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Compromise of 1850
Package of five separate bills passed by the United States Government which defused a four year political confrontation between slave and free states. -
First Blood Spilled Over Slavery
The Fugitive Slave Law finally brought about the first blood of conflict, in what became known as the "Battle of Christiana." The town was Christiana, a Pennsylvania village near the Maryland border. A slave owner, accompanied by relatives and two deputy marshalls, arrived in the town and demanded the return of two slaves who had escaped two years earlier. -
Fugitive Slave Act
In March 1854, Anthony Burns, a Virginian slave, escaped and fled to Boston. He was apprehended. Bostonians rallied to his defense and tried to block his return to Virginia. President Pierce called in Federal troops to insure Burns' return to Virginia. So, federal soldiers escorted a captured slave through the streets, while Bostonians stood by, with American flags flying upside down. -
First National Women's Convention
The first national Women's Conference was held in Worcester, Massachusetts. The convention passed a resolution that stated, "Women are clearly entitled to the right of suffrage, and to equality before the law, without distinction of sex or color." Lucy Stone helped organize the first eight national conventions, presided over the seventh, and was secretary of the Central Committee for most of the decade. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin Signed
In 1852, the novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin" was published. It is most likely the novel that had the greatest historic impact on American society. The novel depicted the plight of a slave family. It was written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, who was a mother of six. -
Gadsen Purchase
Under the terms of this purchase, the United States obtained the southern parts of Arizona and New Mexico. The area totaled 45,535 square miles and was purchased at a cost of $10 million. -
South African Republic is established
By February 1854, anti-slavery Whigs had begun meeting in the upper midwestern states to discuss the formation of a new party. One such meeting, in Wisconsin on March 20, 1854, is generally remembered as the founding meeting of the Republican Party. -
James Buchanan is elected president.
James Buchanan (1791-1868), America’s 15th president, was in office from 1857 to 1861. During his tenure, seven Southern states seceded from the Union and the nation teetered on the brink of civil war. A Pennsylvania native, Buchanan began his political career in his home state’s legislature and went on to serve in both houses of the U.S. Congress; he later became a foreign diplomat and U.S. secretary of state. -
John Brown attacks the arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia.
On October 16, 1859, abolitionist John Brown and several followers seized the United States Armory and Arsenal at Harpers Ferry. The actions of Brown's men brought national attention to the emotional divisions concerning slavery. -
Abraham Lincoln is elected president
Lincoln was elected the 16th president of the United States, beating Democrat Stephen A. Douglas, John C. Breckinridge of the Southern Democrats, and John Bell of the new Constitutional Union Party. He was the first president from the Republican Party.
