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Invention of the Cotton Gin
The cotton gin was invented by Eli Whitney. It made the cleaning of cotton much faster than human hands and made cotton America's leading export. However, this expanded slavery in the South. https://www.eliwhitney.org/7/museum/eli-whitney/cotton-gin -
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The Undeground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an expansive network to help escaped slaves reach the free states and Canada. Slaves would escape from plantations and travel between stations during the night. Once the slaves reached sanctuary, they were assisted in finding work and a new life and some were even placed into communities of escaped slaves. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2944.html -
The Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise was a document used to balance power and ease tension between slave holding and free states in the union. In 1819, the nation was partitioned into 11 free states and 11 slave states stabilizing the senate, Missouri's incorporation into the union would throw off the balance toward the slave states. A decision was made: Missouri a slave state, Maine a free state, and cut the land on the former's border
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The Nullification Crisis
Beginning with the Tariff of 1828, southern planters began to oppose federal decisions such as the previously mentioned tariff. The main driving force behind it was John C. Calhoun, he believed that the slaveholding minority needed to be protected, which he was going to do by arguing for complete state autonomy, and if necessary, secession. http://sc150civilwar.palmettohistory.org/edu/crisis/Nullification1828-1834.htm -
Garrison and The Liberator
Originally supporting colonization, Garrison switched sides and became a voice for the abolitionists. He published "The Liberator", a newspaper, that reached thousands of people worldwide. During the time, the paper would not have been one taken lightly, he wouldn't have been so successful, if it weren't for all of the free African-Americans that subscribed. http://www.ushistory.org/us/28a.asp -
Nat Turner's Rebellion
His rebellion was one of the bloodiest in American History. Over two days, many whites were killed by Turner's rebels. Most of them were executed and two months later Turner was found hiding in a swamp; he surrendered peacefully. In the ensuing aftermath, many southern states tightened their grip on African Americans. http://docsouth.unc.edu/highlights/turner.html -
Wilmot Proviso
The Wilmot Proviso was a proposal to remove slavery from the territories acquired from the Mexican-American War. David Wilmot was a government official who attached the proviso to a bill saying that the U.S. would pay Mexico for the land it took. Eventually, the bill was approved but the proviso wasn't. It was going to prevent slavery from taking place on the land, but it never went into effect, furthering the issue of slavery. http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Wilmot_Proviso?rec=1400 -
Compromise of 1850
The compromise was series of laws that dealt with the issue of slavery. one year prior, California asked for permission to join the union as a free state which would upset the balance in the U.S. senate. Senator Henry Clay proposed this to seek compromise and avoid a crisis. Part of the agreement included, establishing a border between Texas and New Mexico and CA entering the union as a free state. https://www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/ourdocs/Compromise1850.html -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
The story portrayed slave families forced to cope with separation by masters through sale. The reaction to its publication was enormous, 300,000 copies were sold n the north alone. Many copies were also sold in Britain where growing hatred towards the south took off. This led to weakening ties between the British and the South. Back at home, the story furthered the abolitionist cause which would pave the way to the American Civil War. http://www.ushistory.org/us/28d.asp -
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Bleeding Kansas
The Kansas-Nebraska Act established territorial boundaries of the two states, opened the land to legal settlement, and the concept of self-determination meant that many different people flooded to the land. Three political groups occupied Kansas: pro-slavers, abolitionists, and free-staters. Violence broke out between them until Kansas joined the union as a free state on Jan. 29 1861. https://www.nps.gov/fosc/learn/historyculture/bleeding.htm -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The act allowed for new territories to decide whether to be pro free or slave by popular sovereignty undoing the Missouri Compromise. It would only reignite the arguments between the pro slave and anti slavery groups. Fighting and violent events would come afterwards. https://www.civilwar.org/learn/primary-sources/kansas-nebraska-act -
Brooks-Sumner Event
Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts was furious by the actions taking place in Kansas and gave a speech. In part of that speech, he insulted Senator Andrew Butler. A cousin of Butler, Preston Brooks, in retaliation, beat Sumner with a cane. http://www.ushistory.org/us/31e.asp -
Dred Scott Decision
In March of 1857, the U.S. Supreme Court, led by Roger Taney, declared that all blacks, free or otherwise were not and could never become citizens. Dred Scott lived in Illinois before going back to Missouri and appealed to the court in hopes of getting his freedom. Taney stated that because Scott was black, he was not a citizen, and therefore had no right to sue. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h2933.html -
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Lincoln-Douglas Debates
These were a series of formal political debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas.in a campaign for one of Illinois' two senate seats. Lincoln would lose the match. However, this would launch him into national prominence which eventually led to his election as President of the United States. -
Raid on Harper's Ferry
In October of 1859, John Brown and a group of his supporters left en route to Harpers Ferry. The next day, Brown and his men captured prominent citizens and the federal armory and arsenal. He had hoped that the local slave population would join the fighting, but they did not. Eventually, many of the raiders were killed and Brown was executed. https://www.civilwar.org/learn/collections/john-browns-harpers-ferry-raid -
Electon of 1860
The Democrats met to choose candidate for the presidency, but the process was chaotic. Eventually, the northern democrats chose Stephen Douglas while the southern democrats chose John Breckinridge. The Republicans, realizing the democrats were in turmoil, took advantage of the situation choosing Abraham Lincoln as their candidate. Lincoln would go on to win the election. http://www.ushistory.org/us/32d.asp -
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The South Secedes
December 1816,South Carolina voted to leave the union. Only a couple months later, six more states would leave the union: Mississippi, Georgia, Florida, Louisiana, Texas, and Alabama. Two months after that, four more states joined the South after the fall of Fort Sumter: Arkansas, N. Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee. They would form the Confederate States of America. All of this was ignited by the election of Abraham Lincoln. http://www.ushistory.org/us/32e.asp -
Attack of Fort Sumter
The election of Lincoln in 1860, seven states seceded from the union. With that, they demanded that property, including military, be turned over; that demand was not granted. Instead, forts were resupplied and Lincoln attempted to resupply Fort Sumter, but failed. On the date listed below, Confederate guns opened fire on the fort. The next day, the union forces surrendered the fort. https://www.civilwar.org/learn/civil-war/battles/fort-sumter
