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Compromise of 1820
The Compromise of 1820 was created to keep slavery from expanding into the Louisianna Purchase. It was meant to help balance slavery within the states. The North did not want slavery to spread because they feared that slaves would take their jobs in the factories. -
Period: to
Pre-Civil War era
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The Wilmot Proviso
David Wilmot proposed the Wilmot Proviso to keep slavery out of territory won from Mexico. People immigrated to these territories and started industries. They were afraid that if slaves were allowed to come, too, they would take all of the new jobs. The bill was never passed. -
The Free Soil Party
The Free Soil Party was the 3rd political party. It didn't last long. Its main purpose was to keep slavery away from the west. It made the South feel threatened to have a second party going against it. -
Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 was another attempt at balancing the states. Texas reieved money for releasing land west of the Rio Grande. This was territory won from Mexico, so slavery was not allowed in the new land. California cam into the nation as a free state. The Fugitive Slave Act, a rule that made those in the North responsible for reporting runaway slaves or else they would be fined or jailed, was created. The North did not like it. Washington D.C. ended slave strade. -
The First Republican party
The first republican party came into action after everyone was splitting up. There were different groups and ideas, and the republican party was one of them. They rose to power especially after Lincoln won the election. -
The Kansas-Nebraska Act
This act was originally proposed to support the building of the Mid-Eastern transcontinent railroad. It repealed the Missouri Compromise and the bill was drafter by Senator Douglass of Illinois. It was meant to let settlers in Nebraska territory by popular vote to determine whether the territory would be considered a free or slave region. The document also proposed the territory would be divided in two: one part Kansas and the other Nebraska. People illegally came into the area to vote -
Bleeding Kansas
John Brown and his sons went and murdered fve pro-slavery men in their cabin. This massacre was the start of other blood shed and fighting that went on in Kansas due to the Kansas-Nebraska Act. All of this fighting led to the nickname "Bleeding Kansas." -
Dred Scott Decision
Dred Scott, a slave, and his ownder, Dr. Emerson, traveled to free states such as Illinois and Minnesota. Scott didn't file to become a free slave while in these states. They moved back to a slave state and married. Later on, after Dr. Emerson died and Scott and his family belonged to Mrs. Emerosn, he petitioned for his freedom, saying that since he had been free in the free states, he was still free. The court found him free, but when the petition was taken further he was found still a slave. -
John Brown's Last Act
John Brown led another massacre on Harper's Ferry, hoping to start a slave rebellion. He killed 7 people and injured 10 or so, including an African American. He failed to complete the rebellion. Within 36 hours his crew was either captured, dead, or fleeing. He was captured and hanged. On the day of his death, the North celebrated his bravery and his fighting for his beliefs. The South did not agree with the celebration. They had been presented with a new idea: that slaves can fight back. -
The South Wanted to Secede
The South threatened to secede from the nation if Lincoln were to win the campaign. They feared that he would abolish slavery and ruin their source of income. They believed that each state has its own rights to do whatever they want, even secede from the rest. -
The Election of 1860
There were so many different ideas and beliefs that there were four different men running against each other for the presidential election. Some were only representing small parties while others were very close. -
Lincoln becomes president
Abraham Lincoln became president after running against three other men. The South did not want him to win and threatened to secede if he did. He tried to compromise. He did not want to abolish slavery, only stop it from spreading further.
