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Charles Sumner is born, a man who fiercely fought for slaves' rights and a member of the Free-Soil Party.
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The Compromise of 1850 was a series of bills that settled the arguments to determine the slavery conditions of the states acquired in the Mexican-American War.
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A law passed in the Compromise of 1850 which provided arms to slave hunters to hunt down runaway slaves.
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The book "Uncle Tom's Cabin" is published, which supported abolitionist ideas, persuading many to oppose slavery as a result.
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The Underground Railroad was established as a way to help slaves escape to the North via volunteers and secret harborings.
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This act allowed citizens in Kansas and Nebraska to determine whether they would support slavery.
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A series of violent battles set in Kansas in order to determine the state of slavery inside the state.
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A court case in which Dredd Scott, a slave who escaped to the north, was found to not have U.S. citizenship, along with all other blacks. This event inspired many to become abolitionists and slave-rights activists.
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The Lincoln/Douglass debates were a series of debates given from Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglass concerning slavery. Lincoln supported abolition, and Douglass slavery. Douglass eventually won the Senate seat by popular vote.
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An attack led by John Brown hopes to fuel abolitionist ideals, but instead frightens the South and increases tensions between the South and the North.
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The Election of 1860 consisted of four candidates running for President: John Bell, John Breckenridge, Abraham Lincoln, and Stephen Douglass. Abraham Lincoln, a Northern supported candidate, was elected, which led to the secession of South Carolina.
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Confederates take over a fort occupied by Union troops, signaling the beginning of the Civil War.
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Eleven States secede themselves from the Union and begin conflict with the North.