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The Compromise of 1850
The Compromise of 1850 is a serires of resolutions that dealt with slavery. They were first introduced in January 1850 by senator Henry Clay. THe compromis led to the civil war partially because it admitted California as a free state which angered pro-slave activist. -
Daniel Webster
Webster was a out spoken congressmen who was against the war with Mexico and the annexation of Texas. Webster endorsed Henry Clay's Compromise of 1850. He was against the expansion of slavery into new territiores. This helped cause the civil war because it angered his pro-slavery critics. -
Fugitive Slave Acts
Several hundred slaves a year where escaping from the south to find saftey and libery in the north. The Fugitive Slave Acts required all escaped slaves to be captured and returned to their owners. abolitionist nicknamed the law the, "Bloodhound Law". This increased tensions between pro and anti-slavery individuals -
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Harriet Beecher Stowe released Uncle Tom's Cabin in 1852. It was antislavery novel and became widley controversial. The book brought the horrors of slavery to many peoples eyes. This book increases abolitionist support which lead to the civil war. -
Franklin Pierce Elected
Democrat Franklin Pierce is elected president of the United States. After the election, the Free Soil Party flounders and the Whig Party dissolves. Many Whigs cross over into the Free Democrat wing. The two-party system is in disarray. -
Kansas-Nebraska Act
The Kansas-Nebraska Bill passes, largely thanks to Stephen A. Douglas, the Democratic senator from Illinois. In effect the bill repeals the Missouri Compromise and its prohibition of slavery in the Northwest by authorizing settlers to determine for themselves the status of slavery in their communities. Controversy over the bill will drive a wedge into the Democratic Party, shatter Whig unity, and spur the creation of the Republican Party in the North. -
Dred Scott v. Sandford
The U.S. Supreme Court rules (7 to 2) in Dred Scott v. Sandford that slavery is protected by the Constitution, and that a ban on slavery in the territories is unconstitutional. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney writes the majority opinion; every Justice who sides with Taney (who is from Maryland) is a southerner. -
Lincoln Douglas Debates
During the Illinois senatorial race, Democratic incumbent Stephen A. Douglas and Republican candidate Abraham Lincoln engage in a series of fiery debates. For four months, the two men travel all across the state, speaking before thousands of spectators. They argue primarily about whether, in Lincoln's words, "a house divided against itself cannot stand" and whether slavery ought to be placed "in the course of ultimate extinction"; that is, if the Wilmot Proviso should be revived and slavery shou -
John Brown Executed
Radical abolitionist John Brown is hanged in Charlestown, Virginia (modern-day Charles Town, West Virginia). Six of his associates, two of them black, follow at a later date. Brown becomes an antislavery martyr and his attempted insurrection creates panic in the South. -
New Haven Address
Republican Abraham Lincoln delivers a speech in New Haven, Connecticut. "Wrong as we think Slavery is," he says, "we can yet afford to let it alone where it is, because that much is due to the necessity arising from its actual presence in the nation; but can we, while our votes will prevent it, allow it to spread into the National Territories, and to overrun us here in these Free States?"11