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Compromise of 1850
Ultimately, it was decided that California would be a free state, but there was a new fugitive slave law passed. The mission was to locate and return fugitive slaves. Anyone was deputized and many times people were forced against their will to do this. When a "slave" was captured, they were brought to Tribunals to determine whether they were a slave. If they were determined to be a slave, they got paid more. Therefore, they were mostly stated to be slaves. This was a big win for Southerners. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
A book published by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Stowe assisted fugitive slaves in the Underground Railroad and gained stories from them. The book was released a chapter a week and became a best seller after the Bible during the 19th century. It showed what it was truly like to be a slave in the South and the gruesome things that they went through. This book ended up being banned in all of the South. They even hung and killed people for owning the book or reading it. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
Popular sovereignty let the people who lived there vote on if it should be a slave or free state. Thousands of pro and anti slavery people moved to live there. Violence breaks out which was called Bleeding Kansas. It is very common for there to be outbreaks of violence in the 1850s, and this moment foreshadows the Civil War that is about to occur. -
Bleeding Kansas
Bleeding Kansas was a period of violent conflict in the 1850s between pro-slavery and anti-slavery groups in Kansas. This fighting happened after the U.S. government allowed people in the territory to decide if they wanted slavery (Kansas-Nebraska Act). Both sides fought to control the area, and the violence helped lead to the Civil War. This occurred under the law of popular sovereignty. About 55 people were killed. (McPherson 164) -
Election of 1856
The Election of 1856 was a very heated election. James Buchanan was a democrat who supported state government and policies. He believed that if a state wanted to be a slave state or a free state, it had the right to choose. This lead to the decision of allowing popular sovereignty in Kansas, ultimately leading to violence. He had a commitment to reining in the power and spending of the federal government. He also said that Northerners should cease ‘‘agitating’’ the slavery issue.(Varon 274) -
Dred Scott Decision
Dred Scott was a slave who sued for his freedom when he was living in a free state. His court case went all the way to the Supreme Court. It was ultimately decided that he was not a free citizen because of his legal standing. At the end of the day, he is a slave and black. This one court case took away Black rights and outraged many. -
Referendum of 1857
The referendum in Kansas was a vote on whether to adopt the Lecompton Constitution, which would allow slavery in the state. The vote was highly controversial, with pro-slavery settlers accused of voter fraud and intimidation. The majority of Kansans opposed the constitution, but the proslavery faction pushed for its approval. The Lecompton Constitution was ultimately rejected, marking a defeat for the pro-slavery movement. Kansas would eventually join the Union as a free state in 1861(Varon 306) -
Bingham's Speech
In his speech, Bingham said that both the Lecompton government and the Dred Scott decision shared the same "precise principle": that "one class of men have no rights which another are bound to respect." When Bingham spoke to Congress in January 1858, the Lecompton controversy had been growing for a year. The Lecompton Constitution supported slavery and excluded free Blacks from rights, adding to the growing tensions that would lead to the Civil War.(Varon 305) -
Mudsill Speech
James Henry Hammond argued that slavery was a natural and positive institution. He claimed every society needs a "mudsill" class-people doing hard labor-and in the South, that class was made up of slaves. He said slavery benefited both slaves and their masters. He defended the Southern way of life and called for Southern unity against Northern opposition to slavery. This caused more of an intense divide between the North and South and is significant to the start of the Civil War. (Varon 308) -
John Brown
John Brown was an extreme abolitionist who killed many pro-slavery people. He decided that he wanted to rise a slave revolt because "God told him to". He assembles a group to go to Harpes Ferry, Virginia. In October of 1859, they launch their raid and it fails apart quickly. Brown's group shoots a slave, locals come out, and shots are fired. Fighting goes on all night until the marines come to put it to an end. This is another act of violence during the 1850s that separates the North and South.