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Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase (1803) was a land deal between the United States and France, in which the U.S. acquired approximately 827,000 square miles of land west of the Mississippi River for $15 million. The results of this purchase included
1) The United States nearly doubling in size
2) Settlers moving Westward to organize the new territory into states -
Missouri Compromise
The Missouri Compromise was a federal statute that regulated slavery in the Western territory of the United States. This Compromise was initiated when Missouri sought to enter the union as a slave state, upsetting the balance of 11 free and 11 slave states. To keep the balance -- Missouri was allowed to enter as a slave state, but Maine was also added as a free state. Additionally, this Compromise banned slavery in all territory North of the 36°30′ parallel. -
Abolitionist Movement
By the beginning of the 19th century, many European nations had ended slavery -- however, it carried on in the United States. However, there were those who fought for its immediate end throughout the nation. This reform movement was the Abolitionist Movement. While abolitionist lived throughout the United States -- most of them were in the North. They used various methods to gain support for their ideas. For example, William Lloyd Garrison wrote a newspaper called "The Liberator." -
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The Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was a network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century enslaved peoples who sought to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. Harriet Tubman, a former slave, was a famous "conductor" on the Underground Railroad. After her own escape -- she made 19 more trips (on foot) to assist others' escapes. This trip was made more dangerous with the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act. -
Annexation of Texas
The Texas annexation was the 1845 incorporation of the Republic of Texas into the United States of America, which was admitted to the Union as the 28th state on December 29, 1845. The annexation of Texas is particularly important for two reasons:
1) An example of Manifest Destiny
2) Texas was admitted to the Union as a slave state -
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Mexican-American War
The Mexican–American War was an armed conflict between the United States of America and the United Mexican States. It came directly after the US annexation of Texas, a region that Mexico considered part of its territory. The Mexican-American War is important because:
1) It is an example of Manifest Destiny, as President Polk (the president at the time of the conflict) intended to gain territory as a result of the war
2) The United States gained more territory, including California -
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was a set of five bills passed by Congress that sought to address the contentious issue of slavery in the Western territories. The three most important aspects of this Compromise were:
1) California admitted as free state
2) New Mexico and Utah territory (gained after the Mexican-American war) could decide to be free or slave via popular sovereignty
3) The Fugitive Slave Act was strengthened -
The Fugitive Slave Act
In response to the growing Underground Railroad, the Fugitive Slave Act gave southern slave owners more control over their "property," by allowing slave owners (or people they hired) to go North and take back enslaved peoples who had escaped. This act also punished anyone who took part in an enslaved persons escape, which infuriated abolitionists. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
"Uncle Tom's Cabin" was a book published by Harriet Beecher Stowe in 1852 that illustrated the brutality of slavery. Over 300,000 copies of this novel were sold, exposing the horrors of slavery to many people, and turned the tide of public opinion towards the of slavery. The publication and widespread sale of this book is an example of how literature can influence public opinion and government action. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
When passed, the Kansas-Nebraska Act allowed these territories to decide, via popular sovereignty (popular vote), whether to be free or slave. This decision went completely against the Missouri Compromise, which had outlawed slavery in any territory North of the 36°30′ parallel. -
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Bleeding Kansas
As a result of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, both pro and anti-slavery settlers began to flood these territories, which now got to decide the issue of slavery via popular sovereignty. In very little time violence erupted -- particularly in Kansas. The fighting took place between people who had different ideas about the future of slavery and the future of the Western territory. The nickname for this region became "Bleeding Kansas" and for many if foreshadowed the violence that was to come. -
Dred Scott v. Sandford
Dred Scott was a slave who sued for his freedom, arguing that he had traveled with his master to a free state for a long period of time and should therefore be free. The court ruled:
1) Scott was not free
2) Black people (free or slave) were not citizens, and therefore did not have the right to bring suit, nor did they have any other Constitutional rights
3) Congress did not have the right to ban slavery in any territory (as they had with the Missouri Compromise) -
John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry
John Brown, a fiery abolitionist, and 18 men whom he had recruited raided a federal arsenal in Harper's Ferry, Virginia. Their hope was to seize the weapons, use them to arm enslaved peoples throughout Appalachia, and begin a slave rebellion. While Brown was able to seize the arsenal, these plans never came to complete fruition. The local militia soon rose up against Brown and his men, killing 8 of the rebels - and in no time at all federal troops arrived from Washington and arrested Brown. -
Election of 1860
The election of 1860 was the 19th presidential election. The focus of the candidates and the nation was the future of slavery in the United States. There were four candidates in the running -- but Abraham Lincoln was able to defeat them all, winning 40% of the popular vote and 180 electoral votes. Between the election and Lincoln's inauguration in January, seven Southern states -- led by South Carolina -- had seceded from the Union.
