a federal armory in Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia), in an attempt to start an armed slave revolt and destroy the institution of slavery. -
Southern states begin to secede
South Carolina was the first to leave the Union and form a new nation called the Confederate -
Southern states begin to secede
South Carolina was the first to leave the Union and form a new nation called the Confederate -
Abraham Lincoln elected President
On November 6, 1860, Lincoln was elected the 16th president of the United States, beating Democrat Stephen A. Douglas, John C. Breckinridge of the Southern Democrats, and John Bell of the new Constitutional Union Party -
Battle at Fort Sumter
The Battle of Fort Sumter was the first battle of the American Civil War -
Battle at Fort Sumter
The Battle of Fort Sumter was the first battle of the American Civil War -
fugitive slave law
The Fugitive Slave Law or Fugitive Slave Act was passed by the United States Congress on September 18, 1850, as part of the Compromise of 1850 between Southern slave-holding interests and Northern Free-Soilers. -
California Gold Rush
