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Three Fifths Compromise
This allowed slaves to be counted as three fifths a person in population counts. -
Missouri Compromise
This prohibited slavery in states north of Missouri, and accepted Maine into the union. -
Compromise of 1850
Admits California as a free state, but Utah and New Mexico as slave territories. -
Fugitive Slave Act
Slaves who escaped to the North, or to any free state, must now be returned to his or her owner. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
Accepted the territories of Kansas and Nebraska, and let popular sovereignty decide whether slaves should be allowed or not. -
Bleeding Kansas
In order to determine whether Kansas would be a free or slave state, Free-Staters and pro-slavery "Border Ruffians" got into a series of violent political confrontations. -
Dredd Scott Decision
The Supreme Court rules that Dredd Scott cannot be free, despite having been taken to a free state, and rules the Missouri Compromise illegal. -
Lincoln Elected President
Abraham Lincoln is elected president. Though slavery was not a major issue in the election, slave states believe he will outlaw slavery. -
South Carolina Secedes
Afraid of Lincoln, South Carolina seceded from the United States. -
Confederacy Created
Texas, Florida, Louisianna, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi all secede within months of South Carolina.