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The Missouri Compromise
Missouri was admitted as a slave state and Maine was admitted as a free state, preserving the Congressional balance. A line was also drawn through the unincorporated western territories along the 36⁰30 parallel, dividing north and south as free and slave. -
Texas Becomes a State
Texas became a state which gave more power to the southern states. The state of Texas played a very important role in Confederacy military operations, it provided supplies. -
Treaty of Hidalgo
The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, ended the Mexican-American War. The treaty added an additional 525,000 square miles to United States territory, including the land that makes up all or parts of present-day Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. Mexico also gave up all claims to Texas and recognized the Rio Grande as America’s southern boundary. -
Fugitive Slave Act
The Fugitive Slave Act was passed as part of the Compromise of 1850. This act forced federal officials who did not arrest a runaway slave liable to pay a fine. This was the most controversial part of the Compromise of 1850 and caused many abolitionists to increase their efforts against slavery. This act increased the Underground Railroad activity as fleeing slaves made their way to Canada. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin Was Released
It was written by Harriet Beecher Stowe, an American Abolitionist. Uncle Tom's Cabin showed northerns the cruelty of slavery and inspired more abolitionists. -
Kansas Nebraska Act
The Kansas Nebraska Act stated that when these two territories were added to the union their status as slave or free state would be decided by popular sovereignty. The idea was created by Stephen A. Douglas. It caused many pro-slavery and anti-slavery supporters to rush to these states and influence the vote. When they arrived violence broke out and it cause tention between the north and the south. -
The Dred Scott Decision
Dred Scott lost his case proving that he should be free due to being a slave while living in a free state. -
John Brown Raided Harper's Ferry
Jonh Brown lead seventeen men on a raid at Harper's Ferry, Virginia in hope to cause a slave uprising using the captured weapons. Later they got caught and were all hanged for treason. -
The Election of Abraham Lincoln
When Abraham Lincoln was running for President, 6 states including South Carolina said that they would brake off from the Union if he won causing Lincoln and the Republican Party to make it so that any states joining the Union could not be slave states. -
Confederate States of America
The South was enraged at Lincoln's election. Acting against this, the Southern states began to form a separate Confederacy agaisnt the union.
