Causes of the Civil War

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    Causes of the Civil War

  • Missouri Compromise

    Maine becomes a free state and Missouri becomes a slave state to keep the powers balanced in Congress. This created the 36-30º line. It was a compromise because it kept the powers of the slave and free states balanced. It temporarily decided which states were free and which were slave.
  • Wilmot Proviso

    Thuis was a proposal made that siad slavery wasn't allowed in any land from Mexico. Southerners became mad because they wanted slavery to spread but this proposal didn't allow that. Fortunately for the South, it was declined.
  • Compromise of 1850

    California becomes a free state and so does New Mexico. Washinton D.C. didn't allow trading or selling slaves. This compromise was 5 separate bills. It balnced the powers and was another temporary solution.
  • Dred Scott Decision

    Dred Scott, a slave, sued his owner for taking him into Illinois after the military moved him. Illinois was a free state so he thought he should be free but, they still used him as a slave in a free state. He was found guilty for 3 reasons: African Americans can't be citizens, Unclaimed territories are allowed to become slave states in the future, and Congress can't take away property. He was later freed after a protest.
  • Fugitive Slave Act

    This law was passed and it required all citizens to help catch the runaway slaves.
  • Uncle Tom's Cabin

    Uncle Tom's Cabin was written by: Harriet Beecher Stowe. This book stunned people with her description of slavery and it eventually convinced people to work against slavery.
  • Kansas-Nebraska Act

    A bill that said that states could allow slavery by popular sovereignty. The U.S. felt it undid the Missouri compromise.
  • Bleeding Kansas

    People who were against slavery and those who supported slavery moved to Kansas to vote on whether Kansas should allow slavery. There was a lot of violence and Kansas became a free state. The violence began to grow. At first, there was a violent clash over slavery and the hostility began to rise.
  • Lincoln-Douglas Debate

    Abraham Lincoln and Douglas had a debate for a seat in the senate. They were debating for a seat for the state of Illinois. The main topic was slavery.
  • Raid on Harper's Ferry (John Brown's Raid)

    John Brown who was an abolitionist, some white men, and 2 slaves raided an arsenal but got caught. They were all tried and John Brown was hanged. The main goal of the raid was to arm the slaves.
  • Lincoln's election

    Lincoln was elected for President and won all of the Northern votes. He won 108 out of 303 votes and won by a lot.