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Invention of the Cotton Gin
The cotton gin was invented by Eli Whitney, which improved the process of picking the seeds out of cotton. This led to the increased need of slaves for farming. This increased the division between the north and the south due to their opposing beliefs around slavery. -
The Embargo Act of 1807
Thomas Jefferson ended all trade between Britain and France to gain respect for america. This hurt the farming and trading in the south. -
The Missouri Compromise
Missouri wanted to join the union as a slave state but that would throw off the balance between free and slave states. So the united states also added Maine as a free state. The Louisana Territory was also divided between free in the north and slave in the south. -
The Tariff of Abominations
The government put a tariff on goods imported from foreign countries to try and boost the industries in the north. This benifited the north but caused the south troubles due to them having to pay higher on goods that were not regional. -
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Mexican-American War
Mexican-American War Picture The Mexican-American war was a war fighting for the land between todays Texas and California. The US won the war, pushing the Mexican boarder back to the Rio Grande. -
Wilmot Proviso
The Wilmot Proviso would prevent the new territories gained from the Mexican-American War from becoming slave states. Due to the souths higher power in the senate, the proviso was never passed. -
The Compromise of 1850
Californial became a free state, New mexico and Utah could decide whether or not to have slavery, and Slave trade was abolished in Washington DC. The fugitive slave act was was put in place allowing slace catchers to enter the north and catch runaway slaves. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin is a book about anti slavery that helped spark the civil war. -
The Kansas-Nebraska Act
This act repealed the Missouri Compromise and states could now chose if slavery would be allowed or not. -
Bleeding Kansas
Settelers from the north and south came to Kansas to fight. They hoped that by killing voters from the other side, they would win the election deciding if the state would be free or slave. -
The Dred Scott Case
Dred Scott was a slave who sued for his freedom because he was in a free state. He lost the case because the Supreme court decided that no African American could be a citizen so the owner had the right to him. -
"House Divided" Speech
Abraham Lincoln gave a speech stating that the decision of the Dred Scott case would allow slavery in all the free states and that was unlawfull. -
Lincoln-Douglas Debates
There were seven debates between Lincoln and Douglas that discussed mostly slavery in attempt to win the Senate seat of Illinois. -
John Brown's Raid
John Brown raided Harper's Ferry along with twenty slaves in a revolution. They were defeated -
The Election of 1860
Abraham Lincoln ran against John C. Breckinridge in the 1860 presidential election. Lincoln won the election and led the civil war. -
South Carolina Secedes from the Union
South Carolina became a free and unrestrained country right after Abraham Lincoln became president.
