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Missouri Compromise
The US Congress passed this act admitting Missouri to the union as the 24th state. Missouri was then considered a slave state and Maine was a free state. This hilighted the sectional division because the North didnt like the idea of having more slave states than free states and the South depended on slaves. -
Know-Nothing Party
This was a party full of nativists, or people who were against foreign immigrants. They did not like African Americans, Native Americans, or Catholics. There were more Know-Nothings in the South because more immigrants went to the North. -
Wilmot Proviso
This was created to prevent legalized slavery in any US territory gained from Mexico after the Mexican War. David Wilmot propsed it. Polk started this war to gain more territory for slavery.This stimulated tension between the North and South because of differing arguments. The South didn't like this and said Americans had equal rights and had the right to move the slaves. This angered the North. -
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
This treaty ended the Mexican-American War. The US got a large area of the US Southwest as a result of this. This caused tension between the North and South because they didnt know if the new areas gained should be free states or slave states. -
Compromise of 1850
This was a compromise that resolved the territorial and slavery issues from the Mexican American War. They decided how to distribute the free and slave states. The North ended up getting most of the advantages. -
Fugitive Slave Act
This act said that all runaway slaves must be returned to their masters. This was a part of the Compromise of 1850 and caused many abolitionists to increase their efforts against slavery. -
Uncle Toms Cabin
This was a book written by Harriet Beecher Stowe about anti slavery. It eventually became popular and widespread. Southerners saw how influental the book was -
Gadsden Purchase
This was the area of Mexico that Santa Anna ceded to the US. People thought that the best route for a railroad was through this area of Northern Mexico. This extended Southern territory but not the Norths. -
Kansas Nebraska Act
This act said that popular sovereighty would be used to determine whether the states are slave states or free states. It also created territories of Kansas & Nebraska, and repealed the Missouri Compromise of 1820. This led to proslavery and antislavery groups arguing. -
Bleeding Kansas
This was the period of violence over the slavery issue in the Kansas territory. The pro and antislavery groups in Kansas fought.Slavery ended up being abolished in Kansas which angered the South, which is mostly composed of pro slavery groups. -
Republican Party
This was a political party that was mostly in the North. Abraham Lincoln was the leader of the party in opposition to the Democratic party who favored the South. -
Election of 1856
This was the election between Buchanan and Fremont. Buchanan won the South while Fremont won the North. There were now different political parties in the North and South creating tension. -
Dred Scot v Sanford
Dred Scott was a slave who stood up for himself for freedom. The supreme court ended up saying that slaves were no more than property and that they should have no rights therefore, he didnt get freed. This showed how superior the Souths view on slaves are compared to the North, -
Lincoln-Douglas Debates
This was a Debate between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas over the expansion of slavery issue. It was to see who would win the Senate chair in Illinois. Lincoln ended up winning the popular vote and Douglas ended up winning the vote in the Illinois Legislature. Douglas supported slavery and Lincoln did not. -
Election of 1860
This was the election between Lincoln and Brenkenridge. Lincoln wanted to abolish slavery and Brenkenridge, who is from the North, wanted to keep slavery. This clearly started an argument between the North and South. Lincoln ended up winning the election and this led to the secession of South Carolina. -
Secession
After the election of Lincoln, Southerners thought that the abolitionists from the North got complete control of the government. They were scared that slavery would be abolished and the Southern economy would crash.Becuase of this, they decided to secede. -
John Brown Raid at Harpers Ferry
John Brown who was an abolitionist raided the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry. He called for a slave revolt. He was hanged two months later as a punishment. The North considered him a hero and the South hated him.
