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Charles Sumner
Charles Sumner is born, a man who fiercely fought for slaves' rights and a member of the Free-Soil Party. -
Compromise of 1850
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. -
Fugitive Slave Act
A law passed in the Compromise of 1850 which provided arms to slave hunters to hunt down runaway slaves. -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
The book "Uncle Tom's Cabin" is published, which supported abolitionist ideas, persuading many to oppose slavery as a result. -
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was established as a way to help slaves escape to the North via volunteers and secret harborings. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
This act allowed citizens in Kansas and Nebraska to determine whether they would support slavery. -
Bleeding Kansas
A series of violent battles set in Kansas in order to determine the state of slavery inside the state. -
Dredd Scott
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. -
Lincoln/Douglass Debates
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. -
Harper's Ferry
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. -
Election of 1860
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. -
Fort Sumter
Confederates take over a fort occupied by Union troops, signaling the beginning of the Civil War. -
Secession
Eleven States secede themselves from the Union and begin conflict with the North.