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Missouri Compromise 1820
Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise was an agreement passed by Congress on March 3, 1820, to maintain the balance in Congress between slave states and free states. The Missouri Compromise admitted Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state plus prohibited slavery in the Louisiana Territory north of the 36 ˚ 30ʼ latitude line. -
"54-40 or Fight"
54-40 Fight
This was President Polk's campaign slogan for the election of 1844. He wanted all of the land below the 54 degree-40 minute line; the whole Oregon Territory. This land had been previously shared between the US and Britian. The slogan meant that he would fight Britain if he did not receive the 54-40 line. He used such a drastic slogan because he knew it would help him win presidency. However, he was secretly willing to compromise. -
Texas Annexation
Texas Annexation
President Polk submitted a joint resolution to Congress that stated that Texas would be admitted as a state if Texas approved it by January 1, 1846 and that it would keep both its lands and its debt and could split itself up into 4 additional states (those north of the Missouri Compromise line would become free states and those would of the line could choose to be a free or slave state). -
Wilmot Proviso
Wilmot Proviso
After the Mexican War, Polk asked congress for $2,000,000 to negotiate a territorial settlement with Mexico. August 8, 1846, David Wilmot, a Democratic congressman proposed an amendment to the bill stating that none of the territory acquired in the Mexican War should be open to slavery. The Wilmot Proviso was never passed. While the Democrats and the Whigs tried to compromise on the slavery issue the Republican Party began to develop. -
Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidago
Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidago
It brought an end to the Mexican-American War. Mexico ceded to the US: Calfornia, New Mexico, Arizona, and parts of Utah, Nevada, and Colorado. The US agreed to pay Mexico $15 million for the land and agreed to pay Americans' debts that were owed to the Mexican government. The treaty recognized the Rio Grande River as the southern border of the US. -
Compromise of 1850
Compromise of 1850
It was bills passed that calmed the disagreement between South and North about territories acquired in Mexican-American War. Compromise: California admitted as a free state, slave trade abolished in D.C., Territory of New Mexico & Utah under popular sovereignty rule, Texas gave western land in exchange for $ to pay its debts, amendment to Fugitive Slaves Act giving federal jurisdiction to all cases of runaway slaves. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin
This was a novel written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. It changed Americans' perspective that slaves were property. Stowe demanded equality for all United States citizens. This novel helps contribute to the start of the Civil War. It was about two enslaved African Americans. -
Gadsden Purchase
Gadsden Purchase
The Gadsden Purchase was an agreement between the United States and Mexico, on December 30, 1853 where the United States agreed to pay Mexico $10 million for a 29,670 square mile portion of Mexico that later became part of Arizona and New Mexico. The Gadsden Purchase provided the land for a southern transcontinental railroad. It also attempted to resolve the conflicts that remained after the Mexican-American War. -
Republucan Party Formed
Republican Party Founded
On March 20, 1854 anti-slavery Whigs met to form a new party, the Republican Party. The Civil War identified the Republican Party as the party of the North. -
Kansas - Nebraska Act
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas-Nebraska Act repealed the result of the Missouri Compromise. The Missouri compromise prohibited slave states above the 36 degree 30 minute line. The Kansas - Nebraska Act let the residents of the state determine whether it would be a slave state or not (popular sovereignty). This act caused violence between people in Kansas that were anti-slavery and people that were pro-slavery. -
Brooks-Sumner Incident
Brooks-Sumner Incident
Preston Brooks, a Democratic Representative from South Carolina was an intense supporter of slavery. He seriously beat Senator Charles Sumner with a cane on the floor of the United States Senate. Sumner was against slavery and had delivered an anti-slavery speech attacking Brooks’ uncle, a Senator. Many Southerners praised him for his actions.This incident was a major factor showing the rising tensions responsible for the Civil War -
Harper's Ferry Raid
Harper's Ferry Raid
On October 16, 1859, John Brown, an abolitionist, and a group of his supporters captured the United States Armory and Arsenal at Harpers Ferry. Brown had hoped the local slaves would join his raid and get the fire arms with which to fight for their freedom. This did not happen. Colonel Robert E. Lee with the US Marines stormed the arsenal and captured Brown. -
Election of 1860
[Election of 1860](history1800s.about.com)
The election of 1860 was held on November 6, 1860 for the office of the President of the United States. Abraham Lincoln with his anti-slavery ideas did well in the north and won the majority of the electoral votes. This election was one of the most important elections since it came when the country was in a national crisis. Lincoln’s election heightened the movement of the South to separate from the Union. -
Firing on Fort Sumter
Firing on Fort Sumpter
Firing on Fort Sumter occurred after South Carolina seceded on December 20, 1860 and the state demanded the fort be turned over but the Union refused. At 4:30 a.m. on April 12, the Confederates opened fire on the fort. This is the beginning of the American Civil War. -
First Battle of Bull Run
First Battle of Bull Run
The First Battle of Bull Run, also known as First Manassas, was fought in Manassas, Virginia on July 21, 1861. It was the first major land battle of the American Civil War. It was a Confederate victory and the North realized this war would not be easily won. -
Monitor v Merrimack
Monitor Merrimack
The Battle of Monitor v Merrimack, aka the Battle of Ironclads was fought in Hampton Roads. This battle was the Confederacy’s effort to break the Union blockade which had cut off Norfolk and Richmond from international trade. The major importance of this battle is that it was the first combat of ironclad warships. This battle caused navies worldwide to stop construction of wood-hulled ships and produce ships with large guns. -
Battle of Antietam
Battle of Antietam
The Battle of Antietam, also called the Battle of Sharpsburg was fought on September 17, 1862, near Antietam Creek, Maryland and Sharpsburg. This was the first major battle in the American Civil War to take place on Union soil. It was the bloodiest one day battle in American history. The Confederate retreated. This gave Abraham Lincoln the victory he needed before issuing the Emancipation Proclamation. -
Battle of Gettysburg
Battle of Gettysburg
The Battle of Gettysburg was fought July1-3, 1863 at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. It was the battle with the largest number of casualties in the American Civil War and is called the turning point of the war. -
Sherman's March
Sherman's March
Sherman’s March to the sea began November 15, 1864 after Sherman had captured, evacuated, and burned Atlanta. He and his 60,000 men marched through Georgia to the sea destroying anything that might be useful to the South in the war. He ended his March to the Sea by Capturing Savannah, Georgia on December 21, 1864. Sherman continued his march by going through the Carolinas, Virginia and into Washington, DC on May 24, -
Appomattox Court House
Appotomax Court House
On April 9, 1865, Confederate General Robert E Lee surrendered to the Union Army Lt. General Ulysses S Grant at Appomattox Court House, signaling the end of the American Civil War. This was one of the last battles of the war.
