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Conflict of slavery
This was a conflict between the north and south states. Slavery was carried over by the English colonists, Africans were imported during this time when this institution was legal. Thomas Jefferson once called slavery a “necessary evil“. Faith and morality drove the north to wanting to free the black slaves, while the south argued the Importance it was to their lifestyle. -
Missouri compromise (Louisiana purchase)
The union purchased this new land from the French, and Congress had to establish a policy to direct the expansion of slavery. Congress finally reached an agreement known as the Missouri compromise. This preserved the congressional balance into a line to determine free and slave states. -
Nat Turner rebellion
A slave named Nat Turner sparked an uprising that spread through southern Virginia plantations. This rebellion killed about 60 white people, but military forces dismantled this rebellion after only two days. The slaves that participated were executed. There were other uprisings among the slaves but this remained the bloodiest of them all. -
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The Wilmont Proviso
This was a part of the legislation proposed by David Wilmont at the end of the Mexican-American war. If this where to be passed it would outlaw slavery in territory acquired from the results of the war. This territory included the Southwest and extend to California.This never passed but did create a debate surrounding the proviso, and led to a major discussion about succession. -
Uncle Tom’s cabin
A writer named Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote a fictional story on the hard life of a slave. This open the Northerners eyes to what was really going down in the south. Southerners protested this work. Despite that, Uncle Tom’s cabin was the second best selling book in America during the 19th century. The popularity spread the issue of slavery to those who were more oblivious to these horrors. -
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Bleeding Kansas
After Senator Stephen Douglas Created the Kansas-Nebraska act, dismantling the line drawn by the Missouri compromise. He believed states should use popular sovereignty as a dictator of slavery laws. The residents would decide if the state would be free or slave. In 1855 an abolitionist named John Brown went to Kansas to fight against slavery this created violence between the two sides. -
Dred Scott versus Stanford
Dred Scott was from Virginia and enslaved he tried to steal it for his freedom in court. This case eventually rose all the way up to the Supreme Court, where the decision was made that Dred Scott was found a slave, he was a piece of property and in turn had no legal rights. This decision expanded the limitations on slavery. -
John Brown’s raid
An abolitionist named John Brown supported a violent way to end slavery in the south. In October 1859 along with 19 others he led a raid on the federal army in Virginia to capture and confiscate the weapons, to distribute them among the slaves. Government forces fought against them, a few were killed on both sides. John Brown was later found guilty of treason and hung for this convection. -
The election of Lincoln
Once Abraham Lincoln was elected, the republican party and anti-slavery outlook worried many Southerners. This brought even more tensions between the two parties. The division lead to the south discussing seceding from the union once again. -
The battle of Fort Sumter
Abraham Lincoln decided to send supplies to Fort Sumter with the threat of secession underway. In South Carolina many outposts became a foreign land. Confederate war ships turned back and surrendered, this was the first battle that marked the start of the Civil War. Lincoln asked for 75,000 volunteers to join the north in fighting.
