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Compromise of 1820
In Missouri's request to become a slave state, it threatened the balance between the free states and slave states. Eventually an act, by Henry Clay, called the Missouri Compromise balanced the tension and let Missouri be a slave state then Maine was admitted as a free state. In the Louisiana Purchase, slavery was outlawed. This helped lead to the Civil War because of sectionalism of the free states and slave states. -
Mexican war ended
When the Mexican war ended, because of the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Mexico ceded California and New Mexico to United States. Since the United States gained more land, there was a debate over if the new states would be admitted as a free or slave state which led to the Civil War. -
Wilmot Proviso
As a result of the Mexican war, David Wilmot, who was against slavery, called for a ban on slavery on any of the territories that would be won from Mexico. It helped cause the Civil War because it would be called up, debated, and voted on repeatedly for years also because of popular sovereignty, which would allow the people of each territory to decide the status of slavery there. -
Fugitive Slave Act
The Fugitive Slave act, which was passed by Congress, required to return a runaway slave back to where they came from. If they did not do it, they would have to pay a fine, also a freeman has no right to a trial by jury. It helped cause the civil war because it made abolitionists increase their interests to abolish slavery and a widespread outrage in the North. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin was the best selling book of the 19th century, along with The Bible, written by Harriet Beecher Stowe. It was a story about slaves in the south, it exposed how they would be treated. Southerners weren't so pleased with the fact that it made them look bad. Northerners became aware of the cruelty of slavery. It helped cause the civil war because it made southerners not too happy and inspired abolitionists even more. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas-Nebraska Act was an act created by Stephen Douglas and it was passed by Congress. It allowed people to decide whether or not slavery to be admitted in Kansas and Nebraska because of popular sovereignty. It also led to the creation of a new political party, the Republicans. This helped cause the Civil War because it would violate the Missouri Compromise. -
Bleeding Kansas
This was the result of the Kansas-Nebraska act. It was a violent outbreak due to popular sovereignty. Pro-slavery Missourians, "Border Ruffians", crossed border to intimidate those voting for kansas to be a free state, It helped cause the civil war because pro-slavery and anti-slavery were fighting for if Kansas should be a free or slave state. -
The Dred Scott decision
On March 6, 1857, there was a ruling in the case of Dred Scott v Sandford. Dred Scott was a Missouri slave, once owned by an army surgeon. He lost the case proving that he should be free since he was in a free state. Also African Americans, whether free or slave, were not citizens of the US. This led to the civil war because northerners were upset of growing fear that southerners would eventually legalize slavery everywhere. -
John Brown's raid on Harper's Ferry
On October 16, 1859, Brown along with eighteen armed followers attacked and seized control of the federal armory, where the government stored weapons, in Harper's Ferry, Virgina. They had killed several people and took some others hostage. He went on a trial and was convicted of treason, murder and inciting slave rebellion. In the result, Brown was hanged. This led to the civil war because it scared the southerners and made them think they could no longer live safely. -
Abraham Lincoln's election
Republican Abraham Lincoln was elected president in the presidential election of 1860.He defeated the 3 other candidates, John C. Breckinridge, John Bell, and Stephen Douglas. North Carolina, along with 8 other states, were secede from the union. Southerners were afraid that Abraham would want to outlaw slavery since he had a different perspective on slavery so this was the main cause to the civil war.
