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The Compromise of 1820
was a Congressional agreement that regualted the extension of slavery in the United states for 30 years. Also under the agreement said that Missouri territory was permitted as a slave state. -
War With Mexico
With the goal of taking Mexico, Texas, and California, President James K. Polk began the Mexican American war with "manifest destiny" in mind, Northerners rightly thought of the war as an attempt to get more slave territory when the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo gave the U.S. a large amount slave territory below 36/30 line. -
Wilmot's Proviso
Wilmot's proviso was a law proposed by David Wilmot to Congress wtih the purpose of banning slavery in the aquired territory of Mexico. It passed in the House of Representatives, but southern senators would not let it pass because with 15 free and 15 slave states, they would fight anything that could destroy the institution of slavery. Southerners thought that if the North got the senate, slavery would be abolished. This was key in ruining the North/South relationship. -
Fugitive Slave Act
The Fugitive Slave Act was part of the compromise of 1850 that allowed and encouraged slave holders to find and retrieve their run-away slaves in the North. Northerners disagreed and were disturbed by the act of forcing free people back into slavery. -
Formation Of The Republican Party
The Republican party started in Ripon, Wisconsin as a party of the north that proposed the restriction of slavery in all territories, Southerners saw this as almost as a decleration of war. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas-Nebraska Act repealed the Missouri Compromise by allowing popular sovereignty, meaning the territories could decide by a popular vote if slavery should be allowed or not. No other law did as much to divide the whigs as well as the Northern Democrats, who eventually joined together to make the Republican party. -
The Break Down of the Two-Party system
The Democrat party started to represent the beliefs of the south as the Republican party began to emerge. The two party system had provided a compromise, and this breakdown ended cooperation between the North and the South. Since many canidates ran unapposed in their parties, they became very radical with their ideas on slavery. -
Lincoln and Douglas Debate
Lincoln argued that the U.S. could no longer stay divided (half slave and half free) while Douglas argued for popular sovereignty. This angers the south who sees Lincoln's speech as a threat -
John Brown's Raid On Harper's Ferry
Northerner John Brown's plan to start a slave revolt failed, but southerners fear that the North was trying to arm slaves was confirmed. The South now believed they could not live safely in the union. -
1860 Presidental Election
The southern democrats who supported slavery had Beckinridge as their canidate, and Lincoln, the anti-slavery Northern abolitionist, ran against him, Lincoln won the presidency, and this made southern fears come true. The Federal Government was mostly controlled by men that wanted to end slavery.
