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Slave Trade Act
This was a series of laws that lead to the cessation of slave importation. There would be fines for participating in international slaving, which increased. U.S. citizens were forbidden from serving on foreign ships who contributed to the Atlantic slave trade. -
Louisiana Purchase
President Thomas Jefferson buys more than 530 million acres of land of the Western continental U.S. from France. The Louisiana purchase doubles the size of the U.S. -
Missouri Begins the Process of Entering the Union
COngress recieves a petition signed by citizens of the Missouri Territoy, agitating for admission into the Union as a full fledge state. The petitions were ignored... until the Speaker of the House presented them before congress. -
The Tallmadge Amendment is Submitted
Adding Missouri as a slave state has been a controversial debate. Senator James Tallmadge proposed to grant statehood which set off a firestorm debate along secitoonal lines (North-South). -
Alabama Enters the Union
Alabama enters the union as the 22nd state. Its admission as a slave state brings the total number of slave states to 11- equal to the number of free states. -
The Missouri Compromise is established
The Missouri Compromise measure, the Thomas amendment proposes to ban slavery in the remaining territory of the Louisiana purchase north of 36'30 latitude and west of the Mississippi River.
On March 15, Maine is admitted to the Union as the 23rd state and free state. Missouri is admitted as a slave state. -
Showdown between States vs. Federal Rights
A crisis broke out over the Federal government's ability to interfere with state economies. It forced a deeper divide between the Federal North and State's Rights South. -
The Mexican-American War
As a result of absorbing all of the land of the West, war over the border between America and Mexico broke out. This sparked new tensions similar to those whcih nessetitated the Missouri Comprmise. -
Henry Clay first attempt at the Compromise.
The new lands acquired during the Mexican-American war forced a situation similar to that of Missouri: which parts would be abolished and which would be pro-slavery.
Henry Clay tried to address the issue with a compromise. As in Missouri, both sides were frusturated with their concessions. -
The Kansas-Nebraska Act Passes
Kansas- Nebraska struck down the Missouri Compromise, reopening the slavery issue to devastating result. In some ways, the Civil War started here as an open, bloody conflict consumed Kansas. It allowed people in the territories of Kansas and Nebraska to decide for themselves whether to allow slavery or not within their borders. -
Constitutional or Unconstitutional?
Following the Kansas-Nebraska Act. The Missouri Compromise is declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, which ruled that Congress did not have the authority to prohibit slavery. -
The Civil War Officially Begins
The growing gulf between the North and South just couldn't go on peacefully any longer. Though slavery was the main source of contention, the fundamental differences between the South and the North were in desperate need of resolution. Neither side would step down, and war became the last recourse.
