-
The Mexican American War Begins
The war was started by the annexation of Texas and disputes over its border. Following a victory by way of American forces, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed in 1848, which resulted within the U.S. Gaining massive territories, together with California, Nevada, and Arizona. The acquisition of those lands reignited debates over the expansion of slavery into the new territories.(McPherson) -
Gold Rush and Western Expansion
Following the invention of gold in California in 1848, heaps of settlers moved west on the lookout for fortune, quickly transforming California's populace and economic system. This mass migration led to California applying for statehood in 1849, which intensified the talk over whether or not it had to be admitted as a loose state or a slave country. (McPherson) -
Compromise of 1850
A series of laws that aimed to resolve sectional tensions, along with the admission of California as an unfastened country, the status quo of territorial governments in New Mexico and Utah with famous sovereignty, and the strengthening of the Fugitive Slave Act. The Compromise temporarily eased tensions however did no longer offer an enduring solution to the slavery problem. -
Uncle Tom's cabin Published
Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel Uncle Tom's Cabin became a bestseller. It delivered the horrors of slavery into the houses of tens of millions, specifically in the North, and helped to provoke anti-slavery sentiment. In the South, it was banned and vilified. The book had a prime impact on shaping public opinion on slavery inside the years leading as much as the Civil War.(McPherson) -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
Senator Stephen Douglas brought the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which allowed settlers in Kansas and Nebraska to decide the slavery issue via popular sovereignty. This led to violent struggle in Kansas, as pro-slavery and anti-slavery forces clashed. The Act correctly repealed the Missouri Compromise, reigniting tensions between the North and South. -
Birth of the Republican Party
In response to the Kansas-Nebraska Act, anti-slavery factions, such as Whigs, Free Soilers, and abolitionists, fashioned the Republican Party. The birthday party’s platform became centered around preventing the growth of slavery into the new territories. It marked the start of a sturdy political motion towards the spread of slavery within the United States.(McPherson) -
Caning of Senator Charles Sumner
Senator Charles Sumner was nearly killed by Congressman Preston Brooks on the Senate grounds after Sumner gave an anti-slavery speech. This incident symbolized the growing violence and political polarization over the slavery difficulty, as Brooks's movements had been extensively supported inside the South however condemned in the North. -
Bleeding Kansas
The Kansas-Nebraska Act brought about violence in Kansas among pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers. "Bleeding Kansas" became a battleground for the ideological fight over slavery in the territories, as both sides flooded the nation to persuade its selection on slavery. This length of violence foreshadowed the war that would later erupt into the Civil War.(McPherson) -
Fred Scott Decision
In the landmark case Dred Scott v. Sandford, the Supreme Court ruled that African Americans, whether unfastened or enslaved, couldn't be U.S. Residents and had no right to sue in federal courtroom. The Court additionally ruled that Congress had no energy to restrict slavery within the territories, correctly invalidating the Missouri Compromise and intensifying sectional divisions. -
John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry
Abolitionist John Brown led a raid at the federal armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, hoping to ignite a slave riot. Though the raid failed and Brown turned into captured and finished, it heightened Southern fears of a Northern conspiracy to stop slavery. The occasion similarly deepened the divide among North and South.(McPherson) -
Election Of 1860
Abraham Lincoln was elected as the first Republican president. His victory, with less than 40% of the vote, precipitated Southern states to start seceding from the Union, fearing that Lincoln would restrict slavery's expansion into new territories. His election marked a pivotal moment within the growing battle over slavery and led immediately to the secession crisis.