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The Invention of the Cotton Gin
Eli Whitney's invention meant to help the production of the cotton in the South. The South really benefited from it, and they became really powerful to the point that they wanted even more. They weren't given anymore, they lost some of it after Lincoln got elected as President. They South felt betrayed because they were doing a good thing for the country, but people saw what they did a bit differently. They didn't understand what they did wrong, but they weren't going to let it happen. -
Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise settled which states were free and which ones were not. It was controversial. The South believed they needed more, the North believed the South had too much, it was all a big dispute. The US tried to make it fair, but it wasn't good enough for both sides. So they needed to solve it with a fight. -
Nat Turner's Rebellion
Nat Turner led a group of enslaved African Americans that ended up killing around 55 to 65 white people. Of course, the rebellion was to rebel against slavery, but this time it was the slaves by themselves. The South thought it was getting out of control and that the North had some influence into it. There has been other rebellions but this one was different. -
The Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 eased the confrontations of free and slave states because the US acquired more land. They states wanted to talk it over. They wanted to talk about who gets the land, or how they'll separate it. The US took the safe route and didn't risk having another fight over land. But in the end, it didn't work out because there was still a fight. -
Fugitive Slave Law
The Fugitive Slave law was a part of the Compromise of 1850 and it allowed southern slave owners to legally capture slaves with weapons that had escaped up to free states. The North was clearly upset by this. Most people in the north were anti-slavery and didn't agree with the law. This time it wasn't the southern states upset and it made the argument of slavery even more controversial. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Uncle Tom's Cabin was a big influence in the Civil War starting. It was made for the people that didn't know what life was like in the South and what slaves experienced. It made it clear slavery was an awful thing. It brought another strong point for the northern states to bring up in the argument of removing slavery or not. Harriet Beecher Stowe was a big influence in the causes of the Civil War. -
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an escape route for slaves in the South trying to find freedom. Harriet Tubman started it all and eventually found help with people in the North. It upset the South enough that slaves were helping each other escape, but the fact that white people helped them upset them even more than they were. The South depended a lot on slaves and the North was ruining it for them. They weren't going to let them, so they put up a fight. -
Preston Attacked By Charles Sumner
On this date, Preston Brooks of South Carolina beat Charles Sumner to a point where he need three years to recover from the injuries. The cause of the beating was of a speech Sumner gave out about pro-slavery Senators. Brooks was eventually charged. This was one of the biggest influences because we had important people fighting over it. -
John Brown's Raid
John Brown was a passionate abolitionist and went to the extremes to end slavery. Himself, slaves, and some family members killed slave owners to end slavery. Of course, the slave owners were left furious and wanted to fight back. Not just from that, but from other violent events happening against it. That fight ended up being the Civil War. -
Abraham Lincoln's Election
Once Lincoln got elected, South Carolina and six other states following seceded from the Union. Lincoln's opinion on slavery was considered to be modest, but South Carolina immediately made the change. It made the Union states remaining furious because they were trying to make all of America pro-slavery. Lincoln later agreed with Republicans that the South was getting too powerful and that slavery shouldn't grow anymore. The Union wanted to fight against it because they felt betrayed.
