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Wilmot Provisio
This bill aimed at slavery in territories taken from mexico. The bill passed in the House of Representatives but was defeated in the Senate thus causing a division in Congress. Although, not a success it led to the formation of the Free-Soil Party. -
Compromise of 1850
A man named Henry Clay created a compromise that would appeal to the North and the South. To make the North happy, it would admit California as a free state. To make the South happy, slave owners would be able to recapture free or runaway slaves. It was thought to have saved the Union, but it ended up making tensions even worse. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
A bill drafted by Stephen A. Douglas that was supposed to get rid of the Missouri Compromise. Many anti-slavery people were strongly against it. The bill was passed anyway. This act made Kansas become a battleground over slavery. -
'Bleeding Kansas'
Since John Brown wanted to avenge the Sack of Lawrence, which was an attack on the antislavery government in Lawrence, Kansas,he murdered five proslavery people. When people started hearing about this, a civil war began in Kansas. The war continued for a short but quite brutal three years. The territory hence bacame known as 'Bleeding Kansas'. -
Caning of Sumner
Senator Charles Sumner gave a speech that attacked proslavery in Kansas. During his speech, he threw multiple insults at proslavery forces in Kansas, including one about A.P. Butler, who was a senator from South Carolina. Preston Brooks, a relative of Butler, was offended by this. He wanted revenge, so he came up to Sumner and started attacking him repeatedly over the head with a cane. -
Dred Scott v. Sanford
A man named Dred Scott was a slave in Missouri. When his owner went to live where slavery was illegal, he took Scott with him. Later on, Scott and his owner returned to Missouri. After Scott's owner died, he sued for his freedom because he once lived in free territory. Chief of Justice Roger B. Taney opposed Scott's demand. Taney said that Scott was not a U.S. citizen therefore he couldn't sue in U.S. courts. -
Attack on Harpers Ferry
John Brown had a plan to inspire slaves to fight for their freedom. This added greatly to sectional tensions already faced. In order to do this, he would capture the weapons at Harpers Ferry arsenal in Virginia.Brown and 18 other followers attacked and captured the arsenal. During the raid, they killed four people. He thought this would inspire the slaves to join the fight but no slaves did. Soon, the Marines captured Brown at the arsenal. He was tried for murder and treason, and finaly, hanged. -
Election of 1860
The election of 1860 was a very complicated event. It turned into two races. There was one in the North and one in the South. In the North were candidates Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas. In the South were candidates John Bell and John Breckinridge. In the end, it was down to Lincoln and Breckinridge. Lincoln won due to the higher population in the North. He got more votes. The South was angered by this because they didn't trust Lincoln. This led to the secession of the Southern states. -
Secession of Southern States
When Abraham Lincoln was elected president in 1860,many Northerners were very grateful. The South, on the other hand, was unhappy with this. They thought the government was becoming too strong. In rebellion, South Carolina seceded, or withdrew from the Union. They didn't want the government to tell them how to live. South Carolina inspired six other southern states to secede as well. This caused a major division in the Union.
