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Missouri Compromise
When Maine registered for U.S. annexation, sectionalism (exxagerated regional loyalty) from the North and South arose conflict. Congressed argued whether Maine should be admitted as a free or slave state. Finally, the Senate and Henry Clay agreed to the Missouri Compromise, which admitted Maine as a free state and Missouri as a slave state. Issues over slavery soon emerged after the law was passed. These different views on slavery were the root of the whole Civil War. -
Nathaniel Turner's Rebellion
Nat Turner, a highly religious slave, drfated a plan for rebellion against slave owners. Along with a group of slaves, Turned led a brief (short) brutal riot in Southhampton County, Virginia. The riot left 55 whites dead. As a result, Southerners were petrified and made slave codes (laws concerning slaves) more strict. This act caused abolitionists to be enraged due to their negative thoughts on slavery. -
Wilmot Proviso
Swiftly following the Mexican War, David Wilmot, a Representative of Pennsylvania, presented the Wilmot Proviso. The proposal prohibitted slavery in any land that we gained from Mexico. Southern citizens strongly disapprved of the proviso because they believed that any antislavery plan concerning land endangered slavery. Senator Calhoun thus proposed a draft which declared that Congress could not regulate (control) territorial slavery. Neither law passed, but it resulted in awful arguements. -
Fugitive Slave Act
As an effort to calm slaveholders, Clay persuaded Congress to pass the Fugitive Slave Act with the Compromise of 1850. The act demanded all people to help capture slaves on the loose. Anyone who helped the slaves would be forced into prison or penalized. Due to the act, Northerners believed that slavery was still cruel and create the Underground Railroad, a network (inconnected system) of people who gave aid to slaves and tried to help them escape. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
When Senator Douglas suggested to do away with the Missouri Compromise, diverse beliefs wrangled. The South agreed to the idea, but the North objected it. President Pierce then passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act as a compromise. The act cause slavery supporters to charge the town of Lawrence. -
Dred Scott Case
Around the 1830's, a Missourian doctor, led the enslaved Dred Scott to various free territories. In 1846, antislavery lawyers helped Scott sue for his independence. Scott believed that he sould have freedom since he resided in a slavery banned area. The Court did not agree and held a trial against it, but by the end of it, Scott remained a free man. The trial and case slit the country up even more. -
John Brown's Raid on Harper's Ferry
Abilitionist John Brown's attack on Harper's Ferry frightened the Southerners. Brown focused on finding an arsenal (a storage site for weapons) to equip slaves to riot against slavery. The attack was stopped by local residents and troops. Brown was then hung and became a martyr. Abilitionists were stirred up with the event, but Southerners became evern more scared of the North. -
Lincoln's Election
The Republican party chose Abraham Lincoln to represent them in the presidiential election. Their principle was thwt slavery should be left alone where it started, but that the territories not have it. Southern citizens worried that Lincoln's election would cause more Republican rebellions. Southerners even though about secession (withdrawl from the Union). -
Battle at Fort Sumter
One day after Lincoln's election, Confederate president Jefferson Davis decided to send troops to Fort Sumter. The troops were commanded to raid the fort before the Union supplies could reach it. Fortuneate for the Confederates, Union aid was not able to get to Fort Sumter. The Union surrended two days later. The Battle at Fort Sumter was the beginning to the Civil War. -
Compromise of 1850
During President Taylor's term, clashes over slavery surged. California petitioned to become a free state, antislavery parties wished to ban slavery in Washington D,C., and Southerners wanted a national decree that helped return fuguitive (runaway) slaves. Henry Clay and Senator Douglas attemped to create compromises to solve the problem, but both resulted in failure. To settle the issue, a group of Whigs issued five bills, called the Compromise of 1850.
