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Underground Railroad
http://www.ushistory.org/us/28c.asp"Conductors" on the underground railroad passed runaway slaves from house to house towards the northern states and Canada, giving them food, shelter, and money to start new lives. Secret signals were known by all conductors to communicate within the railroad. The most famous of all conductors is Harriet Tubman. -
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Mexican American War
During this war, Americans acquired the Texas and California territories which gave us the present day states of California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Wyoming; these states were acquired after the Treaty of Guadalupe which was signed to cease fighting between Mexico and America over territory along the borders. The war started from Mexico attacking the American soldiers on "American soil" (Texas), and the United States declared war. Main dispute was free or slave states. -
Wilmot Proviso
http://www.ushistory.org/us/30a.aspDavid Wilmot, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, proposed an ammendment known as the Wilmot Proviso, which proposed any new territory the United States gained from Mexico would be neither a slave or free state. The Whig party passed this ammendment, and congress had no power to ban slavery in territories. -
Compromise of 1850
http://www.ushistory.org/us/30d.aspCongress did not pass Clay's bill because President Taylor opposed it, however, Taylor died in 1850. Stephen A. Douglas divided much of the large compromise into smaller bills, which allowed voters to support only the parts they liked from the compromise. All parts of the compromise had been passed between July and September, fulfilling Clay's original plan. -
Fugitive Slave Act
http://www.ushistory.org/more/timeline.htmWith the fugitive slave law in place, a slaveholder or slave catcher only had to point out an alleged runaway to have them taken into custody. The accused would have no right to testify on their own behalf; all that the jury would need to take custody over the accused is a testimony by a white witness. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
http://www.ushistory.org/us/28d.aspUncle Tom's Cabin, written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, began as a newspaper serial, and later came out in book form, selling over 300,000 copies. Historians consider this book to be a cause of the Civil war because of it's impact on public opinion from the description of the life of a slave. -
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Bleeding Kansas
Kansas became the first battleground between those for slavery and those against it. A convention in Topeka was held to write their own constitution which prohibited slavery. By March of 1856, Kansas had two governments, one opposed slavery, and one government was for it. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
http://www.ushistory.org/us/31a.aspStephan Douglas wanted to open the northern Great Plains to settlement. Douglas supported repealing the antislavery provision of the Missouri Compromise, and also dividing the region into two territories, Nebraska the northern section, and Kansas as the southern section. Nebraska would be a free state while Kansas would be a slave state. In May of 1854, congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act. -
Ostend Manifesto
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostend_ManifestoThe Ostend Manifesto was a document written in 1854 which described why the United States felt they should have Cuba from Spain, and the fact that the United States would declare war on Spain if they refused. -
Caning of Sumner
http://www.ushistory.org/us/31e.aspSumner was beaten over the head with a gold cane by a southerner, named Butler. Sumner had said bad comments about slavery, and Butler acted on the behalf of the entire south. When returning back to his homeland, Butler was welcomed back like a hero, enraging the north. -
The Dred Scott Decision
http://www.ushistory.org/us/32a.aspDred Scott was a runaway slave that lives in a free state for an elongated period of time. The case went to the Supreme Court after 11 years. The court ruled that Dred was not a free man and that he would be excluded from the states. The north refused to agree with the court's decision, and the union seemed to be falling apart from this due to the sectionalism present. -
John Brown's Raid
http://www.ushistory.org/us/32c.aspJohn Brown led an army of 18 men into Harper's Ferry. Brown's plan was to raid the weapon arsenal and arm slaves and have them join his cause. No people joined him in his cause and the military moved in on him. John brown was sentenced to be hanged December 2nd.
