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Nat Turner’s Rebellion
Nat Turner was an educated slave that lead a slave Rebellion in Virginia. The 4 day rebellion killed around 60 white men, women, and children. Nat was hung and other rebel slaves got their heads put on poles as an example. This rebellion caused there to be harsher laws against slaves, these laws became a heated topic in politics. -
Pro-Slavery Mob Kills Elijah P. Lovejoy
Elijah was killed for defending his anti-slavery paper “The Saint Louis Observer”. He was killed by a pro-slavery mob in Illinois that didn’t like how Elijah wanted immediate freedom of slaves. Elijah’s death had a big impact on northerners. It strengthened the abolitionist movement. Lastly, it caused young Abraham Lincoln to speak out against the crime. -
Irish Potato Famine
A great famine in Ireland made their number one crop the potato die down. Due to this around a million Irish people came to the US for a better life. The Irish mainly went to the North (a lot lived in NY) and this is what southerners were mad about. After the battle of Fort Sumter, most of the Irish joined the union and made up a big chunk of Lincoln’s troops. If the potato famine didn’t happen then the civil war may have had a different outcome. -
Mexican-American War
After the US beat won the war they gained Texas, California, and New Mexico for just $15m dollars. The gaining of these states would alter the amount of Slave vs. Free states. An attempt was made to try to fix the debate with the Missouri Compromise of 1850, but it didn’t help lower tensions. This event was a major factor in states wanting to secede from the Union. -
Harriet Tubman
After she escaped to the North in 1849, Harriet Tubman made a name for herself by becoming the most famous person in the Underground Railroad. She freed hundreds of slaves in the south from plantations and was very wanted. Southerners would pay lots of money to see her dead. Tubman gave hope to a lot of slaves and encouraged others to help free slaves by showing it was possible. She also played a role in the civil war as a spy for the Union. -
California Being a Free State
After gold was discovered, lots of people rushed to CA from around the globe. CA was home to both northern and southerners and when CA became a free state lots of pro-slavery people were mad. People still had slaves working in gold mines against the law. People fought against this by creating underground systems to free enslaved slaves. CA had a big impact on the civil was, because the state helped fund the north with gold. -
Bleeding Kansas Conflict
In order to build the Transcontinental Railroad Congress wanted to add Nebraska land (future Kansas and Nebraska) to the US. The controversial question was wether the added land should be a slave or free state. In the end they decided that the states would vote on what they wanted (popular sovereignty). Fights rose between Pro-Slavery and Anti-Slavery groups, because the Kansas Nebraska Act nullified the Missouri Compromise. -
Rep. Brooks Attacking Sen. Charles
Sen. Charles gave a bitter speech in the Senate against slavery. In this speech Charles called Sen. Butler an imbecile and said harsh words. Rep. Brooks was related to Butler and thought he went to far in his speech. So, he badly beat Charles on the head with his cane. This event was loved by the South so much they sent Brooks loads of replacement canes. The North hated the south’s response to the beating. -
John Brown’s Raid
John Brown led an army of 18 into Harper’s Ferry VA. Brown wanted to lead a big slave rebellion and march along the south picking up more slaves on the way. The only problem was he didn’t have any rations or an escape route. In 36 hours he was stopped by southerners. The North said it was courageous, but the South was mad about it. They were fearful that other people would attack their property. All the raid accomplished was further division between North and South. -
Battle of Fort Sumter
After states seceded from the union war was right around the corner. When President Lincoln choose to resupply Fort Sumter in SC. A ship trying resupply the fort was turned around by rebels. The Confederate’s then attacked the fort and forced Major Robert Anderson to surrender. After this battle the war spread very fast via the pony express. And, the civil war was started.
