Investigating the Past

By RVoltaire2

  • U.S. Constitution

    After the Articles of Confederation proved to be inadequate, the Constitutional Convention gathered to discuss a more centralized government; a government that is still in effect today.

  • Missouri Compromise

    Missouri had become large enough to be a state, but there was a balance between pro-slavery and anti-slavery states in the Union that they didn't want broken. The solution was adding Missouri on as a slave state and Maine as a free state.

  • Compromise of 1850

    The Compromise of 1850 was a series of bills that were proposed to resolve territorial and slavery issues that arose shortly after the Mexican-American War, and they were:
    1. Concerned the border between Texas and Mexico, and the Territory of New Mexico.
    2. Concerned the Territory of Utah.
    3. Concerned the induction of California into the Union.
    4. The Fugitive Slave Act
    5. Banned slave trade in Washington D.C.

  • Kansas-Nebraska Act

    A law that would allow Kansas and Nebraska to self-determine if they would be a free or slave state.

  • Bleeding Kansas

    Immediately after the Kansas-Nebraska Act was passed, the three groups in Kansas (pro-slavers, free-staters, and abolitionists) started fueding to decide whether they would be a pro-slave state or a free state; the bloodshed lasted until 1861 when Kansas was inducted as a free state, and that era was known as "Bleeding Kansas".

  • Dred Scott v. Sandford

    The Supreme Court decision in this case declared that slaves weren't citizens of the U.S. and they didn't have the right to sue in court. It also revealed that Congress didn't have the authority to prohibit slavery in any of the states or territories.

  • Lincoln-Douglas Debates

    A series of debates between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas predominately over slavery. Both candidates wanted to speak in each of the nine Congressional Districts in Ilinois, but since Lincoln already spoke in Springfield and Douglas already spoke in Chicago they decided to only speak in the remaining seven.

  • John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry

    John Brown's Raid on Harpers Ferry is John Brown's (Abolitionist) attempt to lead an armed slaved revolt by seizing a U.S. Arsenal at Harpers Ferry. The raid lasted until Oct. 18. Although the raid was squashed by a detachment of Marines, the raid helped serve as inspiration for many slaves.

  • The Election of 1860

    The election that led to Abraham Lincoln becoming president and set the stage for the Civil War.

  • The Emancipation Proclamation

    The law passed by Abraham Lincoln to abolish slavery in the southern states that succeeded. Although it didn't completely abolish slavery, it allowed more rights for African-Americans such as being able to join in the army.