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Compromise of 1850
Established California as a free state. Said New Mexico couldn't have slavery. Prohibited slave trade in Washington D.C. Established Fugitive Slave Act. Congress had the power to abolish slavery in states. Forced Northerners to support the slave system. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Encouraged people to speak out against slavery, causing the divide between the north and south to grow, with northerners opening their eyes to the harsh reality of slavery and angered the south into creating copy-cats of the book so they could defend slavery. -
Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas was caused by; rival territorial governments, election fraud, squabbles over land claims, and violent confrontations over slavery. It showed that armed conflict over slavery was unavoidable and that the disputes were unlikely to be solved without bloodshed. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
It repealed the Missouri Compromise, created two new territories, and allowed for popular sovereignty. It also caused a violent uprise known as "Bleeding Kansas" as pro-slavery and anti-slavery activists flooded the territories to try and sway votes. -
Dred Scott v. Sandford
The decision of this case ruled that slaves are not citizens and cannot hold constitutional rights, and that congress had no right to regulate slavery. The Dred Scott decision outraged abolitionists, who saw the ruling as a way to stop debates about slavery in territories. The case was used as evidence that the southerners wanted to extend slavery throughout the nation. -
Lincoln-Douglas Debates
They debated slavery, how to deal with slavery, and where slavery should be allowed. Douglas's position angered those in the south that favored the continuation of slavery and led to the division of the democratic party. -
John Brown's Raid
John Brown lead a small group in an attempt to start a armed revolt on slavery and destroy the institution of slavery. The South believed that this showed the North's true intentions to promote a slave revolt to destroy the South and convinced slaveholders that abolitionists would stop at nothing to eradicate slavery. It increased sectional distrust and accelerated the approach of secession in 1861. -
South Carolina Secession
South Carolina insisted Northern states had breached their constitutional obligation to enforce federal laws like the Fugitive Slave Act causing them to threaten to leave the Union. The secession directly lead to the outbreak of the American Civil War.