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Missouri Compromise
On March 3, 1820 Henry Clay wrote a compromise that admitted two states to the union in order to balance power in congress. Missouri was added as a slave state while Maine was added as a free state. In addition to this, everything above the Missouri compromise line (36, 30) was considered free territory. -
Wilmot Proviso
On August 8th, 1848 David Wilmot, a representative from Pennsylvania tried to pass a bill that would outlaw all slavery in territories gained in the Mexican cession. This bill did not pass but it still made people in the South very angry at the North. -
Compromise of 1850
On January 29, 1850 Henry Clay wrote a compromise where California was admitted as a free state but the territories of New Mexico and Utah would be decided by Popular Sovereignty. Also, the slave trade was officially ended in Washington DC. -
Fugitive Slave Act
The Fugitive Slave Law was added as part of the Compromise of 1850 made by Henry Clay, this made it so any southern slave owner could accuse a free black person of being a runaway slave, even if they weren’t. The slave owner could take the person back to his farm or plantation as a slave with no trial or way to prove his innocence. This gave the south much more power and they could take whoever they want. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
In 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote a historical fiction story called “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”. It was used to describe the horrible things happening in the south. It was the closest the north had gotten to experience slavery and inspired abolitionists across the country. -
Kansas Nebraska Act/Bleeding Kansas
In 1854, Stephen Douglas introduced an act where the territories of Kansas and Nebraska would have their slavery decided by popular sovereignty. People came from all over the country to vote, violence soon broke out between north and south. Even in congress, Charles Sumner was beaten on the Senate floor. -
Dred Scott Case
Dred Scott was a slave from Missouri in 1857, who was moved by his master to Illinois, a free black state while he was there, he tried to sue his master for his freedom because he was being kept as a slave in a non slave state. The case went to the supreme court an it took over 10 years for them to come to a decision. In the end, Dred Scott was not freed and the Missouri compromise was revoked. -
Lincoln Douglas Debate
In late Summer 1858, Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas ran against each other for Senate. They traveled through Illinois speaking publicly about their opinions, making this the most popular Senate race in history. Even though Douglas won the election, Lincoln also became a public figure and this helped him for presidential campaign later. -
John Brown's Raid
In 1859, John Brown, a radical abolitionist from the north, despised the idea of slavery and took it upon himself to assault a southern armory with 5 of his sons, it was lightly guarded and they overtook it easily, but when southern reinforcement came they were heavily out matched, all of his sons were killed, and he was arrested and sentenced to death for treason. He thought it was his job from god to end slavery. The northerners appreciated his effort, the southerns thought he was insane. -
Lincoln's Election of 1860
In 1860, the nation was breaking apart. Four candidates ran for president, Abraham Lincoln was a Republican and won every free state. John Breckinridge was a Southern Democrat and won almost every slave state. John Bell was a Unionist and won states in the upper south. Stephen Douglas was a northern Democrat and won only Missouri. Due to the large population of the north, Lincoln was elected president and the south immediately seceded from the Union. -
Southern Secession
After the election of 1860, South Carolina seceded from the union. Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas followed. They called themselves the Confederacy and made Jefferson Davis their president. The first attack of the Confederacy was to attack Fort Sumter. Soon after the Union tried to send reinforcements to the troops at the Fort, the South won the battle, and even more states seceded. This marked the start of the Civil War, forever changing the nation.
