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The Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise was a law that tried to balance the number of slave and free states. It allowed Missouri as a slave state and Maine as a free state. The law also drew a line across the country, indicating where slavery could be allowed in the future. It avoided conflict for a time but showed how divided the country was about slavery, creating further problems. U.S. history. Available at: https://opened.cuny.edu/courseware/lesson/384/student/?section=3 (Accessed: 19 November 2024). -
The Abolitionist Movement
The Abolitionist Movement were people who worked for the end of slavery. Speakers such as Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, and William Lloyd Garrison spoke out and aided runaway slaves. The group made slavery more of an issue in the country, angering the South and adding to the growing chasm between North and South. Radical abolitionist, 1856-05, vol. 01 ISS. 10; Home. Available at: https://nyheritage.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15109coll7/id/4274/ (Accessed: 19 November 2024). -
The Fugitive Slave Act
The Fugitive Slave Act made it illegal to help runaway slaves, even in free states. It also demanded that escaped slaves be returned to their owners. This made Northerners angry because they did not want to be a part of slavery. This law caused the gap between the North and the South to widen. Parr, J. (2019) Fugitive slaves and the quest for freedom, AAIHS. Available at: https://www.aaihs.org/fugitive-slaves-and-the-quest-for-freedom/ (Accessed: 19 November 2024). -
Northern resistance to the Fugitive Slave Act The Dred Scott Decision
The Dred Scott case involved the decision of the Supreme Court that an enslaved man by the name of Dred Scott could not sue for his freedom because African Americans were not considered citizens. The Court also explained that slavery could spread to U.S. territories. Northerners felt this showed how the government protected slavery from abolishment. Britannica (N/A) Dred scott, Encyclopædia Britannica. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/biography/Dred-Scott (Accessed: 19 November 2024). -
John Brown’s Raid on Harpers Ferry
John Brown was an abolitionist who led an unsuccessful attack on the armory in Harpers Ferry, Virginia, to start a slave rebellion. He was caught and killed but he still became a hero for many in the abolitionist movement. The raid showed that the nation was going toward a great crisis over the future of slavery. Britannica (2024) John Brown, Encyclopædia Britannica. Available at: https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Brown-American-abolitionist (Accessed: 19 November 2024).