-
The Missouri Compromise of 1820-1821
The regulation of slavery in western territories. It did not allow slavery in the former Lousiana Purchase that is parallel of the 36'30. -
The Underground Railroad
It was a system of escape routes for slaves who wanted to become free. It meant traveling on foot at night without any sense of distance or direction, but following the North Star. -
The Compromise of 1850
There were threats about Southern secession, which is a formal withdrawal from the Union, that became more frequent. Henry Clay showed the Senate a Series of resolutions later called the Compromise of 1850. To make the South happy, the compromise proposed a new and more effective fugitive slave law. Popular sovereignty was allowed which is the right to vote for or against slavery. -
The Kansas-Nebraska Act
The bill would repeal the Missouri Compromise and establish popular sovereingty for both territories. Congressional debate was very bitter. After months of struggling, the Kansas-Nebraska Act became law in 1854. -
Dred Scott vs. Sanford
Dred Scott was a slave whose owner took him from the slave state of Missouri to free territory in Illinois and Wisconsin and back to Missouri. Scott appealed to the Supreme Court for his freedom on the grounds that living in a free state-Illinois- and a free territry (Wisconsin) had made him a free man. -
Lincoln and Douglas Debate
Lincoln and Douglas had debates on either abolishing slavery or keeping it. Lincoln attacks on the "vast moral evil" of slavery drew national attention, and some Republicans began thinking of him as an excellent candidate for the presidency in 1860. -
John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry
John Brown was with 20 men and was defeated by the U.S. Marines. His plan was to free the slaves and supported them for equality. -
Formation of the Confederacy
Delegates from the secessionist states met in Montogmery, Alabama where they formed the Confederate States of America. They drew up a constitution that closely resembled that of the United States, but with only a few notable differences. -
Jefferson Davis
The Confederates unanimously elected former senator of Missippi as president. The North had heard threats of secession before. -
Fort Sumter
Four Southern forts remained in Union hands, and the most important was Fort Sumter. Lincoln devided to neither abandon Fort Sumter nor reinforce it. He would merely send in "food for hungrey men." The deadly struggle between North and Southw as under way. -
Income Tax
As the Northern economy grew, Congress decided to help pay for the war by collection the nation's first income tax, a tax that takes a specified percentage of an individual's income. -
Bull Run
The first bloodshed on the battlefield occured about three months after Fort Sumter fell, the creaek of Bull Run, just 25 miles from Washington, D.C. The battle was a seesaw affair. -
Conscription
The war led to social upheaval and political unrest in both the North and the South. As the fighting intesified, heavy casualties and widespread desertions led side to impose a draft that forced men to serve in the army. -
Antietam
Where McClellan ordered his men to pursue Lee, and the two sides fought at Antietam. The clas proved to be bloodiest single-day battle in American history, with casualties totaling more than 26,000. -
Emancipation Proclamation
Lincoln issued which is the following portion that captured national attention. The Confederacy used the labor of slaves to build fortifications and grow food. Emancipation was not just a moral issue; it became a weapon of war. -
Vicksburg
One of the two remaining Confederate strongholds on the Mississippi River. Vicksburg itself was particularly important because it rested on bluffs above the river. -
The Gettysburg Address
A ceremony was held to dedicate a cemetery in Gettysburg. It was Abraham Lincoln's speech that "remade America." In other words, the speech helped the country to realize that itwas not just a collection of individual states; it was one unified nation. -
Sherman's March
Sherman began his march southeast through Georgia to the sea, creating a wide path of destruction. His army burned almost every house in its path and destroyed livestock and railroads. -
The Thirteenth Amendment
The government had to decide what to do about the border states, where slavery still existed. The president believed that the only solution was a constitutional amendment abolishing slavery. -
Appomattox Court House
Lee and Grant met at a private home to arrange a Confederate surrender. At Lincoln's request, the terms were generous. Grant paroled Lee's soldiers and sent them home with their possessions and three days' worth of rations. -
Assassination of Abraham Lincoln
Five days after Lee surendered to Grant, Lincoln and his wife went to Ford's Theatre in Washington to see a British comedy. During the 3rd act, a man crept up behind Lincoln and shot the president in the back of his head.
