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Missouri Compromise
In 1820, the Missouri Compromise was made as a temporary solution to the debate over slave and free states between the north and south. This compromise was proposed by Henry Clay. It made a huge impact on the country and towards the Civil War because the purpose was to retain the peace, though this did not work for long, because the conflict was renewed when territory was added to the Union after the Mexican-American war. -
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Road to the Civil War
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Wilmot Priviso
This took place in 1846 by David Wilmot. This was a ban on slavery in all Mexican cession areas. This angered the southern colonies because they believed it was an attack on slavery, and they were for slavery. This impacted America because many people argued over this and it got the nation stirred up. -
Fugitive Slave Act
The Fugitive Slave Act was one of the laws included in the Compromise of 1850. According to this law, any slave who escaped to the north could be rightfully returned to their owner if accused of being an escaped slave. This was considered a win for the south. However, this was controversial because the northern states were supposed to be free, so northerners saw this as a great injustice and a violation to their state laws. This law was meant to please the southerners as part of the compromise. -
The Compromise of 1850
In the Compromise of 1850 California was a free state by Congress. In New Mexico and Utah the people would make the decision about slavery with popular sovereignty. The slave trade, but not slavery, ended in Washington D.C.. Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Law. For 10 million dollars Texas gave up its claims to New Mexico. This compromise was made by Henry Clay. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Stowe made a historical fiction about slavery in 1852. She was the daughter of a strong abolitionist, and she was saddened by the fugitive slave law. This novel opened America's eyes to the harsh reality of slavery. Many northerners did not know slavery was still that bad. Many southerners thought it was not reliable because it was fiction. -
Kansas Nebraska Act and Bleeding Kansas
Stephen Douglas passed the act was that from now slavery would be voted on popular sovereignty.It was there to see if Kansas would be a slavery state or not. Many people voted from all around so there was a lot fights hence the name bleeding Kansas. .The north felt that Douglas let them down following slavery but the south liked the act hoping new territories would be slave states. Kansas eventually had two governments one anti slavery and one slavery. -
Dred Scott Case
In 1857, a slave by the name of Dred Scott requested a lawsuit against his owner because he had been put to work in several free states and he thought this opposed the law. However, the Chief Justice decided that Scott did not have the right to file a lawsuit since he was not considered a U.S. citizen because he was property. It was decided that Congress was not granted the power by the U.S. Constitution to outlaw slavery. This angered northerners while southerners were obviously ecstatic. -
Lincoln-Douglas debate
Lincoln and Douglas ran against each other for state senate in 1858. Douglas believed in popular sovereignty, Lincoln believed in abolishing slavery. Douglas ended up winning. Many Americans started showing up to debates. This inspired Americans to care about slavery or anti slavery. -
John Brown’s Raid
John Brown led attacks at Harper’s Ferry, where he had taken away guns and started a slave revolt. He believed the Bible told him to risk his life care for the enslaved. The attack was unsuccessful. Brown was killed in 1859 for being guilty. The south believed northern abolitionists were crazy. The north praised him and was sad about his death. -
Southern secession
11 states in America wanted to leave the Union in 1860. They were salty because Lincoln won the election, and he wanted to ban slavery. South Carolina left first, then 6 other states. The Confederates attacked Fort Sumter. This was the start of the civil war. This impacted America because this started America’s war against itself! People were upset and thought it went too far, while others felt it was necessary. -
Lincoln's Election of 1860
In the election of 1860, four candidates ran against each other for presidency. Abraham Lincoln was one of these candidates. Though he only received forty percent of the votes, he won the election by electoral college. Lincoln’s election angered many southerners, causing South Carolina to finally secede from the Union after years of threatening to do so. This secession spurred many other southern states to secede.
