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Missouri Compromise
The Northern and Southern politicians have heated debates over the growth of slavery. Henry Clay, the Great Compromiser, settles the debate by saying that Maine would be a free state and Arkansas would be a slave state. The Missouri Compromise were a series of laws that help maintain the balance between slave states and free states. -
The Nullification Crisis
Southern states felt that the tariffs were unfair and only supported the North. Vice President John C. Calhoun said any state could nullify (make void) a federal law it considers unconstitutional. The federal government denied South California's argument which made them threatened to secede. Henry Clay came up with a compromise and lowered the tariff. -
Compromise of 1850
After the War of Mexico, Congress had many heated debates about whether the new territories won from Mexico would be smitten as a free state or a slave state. Henry Clay made a compromise between the North and the South. 1. California would be a free state and slave trade is abolished in Washington D.C. 2. Congress would not pass laws banning bravery from the rest of the territories. -
Fugitive Slave Law (Act) 1850
The Fugitive Slave Law was passed in 1850 by the Congress. The act permitted the capture of African-Americans who had fled to the North to escape bondage. These laws heightened tension and set the stage for John Brown's Raid and the American Civil War. -
Bleeding Kansas
People in Kansas and Nebraska would determine the issue of slavery under the Kansas-Nebraska Act by voting. Violence occurred in the town of Lawrence. John Brown and his men killed 5 people. -
Dred Scott Decision
Dred Scott was sued for his freedom. He argued that he lived in a free territory to which he was been emancipated. The court ruled that Scott was not free based on his residence in either Illinois or Winsconsin, African Americans were not considered citizens when the Constitution was drafted in 1787, and he was the property of his owner, and property could not be taken from a person without due process of law. -
John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry
John Brown wanted to inspire slaves to fight for their freedom. To capture the Arsenal, Virginia to arm the slaves. Brown and his men were captured in the end. Abolitionists saluted John Brown after he was sentenced to death, the issue of slavery had raised tensions in America to the breaking point. -
The Election of 1860
Abraham Lincoln won the election, however southern states begin to secede from the Union.
