A House Divided

By abbiegrosso

  • War with Mexico (1846 - 1848)

    Created issues in the balance of power in the United States

  • Compromise of 1850

    Compromise of 1850
    • A set of laws that defuse tensions between non slave states and slave states by creating a boundary in which slavery was a allowed and not allowed in the new territories.

  • Fugitive Slave Law (1850)

    Law that declared all union states to capture and return slaves to their owners, this law created fear in the north regarding the power the south holds.

  • The Underground Railroad (1850s)

    The Underground Railroad (1850s)
    A secret network of safe houses that helped slaves escape to Canada

  • Pro and Con Literature

    Books that described the failure of a pro slavery society and culture.

  • The Republican Party (1854)

    The Republican Party (1854)
    Created to oppose the spread of slavery in the states.

  • The Kansas Nebraska Act (1854)

    Created the concept of popular sovereignty in both the Nebraska and Kansas territories, led to bleeding kansas.

  • Bleeding Kansas (1854 - 1861)

    Bleeding Kansas (1854 - 1861)
    A series of confrontations and fighting that took place in the territory of Kansas over the legality of slavery.

  • Sumner-Brooks Incident (1856)

    Preston Brooks beats Charles Sumner with a cane. Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts was an avowed Abolitionist and leader of the Republican Party at the time

  • Panic of 1857

    Panic of 1857
    Economic collapse in the North creating mass unemployment, South believed this meant their economy was superior to the North

  • The Lecompton Constitution (1857)

    A document submitted by the Pro-Slavery Kansas government that was rejected by the people of Kansas and the US congress.

  • Dred Scott decision (1857)

    A court case that ensures a slave remains a slave regardless of where in the US they are, effectively overrode the concept of popular sovereignty in the territories.

  • The Lincoln-Douglas Debates (1858)

    A conflict between Lincoln and Douglas over the issues of the Dred Scott decision and the idea of popular sovereignty which resulted in Douglas being alienated by his own party and later losing the election.

  • John Brown’s Raid on Harper's Ferry (1859)

    One of the Raids committed by John Brown, this particular raid at Harpers Ferry was an attempt to start a slave rebellion in the South, convinced the south that the North wanted to wipe out Southern culture.

  • Election of 1860

    A tense time for the Union as many believed that the US would cease to exist, this election saw the fracturing of the Democrat party and the election of Lincoln.